Colfax Marathon Relay 2011

My team rocks!!

It was a very cold, very early, and very dark start to the day yesterday. I ran leg #2 and met O, who ran leg #1, at 5am at her house. I traded with A because she is perpetually late (no secret) and she thought she was the one who had trained the least. Double whammy. As team captain, I really just wanted everyone to have fun at this event, so I traded. It would be more fun for A that way. And, I'd be done sooner which I certainly didn't mind. Of course, at the time the forecast looked a lot better than what reality had set up for us.

The gun start was at 6am. The first exchange was in city park which was why we both had to be there so early. We found our spots and settled in for the wait. Oh, did I also mention that it was raining? It was raining, not terribly hard but it certainly made it much colder for us. Brrrrrrr!!

Here is a shot of the start line. O's in there some where!

A view across the lake. Very dreary looking because it was.

And they're off!! The first leg passed the exchange point once before making their tour of city park and returning for the hand off. (These are the bicycle pacers.)

I huddled with the female masses in the pavilion bathroom which was heated. No doors on those stalls by the way. Awkward! But warm. I made my way back to the exchange after the guesstimated amount of time for O to complete her leg had passed. We high fived and I was off!! I was going to say off and running but it was more like off and hobbling. I'd gone to boot camp on Friday and my hamstrings had been screaming at me ever since. The cold wet weather and standing around for an hour didn't help either. I could barely stretch out my legs to walk. Running came very slowly. But, I was dressed appropriately and knew that I'd warm up eventually so I pressed on. I think it took about a mile to get myself warm and another mile to get my legs warmed up enough to feel like I was actually running and not shuffling. I thought for sure my time would be much slower than I'd guesstimated.

B had leg #3 and we met at the exchange point at Invesco Field. It's a cruel route coming up to Invesco off the bike path. I can see the stadium but not the finish/exchange. But I can also see runners going in the opposite direction on the upper level. Ugh. That meant there was an uphill in my future. And of course, that turn around point came within view of the finish/exchange point. But, we had to run all the way around Mile High. Ugh.

I pushed on. At some point along Colfax I'd taken my rain jacket off and tied it around my waist. It had stopped raining then and I was getting too warm and wanted to show off my team shirt too. By the time I got to the stadium, it'd started raining again. I felt ok though as long as I was moving. I saw B at the exchange and also saw O there too!  Yay!! She'd come to pick me up for the ride back to city park! I was soooo glad to see her!! I high fived B and she was off!!

O and I walked to her car and headed to Starbucks!! Woo hoo! That was the best soy vanilla chai ever! We sat for a while since we had lots of time to kill before the team finish. It was nice and warm inside Starbucks and O was still cold & wet from her run. After finishing our treats we drove back to city park.

My friend Nat was also running in the Colfax Half and we were planning to all celebrate together at the finish. So, we waited for her text and then met up with her as well. We walked around the park so Nat could get some food and then the three of us watched the runners cross the finish line. We kept moving around to be close to larger groups on the side line because they produced the most body heat and warmth. LOL! We were really cold.

Here is a photo of O and me. (Did I mention we were cold?)

And here's a photo of me and Nat with her finishers medal! Go Nat!

While we were waiting, B text us to say I, leg #4, wasn't at the exchange! What?! She'd called to say she was caught in traffic and was trying to make her way there as quickly as she could. We couldn't believe it! We felt instantly colder knowing we may have to wait longer at the finish line. Meanwhile, B hopped on the bus to head back to Invesco where she was planning to wait for I to drive her back to city park for the finish. While there she ran into A, leg #5, who was waiting for I to make it to the exchange. As we talked it over back at the finish, O thought A shouldn't wait longer than the guesstimated original arrival time we'd planned on and I agreed. We text back that A should just leave and not wait for I. And that's what she did.

Eventually, I arrived at Invesco and she and B met up with O, Nat and me at the finish line to wait for A.  A was hauling ass and finished her 6+ mile leg in about 55 minutes!! So much for being the one who trained the least! I'm so glad we'd switched legs so she could give us that strong finish! As she came down the road to the finish, the 4 of us jumped in beside her to cross the finish line together! B's mom was there too! Awesome!! Our official finish time was 4:48:16!  Woo hoo!!

The weather was so horribly wet and cold we decided not to hang around for the after party. It was pretty lame anyway. The 6 of us all met up at El Diablo for some grub. (Note: El Diablo is not very tasty.) Great company! Good times! Thanks team!! Can't wait for the next one!!

Bling!!

"Long" run

I think I've had what will be my longest run before the Estes half. Last Sunday I did about 8 miles all on the bike path. I hadn't run that long on pavement in a long time. I sure felt it in my hips too. My knee also felt a little weird. And after the run, my calf felt weird. But, it's all good. I felt ok once it was done. And I was glad for the distance. I even went to boot camp on Monday. That was a tough one. I probably should have rested and then run today but oh well.

Tomorrow the weather turns cold and rainy and maybe even some snow.

Only a few more days before I'm on the road. Fairbanks for 7 days and then Atlanta and Indianapolis. I'm hoping to get some running done while I'm on travel. Should be easy while in Fairbanks but not so much in Atlanta. But, we'll see. I'm not really too worried about it.

The Naked Tour - Boulder

May 1st was International Barefoot Running Day. It was also the day Chris McDougall's Naked Tour came to Boulder. He visited the Boulder Bookstore to sign copies of the newly released paperback copies of his book "Born to Run". Marshall Ulrich was also on hand to sign copies of his new book "Running on Empty". Also in attendance were Eric Orton, McDougall's trainer who helped him learn to run without pain, and Scott Jurek, ultra superstar.

It was the most amazing, fun and laid back running experience!

The schedule had the group meeting at the bookstore for a book signing session. Then, they ran from the bookstore up Flagstaff trail to the Sunrise Amphitheater. At the amphitheater, there were snacks and beverages and chocolate truffles. Mingling with these famous running folks was pretty cool. They were all very approachable and laid back. They took photos with everyone who asked and chatted up those of us who were more reserved than the others. They each did a little talk about their own running experiences and encouraged all of us to keep on going no matter what society tells us. It was very uplifting I thought. I was encouraged by them all and enjoyed it thoroughly. After the talks, the group ran back to the bookstore for some Q&A and more book signings.

Here is Natasha consulting the iPhone as we try to find our way up the trail. 

 High above Boulder, about half way up the trail or so.

After about an hour and a half of hiking (not running), we reach our destination!

Marshall Ulrich, Eric Orton, Chris McDougall

 Scott Jurek

I attended with my awesome running friend Natasha.
 

She has turned me on to trail running this year and we've shared a few cool running experiences already this year. She'd already run 9 miles the day before and we really weren't feeling confident we'd make it from the bookstore downtown all the way up Flagstaff to the amphitheater and back. A quick Google mapping showed the round trip was close to 12 miles. So, we opted instead to drive to the trail head and head up from there, which was described in the trail running book as "only a 5 mile loop, but it would feel like 10". Whew!

After the event at the amphitheater, we ran down the trail back to my car to drive to the bookstore. After some Q&A, Natasha got her book signed by Scott and we took a photo with him. AWESOME!!

Oh, and there was no naked running going on. The only naked things were people's feet and even then, not very many were.

:-)