the big day - race report

we woke up race day morning to clear blue skies - a 70 degree day high. absolutely gorgeous out!!!
our hotel was right at the starting line, so getting to the start was as easy as walking down two flights of stairs, past a few fabulously fierce statues in the lobby and out through the rose garden. at the starting line there were 25,000 runners (plus all of their support people) all awaiting the gun.  we made ourselves to our designated corral, slipped through the fence, did our warm-ups and took some nervous but fun, pre-marathon pics.
soon our corral had made it up to the start and it was our turn... the rope dropped, we took our first steps and we were on our way.
those first miles sure flew by fast. starting in balboa park we ran around the museums and past the zoo.  in the distance we could hear an organ playing which we soon found was coming from the spreckels organ (one of the world's largest outdoor pipe organs).  the music was amazing, whoever was playing for us was extremely talented.  the course then took us through the gaslamp quarter (downtown san diego) where we ran between glass skyscrapers. they were incredibly beautiful with the sun peaking through the atriums and over the tops of them.  there were lots of spectators downtown with very creative signs, all of which were very entertaining. "it's not sweat, it's your fat cells crying!" and "ran faster... i just farted!". then we got to the stadium where they had actually opened it up and let us run through petco park.
from there we ran down along the harbor and admired all of the awesome sailboats docked before it was back up through balboa park... up meaning up hill.  miles seven through ten were all on a slow but steady uphill.  this portion of the course was on the highway where we ran under some very cool old bridges, but, being a highway in california meant that it was also at a steep slant to the left. we held our pace strong (even though we were still trying to slow down!!!).
next to us was a guy running in a green t-shirt with a sombrero on.  he was running with his camera taking pictures of just about everything.  we ran by him from mile eight-ish just about to the end.  this young man definitely attracted attention - some people yelled to him that he was getting a bit of wind resistance, while others chanted "mex-i-co, mex-i-co" and some other random spanish words.  it was entertaining.
continuing along friars road we heard an enormously loud sound behind us... it sounded like an angry dinosaur had awoken from a deep sleep and pushed up through hundreds of layers of earth to friars road where we happened to be running a marathon (that is literally what went through my head)... turns out it was a moving truck that had hit a tree and hadn't stopped until it had ripped the entire top and side off of the truck.  i've never seen anything like it, and we all turned around and stood there for a minute wondering if that really had just happened or not.  i kept telling dad that we were having a much better day than the guy driving that truck!
still running we could see the golf course coming up on our left, which meant we were at the halfway point.  we passed the half-marathon check point at 2:38 (well under dad's half marathon pr).  again heading up hill we were at the point in the course where there was no longer any shade... and the temperatures were climbing.  we continued with our nutrition and added more water stops to try to stay hydrated. morena blvd was another slow steady hill up to mile 17 where we turned around and ran back down.
mile 18 was the best - denver street. it would have been the best regardless of the name though.  the water stop on denver street was the best decorated and manned.  they had a pacman theme with a huge pacman, and then all of the people handing out water were wearing colorful ghost costumes with the big googly eyes.  there was even a guy dressed up as a banana and another as cherries.  as if that wasn't enough, the residents had sliced and were handing out orange slices... they were the absolute best oranges i have ever tasted and i have no doubts that my dad would agree.
as we made it to mile 19 we could see our little cheerleaders on the sidelines: lyndsay, ben and jackie!  we ran to them and then stopped to chat.  it's always so encouraging and motivating to see people you know out there supporting you, especially in those later miles of a marathon.  we took pictures, exchanged some hugs and kisses and were on our way once again.
we had a little more bounce in our steps after we saw our fans and made it to mission bay at mile 20.  this part was fun because we were now running on a concrete bike path instead of a road.  that might not seem like fun, but when you have been staring at asphalt for four hours, concrete is actually pretty awesome.  the temperatures were getting warmer and warmer, and the breeze off of the bay was so refreshing.  if it weren't for that breeze we would have overheated for sure!
coming up on mile 22 there was a slight lift from one concrete slab of the sidewalk to the next and before i knew it i tripped and was doing a triple salchow, hands and feet all over the place.  luckily i am experienced in clumsiness so when i came down i tucked and rolled and somehow landed on the beach sand... like any good ice skater i jumped back up hands in the air, pretended like it didn't happen and kept running.  other than a couple scratches and now being covered in sand it was like nothing ever happened.
this is where we met fiesta island, and where dad met "the wall". miles 23, 24 and 25 were spent running around fiesta island.  this was mentally challenging as we could see people three miles ahead of us exiting the island as we entered.  we stayed focused, and kept running on one foot in front of the other.  at this point it's 100% mental.  mile 24 was probably the hardest as we were on the wrong side of the island and so there wasn't even a hint of breeze. people kept telling us, "mile 24 is just up the road", "mile 24 is just around the corner"... etc.  the island was dry, hot, and empty - much like a desert.  when we finally saw the mile 24 marker we had to joke about whether or not it was a mirage.
just before mile 25 dad turned to me and said "dad wasn't made to be a marathoner" - i told him he better get over it, cuz it was too late now - he already was one. at the 25 mile marker there was a man cheering us on, yelling how amazing we were and how we were doing this, how we were accomplishing something amazing that only 1% of the world has done. i told my dad to take it all in, cuz soon it would be over and he would be sad.  words cannot describe the look he gave me, but i still know i'm right.
still he put his mind to it and refused to stop running.  just before mile 26, elvis was there to cheer us on and direct us to the finish line.  the announcer and the crowd at the finish line kept getting louder and louder and then finally they were cheering for us!  i heard the announcer say "bob rocks" (as i wrote that on his race number), and i told the announcer "yeah he does!".  we crossed the finish line and i gave my dad a high ten and a hug.
we finished in 6:13:23 - and whether or not he wants to be, my dad is officially a "marathoner".

Ya can't run until you can eat

It's been a while since I've blogged... lots going on right now.
Anyway, I had my tonsils out and haven't been able to eat (and thus, run).  My dad had to do a couple of the long runs without me... of course he still had our running group.  The first week he was on his own turned out to be on one of the hardest routes of the season - the Parker run - and he ran 16 miles!  I was so proud!  Last weekend he ran 12 miles on a easier route and said it was "an easy 12 miles".  He doesn't know it yet, but that means he's addicted.  When you say "only twelve miles" and "an easy 12 miles" you are well on your way to running for the rest of your life - no turning back now!
This is my first week back running after my surgery, but I'm feeling pretty good.  Finally able to get soft solids down my throat, so I'm back! Got 15 miles in this week, and am shooting for 18 miles on tomorrows long run.  Wish me luck! 

Green Mountain Trail Run

Today was my first official trail run of the year - The Hayden Green Mountain Trail. This trail is considered an "easy" trail... but I have a lot of work to do before that is the case for me. 

 

There are deer in this picture, but they are pretty hard to spot

I've never gone to one of the trail runs that Runners Edge coordinates so I didn't know what to expect.  There were six of us, and the other five runners were all very good, seasoned runners (most of which run ultra marathons, two of which are training for the Leadville 100 mile race this summer).  It was a little intimidating to be the only beginning/slow trail runner, but everyone was very nice, offered a lot of tips and were supportive which made it a fun run.  Plus they would wait for me at the tops of hills or forks in the trail which kept me motivated to keep running!  It was a little windy and kinda cold (especially at the top) - but even though the sky screamed "I am gonna rain on you" it held onto the rain until after we finished.  I was glad because I was not dressed for rain.  This was the first time I did the hard part of the mountain - the jeep road.  In ultra-running, the key is to powerwalk the steep sections.  On the jeep road, I was powerwalking - which I learned is not an easy task.  Luckily there were 18-20 deer on the side of the mountain right by me, so I stopped to watch them for a minute.  They had huge ears and were so cute.  Also took a couple of pictures of the scenary. 

I'm looking forward to making the Thursday trail runs part of my training this year.     

This is almost to the top of the mountain, looking down on downtown Denver (if you look really hard you can see it in the distance)

The "Irish Marathon"



Runner's Edge of the Rockies - my running group

 Today was the Running of the Green 7k race in Denver.  Dad and I met up, and ran a mile to the starting line, a 2 mile "warmup" (which was kinda fast!), and then started the 4.3 mile race.  Finished with a mile cool down, for a grand total of 8 miles.  Our official race time was 48:18 which is awesome!

It was a beautiful day, and the St Patrick's Day partiers were up bright and early.  I saw a shirt that said, "you can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning"... and there were quite a few people participating.  We stuck with water and gatorade though.

Race report:  The race started in Downtown Denver "LoDo", so there were people crowded in between the buildings so much that I couldn't tell where the start line was, or which way we were gonna start running.  People were all dressed up in green, with green hats, beads, socks, tutu skirts, gorilla costumes... There was always something to look at. 
Mile 1 was chaotic and we started off a little fast because of it.  It's hard not to run faster when you are weaving in and out of people. 
Mile 2 was still a little crowded, Dad got run over by a stroller.  This is where the course started getting hilly.  Nothing major, but not a flat course. 
Mile 3 was much like mile 2, we picked up the pace a little, however, I still got run over by a dog and his owner. 
Mile 4 was nice.  There was room to swing your arms while you run and not hit anyone.  We finally got into a groove pace-wise. 
The final stretch 0.3 miles was where things got a little crazy.  We were running on the left hand side of the road with plenty of room to the right of us, and since we were in the road there was a median on my left.  All of the sudden I heard a scream and looked next to me to see a little girl falling out of a stroller that is halfway on the median and is tipping over.  I reached out and grabbed her and held up her and the stroller.  Her dad was so worried about running around us that instead of saying he needed to get by he rammed the stroller halfway on the median and almost dumped his daughter!... we continued running the last few steps and crossed the finish line!  Well being it was a St Patricks Day race, they were serving cornbeef sandwiches at the finish line... right after we crossed the finish line I got hit in the head with a flying cornbeef sandwich... It was a crazy little race!

Breakfast afterwards was at Mona's - YUM!  Next week we run 14 miles!

Running + Hills + Wind = HARD!

One word for today's run and that word is CHALLENGING!  Wow, super tough run this week, and the furthest this far in our training at TWELVE MILES!

The run started from the brand new Runner's Roost store in Lone Tree.  It is a VERY nice store, almost too fancy for running.  I was excited to shop after the run and Dad wanted to buy some new running shoes.  First on the agenda, 12 miles.  We ran up through the trails just south of the store for the first couple of miles (the "warm-up" miles), and by up I mean consistently uphill.  We were definitely "warmed up" when we got to the first water station.  Temperatures were probably in the mid 30s (which is just about perfect for running) but the wind chill was pretty chilly.  There also aren't a lot of trees up that way, so the wind whips through that area and it is extremely windy!  At one point we ran through a tunnel where the wind was coming at us so strong it felt like we were running in place (now I know where the term windtunnel comes from - and meatloaf).  Then there was a little bit of flat terrain before, as the Coach put it, the "Rolling Hills".

Mental note: "Rolling Hills" = Rolling Uphill or Rolling Downhill (no breaks in between)

The trail on the way out was mostly a rolling downhill, making the way back mostly a rolling uphill.  Our 4:45 pace running group was full of energy today which made for exciting conversations.  We made it to the turn around point pretty easily, but the run back was definitely a challenge.  Here's an example that we thought summed up the run back.

We were running past an assisted living place, uphill of course, and at the top of the hill we could see this little old lady out for a walk with her cane.  So we keep running towards her, but she didn't seem to get any closer... for a LONG time.  It is mentally challenging (and deflating) when you are running and can't catch an old lady with a cane walking!  

We did it though, one step at a time  And finished 12.25 miles.  =)  Truly an accomplishment today.  I just wish the wind hadn't been there so that Dad wouldn't have thought running 12 miles was always this hard.  In all of the 12 miles I have run, this was the hardest 12.  But he'll see next time.  I took him to Mimi's for breakfast to celebrate finishing this run.  He appreciated the "simple things in life, like the chair". 

Next week there isn't a group run, but we are running in the Running of the Green 7k - which is the St Patricks Day race in Denver.  Wish us luck!

Oh! and Dad didn't buy shoes this week... he didn't want to take his off after the beating his feet took. =)   And I also didn't throw him in the back of his truck and drive him home like he wanted me to. Funny Dad.

momma sends me on a birthday adventure..

I got my birthday package from my mom in the mail, and in it there is a beautifully wrapped box, a funny birthday card about being "old enough now to know better than to cut my own bangs" and then a tiny envelope that says,

"Go to the address inside this envelope to get your stunning running gift, just ask for the birthday present for Courtney at the register."

My momma is a little silly, she likes to "scare" me when she gives me presents.  It's not that she scares me, just that once when she got me those grandma sweatpants in jr high... funny part is that's the kind of sweatpants I wear now at 33, yikes!  I unwrapped the gift in the box and she got me a very beautiful cast iron tea pot set complete with saucers and a tray - I can't wait to play Cinderella (anyone want to be the wicked step sisters? or have any bonnets I can put on Ben?)!

So I'm off to the running store... of course when I get there and tell the guy at the register that I'm there to "pick up a birthday present for Courtney that my mom said would be at the register", I somehow manage to get the attention of everyone in the store.  He say's "Oh yeah!" really loud, and hands me a gift card.  I have quite a clever little momma, and it definitely was a fun little birthday adventure. 

Little did my momma know, but the store she chose is the running store that Runners Edge paired up with, Runners Roost, so I get a pretty good discount there!  I ended up getting a brand new pair of Saucony Rides, and a pretty sweet asics jacket.  Very exciting!  Thank you momma!

skiing is a dance, and the mountain always leads

check out the icicle on the roof!

We rented a condo up in Keystone for my birthday and a weekend of skiing and snowboarding maddness!  The condo was absolutely gorgeous!  We ate some tacos, and played Apples to Apples while we waited for Cory and Dad to get there.  We broke out the tequilia but we didn't have any ice in the fridge (or a blender)... so we improvised and made some yummy 'snowgaritas'. Dad and Cory finally made it up, and when we unloaded everything they brought we had enough food to feed an army!!! Played a few more games and then headed to bed. 

 

Saturday morning we woke up to some big snowflakes coming down pretty good, so we filled our bellies with delicious spicy breakfast burritos tossed on a bunch of layers, and called the ski shuttle to come pick us up.  Dad and Cory were already at the slopes (because they were up WELL before the sun!). 

 

After a quick shuttle ride we met up with them at the gondola to hitch a ride to the top of the mountain! As soon as we got in the gondola line the sun came out and it was obvious that we had all overdressed!  It was pretty warm. =) The ride to the top was gorgeous as the sky was now bright blue and you could see for miles. 

It was Cory's first time skiing, so Dad was teaching him and it was Owen's first time snowboarding, so Lynds was teaching him.  Cory picked it up right away and was heading down the slopes in no time.  Owen was a little more stubborn and wanted to do it himself, so there was a bit of a struggle there in the beginning, but eventually he figured it out.  And in a day he is better than Lynds and me... guess that's the difference between being 8 and being 33.

All in all it was a great day of skiing.  We finished it off with some hot chocolate and then back to the condo for lasagna and birthday brownies, hot tub and playing some pool.  It was a great 33rd birthday!