Highlands Ranch Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Monday, September 7

Highlands Ranch (Littleton), CO

Half Marathon #136

Colorado Half #69

Weather - Mostly good, cool and sunny at the start. Warmed up at the end.

I woke up before 5 in order to make coffee before starting the drive down south for the Highlands Ranch half marathon. The course was point to point and I needed to pick up my bib and be in line for the shuttle buses by about 6. Bib pick up was fast and easy and I had no trouble meeting up with Heather for the shuttles. The drive seemed to last forever and we were dropped off at the start with about 20 minutes until the start of the race. There were plenty of bathrooms and we lined up to start at 7 am. It was a bit strange that there was no National Anthem, especially on Labor Day.

However, the race started on time. I have not been running and had no idea what to expect with this race, especially after having just done a longer run on Saturday. The plan was to take it easy and have fun. Well, we sort of accomplished both.

The race would prove to be a bit more difficult than the elevation profile would have you believe, and there were a decent amount of rollers - which I actually like a lot better than a flat course. We were met with a herd of buffalo before we hit mile 2, which was pretty cool. 

I promise these are buffalo and not just really big cows

The road for the first few miles was this weird paved dirt road, so it was very hard and rutted. I did not enjoy this section very much. There were a decent amount of downhills, but there were a lot of gradual uphills too. Some of the steeper downhills make my IT band scream. Womp.

The first 6 miles or so went pretty well, then we got to one of the longer hills of the course and we took some longer walk breaks. It was about this time that it started to heat up. I took my gel around mile 7 and for the most part I was feeling as well as could be expected for someone who has been doing little to no running.

Somewhere around mile 10 was when we got brief relief on some dirt (but more hills), and we both were kind of done.

We did run most of the course but we took walk breaks as needed. We knew there was going to be a decent climb around mile 11.5 and it did not disappoint. We walked up most of that. 

I checked my watch and we were really close to being under 2:20, which I hadn't done in ages, so we sucked it up and ran to the finish. The finish line, however, was on the other side of a six lane boulevard. So that was weird and probably jacked up traffic for hours.

Dan wasn't running so he was our paparazzi for this cool shot

Heather had a lot more kick than I did at the end and beat me by a few seconds. I was just happy to be done!

Garmin Time - 2:19:39 (practically the speed of light!)

Mile 1 - 10:52

Mile 2 - 10:37

Mile 3 - 10:11

Mile 4 - 10:20

Mile 5 - 10:22

Mile 6 - 11:47

Mile 7 - 10:19

Mile 8 - 10:01

Mile 9 - 10:40

Mile 10 - 10:15

Mile 11 - 11:33

Mile 12 - 11:36

Mile 13 - 10:59

Mile 13.1 - 7:15 (LOLOL)

We collected our medals, took some pictures and then I headed out.

Thoughts:

• This was an expensive race. Even registering in January cost me $70. Heather paid something obscene like $110 a few weeks before the race.
• That expense did NOT include custom bibs or fancy bibs with a timing chip, we had shoe tags.
• We also did not have swag bags. (Which honestly, is find by me, I have SO MUCH JUNK).
• I did not take the race shirt, looked like most others, a plain Jane cheap-ish tech tee.
• Course was very well marked with custom signage and mile markers at every mile.
• Plenty of aid stations, about 2 miles apart, although the first was at mile 3. There were also bathrooms at a few spots on the course.
• Finish line was pretty small, but they had ice cream sandwiches and snacks (but I didn't look too close so not entirely sure what was there).
• Overall, I think the course and the race was fine. I will likely not run this again because 1). it was expensive and 2). it's pretty far away.
• I would recommend this race - just register very early if you want to save some money!

American Heroes Run (Race Recap)

Saturday, September 5
Longmont, CO
Weather - overcast at the start, then HOT

At run club earlier in the week, Heather mentioned that she wanted to get in a longer training run. We had briefly talked about running together and she thought she might go to Longmont to run the American Heroes run. I had run the half marathon course there in 2013 and did not especially feel like running that far. There were tons of distance options (since the course is a 1.05 mile loop), so Heather and I signed up for the 9.11 mile distance and A and Dan signed up for the 5k.

Left the house around 7 in hopes of stopping by my parents house to find my race belt (which I could not find) and to get coffee and donuts at Dunkin (success).

This is filled with Reese's peanut butter. It was a bit much.

We got to Longmont around 8 and got one of the last parking spots in the lot. The race was set up to have staggered starts, with the 9.11 race beginning at 9:03 and A's race at 9:37. I spent some time talking with Cheryll and Jim and then we lined up.

I was not feeling great. My calves were tight and my legs were tired. We took short walk breaks almost every loop and we stopped at the aid station at the start/finish each loop to get water and/or Powerade.

There is really not much to say about this race. The course is a loop, mostly on paved trail, although there is a small section of dirt/sand. It is practically flat. There is no shade.There were not a ton of people running so the course was not crowded. Like I remembered from a few years ago - not my favorite course.

We saw A and Dan when we were heading out for our second to last loop - Dan had helped A get a new 5k PR! The last loop I was just done. Blech.

Official Time - 1:40:12
Official Pace - 11:01
Gender Place - 7/15 (woo hoo, top half! lol)
Mile 1 - 10:36
Mile 2 - 12:05
Mile 3 - 11:10
Mile 4 - 11:39
Mile 5 - 11:30
Mile 6 - 11:17
Mile 7 - 11:36
Mile 8 - 11:16
Mile 9 - 10:34

So the race measured short for me, but that was fine by me. I was tired.

A's results
Official Time - 32:47 (new PR!)
Official Pace - 10:24
Gender Place - 6/20
Loop 1 - 10:18 pace
Loop 2 - 10:07 pace
Loop 3 - 10:48 pace

A and her awesome pacer, Dan

Thoughts:

• If you like smaller races and knowing exactly what to expect every mile, this race is for you.
• If you enjoy being in races where people running all distances are on the same course - you might like it.
• The one aid station was well stocked with Powerade, water, and ultra-type snacks (since there was a 24 hour division and a 9:11 race, as well as a marathon. Didn't have to run with anything on me - that was nice.
• The course was marked almost over-the-top well for a tiny loop. But there was no way anyone was getting lost.
• The race was chip timed with an ankle bracelet and you could clearly see your overall time and pace every time you ran through the start/finish area. Results were posted regularly, if you care about that type of thing.
• Every finisher received a dog tag.
• Overall - a good experience. I registered the night before, and included fees it was about $75 for both my race and A's - early registration is obviously even less expensive.

Week in Review (September 1 - September 7)

Tuesday (27,156 steps) - Cardio kickboxing. I gotta say, I don't like these. I don't have much coordination and I feel like I am "wasting" the exercises by not doing them properly. I used to enjoy the turbo kickboxing class at the gym, but these weird videos aren't for me. Met up with a couple of Craigslist who purchased my roll top desk and then went back to the doctor to get my injection. All this before 8 am! 4 slow/progressive miles on the treadmill. CIM is coming up quick and the thought of doing double digit training runs is daunting...

Wednesday (18,035 steps) - HIIT cardio & total body toning. Not sure what exercises I did earlier this week that had me feeling sore (inner thighs) and overall exhausted. J/K what I said recently about the videos not being "quite as hard." A and I went to run club (for the first time in a few weeks). Had a hot run with A, Lisa and Heather - great way to spend the evening.

Lisa, A and Me (The INKnBURN crew) - Lisa is an ambassador and on the Roost race team as well

Thursday (18,219 steps) - Cardio video that left me embarrassingly sweaty. Womp. After work we went to A's curriculum night at school (fancy new name for back to school night where they also corral you in the gym to be brainwashed into joining the PTA). We then went to the furniture store to put A's bed on order (since we sold her bedroom set when we moved - she is super pumped to upgrade to a more "adult" bedroom set).
Friday (16,530 steps) - Total body toning strength and HIIT cardio. I have done this video before (maybe a year ago?) and I like it. Not too many reps, and in the standard ABAB format, and then 20/10 x 4 HIIT sets. I swear time stops when you are doing 20 seconds of jump squats though. I added this one to my favorites and I will do it again. After work we went to dinner with Jessa and Jackson at a little Mexican restaurant down the street - it was tasty.

Believe it or not, I did not clean my plate. But it was close.

We stopped at the grocery store to pick up ingredients for my project - red velvet brownies. Thankfully, Jessa is an expert baker and she assisted me with making the delicious treats to take to Nate's birthday party.

Red velvet and blackish/green velvet (blue food coloring apparently didn't work)

Saturday (29,501 steps) - Up early for the American Heroes Run (recapped separately). On the way home we stopped in Boulder for a few errands. I had to stop at Sephora for some new lip gloss (if you haven't tried Buxom, you are missing out - it is the most fantastic gloss ever invented) and to Lululemon. Like most brands, Lulu discontinued the shorty shorts (best shorts ever to wear under skirts - they have tons of pockets and don't ride up). I had seen a pair online that looked like the pockets might work but the reviews were mixed so I wanted to try them in person. I ended up getting two pairs - one of which was on clearance - SCORE! A and I grabbed a quick Cuban sandwich for a small lunch and then met Heather at the Newton store. A talked me into getting her a pair of trail shoes (her first, and also her first pair of women's sized shoes - size 5 O.o). Then we made a quick stop at Flatiron's Running where I picked up another pair of INKnBURN robot capris for A in the next size up. Really happy that they brought in the kid's line! I hope these fly off the shelves so more styles will be made for them. Although at this point, A is now ok wearing women's XS tees, so it's not as urgent as before.

Went home and took a shower and then waited for Jessa and Jackson to get back so that we could drive up to Heather's house (the other Heather) in the mountains for Nate's 18th birthday BBQ. It was a ton of food like always, and I always love seeing all my friends.

A and the adorable Levi

Tried to stay up and watch a movie but was too exhausted.
Sunday (9,009 steps) - Slept in until something like 8:00. After a delicious breakfast of pancakes and peaches we went to my parents house to pick up a few things and then Target for a few others. (Which of course meant that I left with a lot of things I did NOT need). We also stopped by the animal shelter and looked at cats. My mom thinks Batman Sour needs a friend to keep him company as he seems very lonely at their house. I don't know about that, but figured it couldn't hurt to look? We went to Sprouts to pick up stuffed chicken for dinner. In the meantime, we needed to install her storm door. The box claimed it could be done in 45 minutes. Spoiler - even with the assistance of a neighbor it took close to three hours. Ended up eating really late, and by proxy, going to bed really late. Exhausted.

How many people does it take to install a door?

Monday (34,474 steps) - Up crazy early (after not sleeping at all the night before) for the Highlands Ranch half marathon (recapped separately). Was home by 10:30 and treated to a fried egg sandwich (yay, because I was starving). I tried to take a nap but couldn't sleep. So tired and exhausted. Quick lunch and then after watching a marathon of Tiny House, Big Living, A and I left to go to the Salomon fun run & BBQ at Bear Creek State Park. The turnout was HUGE and we had a great time. We started with a 2ish mile trail run (man, my legs were DEAD), and then A participated in the scavenger hunt (which required more running). There were burgers and beers and lots of friends. This was a lot of fun.

Dan and A running the trails at Bear Creek

Dan, Margo, Maureen holding Colfax and A at the top of the hill for the scavenger hunt

A looking "cool" in her hoodie

Heather and I wearing our matching "Will Run For Beer" shirts

This is what happens when A takes my phone - selfies...

A at the top of "mini Mt. Everest" - which she ran up a second time with Dan

Got back home around 7:30 for second dinner of stir fry, and then we watched the season finale of Walking Dead to get us pumped up for the new season starting next month.

Stats:

• 152,924 steps
• 29.7 miles run (wow, it's the most miles ever)
• 86 minutes of cross training (other cardio/HIIT)
• 35 minutes of strength/stretching

Everything Else:

• Obviously I still haven't moved. Shockingly, there were problems. Maybe this week?
• That's about it. I'm so boring.

Ragnar Trail Angel Fire (Race Recap)

Friday, August 28 - Saturday, August 29
Angel Fire, New Mexico

So I was surfing Facebook late one night when I was having trouble sleeping. My good friend and Runner's Roost teammate, Heather, posted that she was looking for another person to run Ragnar with them in New Mexico. I was interested, but knew that I would have A so I didn't think that I would be able to do it. She said kids were welcome to come so I committed to be on team "The Running Dead" assuming I didn't have any major scheduling conflicts at work. My attorneys were find with me taking Friday off, and I called A in from school.

Thursday

My dad dropped off A at my office so that we could head down to New Mexico right after. This was a bad idea. It's like I've forgotten that Denver traffic is THE WORST. It took us an hour just to get to Ikea, which is something like 10 miles away. Shortly after getting to Castle Rock (about 25 miles away), it started to rain - pretty heavily. We stopped in Colorado Springs and went to Hu Hot for dinner. I was thinking that we had missed a bulk of the storm as it had stopped raining by the time we were done.

However, I was wrong. As we got closer to Pueblo, the rain got heavier. It was super dark and my wipers were going as fast as they would go and I could barely see. I was cruising along at an uncomfortably fast speed of about 40 mph. I had A call my dad to see where an affordable hotel might be and decided it was best to just stop for the night. We stopped in Colorado City at the Days Inn, about an hour north of the New Mexico border.

Friday

We got up at 5:30, giving us enough time to get dressed, load up the car and grab a quick breakfast in order to be on the road by 6:15. We had to make one stop in Trinidad to buy bottled water, and then we were on the road again. We arrived in Angel Fire just after 9, in time to see the fog covered ski slope that was the backdrop for our run. I found our team camp with no problems - it was the ever so wonderful theme "The Running Dead" and was decorated like the zombie apocalypse. SO FUN.

I was to be the leg 1 runner and still had a while to go. We sat around and talked, decorated our team shirts with fake blood, ate some lunch and drank a beer. Headed over to the start line for my 1:00 pm wave start only to find out the race was going to be delayed because of lighting. Arg. Headed back to the camp. Ate more. Around 2:00 there was still sketchy weather and thunder/lightning so the race was postponed ANOTHER HOUR. Sigh.

A was pretty terrifying in this clown mask

Leg 1 (Green Loop - "Easy")

Loop 1 - INKnBURN "zombie" tech tee

Finally, at 3:00, we were off. Due to the postponement there were quite a few of us starting at the same time. Even running a sub 10 pace (which really is the fastest EVER for me lately), I was dead last heading out for the "easy" loop. The first mile was on road and paved bike trail with a gradual downhill. That part WAS easy. However, I quickly overheated with my long sleeves, and I had to strip on course to get the top off as the sleeves were too tight to just pull up. There was a gradual uphill until the course moved onto the trail.

It was really pretty, but steeper than I expected. The green loop merged with the yellow but it wasn't congested or crowded. Steep climb towards the end of mile 3. Finally, we were at the top of the hill and there was a lovely downhill that I cruised down, jumping over ditches (glad I ran this section in the daylight first as all loops would run this last half mile). There was a weird section about a quarter mile out involving stairs and running on a boardwalk type surface before heading into the chute. I handed off to runner 2, Shelby. (Thoughts about the green loop? Not exactly what I would call "easy").

Headed back to the camp to for a beer. Most of the team stayed in the village. Probably 30 minutes after I stopped running, the rain and hail started. It was coming down so hard and so fast that the camp began to flood - there was seriously a river running in between our camp and the one next to ours. We thought for sure the race was going to end up getting canceled because the weather was so awful. Turns out the race was going to proceed as long as there was no lighting.

Spent lots of time just sitting around and eating. A participated in the "air guitar" contest. Sadly, she didn't win the overall prize, but she did get a stainless steel Ragnar pint cup out of it. I decided to lie down and take a short nap before my next leg since I was going to be running much later than originally planned.

Leg 2 (Red Loop - "Difficult")

Taken before it got dark so I could get a picture of our outfits

I was awoken by A hovering over me telling me to get up. I really didn't want to. I was so tired. But I dragged myself up and then went to sit in a chair, looked up, and saw Dan. That's who was handing off to me! He had run WAY faster than expected and I obviously wasn't there. Luckily I had all my stuff ready and I ran to the transition tent and headed out, half asleep. There was a full moon but it was obviously SUPER dark, and this was my longest and most difficult leg. The first half mile or so was on the road, and then it moved onto the trail.

I was completely alone, I could not even see other headlamps. The trail didn't seem too technical and I'm assuming it was pretty but it was dark so I have no idea. The first 3 miles was all uphill so there was very little running for me.

When I hit the three mile mark I knew it was mostly downhill so I ran as much as I could. I haven't done much running at night, and certainly not on trails, so this was fun. I had a great time on this loop. (And looking at my Garmin information - turns out my sprint into the finish was just that - 7:22 pace O.o)

Headed back to the camp and everyone else was in bed, except Dan. He stayed up with me while I had a few beers and then I headed to bed around 2. Was woken up fairly early, maybe just before 6 because everyone was starting to wake up.

Leg 3 (Yellow Loop - "Moderate")

Matchy matchy mummy tech tees!

I wasn't feeling all that great so I decided not to eat before my run. I spent some time in the village waiting for Dan to arrive. He took a lot longer than expected, so I was wondering if he even ran the correct course. I headed out for my last leg of the race just before 9:00. The first mile or so wasn't too terrible, but then the climbing began. It was substantially more difficult than I thought. It was more technical than the red loop with a lot of roots and rocks. And the climbing. So much climbing. It was steep and I was tired and it was already hot. There was very little relief from the climbing, not many downhills or flats.

There was a small section of downhill and then the course merged with the green and I was back in familiar territory. Bombed the downhill again and was super happy to be done.

Due to the late start and slower running (mostly because of trail conditions), our team was in danger of not finishing in time, so we had to "double up" our runners. Good - because then we would 1). finish and 2). not finish so late that I would be driving at night again.

A and I went up the hill to the Lodge and got some breakfast (I had a delicious ham/cheese and green chili quiche and A had a breakfast burrito). We started to pack up our stuff since were planning on heading out right after the team finished. Spent some time in the Elevated Legs after Heather and Dan went out for their last leg. Not more than 15 minutes after they headed out the rain started. AGAIN. A and I sat in the car and only headed over to the finish when we thought they might be finishing. They came in - cold and soaking wet. We got our team picture taken and then, of course, it stopped raining.

Runners Roost team members (Dan, Heather, Me)

We helped tear down the camp and then headed out around 3:00. The drive back was just about as adventurous with MORE torrential rain. We stopped in Pueblo for dinner (burgers), and got home around 9:00.

Whirlwind weekend.

Thoughts

• This was only the second relay I have ever run, the other being the SoCal Ragnar back in 2012. This was THE MOST FUN EVER. I had such a great time running this, and again, I really love being on a team that is not competitive. Takes off a lot of pressure!
• The courses were marked extremely well. At night they had LED lights of some kind on all the markings so they were easy to see even from a distance.
• The transition tent was well organized and it helped to have the color of the bracelets we wore match the color of the loop we were running.
• There was only one bib, and it was given to us on a race belt so it was really easy to change hands.
• I would 100% recommend a trail relay - ESPECIALLY if you like trails. So great. I hope to do another one sometime!

Week in Review (August 25 - August 31)

Tuesday (17,042 steps) - Upper body strength training. This was a surprisingly "different" workout, and I enjoyed it. Not moves that I normally do. Since I am not going to be able to do a video on Friday (because I'll be at Ragnar), I figured I would have to do a "double" day. The evening video was HIIT cardio and abs. (Note: seemed reasonably difficult when I was doing it and the next day my abs were screaming).

So apparently this is what I look like when I do jump squats?

Wednesday (21,501 steps) - Upper body strength and cardio. Probably not the best idea to do back to back days of arms. My triceps were already pretty sore after yesterday's video. As a note, the cardio was jumping jacks in between every set, which I kinda liked. This was a good video. Super quick trip to the gym for 2 miles.
Thursday (15,561 steps) - Woke up at 4:15 and couldn't go back to sleep. I tossed and turned, did a load of laundry and one of my favorite videos, the butt & thigh "drop it like a squat." Because I am the most intelligent person on earth, I planned to leave for Angel Fire right after work. Like in the middle of rush hour. My dad was kind enough to bring A to my office, and we left right at 5. And promptly sat in horrible traffic. We didn't even get to Colorado Springs (something like 75 miles away) for well over 2 hours. We hit some rain and stopped at Hu Hot for dinner. When we were done eating the rain had subsided, only to pour on and off. Finally we stopped for the night in Colorado City because the rain was so bad I could barely see. I can't see the best at night to begin with, and pouring rain makes it worse. We were in bed by 10.
Friday (25,433 steps) - Up by 5:30 and then quick breakfast at 6 before heading out. Stopped in Trinidad to buy bottled water. Arrived in Angel Fire without further incident just after 9:00. I'll blog about the race itself, so I'll leave it at that - but will put in the picture before leg 1.

Saturday (32,018 steps) - Finished up with the race, helped gather up trash and pack up gear before heading out just after 3:00.

Dan, Heather, Me - the Roost Runners from Colorado

First we got stuck behind the slowest and most nervous drive ever leaving the resort. Once the road straightened out we got stuck in MORE pouring rain. I swear, the rain follows me. We drove in questionable and hard to see conditions all the way until Trinidad. Stopped at Applebee's for dinner in Pueblo (which was delicious), and got home just after 9:00 pm. Even though I was exhausted, we unpacked the car, I threw in some laundry and had a beer. Bed by 10:30.
Sunday (15,776 steps) - The weekend caught up with me and I slept until 8:30 - which is CRAZY late for me. We had coffee and pastries for breakfast. Was sore/exhausted so I did the optional pilates video before taking the kids to the park for some ring toss and horseshoes while Jessa went to the gym.

Then we all went to the park down the street for A's start of the year Girl Scout BBQ. Unlike New Mexico, it was sunny and a jillion degrees. Back to Jessa's for an hour and then over to my parents house for my dad's birthday dinner of lasagna and angel food cake. Second dinner of homemade chicken meatballs with Jessa and early to bed.
Monday (15,747 steps) - Up early because I had a doctor's appointment. After almost a year of fighting with my current doctor over incorrect billing I finally got fed up and switched. Of course I had to go through all the paperwork and initial "new patient" nonsense. However, they were quick and efficient. If they get the billing done right I think I'll be pleased. Skipped the gym and did a kettlebell video (using dumbbells since I don't own a kettlebell). Jessa and I watched the Walking Dead (since we had forgotten to watch on Sunday) - bed by 10:30. Phew.

Stats:

• 143,078 steps
• 16.2 miles run
• 87 minutes of cross training (other cardio/HIIT)
• 75 minutes of strength/stretching

Everything Else:

• So I'm halfway done with my eight week program (already!) - I can't actually tell if I am getting stronger, but I am not finding myself quite as exhausted as I was in the beginning. I am getting into a better routine of doing the video in the morning, which saves me a lot of time.
• New Mexico was SO MUCH FUN - had a great time with friends, and A had a good time too. Even though this was a "runcation" she was able to have fun as well.
• I'm supposedly at the end of the line of my moving struggles - no details to share at this point in time, but hopefully after this weekend I will no longer be homeless!! (Although A and I will really miss staying with Jessa - she has been such a great friend through all of this!)