Labor Day Weekend Shenanigans

It was a busy weekend for this girl:

• 20 mile training run in Breckenridge
• Copper Country Music Festival
• CU vs CSU game
• Park to Park 10 Miler
• Dinner with my good friend Amanda

Needless to say I didn’t really get to relax on the long holiday weekend, but instead bounced from here to there hanging out with various family and friends.

Saturday - Mountain Getaway

Just me and the road

Saturday was another typical long run Saturday in my life. Alarm went off at 4:30 and I was out the door my 5:30 too meet up with some people from the MHTC to head to the mountains. We headed to Breckenridge to get in a good 20 mile downhill run to Frisco. But As I neared mile 13 my knee started to bug me so I (for the first time) really listened to my body and cut my run short. Normally I would have been extremely grumpy about this and sulked around the whole day, but I was able to run those 13 miles at goal marathon pace and I didn’t really feel winded. I was especially happy with this considering there was a doozy of a hill at mile 8. Not a really long hill, but one that slaps you in the face and then laughs at you when you have to start walking it. Based on this run my confidence has been boosted a bit for STG.

Monday - Park to Park 10 Miler

Run Colorado represent!

After the Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon I made the decision not to sign up for anymore races until after a good long rest period following the Marine Corps Marathon on October 27th. I really need to focus on preparing for the Saint George Marathon and most importantly staying healthy so I can do 2 marathons in one month. But last week at the Run Colorado Pub Run I won a free entry into the Aetna Park to Park 10 Miler for demoing a pair of Brooks Pure Flows and who can say no to a free race entry??

Since I had 20 miles scheduled on Saturday, turning around and running another 10 on Monday didn’t sound like the best idea to be. However I was quickly persuaded once I received some coaching advice:

• Take Saturday’s 20 nice and easy. Easy enough to keep a conversation going the entire time. 
• On Sunday a 30 minute jog to get the legs moving again and then stretch it out.
• Then Monday push myself as hard as you could and race the full 10 miles. The reason being that racing on tired legs shows you where you stand in your training. So race I did.

I have never felt better during a race. Everything just kind of clicked for me! And I let my legs take over. I started out running with 2 ladies from my running group and we were flying through the first couple miles at a pace that I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up for 10 miles so I kept trying to pull back a bit, but that never happened. And I just kept going and going. Surprisingly the miles ticked by quickly and before I knew it I was halfway done AND clocking my fastest mile of the race (on rolling hills).

At the 7.5 mile water station I could feel myself start to slow down. I took a 30 second walk break gave myself a quick pep talk and then started running again. Somehow I don’t really remember running miles 7.5-9, but before I knew it I was heading into Washington Park with one more mile to go. I pushed it with all that I had left even though I felt like I was running through molasses. My legs were heavy and my form (will what little form I had) fell apart. Basically I looked like this:

I still managed to cross the finish line with enough time to give my a new PR by 4 minutes and 22 seconds! And my time was good enough to get me an AG place! Everybody had a fabulous race that day - multiple AG places and PRs! I have to say Run Colorado is a force to be reckoned with at races nowadays!