Week in Review (August 21 - August 27)

Tuesday (6,005 steps) - Nada. Nothing.
Wednesday (22,589 steps) - PF Core & 260 Strength before work. Traffic was awful, but we still made it to Boulder for our run.

Even though my weird stalker guy showed up we had a fun time, and even went to JT's house for a bit for some croquet.

Thursday (21,458 steps) - A didn't want to run, so I went alone to the Runners Edge trail run at Dakota Ridge / Matthews Winter. It was hard as hell, not sure I would have gone had I realized what our route was. I was so far in back it was truly pathetic. We barely got done before it got dark. Super late by the time I got home.

Friday (12,002 steps) - Work REI to pick up new rain pants for A and the grocery store.

And I ran into Junko - picking up a new hiking pack for her climb up Mont Blanc after UTMB!

Saturday (31,884 steps) - Up crazy early for Runners Edge to set up our aid station. Still not really following a training plan, but decided on 14 miles. Hilly route in Aurora/Parker, but it wasn't terrible.

We stopped at Berkeley Park on the way home and I picked up a new pair of Hokas and some socks, got lunch at Torchy's and then spent the afternoon doing nothing. Our big excitement came when the police knocked on our door at 8 pm. Apparently someone requested a welfare check on A. So that was fun.
Sunday (7,409 steps) - Slept in. Went to the store to pick up eggs and donuts. Made breakfast and then we watched TV, cleaned the house and packed for Montana. Around 2:30 we went over to Jessa's house for a bit. Ate some food and watched the newer It movie. More TV at home, bed early.
Monday (16,930 steps) - PF Core & 360 Strength. Oof! Finally made it back over to New Terrain after work. It was blissfully cloud, AND I was going to try out the new Hoka Speedgoats before the weekend's run. I actually didn't feel terrible, but my pace says otherwise. Stuck around for a drink on the patio with Paula, John, Lisa & Annette before heading home.

Stats:

• 118,277 steps
• 32.2 miles run
• 2 hours at the gym
• Current weight - 123.6

Week in Review (August 14 - August 20)

Tuesday (12,805 steps) - Went to the Denver Roost for the run and subsequent book launch with Kara Goucher and Emelie Forsberg.

It was kinda raining for the run, but it wasn't that bad, and much cooler than it has been lately. I didn't buy either of the books, but A still got her picture with both of them.

Wednesday (21,368 steps) - Core and PF360 Strength classes before work. Then up to Runners Roost Boulder for the weekly trail run. I ran with Jeremiah most of the time, but it was definitely a struggle. Crazy, I haven't even been running much.

Thursday (13,581 steps) - First day of school for A! I was happy to hear that she had a good day, I was a tad apprehensive about her attending a new school where she didn't know but a handful of kids.

Belmar run club after. I ran with Mo and Colfax and it was pretty terrible. The air quality has been awful with all the fires and both of us were tired. Meh.

Friday (12,017 steps) - Hm. Today happened, and I don't remember anything other than grocery shopping and vacuuming.
Saturday (30,317 steps) - Long run with Runners Edge! I still don't have a training plan, so I decided I would do 10 miles. It wasn't terrible.

We had a tasty breakfast at Duffyroll before heading home to shower and then driving up to Leadville to spectate.

Traffic was wretched because of the Colorado Classic and it rained for half the drive. We had a great time hanging out with everyone at the Roost tent at Twin Lakes, even though we got there too late to see most people.

Our New Balance rep Andrew Letheby (a 2:09 marathoner!) running his first 100! (He ended up in 22nd place overall!)

We had dinner in Leadville with Mary, Steve & Sandy, which was a blast.

Headed over to the finish line in time to watch Rob win. It was a pretty fun visit, we need to stay the whole weekend next time.

By the time we got home it was LATE.
Sunday (16,075 steps) - We both really wanted to sleep in. I don't think we were up until nearly 10. We went out for breakfast and then sat around watching TV. Headed over to North Table for a "biggish" loop - it was mostly cloudy, which made it pretty bearable.

Dinner, TV & bed. Wow, we are exciting people!
Monday (8,488 steps) - Core and PF360 Strength classes. After I picked up A from Scouts we went to Berekely for the UTMB panel. Ugh, so inspiring, yet soooo out of my league. Another late night.

Stats:

• 114,651 steps
• 29.1 miles run
• 2 hours of cross training

Week in Review (August 7 - August 13)

Tuesday (6,498 steps) - Not even sure what happened today that I managed to move so little. I do know that I picked up A at Sonya's house after work and then we went to Kristin's house for a "100 celebration." I was beyond impressed that she made pizza(s) in the shape of 100! So cool!

Wednesday (23,008 steps) - Core and PF360 Strength classes again. My abs were actually sore from the class I took on Monday, so the gym is doing exactly what I had hoped! Both classes felt a lot harder today. It's been a while since I got out of my comfort zone. Runners Roost Boulder!

For the first time, my friend Liz (gal I met in Chattanooga, that has since moved to Boulder-ish area) came to run club! It was hot and sunny, but still a fun run (even though my right ankle was still sore).

After, we had a cool presentation by Dave Mackey - enjoyable evening!

Thursday (10,951 steps) - Went to Berkeley Park. No running, but we did do a walk around one of the lakes before the presentation with folks about DNF'ing at Leadville. Another fun night, although we ended up being there a bit later than I would have liked for a weeknight.

Friday (14,920 steps) - Dropped A off for camp on my way to work. Walked on the treadmill after work to get my steps for the day, otherwise, watch a movie and went to bed early-ish.

Saturday (39,012 steps) - Run the Rockies half marathon!

Once I got home, I took a shower and then tried to take a nap for a few hours before heading to Dulce's house for the "Taco Bout 5K." It was approximately one million degrees by the time we headed out. Zach, Dulce, Mo, Colfax & I all stuck together for most of the run. Collected our nifty medals at the end.

Stuck around for a single margarita and a tortilla-less taco before heading to Yak & Yeti to meet Jessa for dinner. Had a good time with Jessa, her cousin and son before we went back to her house for a nightcap. Latest I've been out in ages, didn't get home until 11!

Sunday (7,727 steps) - As much as I love being active, I also really enjoy doing NOTHING! Stayed in bed late (like 9:30?) and then watched a movie. I was also productive - I vacuumed, cleaned the kitchen & did laundry. Picked up A at Jan's house, then finished cleaning and organizing stuff that I had been putting off since last summer. We went to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner, then stopped at Home Depot on the way home so I could get a curtain rod for my medals. I finally ran out of wall space and figured I didn't need to spend so much money on actual medal hangars. It came out pretty nice, and was a LOT cheaper.

Monday (13,905 steps) - Core and PF360 Strength classes! It's so hard to believe that simple circuits are such good exercise, but I certainly feel it! Skipped our weekly trail run because it was BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT. A is going into middle school (7th grade) and it was a chaotic adventure trying to find her locker and classrooms. It's going to be an interesting year for sure.

Stats:

• 116,021 steps
• 24.1 miles run
• 2 hours at the gym

Run the Rockies half marathon (Race Recap)

Saturday, August 11
Frisco, CO
Half Marathon #182
Weather - Perfect!

Even though I knew I would not be recovered from Burning River, I wanted to run this one again. This would be the third year in a row up in Frisco running the "Run the Rockies" trail half marathon. I definitely think this is one of the prettiest courses I have run, and the low price tag doesn't hurt.

Thanks to previous blog posts, I knew that if I arrived by 7 I would be there in plenty of time for the 8:00 start and I'd have a good parking spot. I got up at 5:15 and was out the door by 5:40, arriving right at 7, and once again was able to park in the closest lot.

I signed my waiver and picked up my bib and goodie bag (first time for this!) and then sat in the car and ate my pop tart. I used the port-o-potties a few times and chatted with Tom, Lynette, Donna and Randy prior to the start.

Pre-race!

Tom insisted that he wanted to run a few miles with me, which was a bit intimidating, since I know 1. how fast he is, and 2. how much this was going to hurt after running 100M only two weeks earlier.

The race started on time-ish (maybe a minute or two after 8). Tom and I started towards the middle of the pack, and I worked pretty hard to keep my pace down. We would run the first quarter mile or so on paved multi-use path before heading onto the trail. The first few miles are mostly flat and not too technical. Donna ended up leading the pack on this section near the lake. It didn't seem fast to me at the time, although comparing splits to last year, I ran this much faster. I was able to run the first two miles all the way to the road at the campground without walking! I knew the harder sections were yet to come.

I grabbed some water and a couple of gummy bears before heading back out. We moved onto the more rooted single track, and most of us stumbled over roots. Randy was the only one to actually fall here, but he scraped up his knees and kept on.

One of my favorite sections, although I spent nearly two miles right behind this guy

Donna was still leading the pack and the pace was mostly easy and I was feeling ok until we exited the trees and got to the more exposed section with climbing.

Even though it wasn't that warm (temperature-wise), the sun was H-O-T. Until about mile 6 I was doing fine. Then my legs decided they were done. Which was unfortunate since I had half the race left. I tried to enjoy myself and ran whenever/wherever I could. I was a bit sad that my legs were SO exhausted that I couldn't even blaze the downhills.

I was really happy when we got back to the campground. As much as I like this course, I was ready to be done. Tom still wanted me to lead so he knew when I was walking, and somewhere around 11.5 miles in I tripped over a root that I didn't see and went flying. First fall all summer! Run walk to the finish, and I was pretty pleased to have finished only a minute slower than last year! Taking out the fall and I probably could have been faster. Since Lynette ran the 10K, she was done already and got some pictures of Tom and I heading into the finish.

Official Time - 2:53:04
Division Place - 17/22
Garmin Time - 2:52:54
Garmin Distance - 12.92 miles
Garmin Pace - 13:23 (last year was 13:21!)
Elevation Gain - 984'
Mile 1 - 11:13
Mile 2 - 12:09
Mile 3 - 13:39
Mile 4 - 14:12
Mile 5 - 14:04
Mile 6 - 15:27
Mile 7 - 13:19
Mile 8 - 12:39
Mile 9 - 15:20
Mile 10 - 11:34
Mile 11 - 14:21
Mile 12 - 13:24
Mile 12.9ish - 12:36

Immediately I headed to the day lodge so I could clean up from my fall, then got my pizza and beer. Like years past, stuck around for a while after talking to everyone. I'll be back next year!

Thoughts:

• You really get a lot of "bang for your buck" with this race. I registered the end of March and it was only $40. No additional fees. You get a shirt (this year is a soft cotton again), and for the first time we had "medals" (it's a "three in one" - medal, coaster & bottle opener). Last year and the year before we got pint glasses.
• There are four aid stations for the half marathon, which is plenty. I ran with a handheld again and was fine.
• The view are A-MAZING. I will for sure be back next year, it's so pretty!! I wasn't really able to get as many pictures this year, mainly because I was with the "pack" more, so it was harder being on single track.