Black Hawk trail half marathon (Race Recap)

Sunday, July 18

Golden, CO

Half marathon #

Weather - Sunny and warm

I volunteered at the ERS Westminster Trail half marathon back in April and got a comp entry to a future race. Initially, I picked Snow Mountain Ranch since I expected to be running Vermont 100 the weekend of Black Hawk. When Vermont cancelled, I opted to run Black Hawk - it's a lot of climbing, so I figured it would be good training for Bigfoot.

Ben opted to not sign up, so I was going to be running solo. Even though I had mapped it out the night before, I managed to get out the door about 10 minutes later than planned - which is not a good idea for this race since parking is so limited.

Either way, there was no traffic on the drive and I managed to get a parking spot on the road (not the lot) and had just enough time to get my bib and use the bathroom before it was time to start. They opted to do a few wave starts of about 25 runners each to keep the congestion down. I had no idea what my body was going to feel like doing after covering so many miles, so I started in the last group of folks.

Unbeknownst to me (because I guess I didn't read the pre-race emails, nor did I listen to the RD at the start line, haha) the course was going to be done in reverse. I've done the half three other times and the 10K once, and we've always done the loop counter-clockwise. You wouldn't think it would make that much of a difference doing it the other direction, but it really was a lot harder in my opinion.

We started up almost immediately. Even though I had intentionally started towards the back, I was not the last one, so I was very conscious of my pace. Right of the bat, I felt like shit. My calves were insanely tight - to the point of being painful. I obviously had no intention of running the climbs, but even hiking briskly didn't feel great. I didn't enjoy being in the conga line. The same little spur where we have gone off track in the past got a bunch of folks on the way out, so in addition to them adding mileage, we all had to wait while they scurried back up - since the people closer to the front were supposed to be the faster ones anyway. I wasn't really sure what the course was like since I hadn't looked in advance, but when we took a turn down to the first aid station, I knew I could at least jog that part. I did manage to pass a few people in this section. I didn't stop at the aid station at the bottom, other than to grab a package of Honey Stingers.

Nothing improved from here. I thought that the nice section of downhill at an easy jog pace might loosen up my legs. It didn't. Things got even worse from here. I was wondering how stupid it might be to just turn around and go back to the start. I mean, people DNF short races too, right? This was awful. It was sunny, it was warm, I was sweating like I had been sprinting. I couldn't believe how hard this felt. The climbing seemed to go on FOREVER. We arrived at the cute lake I always take pictures of, and I remembered how nice it was to run by this and have a few miles of downhill. Sigh.

Climbing continued up, then we had a short out and back (which we actually had in the past as well, but it was much further in the race previously). I had actually been listening that the next aid station wasn't until mile 8.5 and I was wondering if there was any way I would even be able to make it that long. Even though I had down this route (in reverse) before, I was having a hard time remembering where the trail actually went. We came to the section where we had to go up the sweeping switchbacks which are a blast to come down and NOT super fun to hike up. I had to actually pull over on the side of the trail a few times here to catch my breath. At this point I was wishing I had looked at the course info to see how much gain there was actually supposed to be now, because it certainly seemed like we had been climbing F O R E V E R.

I was happy, briefly, when we got to the top, because it was cooler and because I knew the downhill was coming. The downhill, however, was pretty steep, so I wasn't able to blaze down like I normally can. Plus, my legs were burned out from all the climbing, so it was more gingerly hopping down the trail and trying to stay upright.

We entered into the pretty area by the river that I've always enjoyed coming up in years past. I had never done this section going down, and I didn't care for it. I don't know if it was the time of day, but it was really hard to see all the roots and rocks and I felt like I had to go a lot slower through here than I would have liked. I did actually manage to pass a few people coming through here, although that would be short lived when we had another big climb coming out of there. When we finally got out of that section, we were at the part where we would be on an exposed double track. I remembered this section from the beginning of every other year. 

It was SO hot. I knew we had an out and back that was probably close to three miles. Hit the second aid station, and friend Pete was working. I didn't stop long at this station either, just filled up my bottles. I was able to run the downhills and made note of how miserable everyone looked on the way back up. I just felt so incredibly defeated. Came to the big climb out to the turnaround and I kept having to stop in the shade to rest. How the hell am I going to do Bigfoot? How am I still so horrible at climbing? Why why why???? Ugh. Finally hit the turnaround, and I walked a bit with a gal on the climb out to the aid station. I tried to run a bit when I could - I was just SO SICK OF BEING OUT ON THIS COURSE.

I thought I knew where the course was going, but then we somehow ended up on a trail I had never been on out here. It seemed like it wouldn't be that bad, but then we had another grueling climb around 11.5 miles in. FINALLY we got to the intersection where we had originally gone down to the first aid station and I really did know that it was actually all downhill from here. Finally. I had absolutely nothing left, so what I did was a pathetic run at best. Thankfully, the course "only" measured 13.25, and not the rumored 13.5. SO HAPPY TO BE DONE.

Garmin Time - 3:33:15

Garmin Distance - 13.26 miles

Elevation Gain - 3,090'

Official Time - 3:33:08

Overall Place - 108/127

Gender Place - 37/49

Mile 1 - 18:50

Mile 2 - 12:04

Mile 3 - 17:06

Mile 4 - 16:36

Mile 5 - 15:53

Mile 6 - 18:11

Mile 7 - 14:49

Mile 8 - 16:09

Mile 9 - 13:10

Mile 10 - 17:05

Mile 11 - 17:50

Mile 12 - 19:02

Mile 13 - 13:30

Mile 13.25 - 11:45

No, I did not place in my AG. I think I placed about 6th from last

Alison, Maureen and Me

Maureen and Alison were hanging out by the red barn waiting for me - apparently I took took too long, lol. We stayed for a few minutes - ERS was finally able to have food again! They didn't have a BBQ like usual, but they at least had beer and seltzers, which was nice. I even had a chocolate milk (for like the third time ever after a race).

Thoughts:

• I really do/have liked this course. I did NOT like the course done in reverse, at all. Normally I enjoy myself at least most of the time, this race, I did not.
• Medal is cute - not as big and blingy as years past, but I'm fine with toning it down a bit.
• Shirt is cute, although I didn't get one. They usually sell them for $5 as an add on after the race, or I think you can pay extra at registration for one, but the last thing I need is more race shirts.
• Will I run this again? Probably, I already gave my feedback on the course to the race director, and sounds like I was not alone in my thoughts!

Snow Mountain Ranch Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Sunday, September 23
Granby, CO
Half marathon #183
Weather - Sunny, mild

For the first year, Snow Mountain Ranch was going to have a full weekend of events. ERS skipped the marathon distance and went right into added a 50K distance. Since I'm no longer an ambassador for the series, I figured I didn't need to run the ultra, plus, it was pretty expensive. I was, however, intrigued with the new half marathon course. In the past, the course had always been a double loop of the 10K course. Always a beautiful race, right at the end of when the leaves change. We had one race left to register for with our volunteer hours, so we picked this one. I figured A would want to run the 10K, but upon looking up the info, the 10K and half weren't on the same day. She said she would run the half with me (and then promptly forgot she had told me that).

We needed to leave the house by about 5:35, so I set an alarm for just after 5 am. We grabbed our gear, last minute jackets, and food, then headed out the door.

There was a surprising number of people on I70 at that hour, but everything thinned out once we exited on to 40 in Empire. The drive over the pass was uneventful (no snow, unlike last year), and we arrived at Snow Mountain Ranch right at 7:15.

It was COLD when we arrived. Lucy had read as low as 15 degrees on the drive up, and peaked around 25 when we pulled up. Glad I had my puffy coat! Used the bathroom, then got our bibs. First we ran into Tom and Lynette, then on the way to the car we saw Lexa, then we saw Maureen, and finally Alison and Kristin. With all the socializing we didn't have much time to get our stuff ready. It was borderline warm enough for not needing long sleeves, but I decided I'd rather be comfortable at the start. Put on sunscreen, used the bathroom one more time, then filled up my handheld and we lined up about mid-pack next to Mary.

Race started pretty much on time. Lexa, Mary, Kristin and A all took off. Goodbye!! I knew that this was going to be a more difficult course than in years past, and I had zero desire to burn out early. Plus, Tom had let me know where all the big climbs were.

I had started in a sparkle skirt and my team long sleeve shirt from last year, with it covering my Garmin. This ended up being great, as I had no idea what my pace/time was at ALL for the first 6 miles.

First mile or so was the same as the old course, and I only walked a few small sections. The course became a bit different shortly after, and we moved onto a section where we were running across some tall grass. I didn't love this part.

We then were on a dirt road for a brief period of time before turning onto some single track and then moving onto some wider trail. This section was steep, and I could see A and Kristin ahead of me. My first goal was to actually catch them! We were in a wooded section and then of COURSE I didn't quite catch them before the top. A turned around and saw me and they briefly waited for me to catch up.

We ran together to the first aid station (not stopping, because I knew that we would be back there in about a mile). There was a pretty runnable section here, including a nice, non-technical downhill. Where there is a down, there must be an accompanying up... even this section wasn't terrible, and we run/walked a bunch of it. I kind of got a second wind and beat them to the aid station. I stayed long enough to fill my bottle, and headed out. We did not stay together long, as Kristin and A seemed to be struggling a bit.

I was able to catch up to (and pass) a few people, that was nice. This whole section had not been familiar, so I was wondering what was up next. Shortly after mile 5, I could see we were going to be going UP. I caught up to a guy, and he let me pass him at the base of the climb (biggest climb of  the run!) and I did some jogging to put some space between us. This section was tough!! Definitely up higher than we had been in years past, and in an area with a lot of trees, although many of them were already missing their leaves.

I passed a gal, then ended up behind two older guys (who were both moving faster than I was, however). This climb never seemed to end. I did not want to stop and take a break, but my heart was beating pretty hard. Definitely a challenge! Somewhere after mile 6 all the climbing was making me super hot and sweaty, so I decided I would use the time when I was hiking to get out of my long sleeve shirt. Also a challenge, but I finally got it off before reaching the top.

There were some technical shorter climbs that would briefly level out, so there was actually a bit of running here. then we had a nice downhill, heading into the trees. I passed both of the older guys when we got to the road, then had my sights on a few gals in front of me.

I was running really well here and I was happy to have the chance to make up some time on my pace (although all things considered, it actually wasn't that terrible).

We then turned down a road that I remembered from previous years and I figured that I knew what the last 5ish miles had in store for me.

When I turned up the hill toward the summit above the lake, I saw Alison! We chatted briefly on my walk break, then at the aid station I filled my bottles and headed out. I figured I "only" had about 4 miles to go. My "A" goal was to beat previous times, although I also figured that this course was actually going to measure a half, while in previous years it had seemed a half mile short.

Anyway, running well, and I played leapfrog with a few different ladies on the next climb. It seemed that we were looping around this time, instead of heading directly into the finish. We actually had a fairly nasty climb on some grass right around mile 12. At that time, a gal started talking to me, telling me that her legs were toast (mine too!) and that she was just going to try to hang with me. The last mile went pretty quick, and I knew that we were done with the climbing, except for that nasty last tenth or so into the finish line.

I managed to stay ahead of her as we headed in, and I was really pleased to see that I did beat my times from previous years.

Nice to not be beat on an uphill finish! (Pic from Alison)

Garmin time  - 2:41:26
Garmin distance - 12.87 miles
Garmin pace - 12:32
Elevation gain - 1,549'
Mile 1 - 12:03
Mile 2 - 13:16
Mile 3 - 13:57
Mile 4 - 12:47
Mile 5 - 12:33
Mile 6 - 13:19
Mile 7 - 15:58
Mile 8 - 9:57
Mile 9 - 11:30
Mile 10 - 11:04
Mile 11 - 12:49
Mile 12 - 12:51
Mile 12.87 - 10:44 pace

I actually got to watch A cross the finish line for once, which was exciting. (And she won her age group again, although she was the only one in it).

Pic from Alison (which I LOVE)

Thoughts:

• I have run this race four times now, and I'm sure I'll be back. The new course was HARD, but I really liked it! (The course had about 400' more feet of climbing than previous years - I went back and looked at my previous times, and even though distances/climbing has varied, my average pace WAS the fastest this year. Woot!)
• I didn't pay extra to get the shirt, it had a Colorado-y theme to it this year.
• The medal this year is meh, but wow, the 50K medal or challenge medal (if you did both the 50K and HM) was REALLY cool.
• As always, excellent post-race food & beer.

Week in Review (September 18 - September 24)

Tuesday (9,162 steps) - Nada?
Wednesday (18,581 steps) - Runners Roost Boulder! Hoka was there to demo shoes, so I decided I would try the Torrent. I didn't love it though.

It was raining pretty decently on our drive up, but it stopped right as our run was starting. I was blah pretty much the whole time, maybe I'm recovering from Sourdough? It was certainly hard on the way up (NCAR trail route, blech), but the way down was ok.

Thursday (15,680 steps) - Went to BPCO for the GABR! (Great American Beer Run!) Right before the run started A and I had a "discussion" about her lying and improper cell phone usage. She knew I was mad so she actually stayed with me on the run. We stopped at Goldspot for a 3 oz taster, then met up at Call to Arms for a pint. Chatted with Laurie Williams about her upcoming race in Germany, then we headed home for dinner.

Friday (11,368 steps) - Went to the gym before work for core & strength. Nothing really sticks out, other than I did a LOT of planks. Had to go to Highlands Ranch to the dealership so Lucy could get an oil change. It was actually "fast" - only 90 minutes. I ordered Red Robin on the way home. I got there at the time for pick up and it wasn't ready - took another 20 minutes. They were super rude about it too, so we won't be back.
Saturday (22,109 steps) - Ran an "easy" 8 with Runners Edge. Had planned on maybe 10, but 8 seemed like plenty.

We went to brunch at the Sweet Spot - so good!!

We stuck around forever at the store, long enough for the old team gear to get pulled out, which resulted in me buying some stuff. Grocery shopping and not much else.
Sunday (31,618 steps) - Snow Mountain Ranch half marathon.

Maureen, Colfax, A and I shut the place down. We planned to meet up in Idaho Springs at Tommyknockers. There was a ton of traffic getting there, and once we were parked the wait was pretty long, so we went to Westbound & Down. It was also crowded, but we found room at a big table. Took Colfax for a walk before heading home. Long day!
Monday (13,501 steps) - 6 am classes with Dallas. I was the only one in both classes, so I really got tortured. Since I didn't have a run, I told him we could do lower body stuff in strength, and WOW, was it hard!!

Stats:

• 122,019 steps
• 30.1 miles run
• 2 hours at the gym

Louisville Trail half marathon (Race Recap)

Sunday, October 8
Louisville, CO
Half Marathon #175
Weather - perfect

With our first snow looming in the forecast, we were really lucky to have perfect running conditions for the last ERS trail race of the year! The Louisville Trail race is also the biggest event of the season.

The half marathon started at 8, so we had plans to arrive by 7, not because it's tough to pick up packets, but because there is basically only street parking and we didn't want to be far away.

We picked up our packets and spent some time talking to Tom. Cycled through the bathroom line once, got more coffee, and got everything ready (I was NOT going to forget my nutrition like I did last year!) I opted to get in line for the bathroom one more time, which caused me to miss the start of the race by a few minutes. No big deal, the race is chip timed.

I took it easy the first mile and then kicked things into a "higher gear" for a while. I did not stop at the first aid station (it was only 1.5 miles out) and did not have to take any walk breaks at all in the first half!

The trees looked amazing off the Coal Creek trail

One thing I like about being the last person across the line is that I can actually pass people! (And pass people I did!). At about 4.8 miles we run back by the finish line, which was a bit disconcerting because the 5K runners were running with us and going into the finish, while we still have 2/3 of our race to go...

Cross under the bridge and I am remembering that this section is deceptively difficult on the way back (I'm  not sure way, I actually think it is a net downhill). There is one large hill, and it's in this section. I take a very short walk break, and that is when I see A - she is running with Tom! Once we get to the top I stop briefly at the aid station and settle in for the last 7 miles.

This section is really pretty and shaded.

I finally saw Kristen and Lisa shortly after the 8 mile marker. I heard Lisa yell that the turnaround was at mile 9. Sweet! I was still feeling pretty good.

I was passing quite a few people at this point and I was really surprised that I was maintaining a speedy pace of mid 10's. Finally, somewhere around mile 10 is when I took a few short walk breaks.

I walked about half of the big hill on the way back and then gave it all I had to run into the finish. The course measured over .2 long, so I probably started my finish line "sprint" too soon.

Thank you Hillary for the heel strike pic!

Happy to be done with this one, and very pleased that this was my fastest half marathon in a year!

Official Time - 2:23:37

Garmin Time - 2:23:37

Garmin Distance - 13.27 miles

Garmin Pace - 10:50

Elevation Gain - 449'

Mile 1 -11:21

Mile 2 - 10:58

Mile 3 - 10:50

Mile 4 - 10:29

Mile 5 - 10:23

Mile 6 - 10:59

Mile 7 - 10:22

Mile 8 - 10:17

Mile 9 - 10:25

Mile 10 - 10:59

Mile 11 - 11:05

Mile 12 - 12:13

Mile 13 - 10:37

Mile 13.3 - 9:58

Meanwhile, A totally ROCKED it! She ran the entire time with Tom (who is a speedy guy) and got a brand new PR (that, yes, is faster than my 10K PR)! Official Time for A - 57:36!!!

A collecting yet another AG prize

The remaining people from the team that were still there when I finished

Thoughts:

• I had a great time running this series again! We had fantastic weather for all events (maybe some were a little warm). However, I think 2018 will be filled with some new events. This is kind of a "been there, done that" now.
• As for this particular event, there was no beer at the finish line, but hilariously, that was spelled out and apologized for in the last email we got prior to the race. 
• This race (I think) was also the fastest time for me last year. I'm sure the lack of technical parts and cooler temperatures probably has a lot to do with it.
• For completing the entire series (one of only two people to run all ten half marathons), I received a cool stainless steel growler - I'll get to fill it for FREE one time at Avery Brewing!

Snow Mountain Ranch Half Marathon

Saturday, September 23
Granby, Colorado
Half Marathon #174
Weather - chilly at the start, perfect at the finish

When Kristen offered to carpool I immediately took her up on it. She picked us up dark and early at 5 am. It was raining most of the drive to the pass, and we hoped that it wasn't going to be that bad when we actually got to Granby.

I vaguely remembered that I could see all the fall colors on the drive up last year, and realized the race was in fact starting earlier this year. Since we arrived at 6:40, we decided we would do the early start at 7:30. There was rain in the forecast for late morning and we didn't want to get stuck in it.

There was a bit of a snafu when we picked up our bibs, in that the timing chips weren't there yet. So we all had to get back in line a second time, which was strangely time consuming. Turned out to be closer to 7:35 when we started. Annette and Michelle joined us and we had a great time the first loop - mostly staying together and taking a lot of pictures. The views were incredible, although I couldn't help but think it was prettier last year with the dusting of snow on the ground for the first loop. Even though it was pretty chilly, I warmed up pretty quickly, and took off my long sleeves around mile 5. Thankfully I had thought to put a singlet on underneath at the last minute.

Yay, a picture of meeeee!

Kristen and I dropped Annette and Michelle shortly after starting the second loop. We managed to see the 10Kers heading towards us (somewhere near mile 4) and I was able to get a few pictures of just about everyone, including A.

I took a package of sport beans from the aid station since I had accidentally left my fuel in the car. PS, strawberry banana is a terrible flavor, but it did the trick. Kristen and I ran pretty well for a while.

 With just a few miles to go Kristen said that her stomach was bothering her a bit and she wanted to walk. She was sick on the side of the trail for a bit, but I stuck with her - I wasn't in a hurry. We ran together all the way to the hill at the finish, when she told me to "go on without her." I crossed the line a few minutes faster than last year, with just enough time to see A get her award for winning her age group.

Within 15 minutes of finishing the wind had picked up enough that tents and the finish line were being blown down. I put on my long sleeves and stayed at the finish long enough for a beer and a brat.

A, me, Patty, Annette and Lesley

Ambassadors - Erica, Lynette, me and Tom

Garmin time - 2:42:19
Garmin distance - 12.66 miles
Garmin pace - 12:49
Mile 1 - 13:06
Mile 2 - 13:39
Mile 3 - 13:03
Mile 4 - 10:58
Mile 5 - 13:58
Mile 6 - 13:17
Mile 7 - 13:01
Mile 8 - 12:51
Mile 9 - 13:43
Mile 10 - 10:47
Mile 11 - 15:02 (the puking mile)
Mile 12 - 11:46
Mile 12.66 - 10:48

Thoughts:

• This has been one of my favorite races the last three years. The fall colors are just amazing this time of year.
• A commented that I should have warned her how hilly the course was. It didn't seem that hilly to me, although there are certainly sections that I walk.
• Although the course is not technical, I always wear trail shoes because the grassy sections have historically been wet, and trail shoes don't let as much moisture in.
• I may not run this one again, after three years I may find another race to see my fall colors!
• Awesome after party, like usual.