Backcountry Wilderness Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Saturday, November 5
Highlands Ranch, CO
Half marathon #157
Weather - overcast and warm

This was my 4th time running the Backcountry Wilderness half marathon down in Highlands Ranch. I had registered back in April for a mere $50. Having run this race before, I knew it was risky to register for a November trail race, but I went for it anyway. Heather decided to join in this year, since she had missed last year.

A had spent the night with a friend, so it was easy to be out the door by 7:15 and parked around 8:00. The line for packet pick-up was a little long, so I got in line for that first. I saw Lisa while in line and we chatted for a bit. On the way to the Runners Roost tent I saw an Orange Mud tent??? I have been an ambassador for Orange Mud for a few years now and have never had the opportunity to meet Josh (owner and innovator, recently moved to the Denver suburbs).

Me and Josh (this was actually taken post-race)

We talked for a few minutes, then I of course had to get through the bathroom line. I dropped my stuff off at the car and found Heather at the Roost tent.

Decided to start in the back of wave 3 and hope for the best. After completing the October barre challenge I had taken some days off and my legs had felt really good on my last few training runs. SADLY THAT DID NOT TRANSFER OVER INTO MY RACE. (This was probably foreshadowing of the plague that I would later be sick with on Monday).

Anyway, the first mile is on pavement and has a relatively steep hill. I was telling Heather that walking up the hill was allll part of the plan. What was NOT part of the plan was all the walking we would end up doing throughout the race. Dang.

Somewhere around mile 2.5 or 3

The course is not technical, and it's actually pretty fun to run, when your legs are up to it. There are only three aid stations on the course, but I carried my Orange Mud handheld and had plenty of fluids. It was surprisingly warm on the course, especially through the first couple aid stations. When we got on the single track section around mile 8, I unfortunately got stuck in front of two women that talked NON-STOP about baby showers and being pregnant and planning for their baby. It was pretty much torture. I finally slowed down and jumped off the trail just so I wouldn't have to hear it anymore.

Single track leading up to the last aid station

The last aid station is at mile 11 and I remembered that it was a nice downhill until the finish (except for that horrible hill at the very end). Unfortunately, neither one of us really had anything in the tank. We were running (slowly), but neither of us felt great.

Photo taken by a teammate

I did run up the whole hill to the finish, although Heather smoked me to the actual finish line. A very disappointing finish time for me, 25 minutes slower than last year, womp womp womp.

Official Time - 2:43:18
Overall Place - 668/820
Gender Place - 319/435
Division Place - 123/158
Garmin Time - 2:43:21
Garmin Distance - 12:96 miles
Mile 1 - 11:53
Mile 2 - 13:27
Mile 3 - 11:38
Mile 4 - 13:53
Mile 5 - 13:13
Mile 6 - 13:03
Mile 7 - 11:35
Mile 8 - 12:29
Mile 9 - 11:11
Mile 10 - 16:08
Mile 11 - 13:18
Mile 12 - 11:27
Mile 13 - 10:33

Thoughts:

• This is a great event. I've been lucky to have had great weather three out of four years. If I am in town, I will run this one again for sure (and register early for a fantastic price).
• Course is very well marked, no issues getting lost on this one.
• Three aid stations, all had plenty of volunteers, water and Nuun. I don't recall if there was food or not. I used only one package of Honey Stinger chews all day.
• The race shirt is super cute - long sleeve with the logo on the front, sponsors and course map on the back. 
• Last year we got a coffee mug in our swag bag (and I use it every morning for my cup of coffee). This year we got a glass - not a pint glass, almost looks like a mason jar. Super cute.
• The medal is awesome, and doubles as a bottle opener!

• They had Flippin' Flapjacks (which is always great), and beer from Living the Dream brewery (also good).
• The only "bad" part of this race is that there is no assigned parking lot for use. In the first year I ran we were able to park at the neighboring rec center, but that has not been allowed the last few years. Parking is in residential neighborhoods and can be frustrating, so allow extra time so you don't have to park really far away.
• There were more port-o-potties this year, which has been an issue in the past.
• Definitely would recommend, I'll likely return next year!

Week in Review (October 25 - October 31)

Tuesday (22,375 steps) - Got up to run my 6 miles, and it was ROUGH. My legs are so fatigued from taking so many barre classes. It was, however, super nice out. Not windy, and warm enough that I felt comfortable in a skirt and tee. I also found one of the mystery eggs! Of course that meant I had to carry it 3.5 miles back to the house.

Excited to head to the Nature Center on Saturday to see what it's all about! Went to Barre Fuzed with Laura at noon - like always, a super challenging and intense class. She is by far my favorite. A didn't have soccer practice after school so we stopped by Arvada City Hall so I could drop off my ballot and then on to gymnastics for her. Dinner and bed.
Wednesday (16,659 steps) - 6 am barre class with Nicole. It was a struggle to get through this one. Run club! We figured that it would be a costume run because it was the last one before Halloween. Turns out, no. But that's ok, I still looked awesome dressed as Wonder Woman.

Heather and I did a short run with Colfax, then stuck around after to listen to Corky's presentation about the Fire & Ice marathon.
Thursday (20,008 steps) - 6 am barre class, and REALLY hard to get through this one. Can't wait to be done with this challenge so that I can finally get a break! This is rough! A had soccer so I was able to get out of work early, which meant that we were able to get to Belmar early. They for REAL had a costume run, which was a lot of fun. Sadly, I didn't win a prize.

We went to Rocko's after for nachos, off course. Had a great time hanging out with people that don't normally come (Jared, Jen and Sean), but ended up staying too late, which made A a bit mad.

Sean, me, and A photobombing

Friday (16,579 steps) - "Slept in" and then barre at lunch with Sasha, which wasn't that bad. Left work early so we could go to Trick or Treat Street in Olde Town with Rose and the kids.

We met up with Jessa afterwards and went to Schoolhouse for dinner and drinks. We haven't seen each other in ages, it was really fun catching up.
Saturday (28,976 steps) - I had messaged Amy and asked her how hard the Sculpt barre class was since it was the only one I would be able to take with A's soccer game being at 11. She said it was really hard, so I opted to skip since I have a sizable lead in the challenge and went for a long run instead. It was pretty warm and WINDY. The way out was not the best, the way back was pretty good.

Home with enough time to shower and eat a quick snack before going to A's game. Mo and Colfax came, which was fun. We went to brunch at IHOP after - yay for red velvet pancakes! Lazy afternoon until it was time to take A to a birthday party, and for me to go to Jessie's 40th birthday. Picked up A and went back to Jessie's, staying until after 11!

Nikki and A - only picture I took all night.

CRAZY LATE NIGHT.
Sunday (14,046 steps) - Barre at 9:30 with Andrea, then home for TV, laundry and vacuuming. Plans to go for a hike or walk never materializing. Barre again at 4:30. Finally got Heather to join us, so that was fun. Went to Denver Beer Company after, then I took Colfax for a quick run.

Dinner and Walking Dead.
Monday 25,073 steps) - Since the only way I would lose the challenge would be if Emily went to every single class, I risked cancelling my last class and went for a run instead. Was really surprised at how good my legs felt! Not a super fast pace, but very little walking. Hurray!

Left work a bit early so that we could go Trick or Treating. Traffic was horrible. We went to Smashburger for dinner while we waited to hear back from Jessa. We ended up just going out around our neighborhood when we didn't hear back from her. A barely wanted to go to any houses, so it turned out nicely.

Watched Quantico and went to bed early.

Stats:

• 143,716 steps
• 26.4 miles run
• 6 barre classes
• Current weight 125.2. Ate like crap the whole weekend, and ALL the candy on Monday. Weight reflects all of those things.

Everything Else:

• Nothing else.

Week in Review (October 18 - October 24)

Tuesday (24,614 steps) - Up early AGAIN for a long(ish) run before work. It was definitely colder than last week and I was grateful that I was smart enough to wear long sleeves. The sunrise wasn't as impressive this week either, but according to Strava, I was faster.

Went to barre during lunch, but sadly it wasn't Fuzed, we had a sub. I had parent-teacher conferences, and once again, nothing but good things to say about A. So proud of her! Then we had gymnastics, a "reward" visit to Yogurtland, and dinner at home. In bed too late.
Wednesday (18,460 steps) - Went to barre at 6:00, when I discovered my biggest competition had gone TWICE the day before. I made the decision to go again at lunch. Something is wrong with me. After work we went to run club at Roost. Heather and I ran with Colfax while A stayed at the store with Mo.

A brought her viola and played for all of run club!

I had to get on a conference call with the ERS ambassadors to discuss next season, which ended up lasting almost an hour. Decided to DVR the debate since I had missed it, but it didn't start until 10. I only made it through the first half hour before I had to go to bed.
Thursday (17,365 steps) - Barre at 6:00. I'm really starting to feel it now, this was my 20th class of the month.

Getting a bit concerned about some tightness in my left hip again. I may have to bow out of this challenge - I don't want to risk injury! Belmar run club, where I ran with Colfax again. MUCH cooler tonight and I was really wishing I had long sleeves and/or gloves.

Brrr. Rocko's afterward. Finished watching the debate, in bed late.

Friday (11,297 steps) - SLEPT IN FINALLY. (So strange that 7:00 is sleeping in). Binge ate donut after donut (and excessive amounts of candy at work. Barre at lunch with Sasha. Stopped at the store on the way home (and bought another donut?).
Saturday (50,212 steps) - Long run with Runners Edge! I was sort of dreading this run because a). it was on Big Dry Creek and b). because I'm super tired from all the barre classes. Turns out, the course was actually pretty good. I had planned on 16-18 and the course was a big 8 mile loop that went west on roads out to Standley Lake by my house and then looped around on dirt and pavement. I did a counter-clockwise loop with the 4:20 pace group and then did the second loop clockwise by myself. It actually went pretty well, all things considered.

Yanny the Yak

Rushed home to shower and make lunch before A's soccer game.

Lounged around in the afternoon. Went to the rec center to book A's birthday party before meeting up with Amy and her son David at Sweet Tomatoes for dinner. Then we head up to Broomfield for a corn maze in the dark. Super fun time, even though we only found THREE checkpoints in two hours. Ah well, it was fun (even though a late) night.

We have been friends since 7th grade!

Dark and spooky

Sunday (16,643 steps) - Barre class in the morning. Early lunch, sat in the Elevated Legs before meeting up with the girl to return them (sad).

Batman Sour will NOT miss the legs. The sound  freaks him out.

Walked around the mall, which is always a bad idea because I always end up buying things. Then ANOTHER barre class (this time A went too), and after class we went to Denver Beer with Mo.

A and I walked Colfax for Mo since she still can barely walk. I was craving Panda Express, so we stopped and picked some up on the way home (and they were out of fried rice?) By the time we got home it was late. HOWEVER, IT WAS THE SEASON PREMIERE OF THE WALKING DEAD. OMG, what an intense episode. Pretty upset with who got killed off (why, Glen, why?) and then still stayed up to watch an hour and half long episode of the Talking Dead.
Monday (13,569 steps) - My biggest competition went to barre FOUR TIMES over the weekend, so I went to barre during lunch since Troy was gone. Then I went again after I picked up A at Scouts. I know, I'm obsessed. The night class was taught by Leah. I haven't taken her class in a while and it pretty much killed me. Dinner, shower, bed.

Stats:

• 152,160 steps
• 27 miles run
• 9 barre classes. I understand this is too much. But I must win this challenge!!!
• Current weight 123.0. After Friday's binge I was pretty careful all weekend.

Everything Else:

• Pretty unhappy at work right now. I may need to start looking for something else. Although, I do really enjoy the flexibility that I have here. Womp.
• Financially, I'm struggling right now. My ex hasn't sent money in a long time, and I'm back to some irresponsible spending habits. I need to get this in check, since obviously my situation isn't going to be improving any time soon.

Week in Review (October 11 - October 17)

Tuesday (29,096 steps) - Motivated! Up early to run at the lake. I wore long sleeves since it's been cold in the morning. Within 15 minutes I was warm enough to lose it, even though it was decently windy. I did have to wear my headlamp for all but the last mile. I was a bit faster than I expected and it was not awful.

Went to Laura's barre fuzed class during lunch. Tough workout, like always. After work, picked up A from soccer, went to the library for some homework, then gymnastics. As always, one of the busiest days of the week.
Wednesday (19,700 steps) - Barre class at 6:00. I ended up having to leave work early to pick up A after school because her soccer practice was cancelled. She did homework while I went back to work until it was time to go to run club. We had just enough time to go to Nothing Bundt cakes before the run. Mo was there with Colfax, so A stayed with Maureen and I went for a run with Colfax. It was a little chilly, but I was ok in my short sleeves and skirt.
Thursday (17,914 steps) - Barre class at 6:00. So tired! I had a long day at work and by the time I picked up A we were running a little late for Belmar run club. Met up with Maureen and A went with her again while Colfax and I went for a short run through the park. Interestingly, even though it was a lot warmer, I felt colder in a tee and capris than the night before.

We went to Rocko's afterwards for nachos and a beer (for me).
Friday (21,611 steps) - A had the day off from school, so I also took the day off. I went to barre at 7:15, then A and I packed and headed up to Berthoud Falls to hike at Jones Pass. There were only two other cars at the trail head and we lucked out never seeing anyone else on the hike. We were both overdressed and had to lose layers early in. I was a bit bummed that we seem to have missed all the fall colors, but it turned out to be a gorgeous hike. We had lunch at 11,700' IN SHORT SLEEVES. Once we got just a bit higher than that (and above treeline), we had to put on jackets as it got very windy.

On the way down, we were able to lose the layers again when we got back into the treed area. We drove to Central City to meet up with Kathy from Elevated Legs so I could pick up my rental. Then on to the expo for Denver Rock n' Roll half marathon. Expo is still at the horrible National Western Complex, although it was better than last year's. We wandered around for a while chatting with people and bought some fun Injinji Halloween socks. THEN, we drove up to Godfather's pizza for dinner. Such a busy day!
Saturday (21,523 steps) - Drove down to Stapleton for Runner's Edge. Finally healthy enough to run with my old pace group and did 6 miles - still beautiful fall colors in the city!

Then I headed over to a barre class at 9:30. Just barely had enough time to shower before going to A's soccer game.

Lisa met up with us and then we went to HuHot for lunch. Went home to sit in the Elevated Legs and ended up napping until it was time to take A to Rachelle's birthday party. After I dropped her off I went to Carrie's birthday party, only staying until about 8:30.

A new to me beer!

Headed home to watched American Horror Story and get my race clothes ready.
Sunday (38,361 steps) - Rock n' Roll Denver half marathon.

Drove back up to Thornton to pick up A from her sleepover. I was ravenous after the race, and decided I wanted a burger. We went to Red Robin and just barely missed the busy lunch rush. Showered, then sat in the legs and napped on and off. Barre class at 4:15. I'm a few classes ahead at this point, but my competition is fierce - and willing to come more than once a day! Dinner, laundry and TV. Went to bed early - A was exhausted from staying up too late at her party and I was exhausted from doing all the things.
Monday (10,577 steps) - Finally got to "sleep in" until 7:00. Busy day at work. Went to barre class after work/school. Dinner and watching Quantico.

Stats:

• 158,782 steps
• 30.3 miles run
• SEVEN barre classes and a hike! (Personally, I really can't wait for this challenge to end. I can definitely feel a difference with my body and running taking barre, but not THIS many times a week. I need to rest!)
• Current weight 125.2. Maybe I won't weigh myself for a while. Way too depressing.

Everything Else:

• Work is still really busy. I really need a vacation. Badly. Getting stressed out.