(..and then I ramble on anyway….)

Today was the Super Bowl 5K. We had a time trial scheduled for our Saturday workout, so I hadn’t been sure how serious to take this race. I spoke with my coach on Friday and he recommended not racing, but just “partaking”. I ended up pushing hard on the workout Saturday, so I suppose I knew it wasn’t going to be my best effort on Sunday.

I got to Wash Park around 9:15 and got in a bit of a warmup jog. It was actually a beautiful day, weather-wise. I wore calf-length compression tights and actually stripped down to a t-shirt to race. As I lined up at the start, two girls who looked like they were serious lined up just ahead of me. Although I’d never met her before, I gathered that one of them was Heather Utrata, a local runner who recently pulled off a 5 miler around a 6 minute mile pace. Well crap. Oh well, I reminded myself, I wasn’t “racing”.

I guess I had a few goals going into this race (A and B were of equal importance/awesomeness)

A. Win
B. Sub-20 (Sub 19:47 would be +)
C. PR

With Heather on the line, I figured A was out the window. Not a big deal. Because of yesterday’s hard workout (and Darren’s advice), I wasn’t really prepared to kill myself at the event, so decided to run by feel and see what happened.

The race started and three women rushed out ahead of me. I saw right away that one of them had gone out way too fast so within about 10 seconds of the race starting, I decided I wanted to hold onto 3rd place overall.

And then, I ran.

There were a few slick spots but not at all like the Rudolph Ramble. I just ran along, and the second half of the race generally consisted of me catching up to and passing guys. I think there were one or two guys that passed me. In the last half mile, I played cat and mouse with some guy, and with about a quarter mile to go, I told him to kill it and finish strong. But then of course we hit the three mile marker and my competitive spirit kicked in and we raced in. In the end, we had the same gun time, but his chip time was a second faster.

In that last 10th of a mile, I caught a glimpse of the finish clock and it was very clearly over 20 minutes. Damn, there went goal B.

I finished in 20:43, which WAS good enough for me to meet goal C. My previous PR, set at the Valentine’s Day run last year, was 21:16. After the race I went to retrieve my long-sleeved shirt I’d left at the start and cheered on other runners as they were passing mile 2. One of the highlights of the entire day for me was about a half hour later, when some guy finished, and came and gave me a big high five and thanked me for cheering him on while he was running.

Overall, the race went fine.

M1: 6:23
M2: 6:42
M3: 6:42
.1: 5:38mm

20:43 = 6:40 pace
avgHR 183, maxHR 191 – which is the highest I’ve seen it in awhile.

It’s funny how arbitrary pace can seem. I ran the Turkey Trot 10K at 6:40 and was really excited about it. Today actually seemed a bit tougher (and I don’t completely attribute that to running at sea level). The fact is, I know on a good day I can run faster than this. Today just wasn’t that day.

I’m sure it was a combination of a hard workout the day before (running AND lifting!), and knowing this wasn’t any sort of a target race.

But in the end, I can’t forget that this is a PR! This is the fastest I’ve covered 3.1 miles in a race situation. Anytime you do that is worthy of a good ole pat on the back. And some race bling helps, too. 1st in my AG, thank you very much!

Next week is the Valentine’s Day 5K, and of course in a month is the Pump and Run. As much as I’d have loved to rattle off a sub-20 today just as a confidence booster, that’s the day that really counts! As it was, my legs felt great today, less than a month after Houston. I’m thankful for that and look forward to continuing to get stronger and faster!

This was truly a race where things came together, and I hope I can harness this feeling for future outings.

The weather was perfect, 40s at the start. I wore an RRB top for the first time, with black shorts, swiftwick socks and my brooks racers and gloves. I had a long-sleeved shirt to start but actualy took it off even before we started running.

I went out with the 3:10 pace group, telling myself I would gauge how I was feeling and be willing to drop the pace if I needed. The first couple miles were incredibly congested and for awhile I regretted trying to keep up with this huge pack. However, it was great not to have to think. Our pace leaders, Tony and Chris, kept us entertained with chatter. As he’d warned, Tony had a tendency to drift ahead so I stayed back near Chris. My goal was 3:10 and I was content just hanging on.

I did the same thing I did at the Rock and Roll Denver Half, where I manually hit the lap button at the mile markers rather than relying on my Garmin.

After a slow first mile, we caught up to our goal pace pretty quickly. Then it was just a matter of dialing it in. I will admit, at mile 4 I was actually thinking that it wasn’t “easy” and I wasn’t sure if I’d be sustaining this pace the whole time. I considered saying something to Lydia, but kept it inside. After just a few more miles, I was happy to realize it was just a fleeting thought!

The marathon used RunPix.com, which is an awesome tracking program. You can actually follow your runner along on a coursemap, and it updates every 5K split. And of course, that means I even more data to geek out about!

5K split: 00:22:25 | 00:22:25 | 7:13 pace
10K split: 00:44:30 | 00:22:05| 7:10 pace

Ok, so for those of you who haven’t committed my PRs to memory.. last May I set a PR in the 10K: 45:16. Yes, I bettered it in the fall, but less than a year ago, this was faster than my 10K PR.

One nagging concern I’d had about the race was the distance. I’d gotten a few 18 milers in, but I was really hoping I’d be able to sustain the pace I wanted to for the entire distance. I wanted to be careful with fueling. I carried along my homemade energy gel in a flask. Because I actually like how it tastes (as opposed to GUs), I grabbed some every few miles to give myself a steady intake of fuel.

There were only fluid stations set up every 1.5-2 miles, and I’d been concerned that wouldn’t be enough, but it certainly seemed frequent enough. I tried the Gatorade at a couple stations, but the sickly sweetness was too much for me, so I stuck with water and my gel. (My gel was actually too thick so I poured some water into it to make it more “drinkable”)

15K: 01:06:53 | 22:23 | 07:11pace
20K: 01:29:15 | 22:22 | 07:11pace

I was really amazed how the miles kept ticking off. I ran close by the pace group, though didn’t get involved much in the discussions. I just listened and kept plowing along. At every mile marker, the volunteers would call out “7:12 pace!”. Chris the pace leader would announce our estimated finish time (generally closer to 3:09:30 than 3:10). I willed myself to nail the 3:10, despite these few faster seconds mile after mile.

HALF: 01:34:17 | 07:12pace

When I talked to Darren last week, he told me Tony would bring us through the half around 1:34. At the time, it made me anxious because my half PR is only 1:33:44. Well, we did it. But I felt like I still had plenty of energy to keep going. My calves were a bit tight (I’ve referred to the sensation before as “blocked”), but nothing too serious.

Around mile 15, our pace leader Chris veered off the course (I found out later he was taking a bio break). I just kept chugging along, but at some point looked at my watch and it was down to something like a 7:28 pace. Uh oh… I felt fine, but my speed had dropped. I pushed a bit (honestly, thus far it had been sustaining a pace, really not pushing it) to get back to where I wanted to be. By the time I hit the mile marker, I was fine. But it was a bit of a sign that I perhaps couldn’t just rely on the body here and there may need to be some mental strength too.

A few miles passed where I’d look behind me for Chris and not see him. Hmmm… I kept telling myself that so long as he was back there somewhere, I was fine. But it’d be a little comforting to KNOW he was back there…

25K: 1:51:49 | 07:12 pace
30K: 02:14:33 | 22:44 | 07:13 pace
35K: 02:37:04 | 22:31 | 07:14 pace

As it got later, my right midfoot got pretty sore. I wear Brooks racers for races because they’re nice and light, but this was the longest I’d run in them and the minimal padding was starting to make itself known. Again, nothing too serious but I suspected I’d have some blistering or something when this was all over. I did pass Big Jelly on the course – I felt bad as I knew he’d wanted to run 3:04 but hadn’t been sure if it would happen. It’s always tough when things don’t come together

I ran by one of the mile markers as they announced the winner and it was actually quite a thrill to think I was relatively close to being done!

Around mile 23, Chris and a few 3:10 stragglers came up behind me. I knew my pace was slowing and I wanted to grab onto them to get pulled along, but it was tough going. I heard him say “we’re still on pace for 3:09:30″, which was music to my ears.

Even though I’d told all my friends the day before I was going to start with 3:10 and see how it went,
Even though even 3:15 (or 3:20!) would have been a huge PR,
Even though I’d given myself permission to take a slower time to have a good race and not blow up,

I wanted that 3:10. I would have taken a 3:10:xx, just like I was content with my 3:30:05 in Steamtown, but I really wanted to come in sub-3:10.

It was after mile 22 or 23 that I let myself walk a couple water stops (very quick walks). This was something Tony had suggested at later stages in the race if you needed to get your heart rate down, etc. For me, it wasn’t a walk of defeat, it was a regrouping. The second time I did it, around mile 24, I fixed my eyes on those bobbing balloons ahead (the pace group) and told myself I wanted to catch them.

40K: 03:00:04 | 23:00 | 07:15

It was fun to see I hit the 40K right at 3 hours. So close! I paid little attention to anything apart from those balloons. I focused on them as I made my way through the city towards the finish. Only through my peripheral vision did I notice Brian cheering by our hotel. MUST…CATCH…BALLOONS…

Down the street I ran, struggling like someone in the last mile of a marathon, but not feeling completely spent. The balloons rounded the final corner. Then I heard a few more voices cheering me on, it was Darren and Colleen outside their hotel. Ok, when an Olympian cheers you on, you REALLY want to run faster! I rounded the last corner and wished the finish line were right there. Instead there was a long chute, so I poured on the last of my energy as I watched the clock ahead click forward to 3:10. I knew that I had some time to spare given my chip, and triumphantly cruised to the finish.

26.2: 03:09:52 | 07:15

Chris’ pace group had finished about 15 seconds ahead, and one gal who’d been running with him asked if I’d made sub 3:10 on my watch. When I said yes, she gave me a huge hug as though we were the best of friends. I’m not sure we’d even spoken through the run, but we were now sub-3:10 sisters I looked around for Lydia to congratulate her. Her PR before this race had been 3:09 and I knew she’d been up ahead with Tony and had set a PR. She’d actually been feeling so great she left the group a few miles earlier and ran 3:07.

We took a photo with our pace leaders, then gathered to meet the rest of the folks we knew. All the RRBers set PR – Shawna ran 2:47 and placed 9th female overall!

We went inside to get our gear (I was happy to put on my flipflops, but my feet escaped unscathed from my shoes) and fuel up. I’d brought my own honeymilk, but they were giving them away as well. Good thing, because the buffet of eggs, biscuits and gravy (and packaged oreos) did NOT appeal to me!

I chatted with folks and hung out for awhile, then eventually walked back to the hotel, grabbing a subway sub on the way. I used my travel foam roller at bit, and filled up a bag with ice and laid on it to treat my legs, but overall I really felt ok. My calves were stiff, but as soon as I got some compression socks on them (which I then proceeded to wear for 30+ hours, taking them off only to shower) they started feeling better.

Now it’s a few days later, and my coach has decreed this “recovery” week – no exercise at all! I’m sure it’s great for me mentally and physically, but I honestly feel great. This race was not nearly as taxing as others I’ve done. My pace through the race stayed quite consistent, and I feel like it was definitely within my abilities. Now of course I have to wonder what’s next!

I said it a couple times during the race and certainly after. I am SO thankful Darren told me to go for 3:10, and I listened. None of my miles were down at that 7:38 pace and it would have been a shame to run the race at that. I’m still trying to wrap my had around the fact I ran a sub-3:10 marathon (2 years ago that’d have been a men’s Boston qualifying time!). But I know how I felt, and I know it wasn’t a fluke. And I’m VERY excited for what the future holds, after finally getting that 3:30 monkey off my back!

2004: 3:38:39
2005: 3:30:05
2006: 3:29:41
2009: 3:29:36

9 minutes over 5 years, and then BAM! I’m in a whole different league now.

It was cold and icy, which left me a bit leery about my chances for the PR I wanted. Still, I tried to convince myself perhaps the fast people would stay at home

I didn’t sleep well last night, up from 3:30-5:30. Thankfully, the race didn’t start til 10am so I was able to fall back asleep til 8am. I got dressed in my 2XU tights, under armor long sleeved shirt, a headband and gloves, and swiftwick socks and racers. I picked up KJ and we headed to City Park. We met with Loren at registration, where I discovered my garmin wasn’t working. KJ offered to lend me hers (she JUST got it and isnt used to wearing a watch yet). I’d planned to do a running warm-up before the start, but we really didn’t have much time other than jogging from the car after dropping off my extra pants and jacket. The roads were VERY icy in places and I lined up right at the front. And then, we were off!

KJ has the newer Garmin, and I managed to hit the wrong button at the start so I only had the actual clock time to go by. That was just fine, though, as it was a tough run and I was content to run by feel. There were a handful of men in front of me, no women, and I decided I wanted to keep it that way

The course wasn’t one you could get bored with, because you had to watch your footing. I was glad there weren’t too many people around as I could move around to try to avoid icy patches. There were a couple slight footslips and a couple places I slowed a bit to avoid wiping out. Overall though I tried to run aggressively and trust myself. I hit the first mile at 10:06.

It was so cold that I actually had trouble feeling my feet: it felt like I was just pounding on two big balls in my socks. But I guess they didn’t get sore?

The course is decent in that there is a little tiny out-and-back at the Mile 2 marker, so you can assess your placing. My watch read 10:13 before I hit the turn around. (I’d read somewhere that to run sub-20, you should be sitting at 13 minutes right at the mile marker). There was another woman not far behind me, and quite a few within about a tenth of a mile – including Loren! I was really impressed with her pace!

Last year when I ran this race, there was a girl behind me at 2 miles. I’d told myself that if she didn’t catch me by 3, I’d be golden. You may recall, she passed me with two strides to go at the end. I vowed not to let that happen again, and pushed harder.

And then we hit the three mile marker and I gave it everything I had left. Despite the snow and ice, I pushed myself and was startled to see 18:xx on the clock as I approached. I crossed the line as the first overall female, and Lonnie announced it in a time of 19:06!.

Time: 19:06
Overall: 8/332
Gender: 1/209
Division: 1/63

Quick reminder, my PR was 21:16 at the Valentine’s Day 5K earlier this year. I was supremely pleased meeting my goal of sub-20 but also pretty shocked at my time, especially given the conditions! The second place woman came through 15 seconds later and we congratulated each other as we each helped to push the other (an aside – she was in the 50-59 age group. dang!)
Kathryn came through as fourth overall female and Loren cruised in shortly after as well.

The race coordinators asked me to stick around for awards and an interview for RunColo.com. As I waited, one participant asked if I’d worn a Garmin, b/c hers had measured the course as 2.91. Loren also said that her watch measured it at 2.89. I started to feel even more uneasy about my “big PR”…

It was cold but I wanted to stick around for the awards. I got my swag, and KJ picked up first in her age group as well! I got a $25 gift certificate from Runner’s Roost, a case of honeymilk (yay!!) and a medal-slash-Christmas ornament. Nice!

There was a plan to do a video interview for the website, but the woman’s camera wasn’t working so it ended up being a written interview. I felt bad for KJ and Loren as they stood there freezing as we talked about running. The male winner was a student in Georgia, home for the break. The interviewee and I told him all about my running group and how he should check it out if he moves back here after graduation

Finally we headed home, but I still felt really strange about the race. I knew I’d run well, and of course regardless of the distance I’d crossed the line first, but I wasn’t sure if it was really right to claim this big PR (30 seconds per mile faster than last week’s 10K, in less ideal conditions). I wrote about it on Twitter, Dailymile and Facebook, and then just as I’d decided to trust the race director’s claim of the length.. THE RACE ORGANIZERS UPDATED THE RESULTS TO REFLECT A SHORTER COURSE! Yes, my 6:09 pace dropped to 6:28 as they course distance was corrected to 2.95:

For participants safety, the course was modified where significant ice was on the road way. This caused the course to be 2.95 miles vs 3.1. We apologize for the course change. Our number one priority is your safety.

On Facebook, they apologized for the change and then flippantly stated we all had set a new PR for the 2.95m distance.

So…. I’m disappointed. And a bit frustrated and upset, actually. It was a miserable day for a race. I wanted to test myself at the 5K distance, despite the conditions. I wanted to end my 2011 race season with a 5K, not a random 2.95 miles. ESPECIALLY not in the cold and ice like it was. If I’d known last night the course was not going to be the right distance… I’m not sure I would have shown up?

Now I sorta feel like I have some unfinished business. If I extrapolate my pace, it would have been a 20:02, which is pretty close to what I wanted but of course who knows what that extra .15m could have changed.

I KNOW I need to flip my thinking and be really fricken proud at my place in the race. We ALL ran the short course, and I did it faster than any other female there (indeed, faster than 324 of 332 total competitors). I just wanted to see what I could do today in a 5K.

Yes, there are more races in the series and hopefully the weather will be more amenable to a good performance. I just feel like I didn’t get the chance to run the race I signed up for.

(Note: how would I have felt if the distance were correct and I hadn’t broken 20 minutes? Well, I suppose I would have blamed it on the weather..! but at least I would have been able to try. I was willing to keep running another .15 miles today if I’d been given the chance)

When I decided to come visit my parents in Arizona for Thanksgiving, I immediately asked Mom if she wanted to participate in a Turkey Trot. Of course she did So we registered for the Mesa 10K.

I’ve known for awhile my 10K PR is soft – I ran 45:16 at the 2011 BolderBoulder, but I was actually faster in the Rock and Roll Denver Half Marathon in October.

Obviously, my training has been going well and I’m feeling strong. Leading up to this race I had a few goals in mind. First, one of the qualifying standards for the Running Republic is a sub-43 10K. I decided I wanted to meet the qualification time at this distance as well. My more lofty goal was a 6:45 pace, which is just shy of 42 minutes. I honestly never even considered a ‘safe’ goal like “a PR”.

The forecast was for the 50s at race time, I swapped out clothes a couple times before deciding on LuLuLemon shorts, my Colorado Roller Derby tank and of course my Brooks Racers and swiftwick socks. I wore a sweatshirt and pants to the start to stay warm and cozy. I felt good: I tried to assess how my legs felt. They weren’t tight but also weren’t without feeling: I took that as a sign they were primed and ready to go. We got to the race about a half hour early, so I headed off on a warm-up jog and stretch.

Soon it was time to line up, and I headed on up pretty close to the front. The hazards of runs like Turkey Trots is that you get a lot of once-a-year runners who think they should line up at the front. I thought I did a reasonable job at starting ahead of anyone wearing cotton (a tell-tale sign), but I still had to dodge a bit once we were off!

The race did a good job at offering incentives: they had a costumed turkey who would run roughly a 45min race, and if you finished ahead of him, you got a certificate. Apparently there were also sub 35 and sub 40 certificates as well. The top 3 in each age group got medals, and the top finisher per age group got a turkey!

My last few training runs had lead me a bit leery of going out too fast and fading, so I just concentrated on keeping a comfortable yet somewhat aggressive pace. The first couple miles I just cruised along.

M1: 6:49
M2: 6:36
M3: 6:52

Once I got going, I felt I was doing a pretty good steady state run. Around mile 2.5 the course brought us back through the start again, and the subtle uphill. I didn’t know the exact elevation profile of the course but I was reasonably sure it was pretty flat.

It’s funny how these shorter distances feel. To hit 4 miles and be ~65% done! I had a couple guys pass me around mile 3 and 4 but it wasn’t the last time I’d see them (heh heh).

M4: 6:47
M5: 6:59

At the 5 mile marker, the clock read 8:45. I joked to the guy next to me that we’d set a new record. He asked what time I really had, I looked at my watch and it was 33:58. I reflected that I wasn’t sure I’d cover the 1.2 in 8 minutes and meet my sub-42 goal, but I still felt happy with my effort. But, it was also just over a mile to go and I felt the finish line pulling me in…

M6: 6:21
last .2: 5:30 pace

There was a nice downhill for the last full mile and I felt great as a cruised by people I’d been chasing for awhile. The very last .2 was annoying, with a sharp turn onto a gravel road and then another sharp turn up onto a grassy knoll: you actually had to brake to stay on the course! I felt great as I powered to the finish, and was VERY pleasantly surprised to see the clock!

Finish: 41:23
Pace: 6:40
AG: 3/271
Overall Women: 10/1549
Overall: 121/2946

I was very happy to have beat my goal, but of course I can’t help but wonder if I should have set a bit more aggressive goal and pushed harder. I know it’s good to finish strong, but I wonder if I should have pushed a bit more to see what my limits are. But, I guess that’s what I’m doing in training
I have one more race this year, a 5K next weekend. My current 5K PR pace is 6:52, so 12 seconds per mile slower than today. I’ll say it now: I want to run a ~6:30 pace and break 20 minutes. It won’t be easy, but I think it’s doable.

First off, my Sunday morning facebook post:

Yes, the NYCM qualification I’ve been chasing for years is finally mine. And it was handily mine. Just like how my first BQ had me cross the line with minutes to spare, so too did this one. But I’m getting ahead of myself..

I was incredibly mentally prepared for this race. Training has been going well, and a few days prior to the event I really started getting focused. Reading running magazines, watching DVDs, wearing running shirts. I was feeling the part of a runner. The day before, I headed to the expo and wandered a bit, got a pedicure to get the ole feet ready for their work, and met Loren and KJ for dinner. Loren was getting ready to do her first marathon the next day! I recently started back on the TBT so I’ve been eating clean, but I decided to go with tradition over health, and had sprite with dinner, along with (whole wheat) pizza with cheese! My stomach actually didn’t like the cheese much, but I didn’t want to order something too bland and not eat.

Before heading to bed, I figured out where I wanted to park, and went back and forth about what to wear. The weather has recently changed, and it poured all day Saturday and was threatening to rain Sunday. There was also a freeze warning in effect. The forecast for the start of the race was 40. I decided to change my outfit from a tank and shorts to compression tights, a tshirt, gloves and a headband (to keep my ears warm). I wore my swiftwick thin socks with my brooks racer shoes.

I woke up around 5 on race day, had a quick shower and made myself some toast and tea. I haven’t even unpacked my coffee machine since I moved so I did have to buck tradition a bit by eschewing it. I was out the door shortly after 6, with a gear bag for afterwards. Parking was a breeze, and I found a free meter and walked to the start. I actually stopped into the Sheraton to use the facilities and hang out in the warmth for a bit before heading to the start. It actually was much warmer than I expected (although: still not warm). The starting area was a bit of a mess with the gear check being off in a corner behind a huge sponsor van. I dropped my gear and was heading to the corrals when the anthem started. Yikes! But there was some time after the anthem before they even started the wheelchair runners, so I was ok.

I was calmly excited about the race. I knew what I had to do, and I didn’t feel nervous about it – but part of me almost worried that I wasn’t anxious enough! I was in Corral 1, so I was under the starting banner with 33 seconds of the race. I only had to dodge a couple people, and very quickly it was able to settle into a comfortable pace.

So because I was so intent on making sure I came in with a recorded time of sub 1:37, I did something different with my watch. I didn’t want to assume my pace was ok based off what Garmin said, as it was in the end the race organizer’s course measurement that counted. So rather than have my Garmin record miles by its measurement, I manually hit the lap button every mile marker, so I could check my pace that way. It’s actually pretty interesting to see how my Garmin measures the miles differently, that could actually really screw a person up!

So for example, the first “lap” took me 7:14. According to my Garmin, though, it was actually longer than a mile so my supposed pace was 7:05. The biggest discrepancy was later on – according to the mile markers, my fastest mile was #11, which I finished in 6:39. However, my Garmin says “hey – that was only .9miles so you were really much slower at a 7:23 pace!” Let’s say that was an early mile – say mile 2. If I saw 6:39, I’d have told myself it was too fast, and made myself slow down. But if I was really running a 7:23 because the measurement was off.. well, that could make a real difference to a runner. I guess this is why it’s good not to be a slave to the watch!

So how did it feel?
Overall, It really felt great. The first few miles I had a few moments when I’d sense myself pushing, I’d look at my watch and see a sub-7 pace, and force myself to pull back. I didn’t want to burn out. Yet it really felt good. I felt strong and in control. The miles kept ticking by.

The course serves cytomax, which I don’t like, so I stuck to water. I had some gu twice (in all, never even finished one pack).

The half distance is really nice, it’s amazing how quickly the miles fly by. I hit the 10K timing mat at 44:58, and realized I was pretty sure that was faster than I ran the BolderBoulder. But honestly, it didn’t scare me. I know I’ve been training hard and smart. Those tempo runs at 7:13 made me confident in that pace – and I can’t help but think they’re a good reason why this race ended up as it did. My body got to know that pace and just tapped into something faster than “race pace”. (This also happened to me at the Rock and Roll AZ marathon a few years ago).

As I was cruising around the park, some guy standing on the sidelines smiled my way and said hi. I blanked until I realized it was Niels, a running acquaintance who’d offered to pace me for a few miles! Niels and I know each other from Columbus. He and his wife moved here about a year after I did, but we’ve never run together. He started running with me and asked how it was going. I said that I was going a bit faster than I should; about 7:10 and I was supposed to be going 7:23. He set off at a good pace and I found myself chasing him a bit. He asked how I was doing for nutrition and fluids, he’d brought along gatorade and water. That was super b/c of the lack of gatorade on the course, so I took advantage. We ran along, chatted about our races for 2012 (he’s considering the lead man series!) and before I knew it, the four miles were up! In the last mile with him, I’d felt myself dragging a bit, but there was something incredibly liberating to hit mile 11 and realize I had 19 minutes to finish 2.1 miles to meet my goal. Niels parted ways, thanking me for a good run, and then I kicked it into gear to finish. I felt a bit light-headed, and I do wonder if it’s because of the Gatorade (I struggled a bit with the sugar from skittles at Pikes Peak – I don’t take in that sort of stuff anymore).

Part way through mile 12, I heard fast footsteps approaching. I commended the fellow about to pass me on his great pace, and he said “I know you! We ran around Sloan’s lake together!”. Yes, it was Jonathan from the lake! He recognized my shirt (the pink shirt from when Mom and I did CIM). As he flew by me I had a chance to ask if he’d made it into Boston, and then he was gone.

The last few miles were a super finish for a race. A nice steady downhill, a small flat section, and then you turned the last corner and saw the finish line ahead. As I was in the last half mile or so, I realized I actually had a chance to break 1:35, which was a pretty surreal thought. When I saw that finish line, I dug deep and flew towards the finish. All that speed training kicked in and it felt amazing. I forgot to stop my watch right away but was elated to know I’d finished sub 1:35.

I chatted with Jonathan a bit (he thought I’d placed 3rd in Pikes Peak overall women, not in my AG. Kind, but incorrect) and then spotted KJ waiting for me at the finish. We wandered over to gear check where I triumphantly texted my Mom to tell her we were going to New York, and then went back to KJ’s for me to change into warmer clothes.

The weather during the race was actually about perfect. It got sunny but not too warm. I just regretted not having a hat with a brim (or sunglasses) because parts were a bit too sunny. But there was a coolness on my skin that I just find perfect.

KJ and I relaxed at her place for awhile (looking up training groups and races) and then headed back to the race to cheer on Loren. We’d seen she’d passed the half marker at 2:04 so we watched the finish for awhile, cheering on other runners and anxiously awaiting her finish. I joked to KJ that if I’d never run a marathon before, looking at most of these finishers wouldn’t have convinced me to try! So many folks looked miserable! Then Loren came trucking along. She shot us some “what the heck was this” look (hard to describe, but typical Loren) and although we tried to keep up to see her actually go through the finish gate, my poor legs wouldn’t have it.

We met up with her afterwards, she looked and felt pretty darn good for finishing her first marathon! (Granted, she’d done a half-ironman before, so distance events aren’t new to her) We chatted for awhile, then headed to eat. It was a great day of running and spectating!

At home later I curled up with “Run for your Life” and used this new bio-electrical massage machine I got. I actually didn’t feel overly hungry or thirsty or sore.. just like I’d had a good workout. I think the mental satisfaction of over-achieving my goals also helped too! I realized my time was exactly 5 minutes faster than what I ran in Rock n Roll AZ in 2010.

So where does this leave me? Excited about running, as normal. But also feeling pretty strongly that if I feel so great after 1:33, how hard would 1:30 be? That’s totally a ridiculous thing for me to think-a few years ago I’d have never thought I could run a 1:30, but now it seems completely attainable (with some training).

I wasn’t sure what to do about Houston. I was registered for the half, but now that I have this goal reached, the full was beckoning. Finally this morning I decided to register for the full, to cross another state off my 50.

It’s amazing to think it was at RnRAz 10 months ago that I had to drop out of the race injured, and told myself I needed to pick between roller derby and running. Fast forward 10 months and a choice is made and I’m seeing previous barriers just toppling over ahead of me. It’s a really exciting time for me as an athlete. I have a lot of new goals (I’ll likely be outlining over the next few days or weeks) and I’m excited to see what else is to come!

Now, my weekend was already pretty booked: a bout Saturday night, and another Sunday at 4pm. Thankfully I knew our Sunday game we’d have a lot of jammers, and the opponent is ranked much beneath us.

I ate well for the bout Saturday, knowing I was also fueling for the next days race. I skipped the afterparty to get some sleep, only telling KJ of my plan (I was excited, but didn’t want anyone to question my dedication or performance on track).

The alarm went off at 4, and I was out the door before 5. I wore lululemon shorts and a tank, a hat and my leg sleeves. I brought a long-sleeved shirt but judging by the forecast, I didnt think I’d need it. I was less tired than last Saturday as I made the drive, and listening to the endurance planet podcast got me pumped. I was in Manitou Springs nicely before the 6:30 shuttle to the start, and I stretched and chatted a bit to some of the other runners. At the start I saw another fellow from the Epic Relay (he was wearing his team shirt), and met plenty of doublers and members of the Incline Club. They invited me to join their Fight for Air Stair Climb team: they start early so there isn’t the congestion I got caught in last year.

Eventually it was time to go. I’d (arbitrarily) set a 3 hr goal. I didn’t know what the course was like, or even the elevation to which we were to climb. Details, schmetails!

I started at a conservative pace, not wanting to kill myself. I walked a few times, trying to adopt a race-walkers stride and speed: it was actually good for my knee.

My stomach gave me a bit of trouble within the first two miles, but cleared up. Although it was a tough course, the distance just ticked by. After the first few miles I was feeling pretty good. While the overall course had some serious elevation gain, the road was nice and undulating.

Apparently some folks who were more familiar with the course said they’d heard the first two and the last three miles were the most steep, but there was some reprieve in the middle. Looking at my splits, I certainly see the challenge at the end! But even as I was pushing through, I felt stronger than many of the other folks around me as I passed them. In the last half mile I played cat and mouse with a couple guys, but ended up being able to pick it up a bit at the end and stay ahead of them.

1: 11:31
2: 11:13
3: 11:15
4: 10:58
5: 9:17
6: 9:23
7: 9:07
8: 10:46
9: 13:25
10: 13:58
11: 14:16
.6: 12:31pace
—
2:09:34

The race was run in conjunction with the “Assault on the Peak” bike race, so for much of the course it was just runners and bikers. I think some of them honestly had a tougher time of it than we did! In the last few miles I’d hear the breathing of someone slowly catching me, only to see it was a cyclist! There was a nice comradery and support between the athletes as cyclists and runners cheered each other on.

I was really happy with my finish time, and Mike told me he was pretty sure I’d finished Top 10 women. We took the bus down to the start, but there were no preliminary race results posted. It was already close to noon so I waded in the stream to cool off my legs, then I had to head back to Denver not knowing how I’d done.

Recovery and preparation were on my mind, so I stopped at 7-11 for a protein shot and drank water all the way home. I grabbed sustenance at Chipotle, then at home took a quick cool bath and headed to our practice space for derby (I also grabbed an orange drink from McDonalds – mmm sugar).

I was in athletic/competitive mode right away. My legs felt loose and limber and I was in great spirits. The game went well, I didn’t feel any ill effects from the run. If anything, I think I’d turned my brain off (my mental game is my weakest). We took home a big win and then I checked the race results: I’d placed 1st in my age group! A nice cap to the day!

So.. I’ve also seen in scrimmage that I tend to do better if I work out earlier in the day. Now to just figure out how to emulate that in the future…

I saw a few girls ahead of me as I walked, including one with two wristbands like myself (fellow doubler!) We started chatting: she was actually the gal who passed me right near the end. It was also her first time doubling.

I went to use the secret restroom again and soon it was time to start! The field for the marathon is a bit smaller than for the ascent, but people looked slightly more nervous I chatted with more doublers: given the fact close to a quarter of the field was registered for the double, it wasn’t terribly unusual to spot them.

Whereas yesterday there were a few times I wondered why the heck I was doing this two days in a row, today I felt accustomed to the trail and just took it on. My legs didn’t exactly feel fresh, but they weren’t too bad. One of my thoughts for the day was “I wonder how long til my legs realize what I’m doing to them”. I was woefully under trained for this event, but for some reason my legs really never picked up on that!

I did tell myself that my goal was to be a faster walker when I was walking, so I tried to swing my arms more and take smaller, quicker steps.. interestingly enough, my arms ended up being really tired after the race!

Here’s my ascent splits, as comparison to yesterday:

M1: 9:21 10:11
M2: 13:39 14:38
M3: 16:47 17:02
M4: 16:03 16:03
M5: 16:20 15:57
M6: 12:01 12:35
M7: 13:13 12:54
M8: 17:54 16:27
M9: 20:35 19:17
M10: 22:08 21:39
M11: 20:58 19:56
M12: 22:09 22:10
M13: 23:35 24:47

During the marathon, the top gets a bit congested as you have two-way traffic. In the past, I’ve seen the winners pass me around A-Frame, but today I was a good ways past that point before Matt came down. There was then a big gap before the next male came through. I reached the top in 3:44:12 (faster than the day before!), and was the 12th woman to the top! Mike Everson was there and he told me the place I was in, and that I should just catch a couple of the women to get a Top-10 finish for my birthday! Oh, yes, I’d had fun en route telling aid station workers what day it was

I tried to be smart about fueling, eating my protein bites and some grapes. I actually grabbed a handful of skittles on the way up and my head felt weird after, I’m really not used to that much sugar and I decided that’s maybe not a smart idea for me anymore!

I really do let the downhill take care of itself in this race, and let gravity take over. My legs were still feeling fine, although I wasn’t running as aggressively as maybe I could have. Like every year, plenty of folks passed me on the way down. It took awhile before I realized my watch had turned off, so I didn’t know my time or pace. The course itself is well-marked but I wasn’t sure about my elapsed time. I twisted my ankle a bit once but nothing serious. I never lost my footing or anything, which I think was good for me mentally. I really just kept chugging along.

It started to get a bit stormy near the end, with a couple miles to go we heard a clap of thunder thought it never really started raining. It did help me pick up the pace though a bit!

With about 2 miles to go, a woman who’d been ahead of me at the summit ran by. I said something about her having a good kick, and she said “I have a bone to pick with the race director” as she sped by. Apparently she’d missed a turnoff and gone off course.

Knowing how close we were to the end (and possibly because I’d conserved energy over the past 11 miles), I really started to push at the end of the race. I figured I could come in around 6:10 or so, which I was really happy about. As I left the trail with roughly 1.5 miles to go, there was one guy and one girl in sight ahead of me. I hit the lap button on my watch as I hit the pavement, curious what I could do on the road. As I came up on the two impending roadkill, I’d motion to spectators that I had my eyes on the runners ahead. My energy was appreciated and met with applause and cheers from those on the side of the road. I passed the guy without problem. I made my move on the girl right before a spectator said there was a half mile to go, and I was actually afraid she’d overtake me again. I kept my speed up and turned the last corner… to see the looming clock that read 5:58:xx. Wha??? I had a chance to break 6 hours? I was glad I had the speed I did, and bore down on the finish line, crossing in 5:59:58. Wow! And according to my garmin, that last full mile was at a 6:40 pace!

A volunteer lead me over to a chair to sit down, but I felt fine. I grabbed a glass of gatorade and wandered off to pick up my finisher’s shirt. I’d completed 39.3 miles in less than 10 hours of running over 2 days! I just really feel like I shouldn’t have been able to do that, much less when the thousands of feet of elevation were taken into effect. I felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment.

I saw the other doubler from the morning, and we chatted a bit, both of us feeling that the Ascent the day before had helped with today’s race. I wandered over to where they had snacks for racers, and then checked the results listing. I’d made plans to meet a friend for an early dinner after my run, but I had to call her to change the time: I had to attend the awards ceremony! While I’d let a few girls pass me on the descent, I still managed to place 2nd in my age group! While there were no official prizes, I was also 3rd female doubler overall.

There is just something so special about this race. I’m starting to recognize faces of runners and volunteers, and it’s not usual to meet people who’ve been running some form of the race for upwards of 10 years. It’s not just a road race where you compete against other runners: this one adds dimensions of weather and altitude as well.

I already can’t wait til next year! I endeavor to get back to running with the Incline club and get some really good training in: I made such a significant improvement this year just from being more physically fit, I can’t imagine the gains I’d see if I actually trained!

And I already have a partner in crime committed: fellow runner/skater KJ has a birthday the day of the race next year. The more the merrier!

Last night we had a derby scrimmage and then I went to a concert. I had trouble falling asleep before midnight, and the 3:30 alarm came far too quickly. I showered and hit the road, toasted English muffin and tea in hand.

I do like a long drive to a race, it gave me the opportunity to hydrate. It was a peaceful drive and because I gave myself plenty of time, I stopped for coffee and arrived at the park just after 6 (the race started at 7). Day broke just as I arrived, and it was incredibly beautiful and calming.

It was already nice out, so I decided to forego carrying my jacket. I wore a tanktop, new under armor capris and my armsleeves, and carried gloves. Yesterday I went to Runners Roost and bought a waist pack so I had with me a larabar and a few gels, and I also carried a water/Gatorade mix.

I used the secret restrooms no one knows about and had plenty of time to drop my sweat bag and line up. And then we were off! I decided to really take it easy and let the pack surge ahead of me. I adopted a “slow and steady” approach. I didn’t remember any of my splits from other years so I just went by feel. Overall, I felt good, able to just keep my feet moving.

I think I’d rolled down my arm sleeves within the first two miles, and eventually was smart enough to take them off my wrists and tie them around my waistband: it was a warm day and they definitely weren’t needed. In the Ws I was a bit worried about the sun, but once we hit the more shaded treed area it was ok and then even when we got up above the tree line where we were completely exposed, it wasn’t bad at all.

I had a nice mantra going through my head for a fair amount of the race: “Run if you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must”. I’m a reaallly slow walker so I really prefer to keep jogging if I can, otherwise waves of people pass me. Thankfully, I was able to keep jogging little bits all the way up, which was a pleasant surprise. In the past, along with the mantra above is another thought to “run when you can, because there will come a time on the course you can’t”. As I got above Barr Camp, I was thinking that I was going to soon come to that point, but it really never came. Not to say I didn’t walk, but it was more of a walk/run as opposed to a “I can’t run another step”.

The miles seemed to pass relatively quickly, and I did a few time checks. I arrived at Barr Camp around 1:47, which I was happy with. I had 4 miles to go at 2:10, and so I told myself I’d reach my goal if I stayed under 30 mins per mile.

I was really glad I’d packed food, because my stomach got grumbly during the race. I had some gel and a fruit bar (and some grapes from an aid station) but I really felt like my body wanted something more substantial (protein). So I gnawed on a larabar, as difficult as that is while running at 12,000ft.

A few times I’d get thrown off by different race: thinking I could drop my armsleeves and pick them up on the way down, before remembering I wasn’t coming down the trail. Or around A-frame is often where I start to see runners coming down, but this time there weren’t any! I will definitely say that the last few miles were MUCH more enjoyable without having to worry about 2-way traffic and I can’t help but think that contributed to my time.

I will admit that my left knee twinged a bit a few times. I’d worn my compression knee sleeve, but around mile 6 pulled it down because I felt like it hindered my movement. I definitely had a better spring in my step, but tonight I’m icing my knee and willing it to forgive me for tomorrow.

The Ascent is a bit of a challenge, logistics-wise. They have passenger vans to take runners part way down the mountain where they transfer to school buses for the rest of the trip. They want people to get off the mountain quickly, so they didnt have any food for us at the top. I knew I didnt want to wait too long to eat, so I went to the cafeteria (I’d also packed $10 in my waist pack). The options weren’t great: donuts, nachos, chili and chicken noodle soup. Sooo… I had the soup. Sorry chickens! But I figured, it had protein, it had carbs, it had sodium. Better than most options up there.

It was actually really well orchestrated, I walked right onto a van and then our bus also filled up quickly for the ride down. I sat next to a nice woman who was also doubling (running the Ascent today and marathon tomorrow). It was to be her 10th PPM!

Finally down back at the park I picked up my finisher shirt and got a piece of cheese pizza (gasp!). I chatted with Marshall Ulrich, the speaker for the evening, and bought his DVD. Michael already bought me his book at another race expo he was at. I knew that it wasn’t just time to celebrate, though, I had more work to do tomorrow! So I stopped at the grocery store and picked up coconut water, mix1, protein bites for tomorrow, and some fruit and cottage cheese. And 10lbs of ice.. yup, I had an ice bath back at the hotel – yuck!

In the evening there was a pasta dinner, and Marshall told us about his transcontinental run. It was decent, though I was exhausted sitting there! Now I’m back at the hotel in my PJs, coconut water by my side, and at 8:45 I’m about ready to call it a night. Tomorrow’s race starts at 7, though thankfully the field is smaller, I already have my race package, and my hotel is only 15 min from the start. Perfect!

My goal for tomorrow? Since my PR is 6:42, I’m thinking a 6:30 would be great. A 4hr ascent, and a 2:30 descent.. we’ll see what happens! I’ll be interested to see how today impacts tomorrow. I will admit at some points I was dismayed at the idea of doing the same thing again, but a marathoner’s memory of pain is frighteningly short!

And because the mile splits on this race are SOOO amusing:

M1: 9:21
M2: 13:39
M3: 16:47
M4: 16:03
M5: 16:20
M6: 12:01
M7: 13:13
M8: 17:54
M9: 20:35
M10: 22:08
M11: 20:58
M12: 22:09
M13: 23:35
.1: 21:28 pace
—
3:46:49

Stats:
14/78 AG
351/1707 O/A
5/33 anticipated female doublers (so far)

We registered for the Epic Rocky Mountain Relay, from Colorado Springs to Crested Butte.

Epic Rocky Mountain Relay Elevation Chart

As the only team member with relay experience, I became the team leader. Frida took on the overall organization on the RMRG side. We each took 6 skaters initially, but a late cancellation left us a bit lopsided and we ended up with 5 DRD and 7 RMRG. We still did our best to make the vans mixed, so Van 1 had 2/4 and Van 2 had 3/3.

One thing I’d always felt we missed out on doing relays with the the Ohio running group was matching tshirts. Yes, I know it’s silly, but I always thought it looked great. So we had one of the skaters design us a logo and we had tech tees/tanks printed for the team.

We were placed in the 3rd wave. Our starting time was 7:30am on Friday, and Van 1 needed to be there an hour beforehand. Phoebee’s family lives in Colorado Springs (where the race starts, about 1.5 hrs from Denver), so Van 1 decided to stay there overnight Thursday. We had a bit of a switcheroo since Phoebee was in Van 2, and Kowabunga! was set to run in Van 1 but wasn’t going to be able to head to Colorado Springs Thursday night. So Kow drove down with us Friday morning and we drove right to her leg (#5) and picked up Phoebee.

This was the first year for the race, so I wasn’t sure how organized it would be. Overall I was pretty impressed with how things were marked, although they missed a few opportunities to make things run even smoother. For example, it would have been nice to have volunteers spotting approaching runners and calling them to those waiting; especially at night.

I’d created predictions for each leg based on people’s 10K times and the leg difficulty. It was helpful to give us some idea of when we had to be at the next van exchange, though it turned out we killed our predictions! I think they served as good motivation for many, as they’d get back in the van and see how they did compared to the predictions.

In past relays, we’ve always done communal grocery shopping, but that didn’t really go so well this time as some people had brought food, and some of us are picky I actually wish I’d just prepared more food for myself beforehand because I think my nutrition ended up being much poorer than it should have been.

Van 1 finishes their first legs and hands off to Van 2

It was HOT as Van 2 started. We watched the handoff, then went and got gas and ice for the cooler, and then caught up with our runner. She was looking strong, and we gave her some water and headed off. The leg was gorgeous, a dirt road with some serious elevation. After driving for awhile we thought we should stop to wait for her, but there didnt seem to be a good spot. Finally we stopped and waited for awhile, and then I got anxious we were too close to the next exchange and wouldn’t have time to catch her, so we didn’t offer our runner the support she needed in a hot leg. She actually begged water off another team.

Watching our runner from afar (instead of offering her water)

I was up next for Leg 8. It was a lonely stretch of road and I really felt like I struggled. It was tough to see other vans out there misting their runner and offering them water. I was frustrated during this leg, but I knew the worst was behind me. I ran 1:03, which was actually my predicted time exactly. I also had a roadkill count of 2-0.

The team kept doing well and as we went on, we refined our driving/support technique. We got to know some of the other vans at the exchanges, though the bibs weren’t correlated with start times and it would have been nice to be able to compare ourselves to the vans around us. We made friends with the a few of the other vans, and enjoyed meeting up with them and chatting away.

We finished our first set of legs early, and headed to Salida, to the next exchange point. We were hungry, so we found a nice Italian restaurant that was only a block from the exchange. When we sat down, dirty and with race bibs on us, the waitress declared “you look like you need carbs – I don’t know what you did, but…”. We certainly enjoyed our carbs and water! Cell phone coverage was spotty so it was hard to keep tabs on how the other team was doing, but they seemed to be tearing it up, and we were about an hour ahead of schedule. Around 9pm, we received a message that one of our strongest runners was running.. and then we didn’t hear anything for a long time. We thought cell phone coverage was the problem, but it turned out she’d gotten lost! Thankfully, she found her way back on course, but we were still well ahead of our predicted schedule. We headed to Walmart for water and gatorade, and then headed to the exchange point. Some of the girls tried to get an hour or so of sleep, but Frida and I stayed up, worried about hearing from the other team. We weren’t sure how ahead of schedule we were staying. Before midnight, the other van showed up and told us Loren was less than a mile away! They’d texted us, but it hadn’t gone through. Panic! Frida got ready quickly, and I tried to round up the troops so we could hit the road. Most of the night legs were short (3-4 miles), and I was worried about making it to the next exchange. Phoebee wandered the park to try to find one of our sleeping runners. She didn’t even think about how people reacted as she wandered the park trying to wake people up with a “Booyah?” (The skater’s derby name).

Soon Frida’s leg was over and it was my turn. It had cooled off a bit (thankfully) and I was happy to get going. My night leg felt great – very peaceful and quiet. My van was there to support me, and I felt strong as I called out “I’m going to go catch that runner ahead of me”. I climbed steadily towards the red light ahead, almost as though the runner were standing still. I felt a small victory as I neared the… sign that had a red light on it There was one other runner up ahead, but I couldn’t make up the time. My roadkill count was 0-0. I completed the 3.6 mile course in 28 minutes (7:52 pace) and my heartrate hit 182 in the final stretch.

Our night legs ended around 4ish and we decided to drive to the next exchange to sleep there. We didn’t realize how crazy the next few miles were, and I was thankful for Leigh, an experienced driver who took us through some crazy twists and turns. We drove and drove and drove, and eventually came across an exchange marker: for two stops beyond the one we were looking at. So, we backtracked a bit and arrived at the makeshift campground shortly before 6 just as it was getting light out. We got a bit of sleep, but not a ton.

It was gorgeous on the lake, and there was a little shop selling coffee and breakfast burritos. Neither was very good, but it was sustenance. It was gorgeous and peaceful in the morning, as we lazily prepared for our final legs. We all wore our team shirts, and I was one of many runners who put on calf sleeves for the final run.

Race organizers told us that they planned to have a mass release of runners for anyone who’s van 1 hadn’t arrived by 11:30, but we were still nicely ahead of schedule so we didnt think it would be a problem. Then we heard that the previous leg was about a half mile long, and teams were given the option to pick up their runner to drive the extra distance. We knew that Loren wouldn’t go for that, and would want to run in… but imagine how she felt when we learned it was actually 1.5 miles too long!

We had our final handoff, and told our teammates we’d see them at the finish. The final day was great; the weather was cooler than the day before and the largest climbs of the day were over. I felt like Van 1′s hardest legs were the 3rd, and Van 2′s were the 1st, so it was just a matter of putting in the time.

Frida put on a great show at the end of her leg, speeding down the hill to pass another runner JUST at the exchange. I grabbed the armband and sprinted off to hold her off, but was smart enough to realize that I wasn’t going a pace I could sustain for over 8 miles. The runner passed me within the first mile as I let myself slow, but my watch STILL marked a 6:43 first mile. Whoops! I felt pretty good and strong, finally figuring out a gatorade-water blend that worked. My van stopped pretty frequently and I didn’t need much, just kept pushing. I did tell them I was getting bored, as I was just ready to be done, and the van asked if I wanted to do some sudoku as I ran. Uh huh… I finished my final leg strong, getting the heart rate up nice and high as I got to the end. Ended with 3 roadkill, plus the one gal who passed me. So overall my total was 6-1. Not too shabby!

Done for the weekend, I could spend the next few legs looking after my vanmates. The running was starting to wear on some of them, but everyone continued to be in high spirits. We stopped for our runners every mile or so to cheer them on and offer support: by this time we’d taken to soaking a towel in the cooler and using it to help cool down the runner. The wind and sun were both a challenge now that we were out of the cool tree coverage my leg had had.

As we set out for our final leg, we noticed there weren’t many others around. The volunteer confirmed, there were only two teams behind us. Thankfully, we had one of our strongest runners in the final spot, and she took off! We tried to support her as we entered Crested Butte, but wanted to be sure we had the time to gather the team together to come in at the finish. Her leg was supposed to be 5.4 miles, and we could accompany here until mile 3.5, when she moved to a bike path. We drove from town up to the resort where the finish was, and most of the van jumped out. There was actually a strong climb from the bike path to the finish, and so Phoebee and I drove back down to offer her a last water. Then we jumped back in the car and sped up to the parking lot; our hotel was right next to the finish. There were no spots so we had to move to a further lot. We jumped out and sprinted towards the finish area: Phoebee’s legs were obviously feeling better than mine! We met with our group – Van 1 had come out to join us – and soon Booyah came charging in. I think some of us expected she’d slow down so we could all run/hobble in together, but she didn’t let up a bit! We cruised in around 5pm, close to 1.5 hours faster than I’d expected! Booyah had had 6 roadkill so we ended up 41st out of 50 teams, last of the 5 all-women teams. We finished the relay in 33:23:43.

The Colorado Roller Derby relay team!

We took our team photo, then went to clean up and get some food in us! Like the good derby girls we are, we had pizza and beer and then headed into town to find a bar and go dancing. We went to Lobar, and were told by the locals the place had never been so much fun!

Soon enough it was time to take the free town bus back to the hotel and get some rest. Surprisingly, we were all up before 9, taking in the hotel breakfast buffet. We then spent the rest of the morning at the pool. Quick showers before our late checkout, and then we all headed to town for lunch, coffee, ice cream, and then the drive home. you’d think that 55 hours with some half-strangers would get to be too much, but it wasn’t. we LAUGHED the whole way home. Everyone really grew closer during the trip, and Frida marvelled that we really didn’t even talk about derby, despite the fact that was the original reason we were all together. It was really an amazing trip, and I was thrilled that everyone else enjoyed. There’s already talk of next year’s relay: do we do this one, or try something else? Some of the gals want to start up a Saturday running group. I’m just so excited and happy with how everything went. The course was pretty, my runs went well and above all, it was just a ton of fun!

It was HOT today – I believe in the 90s. The Metro Mile took place in the evening, but the sun was still blazing as we toed the line. I wore a tank top and shorts. I didn’t bring a hat or running sunglasses, but it was bright enough I decided to wear my regular sunglasses. It probably looked ridiculous.

The Metro Mile is a fun race with a variety of waves: family and friends, open, 60+ and elite. It started on a sports field, did a couple loops and finished on the Infinity Park field. I kept in mind the fact that in interval workouts I tend to get faster and hate myself less as the workout goes on, so I sprinted and ran for awhile to warm up before the race. I was in great spirits. (I also had a steaz energy drink before the race – I AM starting to use caffeine as a performance enhancer, and I’m ok with that).

As I walked up to the start, I said hi to the announcer, who I know from a few other races. He then turned around and told the crowd that Kendra Blood from the Denver Roller Dolls was there, and to watch out! He then made it part of his schtick, talking about how I left my skates at home, etc. I really appreciated the plug!

I felt pretty good so I lined up reasonably close to the front. And soon, we were off!

My watch started beeping within the first.. quarter mile, but I just ignored it and didn’t even look at it (in contrast to my last one-mile race back in 2007). I got caught behind a couple women who didn’t need to have started on the line, but was able to sneak by them. I felt really strong, like time was flying. I heard spectators call out “number 3″ as I ran past. Soon enough we were setting foot on the field and I put on the gas. Some guy passed me, and I told him good job. And then, I passed him before we hit the timing mat.

The timing clock hadn’t hit 6 minutes when I passed it, and I also didn’t start right at the front, so I don’t know exactly what my time is. I just know that I blew away my 6:21 PR, I broke my target 6 minute goal, AND it turns out I won my age group (I think I got 3rd woman overall in the Open category, but that wasn’t something they officially announced).

I kept walking after I finished, but after a few minutes I started coughing uncontrollably. It rattled deep in my chest and I actually had to let myself do a weird dry-heave cough thing to try to shake it loose. I felt pretty crappy for a second, but I can tell you that pride in my achievement only seems fitting to be accompanied by a burning in my chest. Oh, and my heart rate averaged 180 and hit 189.. Can you imagine? 1,080 heart beats during the run!

The race wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t that bad, either. I’m really excited that given the temperature I was able to pull it off. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I think getting hip bursitis in January and then embarking on overall strength training, and cleaning up my diet, has made all the difference in the world…

EDIT: Results are in. 2nd female overall, beat out by a teenager! My time was 5:58.