4 solo miles at lunch. (Jo and Eric ran to the track this morning and got drenched...I wimped out)
Taking it easy this week. I leave Thursday for CO. I'm a little nervous about my BP being so high lately. What's up? I'm a runner with a resting heart rate of 38. My cholesterol is fine. Maybe it's stress? The long weekend away from work and house chores, might be just the thing I need.
I spent a little time checking out the Steamboat Marathon webpage today. Getting psyched up for the trip. I like the course profile, though there seems to be a bit of an uphill toward the end. I'll save some energy for that. I have no idea what to shoot for on race day...it all depends on how I feel, the weather, and the effect of the altitude on me. No real expectations or pressure. Going to have fun!
28th Steamboat Marathon (26.2 Miles) 03:40:46, Place overall: 60, Place in age division: 8
Slow miles
Fast miles
Total Distance
23.20
3.00
26.20
My trip report from the
Steamboat Marathon
on June 7th, 2009.
(mini-vacation with a 26.2 mile run thrown in for fun)
Short version:
41. Marc Elliott, Springtown TX, 44, 3:40:46, 8 in M 40-44.
Long version:
Headed to Colorado on Thursday with my wife, Beth. Left after breakfast. Drove
the extremely boring trip through Amarillo and then NW through Raton, NM, past
Pueblo, CO, then decided to stop at Manitou Springs, CO. A cute, eclectic
little tourist town at the base of Pike’s Peak (about 600+ mile of driving)
Wife, Beth, at Manitou Springs, CO
Friday morning, I woke up and ran about 1.25 miles up the
road, turned around and headed back. I wanted to see how the thin air would affect me. My HR was a little elevated, but I didn’t feel too bad running at
about 6000 ft elevation. It gave me a little confidence that I could actually
run and finish the race on Sunday. (which started at 8100 ft )
After a light breakfast, Beth and I took the Cog
Railway to the Summit of Pike’s Peak. I’ve never been up there before. As it
was about 60 degrees in Manitou Springs, we were wearing shorts. The woman at
the train station was kind enough to inform us that it was 30 degrees with a
windchill of 16 at the top. We quickly added a few layers and caught our train to
the top. It wasa relaxing 8 mile, 90 minute ride
to the top, through the Aspen forests, and mountain streams, and we even saw
some big horn sheep above the tree line. Amazing scenery from up there. Spent
about 50 minutes at the summit (14,110 ft), took some pictures, bought a t-shirt, and few
souvenirs for the kids and headed back down.
Marc and Beth at summit of Pike's Peak
Marc at summit of Pike's Peak
We then walked around Manitou Springs for a little while
before heading to our friends’ place in Denver. We got to Glen and Charlotte’s
around 6PM. Cooked some huge steaks, and relaxed. Charlotte was running her 2nd
half-marathon ever on Sunday at Steamboat.
Drove the 3 hours to Steamboat on Saturday morning.
Glen and Charlotte
Gorgeous
day. Lots of sunshine. I just love driving through the mountains. There was
still snow at the tops, which made for some great scenery. Got to steamboat
around noon, checked in to our condo (thank you, Steamboat Chamber of Commerce for
the free stay and entries into the race) The condo was right on the side of the
ski slopes (ski in) and had a pretty good view of the town below.
The view from our free condo for the weekend.
After checkin, headed to packet pickup. This
is a small-sized, small-town race. At the expo, I sampled the Honey Stinger
energy bars, and bought a race poster for $3 (nice poster).
After the Expo we went to a pizza buffet place for some
carbo loading. Then Glen and I took a drive to see the marathon route, while
Beth and Charlotte did some shopping in town.
The drive up the route was very scenic..and long. I started
wondering why I was even attempting this race. In the 6 weeks since Boston, I’ve
run about 20-25 miles per week, with my longest long run being 14 miles. I
convinced myself that I would run this one nice and easy, and it would be the
kickoff for my St George training.The
race starts at an elevation of 8128 and finishes at 6728 ft.I spend the majority of my life at 900 ft. I
didn’t know what effect the elevation would have on my day. I was feeling fine,
so far.The race is run on a narrow
2-lane road, with the left lane being reserved for runners on race day.
Cabins at the Start of the Steamboat Marathon
Picked up some groceries, and went back to the condo and
cooked some pasta for dinner.
Pre-race Pasta dinner
Got my race stuff ready, and was in bed by
10:00pm. As usual, I woke up several times before the 4:59 alarm. Got up
checked the weather (about 34 degrees outside, with a chance of rain). Put on a
singlet, long-sleeve tech shirt, and my optic yellow wind-breaker vest(the one
I bought to wear at Cowtown in Feb). As the aid stations were spaced 3 miles apart, I
decided to bring a fuel belt, just in case. Put my disposable camera and
cellphone in my pocket, then Glen took Charlotte and I to the bus loading area.
I got on the bus and headed to the back. I sat with a guy wearing headphones,
so not much conversation going on there. As we drove to the starting line, a
light rain started to fall. The rain was fairly steady when we got to the
starting area. I immediately headed to the POP – where I contemplated staying
for the 45 minute’s wait until the start—it was dry in there!I was so unprepared for this race—I didn’t
even bring a trash bag with me to wear. I was lucky to find some room on one of
the covered porches of some log cabins by the starting line, to stay dry. It
was cold and a little rainy, and once again, I was thinking, “why am I doing
this?”
At about T-minus 10 minutes I went to thebag drop-off bus to drop off my stuff. I
asked the driver if I could hop on the bus. He said “sure, why not?”. So, me
and a couple others spent a few minutes dry and toasty. Pretty soon, I could
see the mass of runners grouped up, and they were off! (and I was still on the
bus). I’m guessing I lost maybe a minute by dilly-dallying on the bus…but it
was worth it. I started slowly, and worked my way through the people. (the
official results show just over 300 finishers – they cut off the times at
5:30). I felt pretty good in the first couple miles. At mile 3 there’s a nice ½
mile climb of about 200 feet, which is quickly rewarded by a drop in elevaton
of about 800 feet over the next 4 miles. I chugged up the hills, watching my HR
climb to levels which are normally reserved for my sprints back home.But, then watched it drop again to a
comfortable level, as I cruised down the hills. It was a pretty course. Lots of
mountain views, meadows, trees, horses, cows, and the occasional ranchers at
the end of their driveways coming out to cheer on the crazy runners.
A stretch of road at the start of the Steamboat Marathon route
The rain was off and on, with a light drizzle for the most
part. Around mile 16 or so, the sun came out and it looked like it was turning
into a nice day. I was starting to warm up. At the 19 mile aid station, I
stripped off my 2 top layers – and left them with the volunteers who assured me
they would be taken to the finish area.I felt good running in a singlet for the next mile or so, until it
started raining again. I could hear thunder in the distance, and then it got
windy. As it was probably about 40-45 degrees out, I quickly started getting
chilly. I tried calling my wife to bring me a jacket, but no answer. A couple
minutes later, here comes my buddy Glen on his bike. He decided to ride his
mountain bike from the finish line to the starting line, and then back
down.He asked how I was doing. I
admitted that I wasn’t feeling too good (this was about mile 21). He was kind
enough to give me his long-sleeved wicking shirt that he had on under his
fleece jacket…what a guy! He gave me the shirt off his back.I walked-ran it to the finish from there, but
at least I wasn’t too worried about getting hypothermia. The rain cleared up
with a few miles to go. But, then there was a fairly strong head wind…similar to
Boston.I walked through the aid
stations, and a little more in between, with what seemed like hundreds of
people passing me each time I walked. All the people I had passed coming down
the mountain, were returning the favor. It’s a sinking feeling, I don’t much
like. With about 2 miles to go, I decided to shuffle my way to the finish…no
more walking. With about .2 miles to go, I looked over my shoulder and saw a
woman there…I was NOT going to be “chicked” (again), not this close to the finish. I found a little
extra energy and held her off.
I finished in 3:40:46 according to the official results. My
3rd slowest marathon (of 14). 60thst
male. 8th in my AG. overall, 41\
Marc and friend, Charlotte after their races
Overall, I feel pretty good about finishing this race. It
will probably go down as my highest altitude marathon.
The one dark cloud on the weekend was that Ifound my hat and tech shirt at the pile of
clothes later at the finish line, but my bright optic yellow vest was nowhere
to be found. I hope whoever picked it up needs it more than me. I’d like to think that someone accidentally picked
it up by mistake. I know as a whole, marathoners are probably one of the most
trustworthy groups of people you could ever meet.
My friend Charlotte finished her ½ marathon in 2:14:45 (a 15
minute PR over her first, also at Steamboat). I was bummed to find out that
only the marathon runners got finishers’medals. I think all half marathons
should have some sort of trinket to remember the event by. The marathon finisher’s
medal is pretty nice, and one that I will cherish.
Glen (who gave me the shirt off his back, Charlotte, Marc, and Beth
The finish area was right at the court house in the center
of town. As soon as I finished, I was handed a wet towel, awarded a finisher’s
medal,
and was handed a sheet of paper with my time, place, etc… A nice touch.
The grass on the courthouse lawn felt good under my bare feet, as I quickly
removed my shoes and hobbled around a little. I met up with my wife, and Glen
and Charlotte. They have video of my finish...they were yelling my name, and I
swear I never heard them.Not that there
was much of a crowd, I must have just been so intent on not being “chicked”,
that I blocked everyone out.
One interesting thing I noticed about Steamboat..the high
percentage of women. The field was split about 50-50, almost exactly.I placed 60th overall, and 41st
in my gender..meaning19 or the 59
people who finished in front of me (33%)were women. Just something
interesting I noticed.
I loved the trip and the time away with my wife and friends
(no kids!!!). This was my first trip to Steamboat
and I would recommend it…especially if you get to stay for free! I’m not so
sure that I’ll try running this marathon again. Give me a couple weeks, and I
might be thinking that I have a score to settle…with those last 5 miles. As I
hadn’t trained very hard or put in the miles needed to complete this marathon
with a strong finish, I’m satisfied with how I did. In hindsight, maybe I
should have taken it a little easier in the first half of the race, and just
maybe I wouldn’t have had to so quite so much walking at the finish. I’m not
going to beat myself up, I ran Steamboat and I finished upright!
We drove the 897.5 miles back home on Monday. We made a stop at the US Air Force Acedemy in Colorado Springs. Pretty cool stop, with the highlight being the multi-religion church/temple/synagogue, and the B-52 on display. It was a nice break from the long driving.
Got home to our kids at about 11:30PM. Exhausted, and happy to be back home.
...after a nice week off after Steamboat, I finally hit the pavement again. (WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT) I ran Steamboat last Sunday, and by Tuesday I ended up pulling off my toenail on the toe next to my big toe on my right foot. It probably would have taken a few more weeks to fall off on its own, but I wanted to speed up the process so I could get back to training for a PR at SGM sooner..and besides I was in recovery mode anyways, so taking a few days off running was no biggie.
Ran w/ Eric at lunch. 3.1 miles. Felt pretty good, even though it was hot and humid (from this day forth I'm not going to complain about the weather..yes, it IS HOT in Texas. I will add weather details to my blog, just for historical data gathering.
7:15 AM - Track workout w/ Eric and Sergio (Jo's knee started bothering her as soon as we started jogging to the track, so she turned around and went back to work)
4 x 600s w/ 200m walk recovery between: 2:05, 2:09, 2:08, 2:05
Today was supposed to be a hill workout, but when Eric and I got to the hill -- someone (maybe me) suggested that we just make it an easy day. Neither of us really felt like running hills today...we'll do them tomorrow. Very humid. HR was at 168 when I finished (last mile was 7:33 pace).
Hill workout, in front of my house. Very humid. Felt very sluggish. Cut it short, and went in, showered and climbed back in bed, so the kids could deliver breakfast in bed! (my wife is amazing). Got a new scrapbook to keep all my race bibs, and photos in (my other one is full).It was a great Fathers' Day!
Ran with Eric and Darin at lunch....outside. 94 degrees. It was slow, but we survived. I need to start thinking of a plan for getting in the miles I need to go for 3:15 at SGM in October. Times flying by...but my mileage is lacking.
Was supposed to be 3 x 1 mile repeats. Not sure why, but after the first mile, I was barely able to finish the 2nd two. HR seemed a little high for most of the day. Possibly dehydrated? Coming down with something? Maybe time for another rest day?
Met w/ Darin, Eric, and Jo at 7:15. 83 degrees, no wind.
Jogged to our hill. Did a set of 7 repeats (fast up, jog down - hill is about .15 miles long). I felt tons better than I did on Tuesday...even though the weather was about the same.
Recovering from Slip-N-Slide party at our house this weekend. All day Saturday getting everything ready for 70+ guests on Sunday. It was a blast! Still a little sore, but it was fun in the sun. I guess it is time to start building up the miles again...gotta get my Gojo back!
