Backcountry Wilderness Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Highlands Ranch, CO

Saturday, November 2

Half Marathon #196

Weather - Sunny, nice

For the last few years, I hit October and I dream about running shorter races again. I happened to post on Facebook asking what races everyone had coming up. I still want to hit 200 (official) lifetime half marathons - a task that's been moving at a snails pace over the last few years since I only have been running one or two a year. I remembered that I'd run Backcountry again, and signed up to run again (right before a price increase) and convinced Jandy, Christina, and eventually Ben, to also sign up.

Race Day

This was my 7th time running the race. I told Ben we needed to leave by 7:15 because I wanted to be parked by 8 since we still had to get our bibs and I'd need to use the bathroom, etc. We headed out on time, but had to turn back shortly after leaving because I forgot my sunglasses. No one wants to listen to me complain because I forgot those!

We still arrived shortly after 8 am and parked almost exactly where I had parked last year. We immediately headed over to get our bibs and saw Jandy along the way. We were in line for our bibs when Christina joined us. Had to head back to the car to drop off our swag and get our packs. Ben was taking forever so I left him at the truck so I could get in the bathroom line - which ended up taking a decent amount of time.

We got some pictures at the start and finally found Ben. I told him that he should go into an earlier wave since he is definitely faster than we are. None of us had a wave number on the back of our bibs, so we ended up jumping into the 4th wave. I had hoped to have "at least as good" a race as last year - when I race right after Katy. Probably 6 or 7 minutes into the race, however, I could tell it was going to be a long day.

I had to take my first walk break relatively early. The pace wasn't even that fast, but I was breathing insanely hard and my heart rate felt really fast. Christina and Jandy got ahead of me pretty early. I definitely had plans to just hang on. We ran within a close proximity for a few miles. Sean was photographing again and got a ton of pictures of us somewhere between maybe 2 and 3 miles in.

Christina fell back at some point around the first aid station (which I can't remember what mile that was). Jandy and I stayed together for probably at leas 6-7 miles. At some point I had to stop and take off my long sleeve layer because I was soooo hot. I ended up losing Jandy on the big climb (that I thankfully remembered from last year). 

This race kicks my ass every time! I stopped at the aid station when I got to the road and hoped to run it in, but I was just so tired. I did a lot of run/walk (no set intervals). Knowing the last mile was all downhill helped. 

I ran the whole last mile for my fastest pace of the race. I saw Ben near the finish line and he was poised with his phone to take pictures. I remember shouting "I don't especially want my grimace coming into this last hill."

Definitely was disappointed with the time on this one. Out of all the years that I have run, this was actually my slowest. I have had a few big races recently, so trying to cut myself some slack. 

Official Time - 2:52:32

Overall Place - 387/453

Division Place - 39/53

Garmin Time - 2:52:42

Garmin Pace - 13:09

Elevation Gain - 1,333'

Mile 1 - 12:43

Mile 2 - 13:09

Mile 3 - 13:48

Mile 4 - 12:07

Mile 5 - 12:00

Mile 6 - 13:13

Mile 7 - 14:24

Mile 8 - 14:57

Mile 9 - 14:48

Mile 10 - 13:36

Mile 11 - 13:06

Mile 12 - 12:54

Mile 13 - 10:35

Mile 13.13 pace - 10:20

We found where to get our finisher mugs and I filled mine up with water. For some reason, I thought chocolate milk might taste good, but it was weird to drink. Saw Jandy coming in and ran to get pictures of her crossing, and Christina was just a few minutes behind her.

We stayed at the finish line for a bit talking. Somehow we all forgot to get the pancakes though. 

Thoughts:

• I have run this event a lot, and I will likely run it again next year. It's well organized, relatively inexpensive, and good swag.

Week in Review (October 29 - November 4)

Tuesday (13,378 steps) - Olive walk before going to work in the office. Quick StairMaster, climbing Big Ben.

Also did a full body workout and stretching. Apparently today was National Candy Corn Day. Unknowingly, I wore my candy cane shorts.

Took Olive for a walk when I got home from work. Enjoying fall and daylight while it is still around :(

Made burrito bowls for dinner and watched Murders - sadly, it was the season finale!

Wednesday (14,346 steps) - Olive walk before going to work. Strength training and stretching at lunch. Pretty sure we watched one of the last Friday the 13th movies, but won't get them all done before Halloween.

Thursday (18,260 steps) - Work from home. Went for my run and it seemed really sunny and hot. Felt pretty good though.

Temperatures were a bit cooler for Olive's walk. Since it was Halloween, she wore her costume.

We went to Kristin's for dinner and Trick or Shot. It was pretty chilly after the sun set and I had to convince Ben to get out of there around 7:45. It was nice sitting on the couch and watching another Friday the 13th.

Friday (14,669 steps) - Wash Park with Olive and the gang! Chilly, but a nice sunrise. I wore my new North Face puffer mittens and my hands didn't get crazy cold. (Of course winter isn't actually HERE yet, either).

When I got to the office, I set up my winter lights. NO, they are not CHRISTMAS lights. Backstory - I bought Ariel lights to decorate her door and dorm room for Halloween and was jealous, so I got some fun lights for my desk.

Meanwhile, Olive had to suffer through another boring day at work.

We went to Torchy's for dinner since we missed our standing Thursday visit because of Halloween. There was not a taco of the month so I tried the quesadilla plate, which was decent.

Took Olive for a walk when we got home. Sad to see the Halloween decorations are coming down so soon.

Saturday (39,769 steps) - Backcountry Wilderness half marathon, recap to come.

Took Olive for a walk when I got home while Ben went to the library to vote. (Long story, but our mail carrier didn't deliver his ballot, and apparently election mail cannot be forwarded, so he had to vote in person). Olive had her grooming appointment, so we had lunch next door at Four Noses while we waited for her to be finished. The BBQ was a new-to-us food truck and it was delicious!

Olive's haircut turned out great!

Maybe this was the night we started the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series?

Sunday (13,838 steps) - Stupid time change. We were up before our alarms. Got ready and headed out to get coffee and pick Ariel up. We headed over to Runners Roost in Golden for our end-of-year race team gettogether. 

I had promised no running (not that I wanted to anyway), so we planned on a walk/hike. Jeannene and Ollie joined us for a loop up/around South Table. 

There was coffee and snacks at the store, we planned to go out to breakfast so we only had the coffee. After the "party" was done we went to Table Mountain Inn for food. Thankfully they had an enclosed patio that Olive was allowed on.

Breakfast was DELICIOUS, and the portions were HUGE.

We dropped Ariel off at home and then headed back north. Ben went out to run some errands and I took Olive for a walk and then did some driving. Another Nightmare on Elm Street.

Monday (15,829 steps) - Work from home. It was CHILLY since we had received a small amount of snow overnight. I needed to run and walk Olive and put it off ALL MORNING. By the time I braved walking Olive it was nearly 11:30 and it was overcast and brisk. I got dressed for my run and nearly headed out completely overdressed. The sun came out and it wasn't bad at all. 

It seems the new trailhead at the library is nearly complete! I haven't run by here in a bit.

Planned to do some driving after work but only got one offer so I met Ben at Parry's for dinner.

We took Olive for a quick walk when we got home. Can definitely feel the cold weather rolling in, this was chilly! We watched "Nightmare on Elm Street 3" and I fell asleep at the end. Bed just after 9 pm?? I don't remember the time change affecting me so badly in years past.

Stats:

• 130,089 steps
• 23.34 miles run
• 18.67 miles walked
• 8 minutes of cardio
• 80 minutes of strength

Backcountry Wilderness Trail 1/2 Marathon (Race Recap)

Highlands Ranch, CO

Saturday, November 4

Half Marathon #193

Weather - Perfect!

I had signed up for this race a few months ago, back when running a half marathon a week after a 225 mile race sounded like a good idea. (Haha). Ben was able to pick up my packet a few days early at Living the Dream since it's literally right behind his office. It was nice that he did that because reading my previous race reports, this probably saved a TON of time. 

Following my coach's instructions, I hadn't run all week. I had grabbed brand new shoes and figured what's the worst that can happen?

Race Day

I had actually slept decent and got up on time and headed out the door right at 7:30, hoping to arrive and be parked by 8:15. I didn't even bother trying to get in the closer lot, and parked at the end of an aisle so I would be able to find my car easier. As I was walking towards the start I texted Jandy to let her know that I had arrived. I found her without any issues, and walked back to her car so she could drop off her swag bag. From there, we headed BACK to the start area and got in a bathroom line. By the time all that was done, there was only about 10 minutes to the start. We had found Janet as well, and for some reason I was the only one that had a corral listed on the back of my bib, so we all decided to start in my corral, 7.

I think it's great they do the corrals to break up the runners since there are seemingly a thousand people participating. In reality, when I checked results later, there were something around 670 finishers.

The race started at 9, but our wave was maybe 8-9 minutes after. Jandy and I had planned to run together, and I think I stuck with her for... 2/3 of a mile. That was fine with me, I definitely didn't want her slowing down for me. Pretty sure I made it at least a mile before I had to walk for the first time.

Photo: Sean McNeil

There was a long hill towards a road crossing where they had a port-o-potty (but not an aid station? I can't remember now). I settled in for what I expected to be a VERY long day. I didn't have to walk a "ton" in this section, but I definitely took some breaks as when we got to the single track there was somewhat of a conga line. 

Janet was running right behind me and we chatted a bit, but mostly I was concentrating on trying to take it easy and running as much as I could. I do remember telling Janet that the course was way more windy (like twisty) than I remembered and it was actually making me feel like I was getting motion sickness.

I know there were a two water stations, but I can't remember the mileage now. It was supposed to be a cup-free race, but they had little paper cups at them. Even though I had my pack I still took extra water.

Things were going seemingly really well until I hit about mile 7.5 That's when all the uphill I didn't remember started. I walked a lot more than I thought I would need to. But I also ran very short sections and did pass people. Especially somewhere right before maybe mile 9? There was some mud (because it was in the shade and it had snowed a week earlier) and people were being weirdly cautious about running through it.

Finally we got to the top, another aid station. This section is not single track, more of a dirt road and I ran a decent amount here. Crossed the road and then we had the long sweeping (gradual uphill) that most races in this area use. 

I passed a lot of people here too, just by running short sections. Finally, maybe around mile 11.5 there was a decently steep hill, but I knew once that was done it was basically all downhill from there. My big toes were burning (I'm sure some residual weirdo stuff from Katy) but I did not allow myself to walk and had my fastest mile of the day (just over 10 minutes, haha). 

There was a sneaky incline to get to the finish, and I was soooo glad to be done (and only a few minutes slower than Jandy). Lisa was volunteering and I got my medal from her, but had to immediately sit down because I felt sick. Jandy and I grabbed our free beers and then headed back to the finish line to watch everyone else come in. 

Photo: Sean McNeil

Official Time - 2:45:56

Official Pace - 12:31

Overall Place - 514/675

Gender Place - 64/103

Garmin Time - 2:44:01

Garmin Distance - 13.14 miles

Elevation Gain - 1,419'

Mile 1- 12:15

Mile 2 - 12:45

Mile 3 - 13:05

Mile 4 - 11:27

Mile 5 - 11:26

Mile 6 - 12:14

Mile 7 - 12:38

Mile 8 - 14:29

Mile 9 - 14:29

Mile 10 - 12:56

Mile 11 - 12:40

Mile 12 - 12:05

Mile 13 - 10:13

Mile 13.14 - 9:43

Thoughts:

• This was my 6th timing running (although I hadn't run since 2017) and I really DO like this race. It's not crazy expensive - I paid $60 a few months out. Swag includes a nice medal, long sleeve shirt, plus we got a soft flask with race logo on it. Finish line has Flappin' Flapjacks (which I LOVE but I wasn't feel up to eating this time) and beer from Living the Dream. 
• This is a challenging trail race with over 1400' of gain, but it's difficulty is the "big" hills being at the end after you have burned out your legs running some of the flats and downs - it is nice with a downhill finish though.
• Race is early November, and the weather is actually usually pretty good. Only the first year I ran (2012) was it snowy and really cold.
• Of note - I wore my new Javelina sun shirt, and I really like fabric - it's different than my other shirts and it kept me nice and cool while protecting my tattoo!
• I was glad to have my pack on me since the aid stations are not especially frequent OR close together.
• Would I recommend and/or run again? Yes and yes.

Week in Review (October 31 - November 6)

Tuesday (12,750 steps) - Work in the office. Somehow, I slept through my alarm and woke up SIX MINUTES before I needed to be at work. I guess that's what true exhaustion does. I can't even remember the last time that happened. Walked on the treadmill at lunch and read my book. After work I took Olive for a walk and then met up with Ben at 4 Noses with Olive (since she was in costume). On the way home we stopped to see Kristin and Doug. Sadly no trick or shot this year, but they still fed us. Awkwardly, Obi and Olive were wearing the same costume.

Wednesday (13,695 steps) - Work in the office. Walked to Target to buy lotion for our tattoos, and then another walk at lunch on the treadmill and read. After work I met up with Ben at Parry's. Since we were solo for dinner, we got food. Yum!

Thursday (11,194 steps) - Work from home. Ariel took me to get coffee. Yum for holiday flavors!! (I don't care that these are barely "coffee," they are delicious.

Took Olive for a walk at lunch. I worked "from bed" in the afternoon and watched a stupid movie and took a nap. Took Olive for another walk after work. Zero recollection of the evening.

Friday (17,116 steps) - Wash Park with the gang. A beautiful sunrise, but just getting into the really chilly days. 

Coffee at Stella's before going into the office. Walked on the treadmill at lunch and read my book. After work headed to Ariel's XC banquet at the school. She got the Heart of the Panther award and was recognized for being a team captain. I had multiple parents come up to me and tell me how appreciated Ariel is and how much of a help she has been to her teammates. 

Ben and I went to Parry's for a beer. Never again on a Friday night - it was SO crowded and loud.

Saturday (36,412 steps) - Up semi early for the Backcountry Wilderness half (recap to follow).

Headed home to take a shower and I had hoped to take a nap, but that didn't work out. Ben and I went to Torchy's for lunch before heading to pick up Tyler for our adventure! First we stopped at Over Yonder for a beer. Their beer is uninteresting, but it was close to our final destination...

Headed up to Red Rocks for the Deadmau5 tickets Tyler got us for Ben's birthday. Tyler was pretty fun in his onesie and a string of lights. (Ben and I were NOT fun), haha.

So I have never been to an EDM concert. There was SO much pot smoke and it was SO loud (but thanks to Ben, I had ear plugs). The openers were fine, but by the time Deadmau5 came on I really wasn't feeling that well. Maybe it was a combination of running long in the morning, the noise, the smoke, and beer, but I felt pretty sick. 

Finally I couldn't take it anymore and I told Ben I needed to leave, so unfortunately we all headed back to the car. I was dizzy and ended up throwing up in the parking lot. There is NO way that I had too much beer, so maybe I was just coming down with something. Sad way to end the night.

Sunday (13,722 steps) - Thankfully I had woken up in the middle of the night and taken ibuprofen, I felt "ok" when I got up. Ben and I went to Dunkin for coffee and breakfast. Did a quick Peloton ride to keep my streak alive and then Ben and I took Olive for a long walk to the library so I could drop off my ballot. We were finally both hungry, so we went to BJ's for lunch.

On the way home we stopped at Costco for groceries - ugh. Then I took Olive for another walk. Daylight savings seems like a nightmare this year. Ben and I watched a few episodes of Homeland but went to bed pretty early because it got dark so early it just seemed late. 

Monday (10,335 steps) - Work from home. Ariel and I went to Dutch Bros. for coffee before she went to school. Picked up my grocery order from King Soopers. Ariel and I went to Costco to get pizza for lunch and she thought it was really funny that I was freezing in my puffy coat and joggers and she was wearing a tank top.

Took Olive for a walk at lunch. Work was really busy all day since I was covering for Nicole and her desk is always insane. Took Olive for another walk after I got off work. Another early night.

Stats:

• 115,224 steps
• 13.14 miles run
• 5 minutes of cardio
• 0 minutes of strength