Rabbit Valley half marathon (race recap)

Saturday, May 13
Loma, CO
Half Marathon #163
Weather - Hot, sunny, windy

Friday

I picked A up at school, we stopped to get gas and headed out to Grand Junction. Other than a stop to use the bathroom we drove straight through. No major issues - other than the surprise of more construction in Glenwood canyon. 

We decided to stop and have dinner before checking into our AirBnB. We picked a brewery, Rockslide, in downtown Grand Junction. I had a tasty stout beer and a big bowl of jalapeno mac and cheese.

We finally got to the place we were staring around 8:30. It was a super cute private room, bathroom and entrance. 

Tried to go to bed early. It it was hot in the room (and no independent thermostat) even with the windows open. 

Race Day

Mapquest estimated it would take 45 minutes to get to the start (which seemed awfully long to me) shut we still got up crazy early since the race was supposed to start at 7:30. We made an emergency stop on the way at City Market to buy electrical tape to attempt reattaching part of the framing around the windshield. 

We arrived at Rabbit Valley with just about an hour until the start. The lower lot was already full so we had to park closer to the highway than last year. Our friend Kate was volunteering and it was nice to see a friendly face. 

It was about a 5 minute walk to the start area. I got all my gear ready to go, not planning on coming back to the car before we started. We arrived a few minutes before the bike race started. Once they headed out I picked up my bib and cycled through the bathroom line. Imagine my surprise to see our friend Ross at the start (he's about 80 years old and still running half marathons, sometimes two in a weekend!)

I briefly spoke with Kyla, one of the race directors, and she said A could be her "personal assistant" for the day while I was running. 

Due to extremely tough keep road conditions the race start was delayed about 15 minutes so the volunteers could get to the aid station. This was unfortunate since it was supposed to be hot and windy. 

We started around 7:45 and I estimated/hoped to finish in about 3 hours. Even though I had run the race in 2016, a course-marking error left the race extremely short. I started near the back and had the unfortunate "fire calves" early on. Of course I hadn't looked at the course map so I just ran when I felt like it and walked to try to loosen everything up. 

It was a gorgeous day on the trails. The first aid station was somewhere around 2.5 miles in. Kate and Kyla were at the aid station but since it was on a downhill section I chose not to stop. There was a lot more. Limping than I remembered on the way out and I got stuck in a pace with two women. I would pass and then they would pass - went on like this until we got to the second aid station, mile 5.5 on the Kokopelli trail. I didn't stop at this aid station either because I wanted to get around the women AND another downhill section was coming up. 

The turnaround put me at exactly 6.5 miles, so the course would still be a tad short for a half marathon. The way back involved a LOT more power hiking. I stopped at the aid station to refill my pack - it was getting super hot and the wind was picking up. I saw Ross and he was nowhere near last place, which was impressive. 

I managed to pass some people on my way back and stopped at the last aid station to have a cup of coke. By now the wind was pretty bad and with all the dirt and sand it was pretty annoying to be out in it. 

Final climb before heading into the last half mile or so to the finish. This was brutal!

I was so tired st this point that I struggled to even run into the finish. I was pleased to see that I managed to come in just over 3 hours. Turns out, the course was not the same as last year and the race director even said it was "harder." That made me feel a lot better.

Elevation gain - 1,594'
Garmin time - 3:05:47
Garmin distance - 13.0 miles
Garmin pace - 14:17
Mile 1 - 12:38
Mile 2 - 13:59
Mile 3 - 12:53
Mile 4 - 14:59
Mile 5 - 16:46
Mile 6 - 11:49 (fastest of the day!)
Mile 7 - 13:11
Mile 8 - 17:14
Mile 9 - 14:03
Mile 10 - 13:45
Mile 11 - 14:38
Mile 12 - 14:49
Mile 13 - 15:01

We stuck around for about a half hour at the finish to play some trivia to get swag (which I sucked st). I had the delicious grilled cheese sandwiches and some watermelon. 

Walked back to the car and started the drive back. Stopping in Fruita at Kannah Creek brewery for a celebratory beer. 

Thoughts:

• This was a hard one! I haven't been on the trails much and I struggled. 
• I did not wear the ideal trail shoes and my feet hurt pretty bad when I got done - totally my fault, I know better. 
• A, as usual, did a fantastic job volunteering and was a big help. 
• Course was very well marked. The cyclists and runners had different colored flagging and every spigot was clearly marked. 
• This may be my only desert run of the year - I really enjoyed it and will try to go out again next year. 
• No frills event - just a tee shirt and a dog tag medal - which is fine with me!
• Bee Rad had a mileage PR on the drive home - 601.5 miles on one tank of gas!!

Week in Review (May 2 - May 8)

Tuesday (25,834 steps) - Finally back to speed work! We arrived at Wash Park just before 5:30. It was a fairly warm morning and I only kept my thin jacket on for the warm up jog.

15 minute warm up - @ 11:06 pace

4 x .04 strides @ 6:57, 6:10, 6:28, 6:06

1 x 1600m @ 9:27 (this was HARD)

800m - 5:14 (10:20 pace)

800m - 5:10 (10:05 pace)

800m - 4:55 (9:42 pace)

800m - 4:50 (9:31 pace)

800m - 4:46 (9:29 pace)

800m - 4:29 (8:55 pace)

.35 mile cool down jog back to the car

It's very humbling knowing that 6 years ago I could run a half marathon at these paces and now I struggle through these repeats. However, I did run all the 800's with negative splits, I think that is a pretty big accomplishment!

Barre class with Laura during lunch (might be my last barre class with her for a while) and after work/school A had gymnastics.

Wednesday (21,321 steps) - Denver run club. We actually did the scheduled Cook Park route and Mo beat her mileage from last week to have her longest training run in over 9 months! Even though the day started out with freezing temperatures and snow, the weather was perfect by the time we were out on our run.

These crochet flowers are pretty cool! Apparently they move on the trail regularly.

Thursday (15,549 steps) - Barre with Gabi. Belmar run club - Cinco de Mayo edition! A and I ran/walked the big loop with Mo and then stuck around for jell-o shots and a pinata.

A was having a friend spend the night so we had to head out early to pick up pizza and get home in time to clean up. We also had Batman Sour's third birthday party!

Friday (15,611 steps) - Nothing. A and I went for a walk to the lake after work since the weather was so nice.

Saturday (36,019 steps) - Runners Edge! I had 12 miles on schedule and it was pretty rough. How did I ever run extreme distances? It was also really hot... A ran 4 miles (last 2 with David).

We had just enough time to get some food at Einsteins, pack up our aid station and get to her school for her 11 am soccer game... WHICH THEY WON!

Afternoon spent picking up some groceries and new clothes for A, who is outgrowing everything and sewing the rest of the patches on her Girl Scout vest.

Sunday (21,108 steps) - Rocky Mountain Road Runner 5 miler at Stapleton. The gps sent us to a weird warehouse district 10 minutes away, but luckily I had planned on arriving early. Enough time to get our bibs and use the bathroom. We somehow got dropped off the trophy series list so A and I both started at gun time. I was only able to keep up with her for about 5 minutes before she ran off. Legs were super tired and I had to spend a decent amount of time walking in miles 2 and 3. Felt a bit better by the end and miraculously came in under 11 minute pace.

A official time - 52:36

My official time - 54:02
Garmin time - 54:01
Garmin distance - 5.02
Garmin pace - 10:46
Mile 1 - 10:27
Mile 2 - 11:27
Mile 3 - 11:00
Mile 4 - 10:43
Mile 5 - 10:14

In the afternoon we drove back down south for A's Bronze Award ceremony for Girl Scouts. A pretty big deal!

These three have been in the same troop since they were five!

I unfortunately was not able to get any good pictures during the actual ceremony since we were in the back and the zoom on my phone isn't the best.

Evening spent cleaning and rearranging the living room.
Monday (14,146 steps) - Barre. Went to lunch at The Palm to celebrate a new career. Then, A's soccer practice was cancelled because of lightning. On my way to pick her up I got caught in one of the nastiest hail storms Denver has seen - and it severely damaged my car. Can't wait to start the process of getting THAT fixed.

Stats:

• 149,588 steps
• 31.6 miles run
• 3 barre classes and a walk with A

Everything Else:

• I put in my official notice at my job. Well, I had put it in the week before, but this was "for real for real." Bittersweet as I really like my attorneys, but with so many of them leaving the firm I got increasingly concerned about job security. Onward!

Week in Review (April 25 - May 1)

Tuesday (13,600 steps) - Staff appreciation lunch for work. Delicious Mexican food and it was actually kind of a fun time. Briefly was able to walk around the science fair with A before heading to gymnastics. The kids did a great job with their projects!

Wednesday (21,107 steps) - Barre sculpt. I had remembered from the one class I took months ago that it was VERY squat/lunge heavy, but wow, I must have blocked out just HOW hard it was. Sweating buckets 15 minutes into it.

Denver run club after work. A brisk and windy 4.7 miles with Mo - her longest training run since last summer!

Thursday (14,803 steps) - Belmar run club. Mo, Colfax and I did another run/walk of just over 3 miles. Rocko's after.

Friday (9,184 steps) - Nothing.
Saturday (31,707 steps) - Westminster Trail half marathon.

FREEZING when I finally got done so we went home to shower before treating ourselves to brunch at Torchy's. Nothing else.

Sunday (17,649 steps) - Barre with a new-to-me instructor that I did NOT like. A and I had decided to go to the History museum, NOT knowing that it was a free day. Holy cow was it packed! (It was especially annoying since we had a free pass anyway). We went to the new Vikings exhibit and sadly, I was a little unimpressed (especially since they charge extra for these special exhibits).

"Trails" and Ales out of Green Mountain Brewery. Due to all the moisture we had to move the run off the trails to Bear Creek trail - I'd never been over there so it was nice. Mostly walked but did run some flats/downhills.

Had a dark IPA (which I didn't think I would like, but it turned out to be fine). Home LATE.
Monday (10,927 steps) - Nada.

Stats:

• 118,977 steps
• 24.1 miles run
• 2 barre classes (but one was sculpt and that should get bonus points!)

Westminster Trail half marathon (race recap)

Saturday, April 29
Westminster, CO
Half Marathon #162
Weather - Cold, windy, snowy

While the 10 day forecast always had snow in the forecast I was optimistic that the weather-people would be wrong. Fair to think that... they have been wrong a LOT lately. However, the snow started falling right on cue as I was getting home Friday night.

The Westminster trail race start only being about 10 minutes from our house we didn't need to get up until about 6:30 - and even then, we were parked with about 50 minutes until the start. Picking up our packets was very quick. As an ambassador/season pass holder, all my stuff was pre-packed and ready with no wait. A only had to wait a few minutes for her stuff.

We sat in the car until about 10 minutes until my race was supposed to start (and even then, I only got out of the car so I could use the bathroom). Met up with Francesca, Lisa and Becky and lined up towards the back. A's race started 10 minutes after ours did and she saw us off.

Kristen and I started together and although I felt super crappy and tired, the first hour ticked by with conversation. We (and by we, I mean I) had to take quite a few walk breaks, especially within the first two miles. It was about 30 degrees and lightly snowing. Not the worst I've ever run in, but certainly not ideal. Kristen dropped me around the 5 mile mark, which was fine, I was running pretty poorly. I did start to feel better after the second aid station around mile 5.5 and ran fairly decently through the turnaround. 

By the way back the wind had picked up and the moisture had made the trails really muddy. Like super muddy. I was having some cramping and was very glad that the city has put in a permanent port-o-potty that I would hit around mile 10. Shortly before arriving there I saw a giant coyote running across the trail. He seemed to be enjoying the weather. I felt much better after stopping and ran... ok until about mile 11.

The small loop around the lake was crazy muddy and slick. A bulk of that section I couldn't even run, and at one point I almost lost my shoe!! The wind really picked up the last mile and the snow became the weird pellet snow that stung my face. I did not enjoy the last part of the race.

I was a tad disappointed to have finished a little slower than last year, although keeping mind I did use the bathroom this year AND trail conditions were much worse. So, meh. Probably a pretty comparable run. (Comparing my mile splits from this year to last year, I actually ran a much stronger second half this time, even though I did have to stop).

Met up with A, Kristen and Becky and waited until Lisa and Francesca crossed the finish line and the scurried out pretty quickly.

Official time - 2:31:18
Overall place - 78/101
Gender place - 41/61
Division place - 15/17
Mile 1 - 11:25
Mile 2 - 11:56
Mile 3 - 11:31
Mile 4 - 11:07
Mile 5 - 11:01
Mile 6 - 10:56
Mile 7 - 10:50
Mile 8 - 11:53
Mile 9 - 11:10
Mile 11 - 13:07 (bathroom)
Mile 12 - 11:54
Mile 13 - 11:18
Mile 13.2 - 10:13

A had an INCREDIBLE race - she got a PR of about 3 minutes in these horrible conditions!

Official time - 1:04:22
Overall place - 54/94
Gender place - 28/59
Division place - 1/1

Thoughts:

• This is not the most interesting route, especially since it is in my own backyard. Since it's not shaded at all, the weather was actually preferable to a nice sunny day, and the weather made it... interesting.
• It's a bit of a stretch to call this race a "trail race," although there are dirt sections, it's best to look at this as an "urban" trail. 
• The medal is huge, and the post race "party" is awesome. (Although, no beer at this one - per city rules, and the party was a bit of a bust due to the crappy weather. We were given about a dozen Noosa samples, so it wasn't a total loss).
• Other than the FYCO "races" that A put on, this was my first half since the first week of February?!