I'm finally getting to this race! I just got all of the race photos downloaded and wanted to wait until I had them to write.
You know, in racing, you win some and you lose some. Yes, that can be literally and figuratively. For me it is mostly figuratively. Some days you run an IRONMAN race faster than you ever thought possible. Some days you run a half marathon at a snail's pace, have to walk because your heart rate is out of control and quite honestly get completely humbled in one 2 hour race.
Again.....you win some and you lose some. That is the beauty of endurance sport. You have never arrived. You are always a work in progress.
I am so grateful for this friend of mine. 2 months ago when we decided to make this race happen we promised each other that no matter what we would start and finish together and that we would let the race be fun. The Spring Fever Half Marathon was the first race we ever did together and we have done it for 3 years since.
The course for this race is brutal. Fun......but brutal. Lets leave aside the fact that it is at 6000 feet of elevation and just talk about the general course. It is a dog leg course. The first 5 miles are out and down. The rest? Up.....and up. The big draw to this race is the climb up the dam. From mile 9 to mile 11 is straight up. I think you gain 600 feet if elevation. It is quite literally a CLIMB. What can I say....we like challenge. The last time we ran this together we were both in tip top shape and I was still one with the altitude. Not so much this year.
Our race morning was lovely. It was unseasonably warm in CO so even at the start I was only slightly chilly in my shorts and sports top. My parents graciously took on the care of our 4 kids and we lined up at the start all smiles. So good to be back racing with Sarah!
We started off fast. We knew it wouldn't last, but enjoyed the downhill cruise knowing only too well that it was short lived. I had been having trouble keeping my HR down the entire visit and blame many factors including dehydration for it. Altitude sickness is FOR REELZ people!
At mile 5 we made the turn around and if I though my HR was up going down, we started climbing and it went through the roof. Thankfully, Sarah was also not on the top of her game so we decided to enjoy the time and turn our race into a run walk strategy. We are both competitive, but we have this keen ability to embrace our non competitiveness too. We wanted to do this together. We wanted to enjoy our time. When we both let go of the time on the clock we traded it in for actual conversation. It was nice.
So we would run three quarters of each mile and walk the rest. I found myself frustrated that I simply didn't have it in me to run like I wanted to. I know Sarah felt it too. Everytime I would feel the frustration I would stop the negativity, look down at my Mdot tattoo and remind myself that I had nothing to prove. Then I would look at my sweet friend and ask her the next question about her life. Friendship is a beautiful thing (especially when 4 littles aren't interrupting us with a constant, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy).
We came around the final uphill climb to the finish ready to be done. We had done what we had promised each other we would do, finish together.
Our race wasn't an A race, but it was a wonderful time of connection and fellowship, so in my book it was a win!
We added another medal to our collections and are proud to be counted amongst the alumni for this event. I think its safe to say that the Spring Fever Half Marathon is "Our Race."
I am so grateful that we can't win every race because without loosing a few we can't learn and get better. My experience here brought to light the work I will have training my body for IRONMAN Boulder in 2018. Thank goodness Rome wasn't won in a day. I've got lots of work to do.
I'll start with qualifying for Boston.
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