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May 31, 2005

Memorial Day, the Bolder Boulder, and Happy Birthday Scotty!

I have not posted anything in my blog for several days and now I am paying the price as there is much to report. First things first, yesterday was Memorial Day, the Bolder Boulder, and my brother Scott's 23rd birthday. So Happy Birthday Scott!! I cannot believe he is getting so old and responsible and everything.

Anyway, on to the Bolder Boulder. I had planned to pace my friend M. and he wanted to run the 10k in 45:00. I felt that this was somewhat aggressive but I thought he could do it if he ran a smart race. That is a pace of 4:30 per kilometer or 7:15 per mile. I was in great shape last year and ran the BB at 6:55/ mile or so, and thus I knew that this was not that easy. The course is deceptively hard, there are only two hills but there's a lot of gradual uphill running. So we got to the race around 6:20, warmed up for about 20 minutes, stretched, did some people watching (which is always a good time), and got ready to start. My friend C. was in our wave so we chatted with her and wished her luck as well. She was going for 46:30 which is exactly 7:30 pace.

When the gun went off for our wave (which is the BB wave - which stands for Bolder Boulder and for my initials as well), M. took off. I guess everyone tends to do this at the start of a race like this, as it is very exciting when the gun goes off. In addition to the excitement, I forgot to mention that the weather was perfect for running - overcast, about 50 degrees, no wind. So I kept an eye on his visor (because for some reason all men wear blue shirts and if I looked for blue shirts I got very confused), and as I went through the mile in 7:09, he was about 10 seconds in front of me. I went through the second mile in 7:35 (it's mostly uphill) and was slowly catching up to him. Right after the mile marker I ran up to his side and asked him why he went so damn fast at the start! He of course said that as his pacer I should have stopped him from doing that, which is funny. I probably could have run that 7:00 mile with him if I had really wanted to but I didn't. So after the second mile the wheels kind of came off, and we ran over 8:00 pace for each successive mile. I contemplated going ahead - especially when C. passed us between miles 3 and 4 - but that is not what a good pacer does. So I hung out with M., tried to chat with him to distract him, and kept him going. We finished in 49:35. And honestly this was the most fun I've ever had running the BB! It was great to run it easy, have time to interact with people and watch the crowds, and it was a nice sense of accomplishment to help someone else. Even though M. didn't run his 45:00 he still ran the race 4 and a half minutes faster than he had last year.

Now because these were great racing conditions, they were not great conditions to hang out in after the race - it was cold. M. and I walked around the expo and looked for free stuff for a while, and then went to the stadium to wait for our friends to finish. Everyone seemed to do really well (and Matt made his goal time although he did something bad to his groin along the way). After that, we wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, because we were all shivering, so we walked through the expo and back to our cars. Then we all went to M.'s house for a barbeque. Afterwards Matt and I were really tired - getting up at 5:00 on a holiday weekend is somewhat brutal - so we went home and kind of napped on and off for the rest of the day.

So for last week, I ended up with a somewhat respectable 45 miles, and paced a friend to his best time. It was a good week. This morning I went to the gym and ellipticalled for 65 minutes. I'll do a short, easy run after work today, and then I need to clean the house for Alison's arrival! Tomorrow I'll be running with her, which is very exciting!

Posted by barb at 09:06 AM | Comments (3)

May 26, 2005

Who Loves Long Weekends?

I do!!

I am excited for the three day weekend. I am excited for the Bolder Boulder although I am worried that I will go too slow and be unable to pace my buddy. I am excited to go hiking and go to a barbeque! Woo Hoo for everybody!

Anyway I am feeling pretty good but still very slow on my runs. Yesterday after work I ran 8 miles (7 of them on dirt) to care for my wounded butt, which is feeling fine now. It was okay but I still feel so lethargic, it's weird. I can't really explain it but I felt good that I was able to get through 8 miles - although I couldn't have done much more.

This morning I did the elliptical for 35 minutes while watching the Today show. I need a new book/magazine to read, because there are so many commericals that I get bored and want to stop. My book reading is becoming an expensive habit - and yes I know I should go to the library so I'm going to go today or tomorrow depending on when I get done at work.

Tonight we are going to see Mike Doughty in concert which should be fun but which will preclude my working out in the morning as the show starts at 9:00 with some angry woman opener so it will be a pretty late night. The good news is that Mike Doughty is really cool, and my favorite Thai restaurant is across the street from the venue so it will be a good time all around. I will be running after work tomorrow so we'll see what I have time for, but I may try to convince Matt that we need to go hiking after work and before we go out (he's leaving work at 3:00 tomorrow). It should be a beautiful weekend - not too hot, not too cold, etc., etc., so I hope to spend much of the weekend outside.

Although I have not run much at all this week, I'm not too concerned, because I am getting a decent amount of exercise and since I am on my crazy 'look good in a bikini in July' diet. Anyway, it's a bit early, but I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday weekend!

Posted by barb at 11:00 AM | Comments (1)

May 25, 2005

Good Butt!

I have been so obsessed with my butt for the past two days. The good news is that it's doing fine now so I am a happy camper. I do need to stay off the high heels for a while, which is a good practice anyway. I think the heels irritate my feet and my butt.

So yesterday morning I did the elliptical, as I mentioned, and then after work I ran 4 miles. I felt like I had no energy so I decided I was being a bit extreme with the whole low carb thing. So I had a burrito bowl with some rice for dinner and I hope that'll help my energy levels - I want to drop a few pounds but not at the expense of my running.

This morning I was lazy as I was up somewhat late last night - we went to see Star Wars - so I only had time for 35 minutes on the elliptical. I do really enjoy doing a little workout in the morning. As far as the movie goes, I do not think I ever need to see it again but it was pretty good. I do believe it could easily have been an hour shorter and gotten the same message across. We saw it at a theater that has a HUGE screen so that was kind of fun!

I am hoping to wrap up class today around 4:00 and take off for a decent run, depending on how my legs and my energy level are doing. It is only getting up to about 60 degrees today so that should be really nice!

Posted by barb at 10:38 AM | Comments (0)

May 24, 2005

Pain in the Butt

Literally. I have a pain in my butt. Not right now, but when I run, it kind of hurts. Actually yesterday it hurts a lot so right now I am hoping it's just a small thing that will go away if I rest and stretch and all that crap. I think that I jarred whatever nerve or tendon or whatever there is right where my leg bone attaches to my butt on Sunday when I was half asleep, starting out my run, and almost fell when I tripped. I've done that before and it never bothered me too much but yesterday it did hurt. So cross your fingers kids!

Anyway yesterday I had kind of a cool (albeit for the last two miles moderately painful) run. We had one of our summer thunderstorms while I was out, where it absolutely dumps for about 10 minutes and then it's brilliantly sunny again. It was so cool. I love running in the rain and I hardly ever get to do it here. And it was nice after all this ridiculously hot weather to actually feel cold for a minute or two on a run.

This morning I was going to run but I was just so stiff when I woke up that it seemed like a bad idea. If this is what being 27 is like, it's brutal! So I was hanging out in bed thinking about my day and I decided that I might as well go to the gym and elliptical before work since it's on the way. What a brilliant idea. Anyway I did that for 50 minutes while reading a trashy celebrity magazine and watching the Today show (and can I just say that if I was Katie Holmes I would be kind of freaked out by how obsessed Tom Cruise is). So that was really nice and I may do it tomorrow and Thursday as well. We're going to see the new Star Wars movie tonight but I think I should have time for a run beforehand so we'll see how my butt is. I really need to do laundry tonight as well seeing that I'm totally out of clean socks.

I had a big coffee this morning so I am so freaking chatty, it is ridiculous. That was just my internal dialogue and trust me it just keeps on going! Anyway right now I am just focused on running okay mileage, hoping I can stretch enough to alleviate my constant stiffness, and trying to do other things besides running - elliptical, hiking, biking, yoga, and swimming. It's good to be well rounded, especially in the summer when it's so nice to be outside.

Another topic that I haven't really discussed at all is that I am on this new diet type of thing. I've been really frustrated with my weight lately so I am trying to limit my refined carbs like white bread and stuff (and no dessert!). I'm also trying to eat more fruits and vegetables - so for example when I want a snack I'm trying to eat like an apple or celery with peanut butter instead of a sandwich. Also, when I buy cookies for the students in my class this week, I am NOT eating one! Not that I think I'm obese or anything but I think that forcing more moderation into my diet, and eating more healthy food and less junk, is a good thing. I do feel a bit better I believe. So we'll see how it goes and how long it lasts, but now that I've written about it in my blog I have to follow through, right?

Posted by barb at 09:58 AM | Comments (1)

May 23, 2005

Well, and now it is really summer

It is so hot here. I am definitely not complaining - because that would be really bad since I complained about cold weather all winter - but it is unseasonably warm. On Friday it was over 90 degrees, and all weekend the highs were right around 90. This is more like July/August weather than May weather. But that is all right. They are saying it'll cool off later in the week (and hopefully for Alison's visit to Boulder it won't be blazing hot!). The Bolder Boulder is a week from today so we are also hoping that it'll be more temperate for that. My friend M. wants to run 45:00, and I am pacing him, so I hope the weather will be conducive for him to run a PR.

Anyway my running was very mellow last week, which I think is okay. I only ran 40 miles, but with the way I felt, I could hardly have run more. I took Saturday completely off which I am not too pleased about, but otherwise I feel like I ran as much as I could considering feeling pretty lethargic and otherwise just without energy. I am sure part of it is altitude so hopefully over the next week I'll be feeling better. I am scared that Alison will come and want to go running and I will just be dying! But I am hoping that some rest will help. My calves and feet are still incredibly tight so that is worrying me a bit but I am just stretching them as much as I can. I hope to make it to a yoga class this week which should help me stretch them out as well.

Anyway, as far as running goes, yesterday I ran 8 miles in the morning and did not feel horrible but did not feel great either. Then we drove to Boulder with a few friends and went for a hike from Chautauqua - we went to the top of the second Flatiron. This is not a particularly long hike but it's very steep, so it feels like a nice workout.

This morning I needed to sleep in as I went to bed around midnight so I'll be running after work today, I am not sure about the plan although I know I'm not tapering for the Bolder Boulder as I'm not really racing it. I'd like to run at least 50 miles this week so we'll see how that goes. I'd also really like to do some cross training such as ellipticalling, pool running, or yoga. And of course I do need to lift weights as well. I hope everyone has a great pre-Memorial Day week!

Posted by barb at 08:34 AM | Comments (2)

May 20, 2005

Summer has Arrived!

Weather in Colorado is so crazy. One minute it's snowing, the next it is freaking hot. Today the high is 91 degrees.... and yes, it is only May. I ran this morning at 9:00 and it was already about 80 out. The heat in combination with my tired legs (from running, ellipticalling, lifting, and aqua jogging yesterday), made for a pretty lethargic run. But I tried to just enjoy the beautiful morning and all the greenness (is that a word?) that surrounded me. Colorado is green for such a short period of time that you really have to enjoy it while you can.

Later today we have a barbeque in Wash Park (which is where I ran this morning), and I am going to get there on my own steam - i.e. without a car. My brother's coming to pick me up on his motorcycle so that should be fun. I am totally against motorcycles as I believe they are death machines but I am kind of excited to get a ride, hypocrite that I am. We're meeting our parents for lunch and then I am taking my stepmom for a facial, her late Mother's day present. It should be a lot of fun. Hopefully Matt is not reading my blog today - because I also think I am going to stop and get him the new Dave Matthews CD on the way down to the park, just to do something nice. So it should be another good, busy day.

Posted by barb at 10:26 AM | Comments (1)

May 19, 2005

It's Great to be Home

I am back in Denver - actually got back yesterday afternoon - much to my relief and happiness. I do not recommend spending your birthday alone on business travel, it is highly depressing and made me into a bit of a raving bitch. Seriously. I totally snapped at Matt, on my birthday, when he was trying to make me feel better, just because I was mad that he was in Denver and I was in Arkansas. I suck. And to make it worse he was so nice about it that I just suck even more! I have apologized like thirty times but still, it sucks to pull your first truly bitchy moment in a relationship. Although we've made it over a year before I had one of these moments so that is not too bad.

Anyway, I digress mightily. Running. 4 miles the morning of my bday (Tuesday). After that I sank into a deep depression and did not run until I was back in Denver Wednesday afternoon - about 5 miles, probably a little over, untimed. I am trying to do more untimed runs because sometimes it just doesn't matter how fast you go.

This morning I decided to take a 'birthday' day and hardly work. So I drove up to Boulder and recently finished a 10 mile trail run on the Mesa Trail (Alison I am so excited for you to run here! You will LOVE it!! I am pretty sure you are running this exact trail on your running vacation). I was feeling kind of lethargic and my legs were pretty dead on the real serious uphills so I'm going to be sure to take my iron supplements for the next few weeks. But it was so beautiful - this is the perfect time of year to do this run because it's warm, not too muddy, and very green. By August it will be brown and still nice but just dead looking. Right now it is very alive and I saw all kinds of little creatures including these really pretty purple butterflies. There is nothing like the Mesa Trail to make you feel alive!

Anyway later we are doing my final birthday celebration, over at my mom's house, so I'm going down to that part of town early to cross train (hopefully swim) and lift weights. I am so sick and twisted, but if I could just work out all day, that's exactly what I would do!

Posted by barb at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)

May 17, 2005

Birthdays in Arkansas

Let me just tell you how sweet it is to spend your birthday in Arkansas. It is so freaking sweet I don't even know what to do.

Actually it's not that bad. I have had so many celebrations so far that it's kind of just another day. And I am really thinking I'll be able to go home tomorrow which is sweet.

So this is kind of cool - there are more trails in Fayetteville. I went to Lake Fayetteville with my buddy T. yesterday after work because we wanted to see if we could run there. It was really surprisingly nice! I was kind of tired after my long run on Sunday so I didn't know how far we would go but it turns out that if you run around the entire lake (on these really nice trails actually), it's a little over 6 miles. So that is how far we went. Then we did 4 strides. Now this is not so nice that I won't be very happy to leave, but it is a definite improvement.

Anyway, this morning I got up and ran an easy 4 miles just from my hotel. I am going to run around the lake again after work and maybe add on a little bit as well, depending on how I feel.

That is the news from Arkansas. Hopefully tomorrow there will be news from Colorado.

By the way - great job to all the bloggers in their awesome races this weekend!

Posted by barb at 07:39 AM | Comments (4)

May 16, 2005

Crazy Weekend

This weekend has been so busy. I do not know when I last blogged - maybe Thursday? Friday? I have no idea. The weekend has been full of running, birthday celebrations, moving, and all kinds of other fun stuff. But it was crazy. I never felt like I could relax for a second, much less sleep in. Which is fine because it's that time of year where you want to get up early to enjoy as much of this beautiful weather as possible, but still this was a bit much.

So here is the basic scoop. I really do feel like I mentioned my 9 mile run with my friend M. on Friday. If not, it was great. We ran this course faster than I ever had and he did really well in his longest run ever.

Saturday I got up early and packed some more stuff and then we moved all my stuff to Matt's, then dropped off stuff for Goodwill at my mom's, and left my bed at my brother's house. It was so nice that my family was such a big help! They are great. It was definitely a workout to move, lifting boxes and running up and down stairs a zillion times, so I was not too motivated to run but after we finished unpacking all my stuff I took off for a short (4 mile) recovery run. Then we went over to our friends B. and T.'s house, which is so nice. We hadn't seen it before. Luckily it was an early night because I had to be in Boulder for a run with my friend C. and a few others who I hadn't seen in a while. I thought we were going to run 10-12 miles, but B. and I were feeling pretty good, so according to his GPS, we ran 13.6. It was a pretty tough course with some crazy uphills towards the end, so even though B. added on to get 14 miles, I just wasn't feeling it. I think it was good for me to make a decision that was not based on my being obsessed with mileage. Although I have to say I kind of regretted it later in the day... but not really.

Then I went to the store, came home, showered, and we went to a Rockies game with Matt's mom, brother, and some visiting relatives. It was a lot of fun although I am a little pink! It was a really fun day though.

This morning my calves were really tight and I didn't feel like running, so I didn't. I only have one more week in Arkansas so I figure I can stand running there tonight instead of here. Blah.

I am off to the airport in about a half hour, but I will hopefully be writing more tonight or tomorrow. It has been a great weekend of running for my fellow bloggers - congratulations you guys!

Posted by barb at 09:51 AM | Comments (1)

May 13, 2005

Off to party

So I was watching the Today show this morning, and they were talking about how Americans eat really unhealthy food and all that stuff, and how their favorite items at restaurants are burgers and fries... And I said, that's right! It is my special birthday bash day, and I certainly will eat a burger! However, I also said to myself that I need to stop eating out so much and in general go easy on the burgers and fries. But that is another topic.

Anyway yesterday morning I ran 7 miles with the cows in Arkansas. Not too exciting. Sweated like a crazy woman. Blah blah. Came home, which was nice. Went to dinner with my parents which was very, very nice! We had a great time.

This morning I had a zillion things to do. I met my friend M. for a run out at Teller Farms (the Tank Run if you have read Running with the Buffaloes). We intended to run 7-8 miles but we were going so fast that we were at the 4.5 mile point before I knew it! So we turned around there and ran back. Our total time was 1:14.55, which is pretty fast for that course, which is quite hilly. M. was somewhat broken afterwards but I think this run gave him lots of confidence going into the Bolder Boulder. I think he will do great!

Anyway after that I packed for a long time, ate a sandwich, took a shower, and now we are off to hang out with a surprisingly large amount of people for my birthday! I think it will be a great time.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes!

Posted by barb at 05:53 PM | Comments (0)

May 12, 2005

Hot as Blazes

Damn it is hot here. And so, so humid, which I am just not used to. I have never sweated so much. Luckily for me, I am leaving today, and heading home for a nice dry weekend in Colorado. This weekend will be incredibly busy what with my birthday bash, packing, moving, going to a Rockies game, having another little birthday celebration, and of course running. I am somewhat exhausted just thinking about it! I guess now that I think about it, I will be having three birthday celebrations this weekend. Holy crap, that is absurd.

Anyway. Running. In hot, humid Arkansas. Last night, before our team went to dinner, I ran about 3.5 miles with T. It was a good time although I definitely would not have run again if he wasn't running. It was hot as blazes and humid as well. Luckily there was a strong breeze which helped cool me down a bit. So that was a good time. This morning I was very lazy and stayed in bed until about 6:30, then got up and stretched a bit (my calves and the bottom of my feet are so tight), and ran 7 miles out with the cows and the dirt roads. It was a nice morning and it seems to be slightly less humid than yesterday which is a nice change.

Now I am just waiting to head out, get on my plane home, and get out of dodge! Woo Hoo, as they say in the big city. I am very excited for my first birthday celebration, which is dinner with Matt, my dad, and my stepmom, tonight at one of my favorite restaurants in the Denver area.

My original plan was to go straight from the airport to the gym down in the tech center, lift weights, and meet Matt there. However, I am wearing utterly the wrong shoes for my outfit today, which I would like to change, and I just spilled coffee on my shirt, so I may end up going home and changing instead. Lifting is so overrated anyway.

So that is the plan for today. Tomorrow I am meeting my friend M. for a run. He is training hard for the Bolder Boulder, and I am his coach-type person, so it should be a good time to take him out for a long run and see how he does!

Posted by barb at 11:32 AM | Comments (4)

May 11, 2005

I am sick of Arkansas

I am so annoyed that I am in Arkansas right now, for so many reasons and on many levels. Yesterday I got an IM from my friend A., who got engaged on a surprise trip to Paris! This is such wonderful and exciting news. I am so, so very happy for A. and C. However, I could not go to their impromptu happy hour to congratulate them in person, because I am in Arkansas. That sucks. At least I will see them on Friday for my birthday celebration but still, this is crap. So today I am in a craptacular mood. I am so sick of being here.

Anyway that is somewhat (actually very) off the subject of running. So as far as running goes, T. and I ran about 5 miles on the trails down at Razorback Ranch last night. That was a good time, we found a longer loop although I am convinced that there are still several more trails to explore. We did find one that led straight to some very ‘Deliverance’-esque shacks which was interesting. Then on our way back out to the road, we ran into a very cute and sweet Doberman which of course was a bit freaky (because with a Doberman you just don’t know and they have enormous jaws). So the trails are indeed sketchy, but they are so nice that it’s definitely worth it. It was a good time. After we ran, I helped T. and made him do some strides which he really did not know how to do. That was kind of fun, it was like Coach Barb! Afterwards we were sweaty and disgusting so we just went straight to dinner and watched TV at this barbeque place which has those cool little audio boxes for watching sports.

I didn’t sleep well at all last night due to several circumstances, and I was wide awake when my wake up call came. I thought about sleeping (or trying to sleep) for a while longer but I decided just to run instead. It is pretty warm in the mornings here now, and very humid – I was dripping after my run. I did a variation on the route I’ve been doing for the last week or two and ended up with 7 miles for the morning. I brought my running stuff to work so I can take off and run again after work if I feel so inspired, which I would like to do just to get some decent mileage in this week. But we’ll see how I feel as I am pretty tired already and it’s only a little after 11:00.

Posted by barb at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)

May 10, 2005

Happy, Sleepy Camper

I am still a pretty happy camper with regard to my race and everything else. My birthday is rapidly approaching (actually it’s a week from today) and that always puts me in a good mood. In fact I just bought myself a birthday present – a cute little handbag to take out at night. I am pretty excited about it and hopefully I’ll get it this weekend. I am a big proponent of buying oneself a birthday present – I know what I want, so I always get myself something good (except for the year when I bought myself a pair of pants that look like curtains). So I am all excited about this weekend which is my official birthday weekend, we are going out Friday night to celebrate with friends at my favorite bar, the Cherry Cricket. I’ve gone to the Cricket for three of my last six birthdays which is always a good time, and they have great burgers.

Anyway, this blog is about running. I only ran 4 miles yesterday, which was fine with me given it was the day after my race (in which I saw results and I was the 34th female, and 10th in my age group). My official time was 1:39:41 which is absurdly slower than my clock time, damned bathroom break. Anyway that is still quite the PR so I am happy.

This morning I was not too pleased when my wake up call came at 6:05, but I feel all right now – just a little sleepy. Anyway I stretched and messed around a bit before I headed out just because my legs are a bit stiff from my race. Then I did my new run in the area where I run on dirt roads past my cow friends and such. It was a good time and I felt decent, not great but not bad. I probably ran a little over 6 miles. After work I am heading down to Fayetteville with my buddy T. to run on the trails by the peoples’ houses that Alison told me about. I haven’t been back to them since the first time so I am pretty excited! T. is running a 10 mile race Memorial Day weekend and he wants to run it at 6:45 pace which is pretty ambitious for him so we are going to talk strategy. I am trying to convince him that negative splits are the way to go (of course this is the queen of positive splits talking, but do as I say, not as I do). I think we’ll run about 5 miles which will give me 11 for the day. That is about all the news from the wonderful world of Arkansas!

Posted by barb at 01:51 PM | Comments (0)

May 09, 2005

Race Details - Warning, Long

So in my effusiveness yesterday I posted a short entry on my half marathon. Now here is the full scoop – I finally have time to process this as I sit on a little plane on my way to Arkansas. Yee haw, as they say in the big city.

So due to sickness and the fact that I felt like I hadn’t been running well at all (see the Sneak results), I had very low expectations going into the race on Sunday morning. In fact I reconsidered even running it since I would have to get up at 5:00 am and that did not sound like a good time. However, I decided to suck it up and try to enjoy it as much as possible, and to run conservative and just feel good. I thought I would go out at 8:30 pace, maybe 8:00 pace at the fastest, and try to run either negative splits or even splits. Anyway that was the plan: now here is what actually happened.

I woke up at 5:00 am not feeling too exhausted, in spite of waking up at 3:00 am for a coughing fit. I got dressed and decided just to wear shorts and a long sleeved shirt, pinning my bib to my shorts just in case I got warm. They actually had a very good bag check system at this race but I didn’t know what to expect so I didn’t take anything extra. Next time I definitely would, as it was a point to point so we were bused to the start and it was cold there (maybe 45degrees). So a friend of Matt’s parents who was also running the half picked me up at 5:10 and we drove to the area near the finish where the buses were. We met his wife and got on the bus to the start. Somehow I lost both of them at the start, but I ran into a friend from RRB, A. It was great to chat and hang out with her before the start. So we hung out, sat in the tent, and then at about 7:45 ran a one mile warm up, just to get our legs moving. When we got back, everyone was lined up so we found a spot. I was determined not to go out with A. as she was always much faster than me in practice, but I really didn’t stay too far behind her throughout the race. The gun went off and we started moving. The race is chip timed so I didn’t worry about being too far to the front but I did pass many people in the first few miles.

I clocked the first mile at 7:41, so there went my plan! The first three miles are downhill, though, so I wasn’t worried about it if I slowed down a bit later. I felt good, and relaxed, although I still wasn’t sure if I could keep that pace up for 13.1 miles. The next mile was a 7:24 and I started to worry a bit more but I was still feeling really good, not out of breath a bit. The third and fourth miles were both 7:21. In the fifth mile, we did a little half-mile jog out down another road (just to add mileage I guess, I don’t know why they do this), and the way out was strongly into the wind – the fifth mile was 7:38. In the next mile we ran up the one hill in the course which is not bad at all – 7:48. Right at the 6 mile mark I took a potty break, just in case, and because there was a porta-potty. I was probably in there for 60 seconds or so which I have NOT counted in my time. So my chip time will probably be about a minute slower. I am still calling my actual time 1:38 for my own purposes however.

Anyway I lost some ground what with the stop, so the next mile, mile 7, was 7:09. I clocked this and immediately relaxed because I knew this was not a sustainable pace for the rest of the race. The next several miles were as follows (starting with mile 8): 7:21, 7:26, 7:24, 7:33, and 7:29 (this is mile 12). By the time mile 13 rolled around I was feeling a bit rough, but I knew it was almost over. I had a nice group around me which definitely helped though, and I ran 13 in 7:36, not bad considering how I felt. I ran the last .1 in 49.3 seconds to clock myself with a time of 1:38:08, as I mentioned in yesterday’s entry. This is solidly faster than my conservative goal of 1:45 and my more aggressive goal of 1:40.

So overall I’m really thrilled with how the race went especially considering all the mitigating circumstances of late, including increased travel and a pretty rough cold/flu thing. This race has also served to give me some increased confidence where my running in concerned in general, which was something I definitely needed. I am really excited to run all summer now, and to get out and explore some trails when I do have time. In addition, I really enjoyed this course and would recommend this race to anyone. It’s one of the few instances in Colorado where a race is advertised as being flat and fast, and really is. Additionally, the scenery is really nice – the first few miles run through the Poudre Canyon, which is beautiful, and the last five or so are on a very pretty, serene bike path.

So that’s the very long version. I hope that if you’ve made it this far, you enjoyed hearing about my race. This morning I was a bit sore, but really not too bad. I ran 4 miles untimed (because I wanted to preserve my splits to write them down), and it was just a beautiful morning in Denver. This is the perfect time to run in Colorado – everything is green, and the weather is wonderful. I’ll take it easy early this week and then we will get back to training. I hope everyone has a good week!

Posted by barb at 03:49 PM | Comments (3)

May 08, 2005

Great race!

I just finished (about two hours ago) running the Fort Collins Old Town Half Marathon. And I am so excited! I ran pretty well. My conservative goal was 1:45, my ambitious goal was 1:40, and I ran a 1:38.08!! I could hardly believe it. I was planning to go out in 8:30s, but I didn't really do that. I will write more later and will write lots more details but for now I am very happy!

Posted by barb at 10:29 AM | Comments (5)

May 06, 2005

Friday!!!

I love Fridays. I especially love them when I don't have to work much. I have been a slacker on all levels this week - work, blog, running. So here is a quickie update, because I am still slacking off! I got home from Arkansas (after finally seeing the llama farm, which is still for sale) on Wednesday. Thursday I ran 7 miles in the morning, then because I am fundamentally irrational and felt like running again, ran 4 miles in the afternoon. Given that I am still sick this almost killed me! Oh well. I survived. Then Matty took me on a nice date which was great. We went to an Italian restaurant I'd been wanting to try and had a wonderful time. We had planned to go to a movie afterward but it didn't start until 9:40 and since I am still under the weather I decided that wasn't the best idea. So what can I say, I am an old lady!

This morning I got up grudgingly, went and got some coffee and breakfast, and then ran 6 miles. This too almost killed me. I am so still sick, it is bullshit. I did however, in the spirit of doing more speed work, run around the track twice (it's a 400 m track) that is on the way back. I did strides on the straightaways and jogged the curves. Then I went to the gym, lifted for a bit, and met Matt to go over to my mom's for a Mother's Day lunch. Now I am in the office doing some stuff and I am ready for happy hour! We are going to two tonight and the first one is at a place that has great burgers, which sound so freaking good!

I am off, I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Posted by barb at 04:04 PM | Comments (0)

May 04, 2005

A bit better

I have not been to inspired to blog this week. I have not been too inspired to run either but that is more due to feeling cruddy. Luckily I am going home a day early! So that means today!! I am so freaking excited. Well actually I am pretty tired but still really, really excited.

This week has been very boring from all perspectives. Running has been boring. Outside of running all I have done is go to work and hang out in my bed. And do push ups. I would really like to lift sometime this weekend speaking of push ups, as it has been quite a while. What can I say though, believe it or not there are not a lot of gyms in Arkansas! The gym at the hotel is very cute. It has two treadmills and a stairmaster.

Anyway this is what is up with running – 5 miles Monday and Tuesday (each day), and 7 miles this morning. The 7 mile run felt really good but it did wear me out. I really do not know how my half marathon will go on Sunday – it may just be a training run unfortunately. But hopefully being at home for a few days will work wonders! I am hoping that it will.

Not too much else is happening. I still have not seen the llama farm near the airport, but I am hoping to spot it today on the way. This morning I did have a nice chat with some cows. I’ve found a pretty good route which ends up on several nice dirt roads where I run by a few farms and stuff. I’ve decided that the Arkansas runners must do this quite a bit. This is so rural that I’m sure once you’ve been here a while you would know a lot of roads that nobody ever drives on. It is nice to have some dirt roads to run on, and in the morning it has been very nice. Yesterday there was this low-lying fog which was quite pretty.

I would like to get a reasonable amount of running in over the next few days, since the first part of the week has been such a bust. But we’ll see how I feel and how everything goes.

Posted by barb at 08:39 AM | Comments (1)

May 02, 2005

Out of Commission

Well I do not have much of anything that is too exciting to report right now. I got the flu somehow in between flying 5 segments in 7 days, going to Vegas, hanging in Arkansas, and et cetera. I did not run much at all over the weekend but ended up with barely over 40 miles for the week so I can't be too sad. Just as a note, Vegas is not that much fun when you can't drink or go out. However, you spend a lot less money. I came back from Vegas with a wicked fever and $60 more than when I left for Vegas. I really did have a good time, it is always a ton of fun hanging out with Matt and his family. However, it was definitely sad to be shivering in a hotel bedroom all night on Saturday!

Today I am in Arkansas but I think I am going to go home a day early and try to go to the doctor on Thursday. I am doing all right today but now my throat is really killing me. This morning I felt all right and ran 5 miles and had time to run after work but I didn't think it was a good idea to run again. I can always run twice tomorrow if I'm feeling a lot better. I am hoping that I feel good by Sunday, which is my half marathon. I don't think I'll be able to run as well as I had hoped previously just due to lower energy levels but I really hope I can still finish. I am so bored by being sick and needing to take it easy all the time, but hopefully I will at least be able to finish the book I'm reading right now - The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck. This was the one book I thought sounded good at Wal Mart last week. Here in the bible belt they have religious books, romance novels, and Oprah club books. Luckily this was part of the Oprah club!

That is the news from the weekend. I hope I will have some happier news to report soon!

Posted by barb at 05:44 PM | Comments (3)