Colfax Marathon

Yesterday my cousin Ron flew in from Connecticut to run the marathon with me. From the airport we went to the Mile High Stadium to pick up our race packets and sweet Colfax Marathon T-shirts! Then we headed over to REI to stock up on electrolyte Shot Blocks and protein bars. By that time we were starved so we headed over to the Vine Street pub for lunch. Taking full advantageof the oncoming athletic endeavor we had some great local beers to start carboloading, as well as loaded nachos (Clearly making sound nutritional choices).Then we dropped Ron’s suitcase as my apartment, and headed out for a quick siteseeing tour. First we tried to see Red Rocks, which has an amazing view, and the great amphitheater. But there was a concert there so we weren’t actually able to get into the park. Then we tried to go up to Lookout Mountain to seethe view from Buffalo Bill’s grave, but we made it to the entrance at around 7:10, in time to see the park workers locking the gates for the night. We took a scenic drive down the mountain into Golden and decided to go to Boulder to walk the Pearl Street Mall and watch some street performers. We found a performer who stood on the shoulders of two volunteers and juggled a hatchet, a knife, and a flaming baton. Then, needing to continue the carbo loading we went to the Cheesecake Factory to have peanutbuter cheesecake. For the protein of course. Scott the bartender chatted to us about running, marathons, and delicious dessert foods. He helped us discover my running mantra: “The faster you run, the sooner you’re done!” Which I did repeat to myself several times during the run today.

Today we woke up around 4:30, drank fruity/protein smoothies and walked to the park. It was a brisk morning. We jogged part way, sang motivational songs, like “Eye of the Tiger” and “The Sun’ll come out tomorrow.” We hummed the Superman theme song along with Pandora radio (Ron was wearing a Superman T-shirt), and got ourselves pumped up! When we found the starting line and made our way to Corral G (I don’t recall why I selected a pace of 16:00/mileas my projected time, but I did, so we started there). Eventually the run got underway, and we were off! Ron and I ran together for about 2 miles, until I lost him. It was a beautiful day, and after I pulled ahead of Ron I slowed down a bit, believing that he would eventually catch up. I kept looking back, but didn’t see him again until the finish line. I kept a pretty great pace, passing people, getting passed by people. For a while I kept passing two women wearing neon yellow, and hot pink running outfits. I never saw them pass me, but everyonce in a while I would pass them again, and wonder when they had passed me. I only stopped running and walked through water stops, and then I only slowed long enough to drink the water, and toss my cup, then I would pick up the pace again! The faster you run, the sooner you’re done!

The course included a lap around Mile High Stadium, circling around Sloan Lake, a couple cute Lakewood neighborhoods, as well as the length of Colfax. By the end I was moving as fast as I could, but felt like I must have looked like a penguin waddling for its life! I picked up some speed on the final uphill near the capitol building, and ran as fast as possible as I neared City Park, crossed the finish line, they announced my name, gave me a finishers medal, and pushed a water bottle into my hands as I slowly walked toward thebanana/bagel table. I grabbed a banana and bagel, and found myself a shady tree to sit under. Lowering myself to the ground took forever. Trying to stand backup took even longer! While waiting for Ron to arrive I alternated sitting and walking and called Liz to find my cheerleader! Eventually just as Liz arrived Ron crossed the finish line and we headed over to the pork sandwhich cart and beer garden where we painfully sat on the ground and rehashed the run. Eventually, when we felt able to move we started the long trek home. About halfway through the park, we had to take a break and lie down under a tree.When we had worked up the willpower to continue we continued our mosey out. On our way we stopped at the vine street pub, who was giving out pints to runners and had another round of nourishment (we got hummus too), and eventually set out again for home. The walk to the park that morning seemed much shorter! Eventually we made it home, and spent the rest of the day napping. Success!

Official Times:

Katie- 4:54:59 (2:20:41 at the halfway point)

Ron- 5:43:36 (2:56:39 at the halfway point)