NH, GoG, and Weekly Recap (x2)

It has been a busy two weeks! But luckily, I feel like the training is going well and my spirits are still high. I know things can change week to week, and day to day, but overall I am feeling good! My overall goal is to get in 3 runs, 2 swims, and 2-3 bikes. For some reason I haven’t had any desire to go to yoga the last two weeks, but I started up Jillian so hopefully that will be good for the next month
 
Garden of the Gods!

I don’t even know if I had mentioned I was racing this! I had my eye on it for a while, since we ran it last year. AA is away on a 24 hour mission for Alpine so I knew I needed to keep my mind off that and keep me busy so I signed up recently. I didn’t have any big expectations. I haven’t been feeling tiptop after the ½ and giving blood (even though I did great at the ½). So I was using it more for a training run, and especially for training hills! 

The race was 5 miles (with a 5K option) at Garden of the Gods in CO Springs. The scenery could not be prettier and its challenging with the hills (over 500ft of gain). The race started at 8 AM and I left the house at 6:30 and arrived to the lot at 7:30. This year you didn’t have to take school buses but there was a long line of cars entering the park. I got my # and tshirt, brought them back to the car, waited in line for the porta potties, and had about 10 minutes to spare! The race started 10 minutes late due to the traffic I think. I had on running Capri tights, a tank, and a long sleeve over it and the weather was high 30s to low 40s but the sun was shining bright. 

prerace pic!

At 8:10 we were off! As you can see the first mile is ALL uphill, I was winded of course but was feeling pretty good and took advantage of the downhill in mile 2. This is the first race I actually took pictures while running! I will say it did distract me a little bit, but it is nice to have some pictures! It seemed like there were a lot of photographers out on the course so hopefully they got some good ones too :-)

 

527' gain

 

wish it wasn't blurry!

The split for the 5K/5 miler was a little before mile 2 and I was coasting downhill. Unfortunately, at this point the leaders were coming back towards us which meant I got to run back up it all! The first turnaround was at about 2.2 miles and I had water there. Then the climbing started again until mile 3.2 where the split originally was. Of the 10 or 12 people around me, only one other person ran up this whole section with me – it was really tough. It looks about 200 feet of gain in a mile after the turnaround. Luckily there was water again. 

At mile 2, hello downhill!

Pikes Peak in the background! Well you can't see the peak, that would be in snow still

 
For the remaining 1.8 miles it was more rolling with no huge hills and some downhill that helped. The hills I did not feel as strong as last year, but I felt like my endurance was a little better – I felt really strong miles 4 and 5 even with a tough first and third mile! I did end up beating my time by 24 seconds! I'll take it :-) I ended the race strong, chomped down a bagel and banana and off I went! It is so nice when you have already run a race by 9 AM! It was a great feeling to be running, I love races, especially on bright sunny days!

My pace was 10:02 - I swear this is my bodys favorite...Bolder Boulder 2012 was 10:02, and so was the Moab 1/2 Marathon!

Times: This year versus last year

 

All done!

Next I headed to Cherry Creek to get in a bike – ended up going 10 miles, nothing crazy but I was happy to get it done with! Now its time for Jillian and then bringing my cousin and his friend to a soccer game! Glad I have lots to do so I can't think about AA right now....

Bike around Cherry Creek Reservoir

Quick Workout Recap

Week of 4/22

• Run – 3x – 12.5 miles (3.5/3.5/4.5)  
• Memorable: 4.5 mile run at The Dam in NH with Aaron and his Dad :-) I LOVE running at sea level

• Swim – 2x – 2500m (1,500m & 1,000m) 
• Memorable: Tried speed work 1000m day....conclusion: sprinting in swimming is HARD I could only do 1 lap

• Bike – 2x – 13 miles (10m/3m) 
• Memorable: Wednesday was a good spin day on the bike, but Friday I was tired and none ride while away

Week of 4/29

• Run – 3x – 12 miles (4/3/5) 
• Memorable: Garden of the Gods race today! See above!

• Swim – 1x – 1600m (Swam at new place) 
• Memorable: Only once, boo! I blame traveling and the fact I had to scout out a new place to swim since Wash Park is under construction for the next month. I ended going to another Denver Rec Center and it worked out. I lowered the average age by 40 years, and there was only 4 lanes but we’ll see how it does. The pool is 25 yards versus 25 meters so need to learn new calcs.

• Bike – 2x – 18 miles (8m/10m) – so far! 
• Memorable: After my race today I stopped by Cherry Creek Reservoir for a loop ~ 10 miles. Was windy at beginning, but felt to get out on the road. Possibly could get out tomorrow.

• JM30 – started Jillian Michaels 30 day shred again on Wednesday! Today will be day 4 and so far so good. I felt like I needed to add in some strength training, and its hard to beat her 25 minute workout including warm up/down.

NH!!
Aaron and I went back to NH last weekend to see his family. It was an awesome trip, but way too short. We got in around midnight on Friday and had a 6 AM flight on Monday morning. It was the perfect weekend, but like I said – too short!

Saturday - Run in AM with AA and AA’s dad the AA’s mom made us all a great waffle breakfast! In the afternoon we had a BBQ at the house with friends and family.

Sunday – The four of us headed to Franconia Notch in the White Mts. We checked out The Pool and hiked around. Then we went to Artists Bluff and I rock climbed for the first time! Mr. Dover is a pro, and AA is learning more with alpine so they were great teachers! In the evening we went to dinner on Lake Winnipesauke and then up and early to head back home :-(

Amazing Day Racing in the Garden

A quick recap of the week before I get to the race! 

Tuesday- ran the same route and intervals as last week
1.5/1/1 = ran 3.5 miles walked .5 miles
I ran it about a minute slower than last week so I knew I was tired!

Wednesday- brought the bike to work and got to do a ride to Cherry Creek Park! This was the first time I rode from work and did the whole loop during work and it was great. I finished in just under an hour so it was good timing for lunchtime. A little windy, but some good climbs. Only 530 ft of elevation gain over almost 14 miles so I need to find some bigger hills!

Thursday- ran in Orchard Hills park - 3.2 mile route. I ran 1.5/1.5 with a .2 mile in between. I tied my fastest time from a month ago, so I was feeling better about the race on Saturday that my legs were feeling good! I am still a minute off my time from before my injury so still a little more to go! I am also walking .2 miles of it versus running the whole thing so that could be the difference.

Friday- REST!!!
 
Aaron made a great spaghetti dinner on Friday for a carbo load before the race. Then we had decided to head down to Colorado Springs the night before with the pups so it was a little less hectic before the race. Employee rate nights are great :-) We checked in, found some great ice cream, and called it a night!

Saturday- Beautiful day in Colorado. The race started at 8 AM in the Garden of the Gods. There were shuttle buses from the parking lot to the gates of the Park. The race was very organized and everything seemed smooth! We got great short sleeve tech tees, there was water, bagels and fruit after the race, along with 2 water stations during the course. It was chipped time and there were about 1000 runners between the 5k and 5 mile race. The picture below is a shot from the bus - we were so giddy that morning. I was excited to be running in such a beautiful place and excited to do another race and see how I did!

Garden of the Gods view

Aaron and I before the race!

The park was packed with excited runners. 505 runners ran the 5k and 487 ran the 5 mile course. It was probably already almost 65-70 degrees and the sun was shining beautifully! I love seeing one thousand other people out enjoying the outdoors and excited to run! Aaron and l lined up and my juices were flowing! As the race began there was a bit of a log jam but the first nine tenths of the race were uphill so it quickly thinned out. I felt strong and tried to maintain a steady pace up the steep hill. The first .9 miles of the race is 200 feet of elevation gain and starts at about 6,320 feet. I felt pretty strong on the first uphill and it is also encouraging when you see that others may need to walk :-) It is hard to say exactly what I was thinking during the whole race but I tried to enjoy my surroundings as well as the crowd. There is definitely something special about a race and you definitely get extra energy. As we crested and began the downhill, there were runners on each side of me and it felt neat to be running in a pack and enjoying the experience together even though they were complete strangers.

As we continued the downhill for another mile and a half, as we reached the turnaround for the 5 miler we were able to see the runners in front as they started back up the hill. Our section cheered on the lead runners and I again felt so happy to be running on such a beautiful day! I got to the inside of the road and had my eyes peeled for Aaron. The race shirt that about half the runners were wearing was red, and Aaron was also wearing a red shirt so it was hard to pick him out - but we saw each other and slapped hands and I got an extra push! Right after the turnaround at 2.25 miles there was a water stop. They were short on cups so I had to wait a few seconds which seemed forever. I took a quick gulp knowing the great downhill I just made time on I would soon have to run up. Although downhills are nice, I find myself trying to steady myself. I definitely get passed on the downhills and pass others on the uphills. I'll have to research which is better. The next mile was brutal and had 200 feet of elevation gain. I continued running while many had to stop but my steps were slow! The charts show how my pace increased dramatically. Luckily at the top of the hill there was a strategic water station which I desperately needed.  One of the race volunteers urged us on and promised that the toughest part of the race was done! The last 2 miles had some uphills but was mostly grading down which made it easier than the middle mile. The runners had thinned out but I was feeling strong and was able to pace myself well around my other runners. The end of the race was great as you turn the final corner and have a straight away that is downhill. As you run down you can see the crowd of finished racers and supporters and the finish line! A man approached me during the last few tenths. It was great motivation as we sprinted to the finish line! 

Aaron was waiting and cheering for me! I had a huge smile across my face and although I was very tired, I couldn't be more thrilled with my experience. I stopped my watch at 50:35 (which the chip time agreed with) and was excited with my quick math pace calculation. It turns out to be 10:08 min/miles. The 10k race back in November I ran a 10:04 so I was very consistent! I broke 10 min/miles for the 4 mile Turkey Trot so that is my goal for the Boulder Bolder. We enjoyed water, bagels, oranges, bananas and Gatorade and took it all in.  We ran through our course analysis with each other and were just very happy. The watch has the course elevation gain at 541 feet! It was a great trip, a great race, and a great experience. I am excited for the 10k in three weeks! Below are some more pics as well as the course map and profiles. 

Follow the route counter-clockwise...up to the right first!

Green = elevation, Blue = pace

Go!

Amazing place to run

Garden of the Gods entrance with Pikes Peak in background

Being from back east, it saddens Aaron and I that there are no Dunkin Donuts in Denver! Aaron remembered, however, there are some in Colorado Springs! After showering up and picking up the dogs, we located the closest DD and indulged in some iced coffees :-) Great way to end a great day

Oh how I missed you Dunkin Donuts

So although I was very scared to see how my first post-injury race went, I was super pleased with my results. I have slowly eased back in to running over the past 8 weeks. I am still icing my ankle and trying to remember to do the strengthening exercises! I have come so far and do not want to lose my strength! This week I hope to have more good runs, bikes, and swims :-) 

...12 days till my birthday :-)