Colorado Marathon - Run

I started behind the 4:00 group and they immediately started to pull away. I decided before the race to run my race and not try to force a pace. I decided to do consistent effort,, not consistent speed. So I let them go. I was so happy to be starting my first marathon and just enjoyed the pounding of feet. People were quickly shedding layers and arm warmers, shirts and gloves were scattered everywhere.

Sometime shortly after, mile 2 or 3ish, I caught and passed the 4:00 group. My effort felt easy and I was just letting the body go with that comfortable pace. We were allowed the whole road for a couple miles then were funnelled to the shoulder next to the river. I was still loving every minute. The river, the chatter of the racers around me, the cool morning air...

It's really all a blur so I don't remember when it started to hurt. I do remember that at 13 I was glad I was trying a longer distance as I still had more to give. At some point I remembered I hadn't taken the SportLegs pill I had with me so I slowed a bit and took it.

Somewhere along the line it got HOT. And somewhere along the line my hip started to hurt. I remember still enjoying the atmosphere with my hip hurting. I had slowed and I was with some Marathon Maniacs who were at about the same pace so I chatted with them. Somwhere in there I was passed by the 4:00 and eventually the 4:15 and 4:30. I let them go with some sadness.

At the 19 mile aid station my Skratch bottle was empty. I probably could have made it to the end using the aid stations but, like a toddler, I wanted the security of MY bottle. Two of the aid station workers offered to fill it for me. I told them they are angels. They replied that I was the one running a marathon, they are just helping.

I don't recall how many gels I used or where. I do know I timed them to get water at the aid stations so maybe at 5, 9, 13, 19 ish...

Around the 20 mile mark I was really hurting. There was a man saying "you're almost there". I wanted to say something to him that wasn't very nice so I just kept at it. Around the same time I knew I had about 5k to Mary and 5k to the end so that became my focus. I came across one of the Marathon Maniacs who was struggling so I walked with her and talked for a bit. When I started "running" again she did too.

Somewhere in the 23 mile I saw DH. It was so good to see him and get out of my own head. I asked him about Mary and he said he hadn't seen her but that she might be on top of the hill. THE WHATTTT?! "Oh, it's a small hill for you" he says. Um, no, not after 23 miles. I turned the corner and started up the hill and there was Mary. What a sight for sore eyes. She was smiling and cheering. I made quick work of that hill to get a hug from my wonderful friend.

Seeing DH and Mary really did propel me to the end. I knew I could keep going because they said so. It was still hot and I still hurt but I was out of my own pity party.

The last mile the hip really really really started to hurt. It was feeling like it was "siezing up". If it'd gotten that bad sooner I would have stopped but I was not stopping with less than a mile to go.

I could hear the finish line and when I turned the corner the tears started. From the pain or from knowing I was done I'll never know. The girl who put my medal around my neck really looked like she cared about my accomplishment. It wasn't as mechanical as they usually are. Then I literally fell in to DH's arms. I love that man.

I don't know but here are the miriad of thoughts that have been swirling in my head for the last few days...

Everything I planned for and practiced went well. No GI issues (never needed that porta john stop), nutrition seemed fine, I carried my own Skratch and gels. Clothing was fine, no raw spots. I got blisters on my feet but c'mon, its 26.2 miles. That's gonna happen. And no IT Band issue, unless the hip was a morphed IT issue. I'm no doctor but it didn't feel like it was. I've been rolling and doing yoga to try to keep the muscles stretched out and flexible.

I built up my mileage as much as I safely could. I followed my plan to a "T" except for the week DS2 graduated from basic. That week was a sh!t storm. I was coming off of an injury in December and limited it to the 10%. That being said, maybe this is as good as it gets for me unless I am willing to dedicate more time to training. A friend of mine mentioned to me after the race that she'd felt like traiining was a part time job. Yup, that's pretty much it. I don't know that I can or am willing to give more than the 8-9 hours/ week I was doing. At least not right now.

Maybe I went out too fast. It felt easy and it was similar to my training runs.

Like my Moab race, after this one I've struggled with why I do this and if it's worth it. I considered skipping the PPA. But I still love to run, and I still want to run the trails. So I'm going to talk to Coach Lisa about a plan for PPA and get my self-pity-ing azz back out there.

DH helped me sit down near the finish to watch for Beth. We waited till the cut off but she didn't come through. Figuring we'd missed her we headed over for that free beer. As we walked up the the ID checker I realized I'd lost my ID on the course. Crap. She felt sorry for me and let me get a beer any way. O'Dells "90 Shilling" AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the beer tent we found Will who told me he'd been with Beth until they put her in an ambulance. The heat was too much. (I talked to her later, she's fine but dissappointed).

After our beer we went back to the hotel for a shower and later had dinner with my bro and his family.


Training, genetics, time... Maybe I just suck. Maybe I"m weak, mentally and physically.


This race is very well done. Plenty of wonderful volunteers! I thanked as many as I could. I realized after the race that while I was lost in my own head I missed some great aid station themes, like the pirates!

From the expo to the bus to the finish everything was well done.

My only complaint is that there was NO food at the finish, zero, zip, nada. There was some info about a brunch at one of the local breweries but a) it was several blocks away and b) we heard from another racer that they were turning people away.