Boston Training begins!

My road to Boston officially began yesterday, but let me first talk about my fun Denver weekend. Got in late Friday, met up with Tim and Trish, went out around town. Saturday, woke up early for a long run. Was supposed to run with Tim's group in City Park, not too far from downtown Denver, but instead did our own. Stapleton, where Tim lives, is roughly 5 miles from downtown, so we ran towards there and did a loop around downtown before heading back. Basically did this run last August when we went to get Tim's car from Trish's, so was very familiar. Sidewalks were icy, so we ran on the roads. Weather was nice - low 40's, and sort of sunny. Highlight of this run is two miles into it, when we are running with the park to the left and a golf course to the right, and running towards the city and mountains (see picture). Looped around downtown and headed back. Was net uphill-grade running going back to Tim's, legs were getting pretty tired. Last half mile, picked it up a little, finished pretty strong. Legs were tired from the distance, altitude definitely affected the lungs. Total mileage: ~10 miles - no watch, was out there around 1.5 hours?

City Park with downtown Denver/mountains in the background


Afterwards, met up with Trish to get brunch at a local place called Berkshires - absolutely amazing! Great food - there was about 10 things I wanted to try on the menu, but we all opted for the ahi club per Trish's advice, and she was absolutely right! Decided to get the bottomless mimosas, which was probably not the best idea. Hit up a few bars, made it back to Tim's for wii and sleep. Sunday morning, woke up to get ready for the race. I am usually pretty descriptive on these races details, but am going to kind of fly through this since it wasn't the most ideal race for me. Drove to Boulder, which was 30-45 minutes away. Awesome driving towards the mountains, drove through CU and saw a bit of campus town. Got to the park area where the race was being held, and was blown away by the scenary. By far the best scenary of any short race I have ever ran! Weather was pretty nasty - overcast, 25 degrees, and 25 mph winds. Went through registration, lightly stretched, then Tim and I jogged around the course to get a feel for it. Was a loop course (~2K), so we jogged a loop to get a feel for it. Wind was definitely going to be a factor, as was the ice scattered all over the course. Ground was rock hard, which was good since it was like road running, but bad since the terrain wasn't even close to flat so was going to be hellacious on the ankles. Scouted out the route and all the trouble spots, then went inside to thaw out a bit.

Watched the women start and race for a bit, went inside to stretch and get ready. Since it was so cold outside, decided to leave my pants on instead of racing in shorts. Did some strides with Tim, felt decent but slightly heavy legged, and lined up for the start. We took off - I went out pretty hard and was chasing the lead pack. We go downhill, loop around a lake, then up a few hills towards the other end of the park. Then we went up a huge hill, took a left towards a long sustained downhill. At this point, was about 10-20 meters behind the first group going at a very aggressive pace, then one we got to the downhill the wind just nailed me right in the face. I literally couldn't breathe - I think the fast pace, the altitude, cold air, hangover, and wind all finally caught up to me. Staggered around, slowed down a ton, trying to catch my breath. We loop around the park, then filter into another portion of the park going through a bottle necked trail which is surrounded by trees/bushes. Loop around there, come out and head toward a few mogul/hills back to the start/finish. At this point, was absolutely dead and had nothing in the tank, and was demoralized by the hordes of people passing me. Was completely spent 1 mile into the race, I couldn't believe it. Saw Trisha on the side, stopped by her to try to catch my breath. I knew my race was over at this point, waited for Tim to catch up and ran a loop with him. He was struggling a bit, so when we started the last loop, I took off and tried to make up a little time. Felt somewhat better, but lungs and legs were still fried. Picked off about 10 runners in the loop, kicked hard at the end and made up some ground. Tim finished a few minutes behind me, had a nice little kick at his end.

Afterwards, went to downtown Boulder to eat lunch, headed back to Tim's to be lazy and watch a ton of football! A big thanks to Trisha for her support during the race, her driving skills, her photography, and all around awesomeness :) Monday, flew back to STL and its crappy weather, got caught up with some work and laundry, then squeezed in a late run. Weather was very Boulder-like - cold and windy. Did a loop around town, trying to stay close to buildings and trees. Was getting blown around everywhere! Was supposed to be an easy run, ran a little faster than I would have liked because it was so crappy outside. Total mileage: ~4.25 miles - splits were: 7:52, 7:50, 7:45, 7:30.

Tonight, speedwork. Supposed to do track work, but it is super windy outside. Will figure out an alternative if these conditions persist.

Saturday Brunch at Berkshires

Prerace in Boulder (awesome scenary!)

Start of the race

Following the lead pack

Exhausted postrace