Black Hawk 10K (Race Recap)

I love, love, love this event. I have run the half marathon a few times, but since my big race was coming up I decided to do the "smart" thing and just sign up for the 10K. A and I had some volunteer hours to cash in, so we both got comp entries, (so if you want to volunteer for Endurance Race Series events, know that for every event you volunteer, you get to run one for free!)

Maureen was also running, so we planned on meeting at her place at 5:45 for the drive to Golden Gate State Park. We left the house before 5:30, and got to her house right on time. The drive was somewhat uneventful, until we started the drive into the mountains. We saw a car on the side of the road with the hood up and I noticed there was a Runners Roost sticker in the back window, so I told Maureen she should turn around as I was sure it was a runner.

Sure enough, the guy was heading to our same race, so we offered him a ride. He was very nice (and not a murderer). We arrived at about 6:30, with our race not starting until 7:30, so we had plenty of time. We saw TONS of people that we knew, so the time flew by with talking and visiting.

We saw the half marathoners off around 7:10 (a bit of a late start, they were supposed to begin at 7), and then we lined up.

I planned to start in the back and run by "feel," meaning that I hoped to run well on the flats and downhills.

I can definitely feel/see a difference in my running with the last year that I've been doing so much more trail running. I was able to run the whole section until the first bit of single track without walking. I saw A ahead of me, but I was nowhere near the back of the pack. Even once we got onto the single track, I was able to still run quite a bit. Then we moved onto the wider ATV trails.

Coming into the first aid station at mile 1.5

The faster half marathon runners were already coming towards us, and I clocked a pretty fast second mile.

I saw A and Tom coming toward me, and I was just a few steps behind Mary. There was the grueling climb that I remembered from running the half in the past, and then before I knew it, time to turn around!

Apparently the only picture I took!

The glorious downhill was then followed by a somewhat tough climb back through the aid station around mile 4. It was great to see Dan and Susan volunteering!

Ariel and Tom

Then we ran back to the finish, turning off just before the chute for an out and back to get us to the right mileage. This section was tough because the faster half marathon runners were coming into the finish (yes, already) and then the 10K people in front of us were coming back down. The trail was narrow in this section, so not my favorite.

I was really really pleased with how fast I actually ran this!

Garmin time - 1:14:57
Garmin distance - 6.05 miles (hard to tell if it was short or if the trees/mountains screwed up gps)
Garmin pace - 12:23
Elevation gain - 1,145'
Mile 1 - 13:48
Mile 2 - 9:37
Mile 3 - 14:35
Mile 4 - 13:07
Mile 5 - 11:59
Mile 6 - 11:26
Mile 6.05 - 7:44 (haha)

I liked their finish picture a lot more than mine :)

Maureen & A were both age group winners!

Lots of teammates here! (And a few missing, including A)

We stuck around at the finish until almost everyone was done. On the drive back down we dropped Dan off at his car, and it started, but as we were following him down the hill it died again. I ended up driving him home and he was going to get a ride back later to deal with it.

Thoughts:

• While I haven't been racing much, I will definitely run this one again. It's a beautiful location and I really enjoy this one (Heather, I'm talking to you)
• Definitely the most challenging course in the series.
• Great post-race after party, like always.

Week in Review (May 29 - June 4)

Tuesday (15,193 steps) - My first time at RUNBARRE! An "easy" 3 mile run, then Barre Express, all before 8 am!
Wednesday (18,646 steps) - Dentist appointment before work. Runners Roost Boulder run club! It started raining (pretty heavily) on our drive up. We delayed the start of the run by just a couple minutes and it was barely sprinkling by the time we started.

Huge temperature drop, but lots of humidity. Probably the most challenging run we've done, up NCAR twice, nearly 1300' of vertical. Eeep.

Thursday (13,663 steps) - Skipped barre, was feeling very sore after the Boulder run. Belmar run club. Ran with Mo & Colfax.

Friday (10,415 steps) - Barre with Gabi! After work I met up with Denise & A at the Roost in Denver to help with packet pick up for Palmer Lake half marathon.
Saturday (24,383 steps) - Up at 4 am to volunteer at the Palmer Lake half marathon! First we helped out with bib pick up, then just kind of helped out wherever I was needed.

We were there until almost noon. The drive home was horrendous - so much traffic south of the city! We stopped by to visit with Phil. I still had to do my "long" run, so I headed out around 4:00 for 8 miles. So hot, and having beer/food before that probably didn't help. Ick. I did, however, get to see baby goats, and I consider that a win!

Sunday (15,103 steps) - Up early AGAIN, this time to volunteer at the mile 6/19 aid station at Revel! We met up with Ted and Mo, and spent 4 hours handing out water.

Quick trip to the finish line, then lunch at Mill Street/Holiday.

WARM 3 mile run with Mo & A in Bear Creek park before going over to Lisa's for a BBQ. Ended up staying way too late for a work night. First Sunday afternoon in ages that we weren't home and missed the big excitement of a FIRE in the building next to us :o
Monday (16,452 steps) - Felt pretty icky all day. New Terrain run club in the fiery hot heat. I hate summer.

Stats:

• 113,855 steps
• 27.9 miles run
• 2 barre classes

Westminster Trail half marathon (race recap)

Saturday, April 28
Westminster, CO
Half marathon #180
Weather - hot, sunny

Even though I have resigned from being an ERS ambassador, I really wanted to run this one. For the last 5 years the course has been on Big Dry Creek - NOT EXCITING. This year, ERS got permission to run around Standley Lake - my backyard! A's friend had spent the night, but with the race start being only 2 miles from our door, we didn't have to leave until 7 am.

We arrived at Wayne Carl Middle School less than 10 minutes later (yes, even though we could run there in two miles, it's probably 4-5 miles driving because of the lake/neighborhood). There was already almost no parking left, and until the race started I watched people frustrated and annoyed that there wasn't more parking. But who shows up to a race with three distances 15 minutes before gun time and expects to be able to park right at the start?

Anne had the Roost tent set up, so we left our stuff there, made the rounds saying hi to people and picked up our bibs. I love that ERS listened to our suggestions and made shirts an add on, versus just giving it to us in our bags. Literally just a bib. Love not getting all the junk! Got into the bathroom line, then decided to run back to the car to grab my aftershockz in case I wanted music later. We saw our buddy Ross, who took about a half hour early start.

The race started right on time, at 8. It was already super sunny and H O T, and I knew there was no shade at all on the course. This was going to be a long day. Annette and I ran together for about the first 2-3 miles. First we ran north and then west. This was perfect, as there is very little climbing on this section and I hoped that it would give my legs a chance to warm up.

First aid station was manned by none other than Michelle and Scott, great to see familiar faces at aid stations!

Then I knew we had the LONG climb up - and I DIDN'T HAVE TO WALK. Hurray!! We were on the lower trail section near the water, then onto the new Rocky Mountain Greenway connector.

Another aid station at the bridge by Kipling, then onto the section I was really looking forward to. Every time I have run out here I have run the single track nearest the road. I hadn't ever really been on the trails closer to the water on the south side. It was in this section that I saw A!! She looked happy (and fast) and was a few people ahead of Tom, who was supposed to be pacing her. Right at their turnaround I saw the "hill" we would have to go up later. Ugh.

There was actually a LOT more climbing than I expected on this course, over 700'! I was heading up one of the climbs and saw Becki already heading back from doing the lollipop loop. That section was where I finally started making some ground on passing people. Some nice single track on the way back, hit the aid station, then it was time to go up the hill (ugh!) and head back. Running along the lake was nice, and not technical.

Passed the aid station near Kipling, then headed back to the next little loop we would have to do. We had a very small section of pavement, and then looped on some overgrown trails, and then back up to the aid station. Thankfully, the course was going to measure a bit short, so I gave it everything I had and ran to the finish, one of my fastest times in ages (and on trail!)

Official Time - 2:19:36
Garmin Time - 2:19:39
Garmin Distance - 12.76 miles
Elevation Gain - 735'
Mile 1 - 10:47
Mile 2 - 10:13
Mile 3 - 10:57
Mile 4 - 11:04
Mile 5 - 11:30
Mile 6 - 11:21
Mile 7 - 11:50
Mile 8 - 11:14
Mile 9 - 10:56
Mile 10 - 10:03
Mile 11 - 10:30
Mile 12 - 10:57
Mile 12.76 - 10:54

A, meanwhile, ran the "10K" in 52:07 (her watch measured 5.82 miles). She took first in her age group (by quite a bit), and was NINTH FEMALE OVERALL. She is still starting out a bit too fast, but she is getting better. Thankfully, her friend got a picture on the podium since awards happened while I was still out running.

Lots of Roosters out today, although a few left long before this was taken

ERS folks ambassadors (and me and A)

Thoughts:

• Man oh man, is this course so much better! I mentioned to Jeff that the course was a little short, and he indicated that was due to some rerouting from overgrown trails that were on google maps, but not there in reality. 
• Three distances, with the half starting first, and then 10 minutes between the 10K and 5K. Mid to back of the pack joined up with the slower 5K runners, although this was on a very wide section, so congestion was not an issue.
• FREEEE race pictures. Free! And they're really good, AND there is actually one of meee this time :)
• Post race party was awesome like always! Plenty of food & drinks.
• This was a great time, and it was awesome to see everyone. A bit sad that I'm not running all the races this year, but looking forward to some new adventures this summer.

Black Hawk Trail Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Saturday, July 29
Golden, CO
Half Marathon #168
Weather - Overcast, misty, perfect

Last year, Heather came out and ran the Black Hawk trail half marathon with me.  We took an early start and tied for DFL. It was a blast.

A few days before the race, Jeff emailed a few of us asking if we could carpool. I offered, since we were headed up anyway, as long as people knew that we would be arriving early and leaving late.

With that in mind, we met up with Chris at 5 am in the shopping center near our house. The drive flew by with someone new to chat with, and were parked at 5:40. That gave us plenty of time to pick up our stuff and get everything ready for the 7:00 start.

Beautiful full rainbow near the start

A began her volunteer shift with running race day registrations from the red barn to the timing guy, and I chatted with Annette, who was assisting with packet pick up. Phil arrived shortly before 6:30, and A and I helped him set up the tent. Before I knew it, it was time to use the bathroom and line up. It was lightly misting, and I hoped it would stay that way since I had not brought a rain jacket.

The race started just a minute or two late, and I was in the back. Since we had done the early start last year, I didn't realize how much bottle necking there would be in the first quarter mile. Didn't bother me though, since I don't typically warm up for a few miles, and I was fine keeping the pace slow. We moved off the single track and onto the road. Quite a few people passed me in this section. When we turned to go onto the jeep trail, I was in second to last place, with only Francesca behind me. She caught me at the first aid station, and we sorta ran together for maybe a quarter mile. About when we hit the first mile marker I stopped to screw around with my shoelaces, and she kept going. I never would catch her the rest of the day.

This section of the course has some pretty views, but I think is actually my least favorite part. There was some decent climbing, and then the turnoff for the 10k, and we kept heading out. The glorious downhill just meant that the uphill would come when we turned around. I managed to pass just one person on this climb.

No, that is not snow on the ground

On the way back, I managed to spot Lynette and Tom as they were taking the turn. Came back through the aid station and then we got into my favorite part of the course. It is the most heavily wooded section and runs alongside a creek. There are lots of crossings, either with the option of a bridge crossing or going through shallow water. In most cases, I went for the bridge.

Then the most challenging section of the course - the switchbacks (which I think is when Heather was threatening to DNF last year). It was "hard," but not as hard as it felt during the Dirty 30 (which a lot of this course mirrored). 

We had some nice downhill, and then when we got to mile 8, I could tell where the additional mile was added in that we had not done last year. Shockingly, it was a climb up, and then we came right back down. I spent a few minutes talking with a girl from Illinois - she was running her first half marathon ever - and what a challenging one to pick!

The course jumped onto the single track near the lake, which is really pretty with all the wildflowers. 

We then had to go down the trail to the road, hit up the aid station, then come right back up. I had seen Francesca at the turn around and she did not seem that far ahead of me. I never did see her again after that, so she must have really been moving up the hill. I chatted for a bit just before mile 12 with a man from Texas - these flatlanders are amazing to run these races! I live here and can barely breathe on thee climbs. Just after mile 12, I tripped over nothing and skidded on my palms. Luckily, nothing else happened. A few tiny climbs, but mostly downhill single track to the finish.

I didn't really have much of a goal in mind since I hadn't really "run" the race last year. I was pretty pleased to come in under 3.5 hours!

Official time - 3:17:12

Official pace - 15:03

Overall place - 76/86

Gender place - 33/40

Division place - 16/18

Elevation gain - 2,776'

Garmin time - 3:17:31

Garmin distance - 12.51 miles

Garmin pace - 15:47

Mile 1 - 16:52

Mile 2 - 11:17

Mile 3 - 17:16

Mile 4 - 15:30

Mile 5 - 15:49

Mile 6 - 23:53

Mile 7 - 20:44

Mile 8 - 13:15

Mile 9 - 12:52

Mile 10 - 12:36

Mile 11 - 16:07

Mile 12 - 15:45

Mile 12.51 - 10:58

A, Phil, Francesca and Susan were at the finish line, and we quickly got in our team  picture.

Francesca, me, Phil, A, Susan, Carl

We then headed down to the red barn for the finish line party - this time, there was plenty of Avery beer left. I wasn't hungry (again), but had a beer before heading out. (By the way, the guy we carpooled with ran a 2:06 for his first official half marathon. Holy crap).

Thoughts:

• This is legitimately the most difficult half marathon I've ever done. It is fairly technical, there is a TON of climbing.
• With THAT said, it is also one of the prettiest courses I have run. I will likely run this one again, especially if I start to see an improvement on my climbing/trail times. This is a fun course.
• The course was exceptionally well marked, there are markers at every mile (except mile 4, but that is only because someone stole the sign). Flagging or chalk or a sign anywhere there was a turn.
• Three aid station, which is pretty good considering how remote the course is.
• The finish line party was fantastic, like always. Lots of food, and of course, BEER!
• Cool medal (although I think I liked last year's a little better).

• Run this. You won't regret it.