2009 Boulder Half Marathon

Jim and I ran in the Boulder Marathon-Half Marathon-Relay yesterday. We participated in the half marathon. I wish I could say it was a great run. But it really wasn't. The half-marathon didn't start until 9 a.m. At the start of the half marathon, the temperatures were in the low 70s and the winds pretty strong. When Jim and I finished the half marathon, the temperatures were in the low 80s and the winds even stronger. Unfortunately, due to the weather conditions, water ran out quickly along the course, so many runners ended up on the side of the road suffering from heat stroke and dehydration. There were medics and ambulances everywhere! When the supply of ambulances ran out, the fire trucks rolled in. We counted the arrival of three fire trucks.

Jim and I didn’t break any records. Because of the heat, my goal of running the course in 2 hours quickly shifted to avoiding heat stroke and finishing the race, which I did by drinking plenty of water, squirting water on my head and back, and slowing down my pace. The results have not yet been posted online, but according to our Garmin 405 watches, Jim completed the race in approximately 2 hours 10 minutes and I completed the race in approximately 2 hours 13 minutes. Aside from not-so-good final race times, there were some high points to the day.

High Point One: Our friends Bret and Carol joined us in running the race. There is something to be said about the saying, “misery loves company.” Like us, they didn’t appreciate the warm temperatures and wind, so it was nice to be able share our feelings, frustrations and experiences at the end of the race. I have to say, Bret was the smart one at the end of the race. He signed up for a massage, while Carol, Jim, and I headed to the beer tent for a cold one!

High Point Two: We finally got to meet Bret and Carol’s oldest daughter, Sierra. She is so busy on the weekends with her track and cross-county meets which make it difficult for her to find the time to make it to her parent’s races! I am so glad we finally met and to know that she really does exist. Thanks for watching our camera Sierra!

High Point Three: Our friend John ran and completed the marathon. This was his first marathon and we were so glad to be there to witness his fantastic accomplishment under such rough conditions. Congratulations John!

High Point Four: John's wife, Stephanie was able to break away from her Sunday responsiblities and be there for John at the end of the rest. We haven't seen John and Stephanie in such a long time. It was great to be able to reconnect.

Even though this was a tough race for us, we are already looking forward to running in the Denver Half Marathon in October!

Saturday Training Run - Sept. 12th

Jim and I had another stellar training day! We drove downtown, parked in front of The Market at Larimer Square and ran 10 miles on the running/bike trail. We started from The Market and ran about a mile past the Cherry Creek Shopping Mall. The temperature was cool and the skies were overcast. It was perfect running weather. We weren’t the only individuals that thought so. The trail was full of runners, bikers, and walkers.

Jim being the outgoing person that he is greeted every runner along the way. Soon, I found myself also smiling and waving at every runner! I thought Jim would get tired of it, but he persisted and we probably greeted, smiled and waved at over a hundred runners!

After the run, we ended up at The Market for breakfast. Jim had a Breakfast Pocket which was filled with eggs, Canadian bacon, onions, cheese and served with a side of salsa. I had the Spinach Pocket, which was filled with spinach, onions, cheese and served with a side of marinara. Of course, we had to have our weekly non-fat vanilla lattes!

One thing Jim and I both observed during this run and last week while running in the Park to Park 10 Miler, was that our lower backs started to cramp at around 8.5 miles. We both decided we needed to work on strengthening our core muscles. When we got home we logged onto the Runner's World Website and looked up core strengthening exercises. We found an article about World Champion Hurdler Lolo Jones’ Core Workout and decided to try out the exercises shown in the article. Let me tell you, those exercises were a lot tougher than they looked! We are going to start doing these core exercises at least 3 times a week.

Running the Park-to-Park 10 Miler

Jim and I participated in the Park-to-Park 10 Miler today. Once again, our day started early. We woke up at 3:30 a.m. and were out the door by 5:00 a.m. We drove to South Denver High School, where we met our friends Bret, Carol and their daughter Lauren. Since this race was a point-to-point race, Bret offered to shuttle us to the starting line. Carol and Lauren stayed behind. Jim gave Lauren a stack of “Run the Rocks 5K” pamphlets to hand out while Carol and Lauren waited for Bret to return. We are so lucky to have such good friends! Not only did Bret shuttle us to the start line, they hung out and cheered us on as we crossed the finish line.

This race has a really nice course and was very well organized. It connects four Denver parks; City Park, Cheesman Park, Alamo Placita Park and finishes at Washington Park. All race finishers received a medal and at the post-race Expo were treated to a wealth of goodies; bottled water, Vitamin Water, Zero PowerAde, bananas, apples, Panera Bread Cinnamon bagels, muffins, sticky buns, cookies from Sogni Dolci Bakery, Fruit and Chocolate Fondue Dip from The Melting Pot, Dryers Ice Cream Fruit Bars, and Fruit2Day Snacks.

Jim and I were happy with our times. This was not a chipped race, so the results posted on the website are about 22 seconds longer than our actual time. According to our watches, we logged 10.1 miles and Jim's time was 1:32:49 at a 9:07 pace, my time was 1:33:42 at a 9:16 pace.

After hanging out at Washington Park for an hour or so, we all decided to go get something to eat. I know, I know, how could we possibly be hungry after all the goodies available to us at the post-race Expo? We didn’t really eat a lot while at the expo. Jim and I had a bagel and a Fruit2Day juice. We wanted something else that would hold us over until dinner. So, we headed to The Market at Larimer Square which is located in Larimer Square. I love The Market! There is something there for everyone. Bret and Carol had burritos smothered in green chili (I think I will order that the next time I go there!), Lauren had a Belgium waffle with strawberries and whipped cream (yummy!), Jim had an egg salad sandwich (protein!) and I had the quiche (more protein!). Of course, I had to have my weekly non-fat vanilla latte!

Happy Running!

Saturday Morning Training Run

Wow! I slept in until 4:30 a.m. this morning. Jim managed to sleep in until 5:00 a.m. One of the problems with waking up at 3:30 a.m. during the work week; it’s so hard to sleep in on the weekends!

We will be running in the Park-to-Park 10 Miler on Labor Day, so we ran an easy 5 mile run this morning at a 9:37 pace. The run felt really good, probably because I slept in until 4:30 a.m. I wanted to run longer, but knew it wouldn’t be wise with a 10 mile race a couple days away.

For our pre-race meal on Sunday evening, I plan to prepare a Fresh Tomato, Sausage, and Pecorino Pasta. I found the recipe in this month’s Cooking Light. My Big Boy tomato and basil plant have been producing like crazy and this recipe calls for both of these ingredients. Click on the link above for the recipe.  I have not yet tried this recipe.  It has received 4 stars out of 5, so I think it will be very good.

Wednesday Morning Training Run

We started today with another very, early morning training run. The alarm once again was set for 3:30 a.m. Fortunately, I woke up at 3:29 a.m. and was able to turn off the alarm before having to endure the alarm’s heart-stopping ringing, which I am convinced will one day cause me to have a heart attack.

After donning my running gear, I dragged myself downstairs, turned on the coffee and started stretching. As soon as the coffee was done, Jim stumbled downstairs, mumbled what I think was a, “good morning” and headed straight for the coffee pot. He’s not a very talkative guy at 3:45 a.m. I just can’t understand why?

Once again, we were out the door at 4:00 a.m. We decided to try a different route this morning. Running the same route 3-4 times a week gets boring, so we try to mix it up a little. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t. Even with our Princeton Tec FUEL Head Lamps, we’ve gotten turned around in some of the neighborhoods we’ve ventured into. Everything looks so different when it is dark. Today’s route was successful and we will add it to our early morning training run route list.

Today, we ran 7 miles at a 9:25 pace. The temperatures were around 57 degrees and humid. The humidity is so unusual for us here in Colorado. Unfortunately, during the run my Fuel Belt Sprint Palm Holder 10 ounce Water Bottle slipped from its holder and fell. Upon impact, the cap cracked. In order to prevent the water from splashing out from the cap while running, I had to cup my hand over the cap. It didn’t work very well. I ended up with more water on me than in me!

After the run I prepared myself a “Breakfast Taco.” For the curious individual wondering what is in a “Breakfast Taco,” it is a scrambled egg, with green onions, diced tomatoes, diced ham and cheddar cheese folded in a flour tortilla. It is very, very delicious and easy to make.