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Archive for the ‘Colfax Marathon’

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Another half marathon in the books

Published May 17th, 2009 in Rocky Mountain Half Marathon, Colfax Marathon | 11 Comments »

The Colfax Marathon is officially over for 2009.  I actually thought this years was better that last year, but that could be because last year I ran the full, and this year I ran the half.

It was a picture perfect day for the most part.  I think it was a bit warm for my tastes, and I would have melted if I ran the full.  The race started at City Park in Denver which to the start line from my house, is 3 miles.  I thought that would be a great warm up to jog down to the park in the morning before the race, and although I think it was a good idea in normal times, it wasn’t this time.  My longest run sine January was only 14 miles, so here I am running 3 miles for a warm up before I run 13.  Oye.  I think I overdid it a bit.  At right about mile 10, I started wearing out.  I was dragging and the one thing that saved me was Diane and Miles (my dog) were waiting for me at about 11 1/2 miles.  That rejuvinated me a little bit and made the last mile and a half a little more bearable.

Although I didn’t hit my goal (1:50), I was allright with my finish time, which was 1:56:17.  It was exactly 1 second faster than my last half marathon.  Out of the 2294 runners, I came in 563rd place.  Out of 846 males. I came in at 341, and then in my age group, there were 104 runners, and I came in 24th.

Next uo, The Rocky Mountain Half Marathon next month.

Only 2 Weeks Away

Published May 2nd, 2009 in Rocky Mountain Half Marathon, Colfax Marathon | 3 Comments »

I think maybe it’s because I’ve been hurt, and sick for most of April (I only did 60 miles all month), that I really haven’t been paying that much attention to when my race is.  That and the fact that it’s “only” a half marathon.  But I just happened to look at the calendar, and it’s 2 weeks away!  Holy shinsplints Batman!  Now what?  I’m not nearly as prepared as I have been in the past, so do I go into this saying, “what the heck, just do your best and not worry about a time”?  I think that might have to be the case.  I really would have liked to do around a 1:45:00, but at this point, I’ll be ecstatic with a 1:50:00.

One nice thing about the Colfax half marathon, is that it’s a flat course.  Unlike the marathon, which goes west and is hilly, the half goes east and has slight elevation change.  The first 7 miles has about a 205 foot elevation gain, then you basically turn around and go back downhill.

I’m thinking though that since this one probably won’t turn out as well as I had originally wanted, I might have to sign up for another half.  So I’m looking at the Rocky Mountain 1/2 Marathon June 14 which starts in downtown Denver.

2 steps forward, 1 step back

Published April 28th, 2009 in knee, training, Colfax Marathon | No Comments »

I think I should just get a knew knee (yes, I purposely spelled it that way).  I’m back doing some more shots because it was hurting again, and I was sick for a few days, so I lost about 2 weeks of training.  I very rarely get sick, so that was a new experience, but the whole knee thing just caps it off.  Get it, cap, like knee cap?  Tonight was my speed workout and I was supposed to do 2 miles at a 7:08 pace, do another mile at a 8:30 pace, 2 more miles at the 7:08 pace, and then another mile at the 8:30 pace.  But that didn’t happen.  I did do a mile at at 7:30 pace, a recovery mile, and another mile at the 7:30 pace, a recovery mile, and then one more mile at about a 7:45 pace.  I really struggled with the whole thing, and it’s affecting my mental state of mind.  Well not really because my mind isn’t even in this state.  I can’t remember where I left it.  So anyway, the Colfax Marathon is less than 3 weeks away, and I hope to be able to get back somewhat to where I should be.  We’ll see what happens, and if it seems like I’m still struggling, then that’s okay.  I really like my training and the fact that I targeted a half marathon instead of a full.  I would be upset if I was training for a full, and this all happened, but the fact that it happened during my training for the half, it just doesn’t seem as bad.

Random thoughts

Published January 29th, 2009 in Hines Ward, Miles, Run Faster, super bowl, Colfax Marathon | 1 Comment »

It’s freaking 5:00 in the morning and I don’t have anything else to do but update my blog.  My dog, Miles, needs to get on a better schedule.  At least tonight he only woke me up once to go out and that was at 1:30 in the morning.  But then he got up at 4:30.  I’m trying to hold off feeding him for awhile though.  He’s as much work as a baby!  Well, not really.

Signed up for the Colfax Half Marathon the other day.  Thanks to Kristen at Run Faster for letting me use the friend for free coupon.  She signed up and then gets a code that she gave to me for me to sign up.  So it’s really like both of us paying half price.  Hey Kristen, let me know where to send my half!  I’m also thinking about doing the program that’s outlined in the book, Run Less, Run Faster, which Kristen talks about in her blog.  With my knee and other injury issues, this may be the way to go.

The Super Bowl is this Sunday and it’s really turned into a circus.  In the good ole days (I know, I hated it when I was a kid and grown ups would say this) it was about the game.  Now it’s over hyped, over analyzed, and dragged out too much.  Just play the game.  Who cares who the halftime show is?  Are you really going to watch the game just so you can see Bruce Springstein?  I think on Sunday, there is like a 6 hour pre-game show.  Now we’ll know what Hines Ward is really like!  I won’t make a prediction because I suck.  I want a good game and I want the Cardinals to play bad.

The Gas Cap

Published May 24th, 2008 in Gas Cap, Colfax Marathon | 3 Comments »

I don’t usually endorse products on my site, or have any ads for any products. There is a product that I came across recently that I thought I would share with you. It’s called the Gas Cap

I wore this last weekend at the Colfax Marathon and I thought it was great. It’s a running hat that you can store your goo’s and gel’s in. It has slots on the side that hold the gels and when you need one, just give it a tug and there you go. No fumbling with the zipper of the pouch on your heavy fuel belt, or for those that pin them on your shorts, no more trying to open the pin while running. The gels stay in place while running, and slide out easy when you need them. This was invented by a runner named Carla Melton from Longmont, Colorado in January 2007. She sells these at race expos across the country, and also online at www.gogascap.com.

The Lowdown on The Colfax Marathon

Published May 19th, 2008 in Irish Snug, Colfax Marathon, marathon, Multiple Sclerosis | 11 Comments »

The Colfax Marathon is over, and I wonder if it will be around next year. There was only 488 marathoners that ran, which seems really lame. I’m not sure of the half marathon or the relay teams, but the total number of people was way down. Plus, they just don’t seem like they know what’s going on. At the Expo the day before, I went to pick up my bib and they had me listed in the half marathon. And they even ran out of shirts for the marathoners. How could you run out? There wasn’t even 500 of us.

I went into the day hoping to hit about 3:50, but the weather forecast made me adjust my prediction. I knew the 2nd half of the marathon was going to be hot, so I was hoping to at least get under the 4 hour mark. The heat is the worst enemy for people with MS. There are a lot of people that can’t even go outside in this type of weather if they are infected with this disease. I know that by the time I finished, it was in the 80’s and no clouds.

My first 18 miles weren’t too bad. I was hitting my times that I wanted to and still feeling okay. At about 2 1/2 miles, the run took us right in front of The Irish Snug Pub, and Frank, the owner, had a Guiness waiting for me! How many runners can say that they had a beer at any point during that run? Maybe I should of had one more towards the end. At mile 10, my quad was hurting, but not to the point where it was affecting my run. We hit the halfway point and turned around and headed east right into the sun. The good thing was that it was mostly downhill. I was feeling good and confident. But then at mile 18, I had to go to the bathroom, and yes, it was THE dreaded bathroom break. I lost 4 minutes at that point, and for some reason, I lost my energy. The run from there took us into downtown Denver and as you know, it’s always hotter downtown. There was also a couple of nasty “hills” to deal with which is always a challenge at any point of a race. I decided on one incline that I better save my energy so I walked up and that was even hard to do! With 3 miles to go, I knew that I wasn’t going to break 4 hours, so I think that at that instance, I kind of gave up. I still ran, but not as hard as I should have, because I figured, “what’s the point?” I look back now and I realize that you should never give up. Those last few miles of the marathon are very important to whatever level you are at, and if you can dig deep within yourself, that will just make you that much stronger for your next marathon or at whatever run that you do. Anyways, I finished at 4:09:56, which was a PR for me by 5 minutes. Here are my “stats”;

Overall - 177 out of 488

Age Division - 20 out of 50

Gender - 136 out of 307

10K - 55:11

15K - 1:23:04

25K - 2:16:48

30K - 2:47:41

From this point, I’m not sure what I want to do. I’ve talked about taking a break from marathon training and maybe just running some half marathons. Maybe when my brain gets un-fried, I’ll be able to think better and make a rational decision. We shall see.

It’s almost here! And I’m not ready

Published May 7th, 2008 in Bolder Boulder, quad, Colfax Marathon, Jason | 1 Comment »

The Colfax Marathon is almost here. May 18th to be exact, and I am tapering down. But I feel like I should be getting in more miles since I missed quite a few runs with my quad problem. But wisdom tells me that I should not be getting in more miles, and that I need to taper more than I need to get more miles in. So, it doesn’t appear that I will break any records, so I’ll just take what I can get. The leg feels almost 100% better, so in that respect, I am happy. I ran hard for the first time last night, and I could tell that I have lost some speed. I guess the Kenyans and the Ethiopians are safe for another year.

After this marathon, I think I will take it easy and just run to keep in shape. Possibly run a couple of half marathons, and some 10K’s, but not do another marathon this year. At my age, 43 53, I need some rest. I keep getting injured, so it’s either my mechanics, or I’m over training. Either way, I’m going to take it easy on myself.

Coming up after the Colfax, is The Bolder Boulder, which is an awesome 10K. I think that they said that it was the largest 10K race in the U.S. Last year they had 50,000 runners, and my son Jason came in from North Carolina to run it. Of course I beat him, and in fact I beat him so bad that he’s not coming this year. Too bad.

A Runner’s Number One Fear

Published April 27th, 2008 in gas, Colfax Marathon | 2 Comments »

Well after a whole week off from running, I ventured out on Saturday to test my leg and see how it would hold up.  I was quite surprised that after 5 miles, I felt great.  I was scheduled to do 20, and I was hoping for 10.  So instead of turning around at the 5 mile mark, I pushed onward.  At one point, between 7 and 8 miles, I came to this uphill portion which in itself isn’t bad, but then Mr. Wind decided to exhale and it seemed like I was walking for a mile.  In Colorado near the foothills, it can get extremely windy.  I think at that point, I would have been wise to turn around, but as I’ve said before, I’m not too smrt smart.  I turned around at 10 miles and headed back knowing that for most of the run, it would be downhill and the wind would be at my back.  My leg was feeling fine and I was determined to grind it out.  The only problem was that my body had other plans for me.  At about mile 14, my leg started to hurt, but not really too bad.  Then the unthinkable happened.  Yes, my friends and family, I got gas real bad!  Hey!  Someone has to admit it, and that someone is ME.  I stopped running for fear of having my nice $40 running shorts ruined.  How embarrassing.  I ended up walking the final 4 miles with my butt cheeks firmly clamped together.  After awhile, it all made sense.  My body was telling me that I needed to take it easy on my leg, but instead of making my leg hurt, my body gave me gas.

Today I feel great.  My leg is a little sore, but overall it feels fine.  I think that this week will be the deciding point to see if I’ll be running The Colfax Marathon on May 18.  After this week, I start to taper, so I need to get in some good quality workouts so I can gauge my fitness and see how my leg is holding up.  I’m confident that this will be a good week and that I will be back on track.  I just need to find the bathroom.

Now you’ve gone and done it

Published April 20th, 2008 in quad, Greenland Trail, training, Colfax Marathon | 2 Comments »

I had a feeling this might happen.  I woke up Saturday and drove to the Greenland Trail race that I was going to be doing, and my leg felt pretty good.  There was still some soreness, but not too bad.  Before the run, I was able to do some easy quad stretches, and I didn’t feel any pain at all.  As I stated in earlier post, I have been having a sore quad muscle.  Anyways, I started out running slow, mainly because of the trail conditions, and the number of slow runners in front of me.  After mile 1, the elevation started going up and within a span of 4 miles, went from an elevation of 6,875 to 7,425.  I believe that was my downfall.  I still ran (of course.  I am a male!) and once I started going back downhill, I thought I’d be fine.  The course is 8 miles, and I was going to do 16, which meant doing 2 loops.  I hope I didn’t lose anybody there with my overly educated math skills.  I finished the first loop and started back on the 2nd 8 miles.  Well after a little bit of elevation gain again, I was toast.  My leg really started hurting, and I tried to over compensate for it and ended up starting to put a strain on my knee.  At this point I stopped, put my tail between my legs, and turned around.  I was officially a DNF (did not finish).

It’s not so much that I didn’t finish, it’s that I think that I really did some damage to my leg.  Today it hurts like hell and I had a hard time going up and down stairs.  I’m really worried that this is going to set me back on my training and maybe even make me postpone doing The Colfax this year.  That would really suck.

Colfax Marathon warm up

Published April 17th, 2008 in quad, Greenland Trail, Tigers, baseball, Colfax Marathon | 3 Comments »

This weekend I am going to run in the Greenland Trail 50K.  Not that I would run 50K though.  There’s actually a 25K and an 8 Mile run.  I’m going to do the 25K which is about 16 miles, on trail, with altitude.  I was thinking of wearing a back pack full of rocks just for fun also.   I was going to run this as a race, but my left quad (I love saying quad.  Quad, quad, quad) has been hurting the last couple of days, so if it’s not better by Saturday, I’m going to take it a bit easy.  My marathon is 4 weeks away, so I don’t want to be doing anything stupid.  But then again, I’ve never been one to be real smrt  smart.

How do you like my baseball prediction so far?  2 ways you can look at it.  The Tigers suck and they are in last, or the Tigers are just getting warmed up and they are only 4 1/2 games back of first.  I’ll go with the latter.

I never did do my 6 word memoir.  I’m such a slacker and I apologize for my slackification.  I was thinking of this;                                                                                      

                                 “I used to be wild and crazy, now I’m just mild and lazy”

I think that’s slightly more than 6, so I’m still working on it.

I know weather is crazy all over the country, but this is ridiculous.  This past Tuesday in Denver, it was 85 degrees!  Then on Wednesday, it was 35 and snowing.  It’s global warming mixed in with the new ice age.

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