Colorado Cold Rush Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Colorado Springs, CO

Saturday, December 2

Half Marathon #194

Weather - Chilly, but sunny

If you have been reading a while, you know this blog started because I was racing half marathons in every state. It has/had always been my "favorite" race distance. No matter the level of training I am at, it's always "doable." With that said, I have hardly done ANY in the last 4-5 years as I've graduated into the 200 mile distance (which typically requires my long runs to be even longer than 13 miles). I've only done NINE since the start of 2019. So while I run 13.1+ regular, this would be my 10th "official" half in 5 years! While I have no real goals, I do eventually want to hit 200 lifetime half marathons.

Race Morning

I planned to wake up at 6:15. Christina and Lisa both woke up well before then, and with paper thin walls, I woke up as well, but I was able to go back to sleep. I had re-packed my bag the night before, so really all I had to do was get dressed and braid my hair. It looked like it was going to be a nice day from our hotel room:

We stopped in the lobby to get breakfast on our way out. I grabbed a small, crustless spinach and cheese quiche and a sausage/cheese breakfast sandwich, as well as a few slices of bacon and more coffee. I didn't eat all the food, but I figured I needed decent calories before running. It was about a 15 minute drive to the start. We arrived at the park but didn't really see the race start until we got out and walked over. We hit the bathrooms first and then huddled around the one heater under the pavilion until it was time to start. It was pretty darn cold. I had opted to wear my Rabbit holiday shirt under my Roost team tee, with CVG 5" shorts. I wore my Patagonia R1 over my back so it would be easier to take off when/if I got warm.

We started right at 8, and I was in the back with everyone else. I took the early lead, as it was a fairly runnable start at the beginning. Paved to get out of the park area, and then a wide, non-technical trail. Lisa and Janet passed me somewhere in the first mile. 

I had hoped to run more of the climbs but I knew that it was going to tire my legs out, so I just worked on power hiking. I was leap frogging with a couple of guys and ended up passing them for good when we got to the first area of more single track. Of course in that same section, we all got passed by a half dozen girls that were clearly just out for a leisurely Saturday long run. I finally passed Lisa when we were on the technical single track section, and passed Janet not too long after.

The first aid station was around 3 miles up - I did not stop. We started the big climb up High Drive. I was a bit surprised about the amount of snow on the trail, but it made sense with all the trees that lined the road/trail. While it is called a road, there was a gate that kept it closed for cars.

Somewhere around mile 4 was when I saw Ross - he must have started early. Getting close to the "top" and I was finally starting to get a bit warm, and decided I would probably take my jacket off by the time I got there on the way back. The next mile was a  nice downhill going to the aid station (although of course we would have to go back up on the way back). THANKFULLY, at the turn around aid station there were some bathrooms, but I had to go all the way across the lot to get to them. WORTH IT. 

I got back to the aid station just in time for Janet to head out. I grabbed a small piece of chocolate chip pumpkin bread and a swig of coke (plus an applesauce for later) and headed out. 

The climb back didn't seem as long, and I warmed up quickly in the sun. I passed Janet towards the top and took my jacket off as planned right before hitting the summit. I absolutely BOMBED the downhills. There weren't a ton of people in this pace group, but I passed probably a half dozen people. I was REALLY shocked to see some miles starting with an 8. Yes, it was icy and some technical spots, but I felt good and I pushed. It was relatively shocking how fast I got back to the other aid station (which again, I did not stop at).

Then I arrived at the single track section - my legs were a bit toast from bombing the downhills. I still did a pretty steady run/walk on the climbs.

Not shown - my amazing shorts :( 

The last few miles were definitely warm and I ran everything I could. I was grouped with a few other people and am happy to say that I managed to stay ahead of all of them!

I crossed the line and got my medal (no pic, but if I remember, I'll add later).

Official time - 2:58:07

Overall Place - 64/106 (plus, "beat" everyone in our group!)

Division Place - 27/51

Elevation Gain - 2,582'

Garmin Time - 2:57:56

Garmin Distance - 13.31 miles

Garmin Pace - 13:22

Mile 1 - 14:27

Mile 2 - 15:21

Mile 3 - 13:56

Mile 4 - 17:18

Mile 5 - 18:22

Mile 6 - 15:12 (bathroom)

Mile 7 - 14:06

Mile 8 - 14:14

Mile 9 - 8:39 (wooo)

Mile 10 - 8:42 (wooo)

Mile 11 - 13:21

Mile 12 - 10:49

Mile 13 - 11:26

Mile 13.31 9:05 pace

This was exciting to see! (Probably just the PR for this watch, which I haven't had all that long)

This 2 mile, PR, however, is probably legit since I started Strava, which I *think* was 2014??
I haven't been running fast since probably 2010-2012, so this was fun to see

As soon as I crossed the line I sat down at one of the picnic tables and immediately started to get cold. I saw Janet coming up a few minutes later. We had a decently long time of waiting for Lisa and were sitting in the grass in the sun. It was NOT warm, and the wind had definitely picked up. I put my jacket back on, as well as my "emergency" North Face pants I had been carrying in my pack and I was still freezing. 

Christina crossed a few minutes after Lisa, and we had a good amount of time to wait for Susan and Alison. While we were waiting for them, Christina had to head out to relieve her husband of childcare duties.

We got a group picture after they crossed and basically disbanded right after. Coldest I have been in a long time!

Thoughts:

• Semi-expensive event. I paid $100 back in September.
• Swag is good - poly/cotton blend shirt, boco fleece-lined hat (I will actually wear again), wooden medal and a HUGE bag of protein powder.
• Course was very well marked. The lower trails had quite a bit of flagging at turns, and "wrong way" signs. 
• Aid stations seemed fine, although I only stopped at the one at the turnaround. I used my Salomon vest, and with it being colder, my two flasks were plenty to hydrate.

Probably would not run this again due to the cost and distance from home, but in my quest to get to 200 half marathons, it was fun to run something different and challenging. 

Xterra Trail Marathon (Race Recap)

Colorado Springs, CO
Sunday, October 12
Marathon #26
Weather - Perfect at the start. FREEZING, windy and rainy at the finish

Always making good choices, I added the Xterra Trail Marathon at Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs as my last "long run" before the NYC marathon.

We mapped directions to the start and it showed it would take about an hour and 40 minutes to get there. The race didn't start until 8:00, so my dad came over at 5:30 (thanks Dad!) so that we didn't have to wake up the kids to take them over.

There was no traffic and we got to the start area without any problems just after 7:00. It was chilly and I was glad that I had chosen to wear arm sleeves and a tee instead of my usual tank. There was next to no information on the website, but I imagined that a trail race was going to take substantially longer to run than a road race, and with a sketchy forecast, I tried to plan appropriately.

We were able to walk right up to get our bibs. The race is a 2 course loop and I asked if I could decide at the halfway point if I wanted to drop or not. The volunteer stated I had to decide at pick up, so I stuck with my original distance and hoped the weather would hold out.

At the start line

The race actually started a little before 8, and I was one of the last people to cross the start. I knew nothing about the trail itself or the terrain, and I don't enjoy jumping off the trail to let people pass. Due to the large number of people on a fairly narrow trail, there was some bottle-necking in the beginning, which was fine by me. I need to start out slow anyway.

The beautiful blue skies were already starting to disappear with cloud cover. I took all my pictures on the first loop. I only vaguely remember glancing at the elevation profile and thought I remembered there was a decent climb in the first two miles. The trail changed from non-technical and a bit wider to a steeper and more of a single track.

Right off the bat it seemed that the mile markers were off from my watch. When I passed the mile 1 marker, my watch already said 1.16 miles. Not knowing the trail and worrying about the impending bad weather made for a stressful first loop.

The first aid station was about 2 miles up, water only. Then the climb started, with the reward being an aid station at the top of the hill. We then headed onto a loop (about 3 miles), where I finally passed a handful of people. I was able to run most of this section as it wasn't all uphill.

We looped back around to the aid station, down the hill (where I was REALLY able to run), and then veered off to the left for the second half of the first loop.

Even though I ran the course twice, I am already having a hard time remembering what it was LIKE. I recall another fairly runnable section for a mile or so, before we headed up into a fairly rocky and muddy section. This was made more difficult my a HUGE number of pine needles that made for slick conditions. There was an aid station nestled in the woods, but there were a ton of people crowded around the table, complaining that there were no food options, so I kept going without stopping.

My stomach had been feeling off all morning, and I was hoping to be able to make it back to the start to use the bathroom, but about 11 miles in (according to the watch), I had to crouch behind a rock. I felt better immediately and about 10 minutes later arrived at the aid station (which seemed to be FOREVER since the last one). The volunteer said we were at mile 11 (while my watch said 11.8??) There was a weird out and back section, and then back onto the regular trail. Got back to the base of the hill about 3 hours in and saw L. It was cold, but the wind hadn't really picked up yet and it wasn't raining yet. I told L I hoped to see her again in 3 hours.

Interestingly, I was at 13 miles back at the start, so all the markers were just off, and it made me feel better that I wouldn't be running a really long course. The second loop honestly wasn't that bad, although there were very long sections where I saw no one. I was clearly not having as hard a time as some of the other marathoners, as I passed quite a few people on the second loop (according to final results, I'm guessing I passed all but one runner on that second loop, and I passed him at the last aid station of the first loop).

Trail selfie before the weather hit!

The goal was to just keep moving so that I didn't get caught in horrible weather out in the middle of nowhere. I really cruised down the hill around before the turn to the second half of the course. AND THAT is when the wind really picked up. Seriously out of the blue, the wind started to gust and the temperatures dropped probably 15 degrees. The wind was so strong it was almost blowing my hat off. GREAT. JUST WHAT I WANT TO BE RUNNING IN. I was 5 hours in and hoping that I would be done in the next hour or so. I was definitely getting tired and every hill felt overwhelming.

The aid station in the woods was deserted, so I skipped it again. Somewhere after that aid station, with somewhere between 3.5 and 4 miles to finish is when the rain started. Luckily, it never actually dumped rain, but the drizzle just added to the chill and I put my gloves back on. I was really cautious on the back part of the course with all the rocks and pine needles and mud as I didn't want to slip and injure myself.

Risked pulling out my phone to show the sheet of rain heading towards me

I was SO happy to be at the last aid station! I knew I only had a little over a mile to go, so I really pushed it so I could just get out of the cold. I get back to the bottom and the volunteer tells me to turn right over the bridge and I have just a mile loop to do until I am done.

WHAT
WHAT
WHAT
WHAT????

Why on earth do I have a mile loop to go????? Isn't this supposed to be 13.1 loop TIMES TWO???? Another volunteer says, well it's only about .7 more.

WHAT
THE....

Now I am just ANNOYED. I was not having a spectacular race to begin with, it is cold, it is UNBELIEVABLY windy, it is drizzling, and now, for NO REASON, we have to run another loop? I ended up walking about half of it because I was so agitated.

I headed into the finish, NOTHING was left except for the timing mats and L. I grabbed my medal, said, "LET'S GET OUT OF HERE" and went directly to the car.

Official Time - 6:13:24
Overall Place - 29/41
Gender Place - 5/7
Division Place - 2/3
Garmin Time - 6:13:26
Garmin Distance - 26.67
Miles 1-5 - 12:57, 14:17, 16:37, 15:29, 12:15
Miles 6-10 - 12:12, 11:52, 11:10, 15:31, 15:51
Miles 11-15 - 17:22, 13:18, 13:12, 13:44, 14:41
Miles 16-20 - 17:02, 16:38, 12:13, 11:54, 11:54
Miles 21-26.67 - 12:02, 15:22, 15:19, 16:53, 12:17, 12:27, 13:23

Thoughts:

• I am SO irritated with this stupid random extra loop at the end of this course. There is NO mention of it anywhere. It is NOT on the weird topographical course map. IT MAKES NO SENSE THE MARATHON WOULD HAVE TO RUN EXTRA, BUT NOT THE HALF MARATHON. DUMB DUMB DUMB.
• I brought my own gels, and good thing because there was not anything on the course. One aid station may have had bananas, but there were no gels or food.
• There was also no sports drink or electrolytes on the course. Also glad I had my Nuun.
• Very friendly volunteers, and so thankful that they braved the elements to be out there. It was NOT a great day for it.
• The course was very well marked, although L told me that some people got lost and ran LOTS of extra miles. Don't see how.
• Unisex shirt that is HUGE that I will never wear. I already gave it away so no picture.
• Unexpected medal as there was no advertisement that we would be getting one.
• NOTHING AT THE FINISH. Thanks.
• L got second in her age group and got a separate medal. I also got second in my age group and no special medal. Guess that was just for the half?
• Maybe my experience would have been better if I would have just stuck with the half. I just get SO AGGRAVATED when a crap is taken down before everyone is finished. One third of the marathon runners were slower than me, and yet it was all gone before I got there.
• Only two port-o-potties at the start, so lines were pretty long. There were about 200 runners between the half and the full, and there was also a 5K that started 10 minutes after us.

I really hate writing that a race wasn't good, but... this one FOR ME was just NOT. I mean, there is nothing a race director can do to control the weather. I understand that. But I think the weird course should have been clarified. I think that if you advertise an aid station will have Gatorade and GU, then it should have that. And I also think that a finish line should remain up for as long as the course is open.... With that said. Beautiful course, and if you know what you are in for, maybe it would be fine.

American Discovery Trail Marathon (Race Recap)

Monday, September 1
Colorado Springs, CO
Marathon #25
Weather - about as perfect as you can get

I knew I was going to struggle with getting in long runs as training for both NYC and Big Cedar 100. L suggested I run the marathon for this course while she ran the half. So, not really thinking, I registered for the American Discovery Trail marathon, to be held on Labor Day. The price tag was very reasonable, only $81 ($20 more than the half marathon) after fees.

One of my good friends got married this weekend. Sunday night, to be exact. I knew we were going to be eating, drinking and participating in merriment until very late. In fact, we stayed until the very end, which (luckily?) was only about 11:15. Jessa agreed to watch A and I headed home to get some sleep. NOT VERY MUCH SLEEP... I crawled into bed just before midnight, with my alarm going off at 3:38. And that was only going to give me about 20 minutes to get ready and out of the house.

I had packed all my stuff the night before, so really all I had to do was get dressed and make coffee. We got out the door just before 4 am. The drive to Colorado Springs is about an hour and fifteen minutes, and of course, at that hour, there was no traffic. Thanks to L for driving. We arrived at the America the Beautiful park about 15 minutes before the last shuttle bus left for the marathon. I used the bathroom and got on the bus. My first concern was the bone on the top inner part of my right foot was HURTING - I thought it might be the tongue of my shoe just hitting it weird, but no - it felt bruised or something. I wonder if this was from the 5" heels I spent Saturday and Sunday night in. Or maybe it was all the dancing at the wedding... Anyway, in an effort to prevent the inevitable hangover, I (shamefully?) had a beer on the bus on the way to the start. Shhhh. The start was all the way back up north off the Monument Hill exit - at Palmer Lake.

We arrived at the start area with only about 18 minutes until the marathon start. I picked up my bib and got in the bathroom line. I walked up to the start right as we were starting.

Walk to the start line at Palmer Lake

What. Was. I. Thinking?

I haven't run a marathon since New Years, and the only real distance I have done was the Fat Ass I ran in MARCH and Chase the Moon. I was just hoping that my foot was going to hold up. I did NOT want to be out there forever.

I had worn arm sleeves, as it was pretty chilly at the start - I'm guessing upper 40's. For some reason I had thought the course was going to be on pavement, but it was actually on hard-packed dirt. That was much better. I started near the back and ran on feel. I looked at my watch only when the mile markers clicked. The first mile clicked at a comfortable 10:30ish pace, and then as the miles went on, my pace got faster. I was already hot by the first aid station at mile 2 and the arm sleeves came off. The course is a net 1200' loss, although it felt mostly flat to me. There were only a few uphills, so the running felt easier. The cooler temps also helped.

Everything felt fine for the first 7 or 8 miles. I took my first non-aid station walk break around mile 8. The aid station around mile 9.5. I was starting to get a headache. I hadn't been able to eat breakfast, and I was feeling "off." I noticed two cans of Bud Light on the table - I said "you have beer???" The volunteer said, "yeah, do you want one?" YES. YES I DO. I took a big swig right at the table and then ran with it until I finished it, about 15 minutes later. FYI, beer is foamy and hard to run with. I felt MUCH better after beer #2.

Then, of course, I started to feel like I had to use the bathroom, and decided I would stop at the first one I saw. My legs felt ok, but my stomach really didn't. I finally found a port-o-potty around mile 16. For the first time in a race, two of my GU packets fell on the floor of the bathroom. EW. Luckily, the aid station had extras, and I grabbed one.

I don't know if it was the extended stop, but I lost whatever energy I had after that aid station. I certainly started walking more and babysitting my watch. Somewhere around maybe mile 18 or 19, the course briefly went on sidewalk, which actually seemed to make my feet happy. The course had really thinned out a lot, and I was either alone or I started passing people, and took note of how they looked more miserable than I did.

I really didn't start to feel terrible until maybe mile 22 or 23. I didn't even really feel AWFUL, I was just tired and getting hot and really wanting to be done. I sent L a message when I got to mile 23 so she could get an idea of when I would be finishing. The last mile felt like it lasted FOREVER. There was an old man I was trying desperately to chase. Finally, I saw a crowd at a bridge and I knew we were almost there, so I kicked it in. BAD IDEA. The final .2 went on forever and ever. But at least I beat the old guy.

Bib #357
Official Time - 4:38:26
Official 7.8 miles - 1:18:34
Official 17.1 miles - 2:58:42
Official 22 miles - 3:51:22
Overall Place - 214/346
Gender Place - 71/147 (top half!)
Division Place - 17/31
Garmin Time - 4:38:28
Garmin Distance - 26.33
Garmin Pace - 10:35
Mile 1-5 - 10:36, 10:01, 10:04, 9:53, 10:09
Mile 6-10 - 9:53, 10:06, 10:03, 10:56, 10:36
Mile 11-15 - 10:38, 10:04, 9:56, 10:57, 10:41
Mile 16-20 - 12:10 (bathroom), 10:36, 10:33, 10:33, 10:12
Mile 21-26.2 - 10:57, 10:50, 10:50, 11:25, 11:23, 11:09, 9:56

SOMEHOW, with no speed work (although, just ask L, the net downhill course makes it "easy") - I managed to pull off my fastest marathon time in 2.5 years, and I think the fastest I have ever run a marathon at altitude. I don't care if the course was "easy" or not. I worked hard and I'm pretty damn pleased with how this went. L found me at the finish, and my dad was there with Hannah. I was in no mood to eat, but I was happy they had soda at the finish. I briefly looked for beer but didn't see any. Grabbed my goodie bag with the awesome neon yellow shirt, and we headed back home.

Thoughts:

• Thankfully, whatever weird thing I had going on with my foot was not an issue. It still feels off today, but it apparently did not bother me that much when I was running.
• I really enjoyed this course. The dirt was very runnable - and the views were spectacular. We really had some great weather. There was a lot of sunshine, but a slight breeze kept the temperatures down.
• Well stocked aid stations - all had Gatorade and water, and about half of them also had Hammer gels in various flavors. And of course, the one had beer. I was worried 14 aid stations for the marathon would not be enough, but they were spaced well, I did not carry my own fluids, and I never felt like I wasn't going to make it.
• Course was very well marked - there was really no chance of getting lost on this one...
• Even though most of the trail is sort of out in the middle of nowhere, it wasn't closed to the public, so there were a decent number of cyclists and other people out there. At every opportunity, there were spectators. Decent crowd support.
• LOVE the race shirt. Women's cut Brooks tee in a super fun neon yellow. The men's shirt was royal blue.
• Fantastic views and vendors/food at the finish. There were sodas, watermelon, pizza, Chick-Fil-A and tons of other things that I didn't even wander around to look at.
• Would I run this one again? ABSOLUTELY.