Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon

It turned out to be a good day all around. First, the weather was almost perfect. Other than some stiff wind just before the 3 mile mark, the temp was ideal and things seemed to fall into place. Fellow competitor and friend, Scott Kukel and I decided to run together as long as possible, maybe even push each other to the end. He was a bit concerned with a bit of a tight calf but just before the start it really wasn't bothering him too much. I was feeling good for the most part, other than some stomach grumblings even though I'd already hit the porta-potties, so Scott and I made another quick pit stop in the trees so I figured things would be all right.

We started the race comfortably and told each other that we didn't want to go out too hard because of the rolling hills in Georgetown before we got back onto the main road leading down to Idaho Springs. We decided about a 12:30 pace for the first 2 miles would be adequate and then from there start picking it up (much like Justin Mock had suggested). I'd run the race two years prior and started way too slowly and didn't want to get caught up in the mass of humanity, so the pace we went out at was nice. Second mile was passed in 12:35 so not far off our plan. After mile two, we were joined by Keith Johnson, a top masters running in the area who has been battling plantar fasciitis lately and not being able to run as well as usual. But his slow running is faster than our fast running so I figured I'd try keeping up with him as long as possible. I found I could keep up without too much issue and we were then joined by a younger guy wearing a long sleeve shirt. Amazing he wasn't overheating. With each down hill I pushed the pace and of course Keith was able to keep up, but this is where Scott started to slow a bit. Turned out Scott's calf was beginning to bother him. So, along we went, up and down, and up and down, until my stomach started cramping up. My fears were starting to come true. I'd never had to take a pit stop during a race before but this time it was inevitable. Around 4.5 miles I spotted a porta-potty and jumped in. Tried my best to finish quickly but even that took at least a minute. Damn!

Oh well, what can you do. I was now behind a bunch of people I'd passed over the past few miles but I was bound and determined to pass them again. And quickly. Fortunately there was a very long stretch of road ahead of me so I could see everyone, including Keith and the other guy way up there. I must have caught a second wind because within less that 3 miles I had caught everyone, including Patty Rogers, who is an incredible woman runner, as well as Keith. It took another mile or so to actually pass him and the other guy but by doing so helped me bring a bunch of other people into sight. One by one I picked them off feeling better and better about my run but also wondering how I would have done had I not stopped (or at least had to). About a mile and half I pulled along side, then past Steven Sellers, a masters runner in the 45-49 age group. I didn't recognized him but knew he was a masters so I figured I had my work cut out for me. I didn't know where I was in relation to the rest of my age group, but based on previous years, my age group figured to be very competive again. I had set my sights on a sub-1:20 today but with that pit stop, it was certainly a lost cause. Or was it?

Steven latched on to my back, running step for step for the next half mile. If I pushed a hill, he did the same, if I crossed the road, he did the same. It was now a real race. It was at the 12 mile mark that I wanted to make him earn his place. Again, not knowing where I was in AG, and who he was, I wanted to be sure to push then entire way to the finish, and hopefully a sub 1:21 effort since I'd hit 40:31 for the mid-way split. I saw some guys up ahead and decided to try to catch them, but they were too far up. Was able to run the last mile in 5:50, which is normally difficult for me to do, even in 5K. Hit the 13 mile marker, made the turn for the finish, and sprinted. And the crowed roared. No, really, it did! Then I saw the time on the clock ahead. 1:19:20, :21, :22... I gave it all I had and ended up officially crossing the finish line in 1:19:31.8, nicely below the 1:20 goal and a nice negative split. Dropped Steven by about 15 seconds too. Of course if I'd not had a bathroom break I could have been in the 1:18:30 range. That is actually a sub-6:00/mile pace. Not bad at all. I'm sure I could have done it. Had quite a few sub-6 minutes miles during the latter half.

Finished and waited for my running buddies to finish. Scott ended up having to take a pit stop as well, and combined with his calf ran a slower race than he'd wanted. I'm sure he would have been sub-1:22, which was what he wanted. David Rothenburger had a pretty decent race, finishing in 1:26, as did Rachel Viele, finishing a little faster than David. Turns out that David was 3rd in his age group of 35-39, and Rachel and I had both won our age groups. Yep, thats right, no one else we had expected had shown up for my age group, making me not only win my AG, but I was the first masters overall, and 14th finisher overall. Jason Saitta had just barely missed beating Jason Delaney, with only 3 seconds separated them.

Went and soaked in the creek for about 2o minutes and then went and ate at a local pizza shop. Great lasagna! And that was the day.

The only negative was a slightly strained inner knee which I'm hoping will go away soon. I don't plan on running tomorrow to give it some rest. Keep your fingers crossed.

Looks like track practice is really starting to pay off.