Snow Mountain Ranch 33k (Race Recap)

Saturday, September 12

Granby, CO

Weather - Partly cloudy and cool

I had some credits from deferring my Coldwater entry a while back AND from volunteering, so I decided to run Snow Mountain ranch for the 7th (!) time, although this would be my first time running anything other than the half marathon AND the first time running under Aravaipa and not ERS. Since I figured I could use a longer run as training for my last big race of the year, I went for the 33k, thinking I didn't really want to run another 50k this year.

Race Day

I always drive up in the morning and had planned on doing the same this year. Ben wanted to go with me, which was fine since it was a lot darker driving up for an 8 am start! Got there with enough time to get my bib and cycle through the bathroom line a few times. Ran into Stella and Anita and Ben got a picture of us at the start.

Ben also likes a selfie before race starts:

Historically, one of my favorite things about this race is the fall colors. The race seemingly was earlier this year, so not as many yellow/oranges, but still so pretty and MUCH cooler than we have been in Denver.

The gun went off right at 8 and I started in the back, like I always do. It had been a few years since I had last run, but the course has been pretty similar over the years and I thought I knew exactly where I would be going. Up the hill, to the right. So far so good. I was surprised to see an aid station about 2/3 of a mile in - seemingly not necessary at all, but I would find out later why it was probably placed there.

For the whole first mile I was vying for DFL with a couple other people. By the time we got to the flatter grassy field area I was comfortably in second to last place. Got to the road and thought I knew where we would be going - I was wrong. Up a dirt road. 

I really needed to use the bathroom, so I was happy to see that the permanent bathrooms near the first "real" aid station were open. I had to backtrack to go over the timing mat, but off I went. In the time it took me to use the bathroom I was back to being DFL. OK! I have work to do. We are going up a road that I swear we normally come down and suddenly I don't know where the course goes. 

I didn't even think to look at the course map, so I have no idea long the climb is. I can fast hike though, and I pass a few people. At some point I see 50k runners coming down a different road - including Carol! Continue up... seemingly miles in and then finally the trail levels out. I finally was able to pass the old guy that got past me when I was in the bathroom on the downhill. There was one section where the markings were not clear of where to go and I think I only chose correctly because I'd previously run the half here (SIX TIMES). 

We moved over by the reservoir and I was surprised to NOT see an aid station at that location (would have made more sense than where the one was at less than a mile in). Passed quite a few people on this climb/descent, but I think those might have been 10k runners?

The rest of the course was similar to me - run close to the finish line, aid station (I did not stop) and then up the hill (saw Carol again) and by the shooting range. Then the loop on the backside.

Thankfully the grass was NOT long in this section. I passed another few people in here and I was headed back to the start/finish area. For some reason the bottles in my pack were driving me NUTS and I couldn't wait to drop by empty one. I saw Ben when I was running up the hill to the timing mat, but he didn't seem to hear or see me. I finally threw the empty in his direction and told  him I was leaving it because it was pissing me off.

At this point I would have been happy to be done, having completed roughly the half marathon. I knew it was a shorter loop this time and kinda thought I would just be doing the 10k loop. Did NOT like having to do that lower grass section again. This picture of the cabin really shows how little the leaves have changed so far!

I was just trying to run as much as possible as I didn't want to get passed by anyone. Up by the shooting range and the grassy loop again - UGH I CANNOT WAIT TO BE DONE. 

Ben was at the finish line with Olive and since there wasn't anyone coming up directly behind me in the  chute, he let go of the leash and Olive was OVERJOYED to see me. Love this sequence of pictures.

We went to sit at the picnic tables right after I crossed the line. I was TOAST.

Official Time - 4:23:27

Overall Place - 20/31

Gender Place - 10/18

Garmin Time - 4:23:21 (pretty darn close to official)

Garmin Distance - 19.41 miles

Garmin Pace - 13:34

Elevation Gain - 2,456' (up to almost 10,000!)

Run Time - 3:14:03

Walk Time - 1:08:33

Idle Time - 0:45!! only my bathroom stop - otherwise I was always moving

Miles 1-5 - 13:05, 13:56, 15:53, 16:40, 15:36

Miles 6-10 - 12:10, 10:57, 11:08, 12:23, 12:32

Miles 11-15 - 13:31, 14:04, 13:03, 13:34, 14:16

Miles 16-19.4 - 13:18, 13:39, 13:40, 14:53, 12:20

Thoughts:

• I really like this race overall, but didn't love the extra mileage/distance of the 33k. I would likely do again (one of my favorite fall races), but would go back to "just" doing the half marathon - that is plenty.
• I am sure the aid stations were fine, but I did not stop at a single one of them. I had filled two 600ml flasks before the race started and did not need to top off at all, with the cooler temps I had enough fluids, although I did run out right at the end.
• Course markings were "mostly" good, but there were a few intersections where key markings I think were lacking. Had I not run this before I could see where it might be confusing. Apparently the website said the 33k would be over 20 miles but I got 19.4 (which is what official tracking also listed).
• Saw photographers, my pics are horrific, will not be purchasing (as an aside, pictures used to be free under the previous organization).
• Gear used - UltrAspire Zygos 5.0, INKnBURN skirt, rabbit deflector with a rabbit EZ tee over. Rabbit socks and Mount to Coast H1 shoes. LMNT added to my water and the only calories I had on course was 3-4 Hi-Chew. (I did eat before the race, but I just wasn't hungry during it).
• I would recommend this race overall.

Week in Review (September 8 - September 14)

Tuesday (13,883 steps) - Peloton ride and Olive walk before going to work in office. Went to the gym at lunch and did some strength training and treadmill walking. 

Ben had dinner ready when I got home, which was nice. Took Olive for a walk before settling down for the evening. 

Wednesday (19,336 steps) - Walk with Olive and Ben before going to work. I had a workout to do at lunch, but it was an easier one. Not bad at all! 

Took Olive for another walk when I got home. Ben got held up in a meeting so he had food delivered. Yum!!

Lioness? Cannot remember what we ended up watching.

Thursday (18,357 steps) - Took Olive for a walk to the lake.

I only had a short run to do, so I got it done early. 

Took Olive to her grooming appointment. They were a lot quicker this time around, but we were sad that she didn't get hair bows this time. Also, her ears seem to be a little uneven - still adorable. Hoping it helps with all her itching recently. 

Over lunch she wanted to go on another long walk, so back to the lake we went. After work we went to Torchy's for dinner. Maybe this was the night that we started Yellowjackets. I have already seen all the episodes that are currently out, but since we are out of things to watch I suggested we watch this so I don't have to find time to watch when the last season comes out in November. 

Friday (15,659 steps) - Ben joined me and Olive for a walk to the lake before work. It was a really nice morning!

Took her for a walk at lunch - definitely warm.

Took Olive for a walk. Ben ordered Dominos for dinner. Yellowjackets?

Saturday (47,181 steps) - Snow Mountain Ranch 33k (recap to follow).

We stopped in Winter Park at Wake N' Bacon for brunch on our way home. Food was pretty good and Olive was allowed on the patio. There was a little bit of rain and we both were wearing long sleeves, but seemingly fall is on the way!

Took a shower and then walked Olive around the block. Leftover pizza for dinner. We were hoping to watch the new Fall 2, but it's not out yet. We settled on Alien: Romulus. Kinda cheesy, but I've seen worse.

Sunday (15,015 steps) - Did some things around the house before going to Boulder for our normal Sunday hike. 

Stopped at Runners Roost to 1). try to exchange my socks (which they wouldn't do because I didn't have a receipt) and 2). to try on the new Mount to Coast M1s. I would have bought but they apparently don't do a team discount on them, so I will wait and decide. We went to Resolute on the way home. I got a Ziggi's shaken pumpkin espression and Ben got us some Filipino food. Was pretty tasty.

Took Olive for a walk. Lioness new episode and then part of a Yellowjackets.

Monday (17,139 steps) - Walked Olive to the lake.

Went for my run relatively early since there was a chance of rain in the forecast. Spoiler, we got no rain. Run was good!

Blah day, but at least I was at home! Took Olive for a walk at lunch. We went to Costco when I got off work so I could get my glasses fixed. I really need to get a new prescription soon. Made dinner and then Yellowjackets. Glad I am re-watching this, there is a lot of new things I am noticing and things I had forgotten. 

Stats:

• 146,570 steps
• 34.41 miles run
• 17.82 miles walked
• 20 minutes of cardio
• 20 minutes of strength
• 0 minutes of sauna

Week in Review (September 1 - September 7)

Tuesday (11,024 steps) - Slow Peloton ride before Ben and I took Olive for a walk and going to work. Traffic was the worst it's been in a VERY long time - it took me almost 90 minutes to go about 13 miles. SO ANNOYING. Took an early lunch to do a quick interview and get the rest of my workout in. StairMaster and some strength training. 

I had a lingering stomach ache that held on for the better part of the day, so I didn't eat a thing until about 3:00. I was really tired when I got home so skipped another walk with Olive. Ben ordered in Chili's for dinner and I barely ate any of my food, hoping to save for when I was hungry again. 

Criminal Minds.

Wednesday (26,491 steps) - Opted to work from home since my stomach was still off. Took Olive for a walk to the lake before starting work. 

I had a workout on schedule and planned on bailing if my stomachache continued. Somehow, the run was actually fine, fast repeats/tempo is SO HARD. 

Managed to actually eat lunch and took Olive for a quick later lunch walk. After I got off work Ben and I both went to North Table for another night of trail work. A much bigger group this week, and we got a ton of work done. 

They actually had pizza from Blue Pan for us after, and some NA beverages. We got home with enough time to relax a bit, finishing up the latest season of Criminal Minds and starting the next episode of Lioness. 

Thursday (17,554 steps) - Once again I had to get up early for a run. I opted to run on the south side, thinking a tiny flashlight would be enough light. It was actually fine running on the wider trail closest to the lake, but I had to pull out my light for the less maintained stuff higher up. I was a bit surprised at how slow my pace was (yes, I was running easy) because it felt like I was moving well, but maybe that's just because it was so dark, haha. 

Took Olive for a walk before heading to work in the office. The last mandatory meeting at lunch, yay! 

I was busy most of the day closing files but still was able to get out for a short walk. Did a delivery on the way home and then we went to Torchy's for dinner. I was a bit surprised Ben didn't want to do anything different for his birthday! 

The card is from his mom and is HILARIOUS

Ben's gift from me is the fox!

Finished the episode of Lioness and then watched an episode of Reacher.

Friday (20,946 steps) - I planned to work from home, so I took Olive for a walk to the lake before clocking in. After lunch we headed up to Loveland for our weekend of volunteering at FRUD. We set up camp and went to get a late lunch/early dinner at CJ's. 

Puppy burger for Olive!

We heard the bear was still in the area occasionally, so we walked up by where he had been earlier, but we didn't see it. Sad. Spent most of the night hanging out at the camper enjoying the sunset.

Saturday (34,153 steps) - Initially I had told Ben I was going to get up at like 4 in the morning to get my run in before the heat, but that didn't happen. I had some coffee and managed to get started a little before 8 am. It was warm, but not as bad as I thought. It was actually a pretty nice run and I ran a few of the other ponds in the area - some had more shade than others. 

After I finished Ben and I took Olive for a walk - still no bear. I changed clothes and we went into town to get brunch at AKA - I got French toast and it was REALLY good! 

We had a little time before our volunteer shift and I spent it reading my book. 

It was very hot, but we kept the runners happy with a variety of popsicles. Terri was volunteering with us and time went by pretty quick. We hung out with Larry and Jandy after finishing, as well as other runners. I was exhausted after our shift was done, but we stayed up chatting for a bit before bed.

Sunday (25,615 steps) - Groundhog day. I had a run to do again, but didn't get up and out the door as early. Once again, it was still warm, but not horrible. Random loops again for about a 10k total. Faster than yesterday and I think that was because I ran for a bit with Caolan, who is much faster than I am. Took Olive for another walk, a bit longer this time - still no bear. Drove into town to get lunch and the first place we went only allowed dogs on the patio and there was not enough shade, so we left. We found the brewery we had gone last year that allowed dogs inside, but had to walk around in town a bit to kill time before they opened. I got a huge cookie to eat later. 

Lunch was chicken sandwiches at Verboten.

Volunteering was the same afternoon shift, and things had definitely slowed down a bit. More popsicles to keep runners happy. After days of horrific heat, we finally got a little rain towards the end of our shift. We got back to the camper right before the skies opened up and we had a monsoon of rain. It was bad enough that when it broke for just a few minutes Olive and I went into the camper because we were getting pelted with sideways rain - even under the canopy!

Monday (19,004 steps) - We hung out for a bit at the start early in the morning and my run got put off EVEN LATER. I only had an easy 45ish minutes and this was also a pretty fast run. 

VERY humid after all the rain. We got all our things packed up and went back to the start/finish for a bit to help out and chat with runners before heading towards home. We wanted to go to 300 Suns, but they were apparently closed for Labor Day. We went to 4 Noses because we planned on getting burgers from the food truck, but that was ALSO closed, so we had pizza delivered for lunch. I took Olive for a walk, unpacked, showered - which included Olive getting cleaned, etc. Watched a pretty terrible movie, The Runner, on Amazon and the most recent Reacher episode. Where on earth did the weekend go?

Stats:

• 154,787 steps
• 29.53 miles run
• 18.07 miles walked
• 50 minutes of cardio
• 20 minutes of strength
• 0 minutes of sauna