Rocky Mountain Half Marathon

On Sunday, June 14th, I ran the Rocky Mountain Half Marathon. This was my 2nd half marathon - my first being the 2008 Denver Marathon. Even though this wasn't really a target race I figured it would provide a good measure of my fitness and preparation for Pikes Peak. Well, let's hope not.

Let's cut right to the chase. I finished in 2:05:14. That's 22 seconds faster than the Denver Half Marathon. My goal was to break 2:00, and I fell quite a bit short. Instead of some mind-numbing boring stats, I think a really cute picture of Audrey would definitely spice up this blog.



Whew - I feel better already. How about one more?



OK - I know I said no boring stats, but come on - you didn't really think I would spare you of that joy, did you?

Here were my splits:

Mile 1: 8:55
Mile 2: 17:59 (9:04)
Mile 3: 27:13 (9:14)
Mile 4: 36:25 (9:12)
Mile 5: 45:46 (9:21)
Mile 6: 55:22 (9:36)
Mile 7: 1:04:57 (9:44)*
Mile 8: 1:14:31 (9:25)* (19:09 split between 6 - 8)
Mile 9: 1:23:58 (9:27)
Mile 10: 1:33:32 (9:34)
Mile 11: 1:42:57 (9:25)
Mile 12: 1:53:31 (10:34)
Finish: 2:05:14 (11:43 - 10:40 pace)

Somehow I missed the mile 7 marker, so the exact time for mile 7 and mile 8 is an estimate - mile 8 was pretty flat, mile 7 had a bit of a hill towards the beginning (17th and Federal). I think it would be easy to say from these splits that I started out too fast, since my first two miles were the fastest. Upon a few weeks for further reflection - yeah - I went out too fast. Mile 1 didn't feel that fast, but I should have really eased up when I passed it in sub-9:00. Oh well, there will be other races...

I also realized that I shouldn't be so tied to my watch, and I should just run. Once I hit the 9 mile mark, and new I wasn't going to break 2 hours, I got pretty discouraged. This is something I need to learn to deal with. For Pikes Peak I'm not going to memorize the exact time split for every last mile that I need in order to run sub-4 hours - this would just be counterproductive. I'm just going to run as smart as I can, push myself to the end, and see what my time is. I think I'll be a lot happier this way.

Overall I was pretty pleased with this run. I would have liked the run to have started at 7:00 instead of 7:30, it was pretty hot at the end. I also was a little confused because the course had a slight change in the early part that wasn't accurately reflected on the maps they passed out. It's not quite as nice a run as the Denver half marathon, as I don't really care too much for lollipop-style race courses, but I would definitely do it again.

Green Mountain redux

Here are the reasons why the "Green Mountain Loop" in Boulder (start @ Chautauqua, up the amphitheater trail to Greenman trail, west off of the summit to Bear Canyon, out to the Mesa Trail and back to the start) is one of my favorite runs in the area:

1. You reach a summit with great views, and it's actually got a cool little summit block
2. It's a loop run. None of this out-and-back or lollipop stuff.
   
3. The run takes about 2 hours, which is just right for me
4. The terrain is incredibly varied
5. If I'm having a good day I can get to the summit in just under an hour
   
6. Green Mountain is visible from nearly everywhere on the front range
7. Superb views of Bear Peak and South Boulder Peak from Bear Canyon
8. Isolation: it's rare that you encounter anyone between the summit of Green Mountain and the Mesa trail
9. It's tough. The last mile before the mesa trail is very technical with lots of rocks and stream crossings. In the spring it's hard to tell the trail from the creek.

I did this run again on Friday morning, June 5th. It never fails to disappoint. The first time I ever did this loop was in 2002, before I was much of a runner. I carried barely any water, it was hot, and I totally bonked somewhere in Bear Canyon, the whole round trip taking about 3.5 hours. I did it twice in 2006, getting lost on the way to summit both times, and getting as low as 2:10. This time I was hoping for sub-2 hours. I set a new PR this time, but failed by a long shot to break 2 hours, finishing in 2:04:39. I also set a new PR to the summit, in 58:03. Here is a comparison between this run, last year's (to the summit only), and my fastest time in 2006:

June 2009
7:47 Amphitheatre trail
17:18 Top of Amphitheatre (9:31)
26:27 First Flatiron cutoff (9:09)
36:19 Greenman cutoff (9:51)
58:03 Summit (21:43)
1:12:41 Bear Peak W. Ridge (14:38)
1:36:25 Mesa Trail (23:46)
2:04:39 Finish (28:14)

July 2008
7:38 Amphitheatre
17:32 Top of Amphitheatre (9:53)
26:56 First Flatiron cutoff (9:24)
37:09 Greenman cutoff (10:12)
58:12 Summit (21:03)

2006
Amphitheater Trail: 7:10
Greenman Trail: 38:15
Green Mtn. Summit 1:03:35
Bear Peak W. Ridge 1:18:00 (14:25)
Mesa Trail 1:42:00 (24:00)
Finish: 2:10:51 (28:51)

This time I was hampered a little bit on the way up by a side cramp after eating a gel. I should probably just wait until the summit to eat - it's not that long of a run. I also had to stop and walk several times in Bear Canyon - crossing the river is just too technical. I should probably try this run in the fall if I want to get under 2 hours....

until next time...