Week in Review (October 3 - October 9)

Tuesday (9.971 steps) - Barre with Sasha.

Wednesday (13,684 steps) - Runners Roost run club! The run started late so we opted to only do the big loop around the school (with a little bit added on) for just under 3 miles total. I demoed the new Brooks Levitate shoe and actually liked it! I probably could have laced them a bit better because I had some spots that rubbed, but overall, a decent shoe! A ran with Pete and I ran with Janet - fun times! The most exciting part was that I won another grand prize raffle! Looks like A and I will be doing some indoor skydiving soon.

Thursday (14,152 steps) - Berkeley Park run club! Once again A decided that she would hang out with Sully at the store. I had plans to maybe run around just Berkeley Lake, but then I was feeling pretty good so I ran around both. Fastest run in ages! (Cool temps I'm sure help).

The theme for run club was a GABF, so we had our own mini-GABF. We all brought in a bomber and sampled different beers. Fun night!

Friday (11,242 steps) - Barre with Kelly.
Saturday (14,131 steps) - Luckily, Runners Edge's run overlapped with the community/team run at the Runners Roost store in Lone Tree. We had the 7.5 mile turnaround aid station, but neither of us wanted to run that far.

A and I decided to just run to the first aid station and then head back - hopefully seeing our teammates before they all headed out. We ran just over 4 miles and sure enough, got back to the store with enough time for some hellos and a team picture.

We spent HOURS at the store - luckily it was a breakfast potluck, so we had plenty of food. Lots of raffles for both Runners Edge and the team. Between the two of us we won a box of Honey Stinger waffles and a pair of Smartwool socks.

We rushed to pick up our aid station at 10:45, ran home to change clothes and then over to Berkeley Park for their first gear swap. Sadly, it was an afternoon of standing around and not offloading anything except a few running skirts to Kristen. We did, however, make enough money for Torchy's for dinner!
Sunday (28,417 steps) - Louisville trail half marathon.

After the race we headed into Boulder to visit the Roost and pick up my free pair of Asics. I didn't like any of the pairs I tried on so I ended up giving my free shoes to a random lady who was trying some on. Decided to go to the Southern Sun for brunch and to get a beer (there were some new dark beers on tap from the GABF!) We played scrabble AND I FINALLY BEAT A AT A GAME.

Put some chili in the crock pot and went to barre with Heather.
Monday (5,511 steps) - FIRST SNOW OF THE YEAR. Womp, womp. Thankfully, with it being Columbus Day there wasn't a ton of traffic so my commute wasn't a nightmare. Skipped the run at New Terrain because it was snowing heavily and we weren't in the mood. As you can tell by steps, I pretty much didn't move all day.

Stats:

• 97,108 steps
• 23.6 miles run
• 3 barre classes

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!

Week in Review (October 4 - October 10)

Tuesday (17,515 steps) - It was super windy on my morning run and my legs were still heavy after my "fast" run at RMRR. I only managed to get 2.5 miles in. Blah.

When to Laura's barre fuzed class during lunch. Regular busy afternoon of picking A up from soccer, homework at the library and gymnastics. Dinner, homework, TV and bed.
Wednesday (15,258 steps) - Totally invested in winning the barre challenge, so I got up early and went to a 6 am class with Nicole. This was only the second class I have taken from her, and I didn't love it. After work we went to run club. Fun evening running with Heather and Colfax, and then a pizza party at the store. Managed to not buy anything.

Thursday (14,371 steps) - 6 am barre class with Meredith. After work and school we headed down to Denver Roost for another Ladies' Night. We opted to not run, but we did enjoy the food and raffles.

 

Friday (13,708 steps) - DEAD FROM THE PLAGUE. My "maybe cold" turned into a full blown nightmare. Nightmare compounded by the main bathroom sink flooding.

The universe knows that sugar and carbs makes me feel better, so I had quite the feast for breakfast:

Went to a barre class during lunch with Sasha. I really like her classes, but it's hard to get away for more than one class during the week.

In the lead for now!

After work A and I went to Lowe's to buy parts to repair the sink. I was feeling like crap and we were pretty pleased with ourselves thinking we had it fixed. And then we realized the sink was leaking right at the drain. Long story short, we had to go back to Lowe's, buy more parts and channel locks and completely redo everything. Good news, we fixed it and we are awesome. Not the best way to spend a Friday night, especially when you're sick.

Saturday (8,259 steps) - Up early for A's soccer game. They were actually playing a team from their own school. They are playing better, but they still lost 4-0. A was pretty bummed.

Went back home to rest on the couch until I went to barre at 10:45. EVERYTHING FELT HARD. After showering and grilled cheese for lunch, HOURS of napping on the couch. Got up around 5 to get ready for Heather's birthday party. Instead of having it at her house like usual, it was at a bar/restaurant in Golden. The food had huge portions and the drinks weren't too expensive, I just don't like going out. It was great to see everyone, and I have to say that I was relieved that they kicked all minors out at 9 so we could go home.
Sunday (35,008 steps) - Louisville trail half  marathon.

After the race we headed home to shower and get ready for the Broncos game! We met at Heather's house and then she drove us to the stadium. What a cluster getting into the lot!

We walked around the replica of the original Mile Hi stadium and got to our seats a few minutes after the game started... with the Falcons already scoring a goal. The game was a lot of fun, even though we lost.

I hadn't been that hungry during the game, but pizza sounded really good. We decided to go to California Pizza kitchen for dinner. I had a chipotle chicken pizza (yes, I ate the whole thing), and A and I shared a slice of pumpkin cheesecake. Then we went to Heather's and watched the Presidential debate. What a fucking disaster. We didn't end up leaving her house until 8:45, so by the time we got home it was really late. Where did the weekend go???
Monday (13,913 steps) - Both of us slept in a bit too late. Chaos in the morning and we ended up leaving the house super late. At least it was a "holiday" so there wasn't too much traffic. Picked up A at Scouts and then went to barre class.

Stats:

• 118,032 steps
• 17.9 miles run
• Six barre classes. I ended up skipping the Sunday one since we went to the Broncos game.
• Current weight 123.8. One would think, that being sick with the plague and not being able to taste anything would aid in weight loss. Sadly, I barely moved all week, didn't hit my step goal on more than half the days, barely slept, and ate like crap.

Everything Else:

• Work has been really rough. Troy is getting ready for a 2-week trial and has been an nightmare to deal with. Compound his attitude with scheduling issues and I have NOT been looking forward to coming to work every day.

Louisville Trail Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Sunday, October 9
Louisville, CO
Half marathon #155
Weather - brisk at start, nice

Pretty bummed for the last race of the Endurance Race Series, the Louisville trail half marathon. I had only run this event once, back in 2013. Then, the race was in early May, and I remember it being chilly and not a lot of fun. Thankfully, I have runnesia, and it was much better this time around!

Race Day

We were up early to be out the door by 6:30, arriving at the start around 7. The plan was to pick up our packets (A earned another free race entry for all her volunteering, so she was running the 5k) and for me to take the 7:30 early start. (I wasn't planning on taking the early start originally, but since we had tickets to an early afternoon Broncos game, I needed to get an early start).

Packet pick up was a breeze and there was no line at the port-o-potties. We went back to the car and got everything ready and then met up with Brandon at the Hoka tent so I could demo some shoes. Unfortunately, I can't remember which ones I tried. The laces were tighter than I liked and the toe box wasn't as wide as I prefer, but they were fine. With a little more time/prep I'm sure they would be a good shoe - and not nearly as "tall" feeling as my Cliftons.

The 7:30 early start was pushed back about 10 minutes because an aid station wasn't set up yet. Not that we needed the aid station, but the aid station was also a course marking for a turn shortly after the first mile.

Anyway, I was glad that Stacy remembered where the course went, because I sure didn't. Anyway, off we went. First we headed out west on the Coal Creek trail. This is the section I am most familiar with in other races. I had kept my long sleeve shirt on because it was still really cold when we started. I was happy to have it, I pulled the sleeves over my hands - they were freezing!

The first part of the course is fairly flat and not technical. There was a small, maybe half a mile section that was on pavement, but most of it was on a wide, dirt path.

Cow on the loose!

After a half hour or so (maybe about 2.5 miles in), we looped around a small lake/pond and headed back the way we came.

There was a coyote hanging out in the fields nearby, causing havoc with the people walking their dogs. He didn't seem interested in the runners, however. Shortly after the turnaround I shed the extra layer, AND the lead runner was heading towards us (a Roost teammate, of course).

About mile 4 was when we ran by the finish line and continued to head east for the back part of the course. I didn't realize that the back part was where the 5k and 10k runners had to go. I had told A the course was flat, so when I realized the biggest hill was on her course I figured she'd be mad.

However, I saw her when she was 2-2.5 miles in and heading in to the finish. She looked really happy!

I walked up most of the hill, enjoyed the flat on the plateau, and then the small switchback section down the backside, where there was another aid station. This section of the trail was really pretty, and I didn't remember it at all from when I ran it in 2013. About mile 7 I figured I should take some Honey Stinger chews, only to realize I must have left them in the car. OH NO! Luckily, there was an aid station soon after and they had jelly beans. Can't believe I actually forgot my fuel, first time ever!

I ran pretty decent until we turned around, and then I was pretty much done (not good, I still had like 4 miles to go). There was a lot more walking than I would have liked, and my legs were feeling pretty fatigued (I had gone to barre classes every day for a month, so it wasn't really a surprise). Took all my pictures from this section on the way back since I was walking more.

Atop that "giant" hill

I did finish fairly strong and was really pleased to go under 2:30 for the first time in ages.

Garmin Time - 2:29:21
Garmin Distance - 13.10
Garmin Pace - 11:24
Overall Place - 130/152
Gender Place - 87/105
Division Place - 31/40
Elevation Gain - 453'
Mile 1 - 12:33
Mile 2 - 11:34
Mile 3 - 11:47
Mile 4 - 10:57
Mile 5 - 10:26
Mile 6 - 11:08
Mile 7 - 10:17
Mile 8 - 11:14
Mile 9 - 10:59
Mile 10 - 11:57
Mile 11 - 11:39
Mile 12 - 12:35
Mile 13 - 11:07
Mile 13.1 - 11:24

A was at the finish line handing out medals for the kids' race (by the way, they nearly trampled me, lol). I made a quick stop to the bathroom and then went to the finish line party to hang out. There was a special awards ceremony for the season pass holders. I was surprised and super excited to get a custom growler, 6 pack of beer and medal for completing the half marathon distance at all 9 races of the season.

I have no idea what I'm looking at (Photo: Lynette Johnson)

ERS Season pass holders! Can you find me? (Photo: Lynette Johnson)

A got third in her age group, although only overall finishers received awards at this race.

We stuck around for a bit talking with people and ate a quick lunch before we had to head out.

Thoughts:

• What a difference a season makes! When the course was all brown and dreary I didn't like it nearly as much. Simply gorgeous with the changing leaves!
• I really liked that the 5k and 10k did not do the first part of our course. This is the biggest event ERS puts on and there was NO congestion as a result.
• Plenty of aid stations, and thankfully, they had food.
• Gender specific shirts, royal blue color.
• (Large) medals for all distances.
• Awesome post-race party (although no beer allowed at this one).

Other:

• I will be back again next year as an ambassador for the ERS race series. This year there were 9 races, next year there will be 10, with a new race in Silverthorne. I will have a discount code for the season pass (available for 10k and half marathon) and individual races later this year. What an awesome series this is, I am so happy to represent for them and hope to see some of my readers at a race next year. I have added the dates to my calendar if anyone wants to start planning ahead.

Louisville Trail Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Sunday, May 5
Louisville, CO
Half Marathon #80
Colorado Half #19
Weather - Overcast and chilly

In our quest to run all the half marathons in Colorado, the Louisville "trail" half marathon was the choice for the weekend because it was close and less than half the cost of the "bigger" half of the weekend, the Colorado half marathon in Ft. Collins. Trail is in quotes because this is NOT trail. It is paved bike path and crushed gravel. No trail shoes necessary. So an urban trail? I dunno.

Anyway, the race started at 8, and we have run races put on by this group before and they aren't too big, so we dropped the kids off at 6:45, made the 20 minute drive to Louisville and parked a few blocks from the starting area. We hit the bathrooms and then went back to the car. We heard an announcement saying the race was starting in 20 minutes, and we weren't paying attention and realized we only had about 10 minutes for the race to start and we wanted to use the bathrooms again. There was also a 10K that was starting 10 minutes later and only one woman in line let us cut so that we wouldn't miss the start.

Well, we missed the start anyway, and I was the last one across the line. L is back on her kick where she wants to run fast, which is fine, she is clearly WAY faster than I am, and she took off. I tried to run just fast enough to keep people in sight so that I wouldn't get lost.

I have run part of this section of "trails" before (most recently the St. Patrick's Day 5K that A and I ran). Everything still looks dead and brown thanks to our 7+ months of winter:

Remember last week, in Eugene, where everything was green and lush??

I caught up to the last of the runners within the first half mile. And shortly after that was when I started walking. Early on, I was walking because my calves were tight. By the end of the race I was walking because I was tired and cranky.

This tiny section of single track was the only part I'd even remotely consider "trail"

I spent miles 6-9ish talking with a fellow Half Fanatic, Hope, which helped make the miles go by a bit quicker.

Really have to figure out why my upper body is so STIFF

 But I wasn't enjoying my day. I felt off and the weather was gloomy and the course was blah.

View from the peak of the one (GIANT) hill

I had talked my co-worker into running this and I spotted her on both out and back sections. She didn't enjoy herself much either.

I really didn't want to walk the end of the race. But I did. I walked more in this race than I probably have EVER. EVERY single mile, I walked. I bet I never ran more than a half mile before I walked. WTF, me.

L, who had been done a half hour, got shots of me heading into the finish. At least I looked cute?

Favorite course pictures and my finisher pic

Bib #2180

Official Time - 2:33:04

Official Pace - 11:41

Overall Place - 210/231

Gender Place - 127/142

Division Place - 44/47

MMR Time - 2:33:08 (slowest half in months)

MMR Distance - 13.24 miles

MMR Pace - 11:33

Mile 1 - 10:08

Mile 2 - 12:07

Mile 3 - 11:32

Mile 4 - 10:44

Mile 5 - 10:52

Mile 6 - 10:48

Mile 7 - 12:24

Mile 8 - 11:15

Mile 9 - 10:50

Mile 10 - 12:11

Mile 11 - 12:54

Mile 12 - 12:56

Mile 13 - 11:10

Mile 13.24 - 10:47

 

Thoughts on the race:

• Pretty well organized, but a bit confusing with two distances starting in two different directions
• Not really enough bathrooms at the start
• Generic unisex shirt = bad. Even the XS is giant on me. Waste of a shirt, I will never wear it. I swear, there were more women than men here - GENDER SPECIFIC PLEASE.
• I got a great deal on race registration through ZOZI (like living social) - $35!! So I guess I can't complain too much
• Nice medal
• Well stocked aid stations. They all had water and some type of electrolyte drink I had never heard of, but it tasted fine. Most also had little Lara bars and Honey Stinger gels, chews and waffles.
• Course was pretty well marked, mile markers at every mile, but with the multiple distances, the markers were a bit confusing.
• I like the figure 8 course, I got to see people on a couple out and backs - and reassuring that I was NOT last.
• Lots of food at the finish area. Rumor is there was beer but I was cold and cranky and we had to get the kids so I didn't even look for it. Finish area also set up with vendors like an expo, so there was stuff for sale at the end.

Thoughts on running:

• I am definitely in a funk. I hate running a lot right now.
• Calves are STILL tight and apparently NOTHING I do will fix it, they apparently will randomly flare up, and there is apparently NO cause for this. ANNOYING.
• Ankle and IT band both got a bit angry - but not too terrible. So happy I was only doing a half.
• I know speed is not everything. However, I'm tired of being slow. I'm tired of a jog feeling so hard. I've been to the doctor and there is no medical reason why I am so tired and sloggy all the time.

Anyway, the end. I've been complaining for the last 24 hours and even that is getting old. Anyway, L really liked this race and said she would do it again.