Sunset Trail Festival 28K

Gold Hill, CO

Sunday, June 22

Weather - Sunny and warm

I won't do a long recap on this one.

I had heard about this race a year or two earlier and had talked about running it but since no one else committed we didn't sign up. This year, Terri brought it up in early June and Larry and I both followed suit by signing up. I had never run the loop near Gold Hill, so I was looking forward to seeing what it was all about.

There was a shuttle we needed to be on by 6 am, so we agreed to meet at the Justice Center in Boulder at 5:30, just to ensure we were there in plenty of time. Not only was it plenty of time, but we were the first people to get there. I'd rather not be stressed about it, so it was fine.

We rode in a bus that was maybe 20-25 minutes of windy roads to get to the start line. About halfway there, we lost phone service and would end up not having any service the rest of the day, which was fine.

Our race didn't start until 7:30, so that meant a LOT of standing around. We picked up our bibs and race shirt at the start line, and I used the bathroom 2-3 times. The race provided some bagels and cream cheese, and I think that after about 45 minutes I decided my breakfast had "worn off" and I grabbed a half a bagel. At some point, another busload of people got dropped off, for those that were running the shorter distances. Chelsea was running (and recognized me) and I briefly said hi to her. Finally, it was time to get going.

The race director gathered us all shortly before 7:30 to go over the course details. I barely listened but glad I caught some of the directions as there were ZERO course markings. Not one single flag or sign!!! The route was pretty straightforward, but it was still crazy.

We had to start in town and run up the hill before turning down a back road and going down the hill. Walked most of the hill on the way up and Larry, Terri and I were in the back of the back. I hate starting a race in the very back, but I wasn't sure I was even "racing" this race. The route started on a wide, dirt road. It was definitely a generous downhill, but I didn't want to run too hard. There was a funny sign that said "Private Sign, Don't Read" which I should have taken a picture of, but didn't. Terri edged just a little bit upfront and Larry and I were fairly close behind. At one point, Larry's shoe came untied and we stopped briefly for him to fix it. It was crazy to think that running a pace of low 10s had us the very back of the pack. It was just under 5 miles of dirt road before we came to the junction where we supposed to take a right turn. The aid station wasn't too far up the road and I just very quickly grabbed a cup of water. From here it was still a gradual uphill, some of the earlier parts were paved. I also liked this sign:

Even though it was a gradual uphill, I was trying to do some running intervals. While there was technically no cutoff for the course, there was a scheduled last shuttle back to Boulder which obviously we did not want to miss. Since I had never been in the area, I had no idea what to expect from the "Switzerland Trail." All the email and race info said was that it was rocky, and I wanted to move as quickly as possible on sections that were not technical. I also could not remember where the next aid station was. Terri and I had kind of ended up running together with Larry a little further back, and we both thought it was in mile 9-10. It was closer to 10.5 miles and right at the base of the Switzerland Trail. I stopped only long enough to drink some water and grab a couple packages of gummy bears, which I tried to eat while leaving the aid station. The trail was more like a rocky double track. We left right behind another gal and for a while me, her and Terri were all relatively close together. We came up behind a guy and I decided to run around him and the other girl and basically never saw him, the other girl or Terri again. 

Apparently, this is the Switzerland Trail

I realized I hadn't been taking any pictures, so on one of my walk breaks I took some pictures of the surrounding valleys we were in.

There was really only one section on the course that didn't have a trail marker and I really felt like it should have, but I'm just glad I stayed on what looked the MOST like the main road and didn't get lost. Came across some ATVs and a few bikes in this section, but other than dust, it was not an issue since we were more on a road than a trail. I also knew there was a THIRD aid station, but I didn't really know where that was either. Since I had no service I couldn't pull up any info or see the course map, but I vaguely remember that the last part of the course was downhill. I had put in music by this point but since there were bikes and such out I only used one ear bud. 

Finally, I saw the third aid station, over 14 miles in! If my math was correct, we were just about done with the uphill and we would just be coasting in. I topped off a flask and asked how many miles to the finish and the volunteer told me 3.5, which had me sooo mad! I didn't want to be closer to 18 miles. With the pace I was running I really hoped to finish under 4 hours. The road out of the aid station was the widest road yet, and it was really hot and exposed. I could see some people in front of me and as tired as I was, I decided that maybe I would race "just a little bit." I passed at least one lady right as we hit some of the downhill. Suddenly, I got to a volunteer and a stop sign - I asked where to go and she said to the right and then the finish was only 100 yards away. YAY!!!! I could see the race clock and I knew I would get in under 4 hours. As soon as I crossed the line I went into the garden area and grabbed a coke to drink while I waited for Larry and Terri to finish.

Distance - 17.46 miles

Garmin Time - 3:58:40

Official Time - 3:58:40

Garmin Pace - 13:40

Elevation Gain - 2,628'

Overall Place - 46/54

Mile 1 - 11:40

Mile 2 - 10:13

Mile 3 - 10:05

Mile 4 - 9:54

Mile 5 - 12:52

Mile 6 - 14:05

Mile 7 - 15:48

Mile 8 - 14:56

Mile 9 - 15:31

Mile 10 - 16:40

Mile 11 - 17:06

Mile 12 - 15:51

Mile 13 - 15:27

Mile 14 - 15:36

Mile 15 - 15:04

Mile 16 - 13:28

Mile 17 - 10:26

Mile 17.46 pace - 8:42

We had a beer and grabbed our free burritos. We found out while we were sitting there that we had somehow ALL misunderstood the last shuttle info - it was actually scheduled to leave at 12:30 and ARRIVE in Boulder at 1. At least we all made it?

Thoughts:

• We signed up only 3ish weeks out. The race is put on to benefit the Watershed and so it wasn't for profit and was $70 plus fees.
• Our registration included a shirt, a burrito and post race beer.
• The gpx was provided on the website, but I didn't add it to my watch or gaia since I naively assumed there would be at least minimal course markings. It ended up being fine, but I would have felt better with a flag or two.
• The aid stations were perfectly situated, I just forgot to mentally take a note of where they were on course. Minimal with fluids only for the first one and very minimal snacks with water/electrolytes at the last two.
• I would recommend this for a supported event with a "somewhat fun" finish line. Any festivities were unfortunately done by the time we finished, so it was a little underwhelming for us, but it was a nice area and the volunteers were very friendly.
• I would maybe run this one again, I think it was a good training run for heat and a bit higher elevation than I run around my house.

Week in Review (June 17 - June 23)

Tuesday (11,848 steps) - Up early for cross training. Did a 30 minutes of upper body/back strength training and 30 minutes on the bike before taking Olive for a walk. Yet another day of going to jury duty. Took a walk around the court house at lunch.

Took Olive for a walk when I got home. TV of some kind... maybe this was the night we watched The Accountant 2?

Wednesday (22,210 steps) - Still have jury duty and I had a decent workout on schedule. Since I am a slow runner, my coach normally gives me everything in time, but he had EIGHT miles on schedule. I figured I would just go for "a" run. I was not in the mood for it at all and was really taking it easy when I headed out. I ran into Tanessa and her daughter near the park and we ended up running together for about 20 minutes, which was really nice and made my run a lot better. The way back (alone) was faster because I was worried about having enough time to walk Olive and get ready. Another walk around the court house during lunch and took Olive for a longer walk when I got home.

Thursday (18,984 steps) - YAY for a federal holiday that gave me the day off from BOTH work and jury duty. I didn't set an alarm to get up early, but Olive and I had plans to go in the mountains and check out Square Top. I sent Ariel a text when I left the house to see if she wanted to meet at Dutch for a coffee, which she did. We ended up not taking the trek up until maybe 10 am - which was a HUGE mistake. I had completely forgotten about all the road construction on I-70. The traffic was horrible and it took probably twice as long to get to Idaho Springs. Once we got to town it was a normal drive up. We arrive around noon, which is pretty late and I was shocked to see so many people on the trail (and across the way at Bierstadt). 

The lower "pond" that's about a mile up was the lowest I have ever seen and it was barely a puddle for Olive to get in and get some water. 

There was a decent snow field in the typically muddy area and then at the junction for the lakes - which of course Olive loved playing in. 

The drive back down wasn't AS bad as the way up, but it still wasn't great. I had been messaging with Mo to see if she wanted to meet up for a beer or snack, but the brewery we normally meet at near Evergreen has seemingly gone out of business. (Side note - is anyone else noticing that a large number of established businesses have been suddenly shuttering as of late?) By the time we reconnected after getting phone service out of the mountains it was pretty much too late to do anything. I decided to stop at Over Yonder since they allow dogs inside and then planned to meet both Mo and Ben at Roost in Lakewood for a run club. 

I had wanted to go to run club since I knew that Topo was going to be there. They were doing demo shoes of the version 4 of the Ultraventure, which I wanted to try - and I am so glad I did! I found the sizing of the 3's to be off, and had to size down, while I found the 4's to be more true to size. We did not run, but we walked with Mo and Colfax, Erica and Dani - it was nice to catch up! Topo did a giveaway and Ben won! He doesn't wear Topo so he gave the free shoes to me. YAY!!

They did a fun taco relay, which I didn't participate in OR take any pictures, but Ben did and that was pretty fun.

Friday (11,147 steps) - I did NOT have jury duty, but had to go in to work instead. I took Olive for a long walk - and finally saw some owls!

Took Olive to work with me and it was a very busy day trying to get caught up after unexpectedly missing so much work. We headed straight to 4 Noses to meet up with Ben for a beer and some sushi tacos. Yum!

Saturday (20,250 steps) - Took Olive for a walk and then had to meet Ariel at Big O because now one of her rear tires seemed to be flat and she had to work all day. I had planned on it being a longer morning, so I wore my running shoes so that I could get my run out of the way before it got too hot. I didn't have too much of a route planned, but I knew I was going to be out for around 90 minutes. I headed down the road towards the path I have run many times - that was a bit sketchy for sure. 

I definitely needed to use the bathroom at one point and was really grateful that I remembered there were facilities at a rec center. At some point I had decided that I'd rather try to create a loop to head back rather than go back the way I came, and I ended up in a cute neighborhood that had some goats. Wish we could have goats...

I ended up on a major road and decided to stop and buy some water. For whatever reason, the drinking fountains in the park around the rec center were all shut off. Glad I had my wallet on me!

I somehow managed to time my route pretty good and basically got back in exactly the time I planned. I only had to wait maybe another 20 minutes for Ariel's car - we found out it was a sensor for the tire pressure and not a tire at all. Still costly, though. I was starving by this point since I hadn't had breakfast, so I went across the street for a burger. Yum.

Olive had her grooming appointment, so we headed up to 4 Noses. 

This may be one of my favorite new bandanas!

Sunday (39,359 steps) - Up around 4 am since I had to drive up to Boulder for the Sunset Trail festival race I was running with Terri and Larry. First, though, I had to get ready and take Olive for a walk. I was out the door shortly after 5 and got to the Justice Center in plenty of time. I'll recap this separately.

Finally got service when we were almost back to Boulder and Ben said that he would meet us at 4 Noses. Not sure what else we did after.

Monday (15,050 steps) - Another day that I didn't have jury duty since the judge had other cases he needed to tend to. I did, however, still need to work. It was nice not getting up early. Ariel had mentioned she was going to be coming by, so I hurried out the door to get my run in. It was a relatively blah run, but it was nice and cool out and not as awful as it could have been. She got to the house shortly after I did and while she was doing some other things I took Olive for a walk. We went to Dutch and picked up Torchy's for lunch. Finished out the day working and finishing an episode of You. Watching "The Waterfront."

Stats:

• 138,848 steps
• 37.65 miles run
• 11.53 miles walked
• 30 minutes of cardio
• 30 minutes of strength