This is my second time to do this race, but this year I went for the half marathon. This is one of those that advertise as a “flat and fast 10K, but not really fast for the half”. Very accurate description. I remember the 10K being tough because we had not been in elevation long and I got winded. I took the course easy on the downhills.
Not this time. When I got to a downhill, I fully used gravity. At one point, the airplane arms almost came out. But then I remembered that I’m no longer 7 and I might hit somebody. There were many points where we were running ion a plowed trail that had 6ft snow drifts on each side and ice was in the river. I can’t describe how great that was.
Pre-race breakfast. Granola bars.
The first 10K—I set a personal record at 58.09. That’s the fastest I’ve EVER run a 10K.
The second 10K took over 2 hours.
It was rough. Lots of switchbacks, lots of elevation. Even after a few days out west, my flatlander lungs still struggled at race pace.
But I beat my goal of 3 hours. I got it in 2:59:56 according to watch time. I had a few seconds to spare.
And the best ham and swiss this side of the Mississippi. Shredded lettuce, sprouts, oil and vinegar and a good chewy bread made in a German deli. Those are roasted red peppers, not tomatoes 😉
We ate this on the patio. Then we had a good 6 hours of traveling towards Wyoming. Basically, this whole day was a big ol’ race.
But I love racing in the rockies.