Longmont "trail" half marathon (race recap)

Sunday, July 23
Longmont, CO
Half Marathon #167
Weather - sunny and hot

When I ran the Longmont trail half last year, I was injured. I took the early start option because I wasn't even sure if I would be able to run it. I was able to super slow jog it and finished in just under 3 hours. Since I like to set the bar low, my only goal was to beat last year's time.

The half was starting at a terribly late time of 7:30. We left the house a few minutes late, but with no traffic we still arrived around 6:45. We parked at the Fairgrounds and had to walk a bit to get to the start area. Packet pick up was easy and I also got my Eagle shirt and medal (after I sent my GPS data to the race director, I was given credit for the run so I'll be a finisher for the ERS half marathon series!)

Phil from Runners Roost had a tent set up, so we left our gear with him and just wandered around until it was time to get in the bathroom line. A's race didn't start until 7:45, so while I was getting ready to run, she hopped in to assist with packet pick up.

The race started right on time, and I started in the pack, as usual. I won't lie, I was really really really tempted to do the early start, simply to avoid the heat. But, I didn't.

The first mile or so went fine, but it was pretty much all downhill from there. I'm back to having the same issues where my legs (specifically my calves) are ridiculously tight, forcing me to take frequent walk breaks. The first aid station was a bit further than I remembered, maybe around 2.75 miles out.

Just after the first aid station turn around

On my way back to the next spigot, I saw A! She looked fantastic AND had started 15 minutes after me, and was less than a mile behind me.

The half marathon and 10k both had another out and back before heading into the finish area. The half'ers had to go a bit further out, but thankfully I got to see A again before she turned around, although this time she was walking. I spent the next ten minutes or so trying to figure out if she was going to meet her goal of finishing in under an hour.

When I got to about mile 5.5, A caught up to me again, I told her to "go go go, you're almost there, you've got this!" And she took off. Shortly after that, a woman jogged beside me and asked how old A was and said that she was just doing amazing. They were announcing names as people crossed and I didn't hear A's name! Stacy was directing half marathoners out for their second loop, and right as I headed out, A came running out and gave me a big hug and said "I did it mom! Under an hour!" It was the cutest thing, she was teary and so happy. Worth the 30 seconds I lost to be there for her at that moment.

But then, of course, I still had a whole loop to do. By the time I got to mile 7 the faster runners were already coming in to the finish. It was so hot out! Very little recollection of the second loop. Just tried to walk as little as possible so I could be done. I managed to pass a few people, I think the heat was getting to everyone. 

A caught up to me when I had about a mile to go. I gave her my handheld and told her I would see her at the finish line. My "A" goal was under 2:30, but I wasn't disappointed that I missed that by a few minutes. I can live vicariously through A.

A's results
Official time - 58:53 (BIG PR!!)
Overall place - 42/162
Gender place - 21/108
Division place - 1/5

A's professional pic (free!!!)

My results
Official time - 2:31:41
Overall place - 84/138
Gender place - 41/76
Division place - 10/17
Garmin time - 2:31:41
Garmin distance - 13.14 miles
Garmin pace - 11:33
Mile 1 - 11:02
Mile 2 - 11:43
Mile 3 - 11:55
Mile 4 - 10:57
Mile 5 - 11:21
Mile 6 - 11:27
Mile 7 - 12:02
Mile 8 - 11:37
Mile 9 - 11:37
Mile 10 - 12:06
Mile 11 - 11:39
Mile 12 - 11:27
Mile 13 - 11:24
Mile 13.14 - 10:11

My funny hands are back!

I think this was actually the second loop, so maybe mile 10?

Met up with A at the Roost tent, where we had to immediately do our team picture.

Sabine, the one in the short red shorts, was second female!

Lynette, Tom, me and A (ERS ambassadors)

We stuck around the finish for a while. There wasn't really any food left (but I wasn't especially hungry anyway), and there was sadly no beer at this event - one of the few at a city park where it isn't allowed. Helped Phil take down the Roost tent, then headed home.

Thoughts:

• Aside from the Westminster trail race that is held around Easter every year, this is the least "trail" of all the races. We like to call it "urban trail," which is basically a bike path. Most of the course you can  run in the dirt next to the bike path.
• This is a double loop course for the half marathon. It really is not a bad course, it's just not the best for running in July! It gets pretty warm out.
• There are three aid stations on the course, although the first one isn't usually manned until the 10k starts - which is fine, just be aware.
• Course is certainly "flat and fast" as A proved. The elevation gain for the entire half was somewhere around 140', and I think most of that was going under one bridge.

Week in Review (July 18 - July 24)

Tuesday (10,901 steps) - Barre with Gabi. Still feels hard.

Wednesday (14,993 steps) - Barre sculpt with Kelly. I was able to do about 99% of it, but still super hard and sweaty. Traffic was a damn nightmare getting out of downtown. By the time we got to run club it was almost 6:30. We ran a few slow miles anyway, and thankfully it was cloudy. Also, it was freaking windy. I picked up the Hoka Insticts I won recently, and they are really pretty! Looking forward to trying them out.

Thursday (15,914 steps) - Met Janna for lunch at Mod Market. I had never been there and it was delicious. I got a rice heirloom salad - so tasty!

Traffic was a nightmare AGAIN, and it took almost an hour to get to Belmar for run club. Got there with a minute to spare to change clothes before heading out.

A and I decided to run on a bunch of random trails in the park since she was demo-ing trail shoes. Legs were tired from more back to back barre classes, but we got in over 3 miles, so that was nice.

Friday (11,328 steps) - Ang invited us to dinner again! We stuck around after eating and played "Things," which was a lot of fun.
Saturday (21,967 steps) - Runner's Edge was waaaaay down in Parker. We had the mile 12 turn around, so we had to leave extra early to get our aid station set up. We both opted to run short, A ran 5 with Pete and I did 8. The route was uphill on the way out, so thankfully, the last half wasn't as bad. My ankle started to ache a bit with about a mile to go. That's not good.

We went to the grocery store and then I made a week's worth of stir fry (for dinner and lunches).

Then we went over to Sully's grand opening at the Berkeley Park running store. It was a super fun evening - filled with food and beer! By the time we got home it was after 7 and we still had to bake a few dozen cookies. Exhausted.

Sunday (30,085 steps) - Longmont trail half marathon (recap to follow). Just enough time to go home and shower after the race before heading up to Heather's house for a BBQ. Thankfully it was substantially cooler in the mountains, it was just brutal down in the city. We ended up staying for quite a while, coming home for dinner and going to bed EARLY. Weekends are more exhausting than the week.
Monday (19,870 steps) - Runners Roost was hosting a "fun run" with Anton Krupicka. Kristen messaged me and asked if we were attending and offered to bring A down so I wouldn't have to drive home to pick her up. SO AWESOME.

As for the run, my legs were DEAD from start to finish of this. Kristen was kind enough to wait for us so we wouldn't get lost. Janet stayed with A since I was the caboose.  The route was not my favorite, we were running in RiNo, which can be pretty sketchy. It's also sad to be so slow that we were not able to get in any of the group shots.

Either way, The Source hosted us at the end and we got free drinks (I tried a "Juicy Watermelon" beer that wasn't too bad) and Stance was also there. I got a free pair of socks just because I had worn some to the run!

Janet, Kristen and me

When A asked Anton if she could get a picture, he asked for her name. Then he said, "I feel like I've met you before." Yes Anton, you have. It was pretty funny.

Stats:

• 125,058 steps
• 29.8 miles run
• 2 barre classes

Longmont "Trail" Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Sunday, July 17
Longmont, CO
Half Marathon #149
Weather - Sunny and hot

The Longmont Trail half marathon was probably the one race in the series that I was not looking forward to at all. For starters, running that far in the metro area in summer is miserable. It's been in the 90's for weeks and race day was no exception. Secondly, obviously, I haven't been running and I wasn't even really sure that I could physically get through the race. Lastly, I was confused and thought the Longmont half marathon I ran a few years ago was the same event - and I hate it. Anyway, not looking forward to it.

Jeff (the race director) had moved up the start to 7:45 (from 8 am), but said we could take an early start. Under normal circumstances I would not take an early start. In my current physical condition I decided I'd go ahead and start early, since I very likely would be out on the course all morning.

I got up around 5 and drove the 45 minutes or so up to Longmont. The parking lot was fairly easy to find at the Boulder County Fairgrounds and it was a short walk to the starting area.

I met up with fellow ERS ambassador Stacy, who asked if I wanted to start at 6:40-6:45 (I had been planning to start at 7). She had already spoken with the timing guy, who said we could pretty much start whenever. So as soon as I had my bib and went to the bathroom, we were off. Stacy was having some issues with her ankle, as well as some breathing issues. We managed to stick together for the first 4 or so miles, plodding along at a speedy 13:xx pace. The first two aid stations were not set up yet, but I had my handheld so I wasn't super concerned.

Around 4 miles in Stacy decided that she was going to drop at the 10k (the half marathon course was a double loop), so she pulled back and slowed down and I kept going.

Man. It is really hot in July. The first few miles, I had noticed a bit of a niggle in my hip, but by 3-4 miles in it seemed to loosen up. Other than general fatigue, I didn't find anything painful, so yay! I was heading into mile 5 when the faster half marathon runners and 10k'ers were getting started. I literally started an hour early and they weren't that far back.

These short areas of shade were amazing!!

Even though most of the course was on bike path, there were some appealing views

I haven't really done many double loop courses and figured I would hate the loop the second time around. Even though it was fiery hot out, it wasn't nearly as bad as I feared. There was enough shade on most of it that I didn't feel too terrible. Plus, I got to be lapped by all the fast people, so that's always fun.

My "A" goal for this race was to see if I could get through at least half of the race running. I am pleased to say that while my pace certainly wasn't anything impressive, that I was able to slow jog about 95% of the race. I say that is a success!

Official Time - 2:55:55 (wow)
Overall Place - 130/139
Gender Place - 84/91
Division Place - 31/33
Mile 1 - 13:55
Mile 2 - 14:08
Mile 3 - 13:44
Mile 4 - 13:45
Mile 5 - 13:25
Mile 6 - 12:33
Mile 7 - 13:11
Mile 8 - 13:43
Mile 9 - 13:20
Mile 10 - 13:40
Mile 11 - 13:39
Mile 12 - 12:48
Mile 13 - 12:34
Mile 13.12 - 11:50

I met up with some of my teammates after the finish (they were still there because they were waiting for awards - I'm the only one on the team that didn't make the podium, lol)

The gal in the blue shorts is the doctor that has been working on my hip - race was approved!

Thoughts

• Course is definitely flat and fast. If you're a person that can run well in the heat, this would probably be a good course.
• I wore my Hoka Cliftons on my longest run to date. Previously, my longest run was 6 miles. I don't know that I "love" the Hokas, but they have been my go-to shoe during my injury as they seem to minimize the impact a bit when I run.
• Course was well marked - there were several small out and back sections that were marked for both the 10k and half marathon, I don't think it would be easy to get lost.
• The aid stations are a blur. I don't remember. I believe there was water and Powerade, not sure if there was food/fuel of any kind.
• The medal is pretty cool - doubles as a bottle opener. 

• I haven't changed my mind on the summer racing. It sucks. I don't love the heat, at all.
• The race shirt is nice - gender specific, and randomly, black. It doesn't seem to be the super thin tech style, so I'll have to see what I can pair it with. But it's different, and since I'm an ambassador, I'll likely wear it. I only have one other black race shirt in the mix!
• This is called a trail race, but let's be clear - it's "urban" trail. That means that it is a combination of bike path and dirt, but nothing technical at all. Very little elevation change and I have to say that it is sort of a stretch calling it trail.
• Post race party was good, but sadly, one of the three venues that doesn't allow beer.
• Overall, ERS puts on a fantastic event (and I'm not just saying that!) and I would recommend any of their races. With that said, out of all the races, this would not be a "top" pick for me. It was however, better than I expected.

Week in Review (July 12 - July 18)

Tuesday (17,074 steps) - Guess what? Another rest day. Bah. At the beer run on Saturday I actually won a raffle! I received two free tickets to a screening of the new Ghostbusters movie. After work I headed down to the theater and met up with the same guy that I went out with Saturday for the movie. I was pleasantly surprised! I did not have high expectations, but it was pretty entertaining.

The movie hadn't started until 7, so it was yet another late night for me. Reflecting on the evening, TOTALLY not into the guy at all. I almost felt violated when he tried to touch me, so needless to say, NO SPARK, and no third date. Ah well.

Wednesday (20,372 steps) - Busy morning. Went to barre class at 7:15, then headed back to Accelerate Health for another visit with Kendelle. The good news is that she said my hips looked a lot better and that although my muscles in my left quad/glut area are still incredibly tight, she thought they weren't as bad as Monday. So more ART (ouchie) and more needling (with longer and more needles). It's so difficult to not be frustrated with this. After work headed down to run club. Walked with Maureen over to the dirt track and tested out the leg/hip with a loop on the dirt. Not great. Not painful, but gait is still horrible and compensating. So, another day I'll try again. To make myself feel better and convince myself that my ultra dreams this summer aren't over, I upgraded my Garmin (25% off!) to the Fenix 3.

Ended up staying at the store until 9 chatting with everyone. So yes, another late night.

Thursday (18,074 steps) - Woke up almost an hour before my alarm went off, so I took that as a sign to take a hot epsom salt bath. I mean, it can't do any harm, right? Special run club (and by run club, of course it's "walk" club for me) at the Infinite Monkey Theorem, which is a wine bar in the newest "hip" part of town (RiNo). Stance was there was a vendor and did a cool "finders keepers" to earn free socks! Unfortunately, Maureen and I couldn't do most of the course since we were walking, and we didn't find anything. We did get in about 3.5 miles of walking, so that was nice. We stayed and had some wine, then home.

I did, however, win a pair of socks in a rock, paper, scissors game

Friday (16,954 steps) - Uneventful day, went to barre after work. Got home to find the response from my HOA. They are NOT approving my door and gave me less than a month to replace with an "approved" door (list of approved doors was not included). Spent the evening pissed off walking around the complex looking at all the other doors that are like mine. A called me (finally), and we chatted a bit.
Saturday (28,673 steps) - Up early for Runners Edge. The run was WAY DOWN in Highlands Ranch, so it took me an hour to get there. Supposedly a cut-back week for those people that are still running, so the run wasn't as early at least. Once again, started with the slowest pace group and did 6 miles.

Sat in a pair of recovery legs and then headed to Runners Roost to pick up some Body Glide before meeting Maureen at Former Future for the latest of the beer runs. This "run" went through Wash Park, and somehow we missed a turn and ended up doing 3.5 or so miles instead of 5k. This brewery is super tiny and we didn't have anywhere to sit for a while. Womp. 

Had a few beers and picked up some food from the restaurant next door. Unsure of what I might have done in the evening.
Sunday (43,013 steps) - Longmont Trail half marathon.

Rested and had lunch, then in the evening I met up with Maureen to carpool to the Trail Running Festival at Bear Creek. Again, no running, but it was a great evening with vendors, food and BEER. Another late night.

Laurie, Maureen & Colfax, Chris, me

Monday (17,090 steps) - Barre in the morning before work. The end.

Stats:

• 161,250 steps
• 19.1 miles run
• No cross training, but lots of walking
• 3 barre classes

Everything Else:

• Yep, reminded of why dating is the worst. I have just become too accustomed to being by myself. The guy was nice enough, but the idea of him touching me made me uncomfortable, almost to the point of feeling violated. #single4life !!
• Hip is... better, I say with hesitation. I did two runs over the weekend, both at a mid 13 pace. Which is MINUTES per mile slower than my slow pace.
• Another week of rest, I guess.