Colorado Colfax Half Marathon Race Report

In 2010, I registered for the Colorado Colfax Marathon. I deferred my entry to go to Albuquerque to cheer on MHC, thinking I’d run this year. Obviously, I’ve struggled with injury and a marathon wasn’t in the cards. After my string of strong short distance PRs, I thought about running the half to try to PR, and then I tore my PCL and experienced another setback. I was pretty on-the-fence about this race.

Then last week I realized that the Houston races that several of my Ohio running gang are participating in allow for guaranteed entry with a qualifying time. It surprised me, but I didn’t have an eligible half or full marathon from the year. So, I let that make the decision for me: I’d run the half marathon with a goal of sub-1:54. I ran the Tuesday before the race and actually felt great, so I felt confident I could do it.

My training wasn’t super leading up to the race, and then I attended a roller derby bootcamp the weekend of the race! All day Friday and Saturday I was skating or doing some nice intense off-skates training (plyometrics, sprints, etc). On Saturday night we had a short-handed scrimmage (only 8 people on our team) so for close to an hour I was in every other jam, skating hard! Afterwards I headed home, made myself some mung bean pasta with peanut sauce (the Eat Clean version of carb-loading?) and tried not to think about how early I had to get up.

The alarm went off at 4:45 for the 6am start. It was a bit chilly, so I donned a long-sleeved shirt, my compression tights, a toque and gloves. With my new diet, I had to skip the pre-race bagel and coffee (I don’t know where my coffee maker is). Oatmeal seemed to be a reasonable alternative. I headed out to City Park, and even with missing a turn en route I made it to the starting line with a few minutes to spare. It was quite crowded, but they had a corral system that actually seemed to work out well. Soon enough, we were off!

The 1:54 time I wanted was an 8:42 pace. I started, mostly planning to run by feel and only check my watch around the mile markers.

M1: 8:42
M2: 8:41
I actually didn’t even realize til now that my first few miles were dead on that pace. I was just easing into my run, not worrying too much about going out too aggressively.
M3: 8:18
M4: 8:39
We were told that mile 4 was the highest point on the course, so it was a bit of a mental victory to hit this point. Also, my marathon brain was in awe that I was well over a quarter done at mile 4. This is such a nice distance!
M5: 8:19
M6: 8:16
Soon enough we were headed off Colfax to turn around and head back. I felt great, chatting away at folks, just enjoying the surroundings. There weren’t a ton of spectators and virtually no entertainment, so it was a little quiet but it wasn’t as though I needed distraction.
M7: 8:16
We ran through a firehouse, which was kinda cool. Here there were quite a few spectators, which I think helped me push the pace a bit.
M8: 7:52
Part way through mile 8, I saw a red shirt up ahead with the numbers “202” on them. I knew Frida had decided not to run the marathon, but I wasn’t sure if she would still run the half. I was surprised to see her up ahead of me, so I sprinted up to meet up with her. (Competitive, much?)
M9: 8:28
M10: 8:27
We chatted as we ran along, and secretly I’m glad I’d met up with her, as I was starting to feel the effects of my weekend and lack of training a bit. My left knee (which had actually hurt a bit Saturday night) was starting to complain a bit, as was my left bursa. But darned if I was going to admit that! I kept going and was just appreciative for the distraction.
M11: 8:17
M12: 8:27
Soon we were in the park, closing in on the finish. Frida told me to go ahead (she knew I had a time goal) but I knew I’d meet my goal, AND I wasn’t feeling like I had a ton left in the bank. I told her we could push it with a mile to go; but when that mile marker came, I didn’t particularly feel like I had a mile worth of push left in me.
M13: 8:28
One female passed us in the last stretch, and I told Frida that we shouldn’t let her pass us. Uhm, wrong thing to say. She took off, so I pushed it up a notch to keep up! It was a nice strong finishing kick.
.1: 7:26pace
—
1:50:35
Average heart rate: 158, Max heart rate: 179. This is actually reasonably low for me for a race.

So, I easily met my goal, and despite being cold, I felt pretty good at the end! I had toyed with the idea of going right to bootcamp, but decided against it given the weather. Instead, I ate, napped and then headed back to bootcamp. I was actually surprised at how well my legs held up skating later; and am overjoyed that my PCL is completely pain-free.

Looking back, I wonder if I could have run harder, but I know that this race was really about proving to myself that I can run a decent distance, that my legs are fine, and mentally remembering that I love running! I went ahead and registered for the Houston half, because part of me does want to work on my speed at this distance. I know the distance isn’t an issue, but how fast could I push it? Speedwork will only help derby as well, as opposed to crazy long runs that could negatively impact it.

The course itself was okay: nothing spectacular, but I didn’t need to draw from crowds for energy or bands for distraction. It’s also nice to attend a race where you don’t have to line up hours in advance. It also got me back into ‘race mode’ – can’t wait for the BolderBoulder in a few weeks!