13.1 + 4.9 = 18

Jeff is in San Francisco this weekend leaving me to get in 18 miles on my own.  I am not a fan of long runs, especially if I don’t have someone to help motivate me, so I was a little worried that I wouldn’t get the miles in.  Then I noticed that there was a half marathon starting and ending at City Park in Denver.  The entry fee was $95…. um, I definitely did NOT want to spend that much to have others to run with.  But I noticed that someone was selling their bib on Craigslist for $40, YES PLEASE!  So I ran the Colfax Half Marathon as Lisa, a 38-year-old female. 

Part I- 13.1

The race started at 6AM in the freaking morning…. soooo early!  But I made it to the start just in time for the gun to go off. 

As I started running, a man near me struck up a conversation.  He was very friendly and we immediately hit it off chatting away as we logged in the miles.  I soon discovered he was a sports writer for the Associated Press who covers local college and pro sports…. AND skiing and track and field.  He is living the dream in my eyes.  He gets PAID to go to sporting events and then to write about them.  He has been all over the world to cover various sporting events.  His next big trips are to Eugene for the Track and Field Trials and then to London for the Olympics.  JEALOUS.

I don’t think we stopped talking the entire 13.1 miles, and it was quiet possibly the most fun race I have ever ran!  THANK YOU PAT GRAHAM!!  Oh and Pat, if you ever need an sports assistant writer or running partner, call me (but please don’t judge my writing based on this blog…..).

I finished the half in 1:42:05.  Not too shabby for talking the ENTIRE time and not really pushing myself (and hopefully Lisa, the 38-year-old female whose bib I wore, is happy with her time)!

Part II- 4.9

I have been emailing/tweeting a runner in the Denver area who runs at a similar pace than me.  We were both in town this weekend and I asked her if she would run a few miles with me after the half so I could get in 18 miles.  We met up and started my “cool-down.”

Laura and I ran around City Park, chatting the entire time.  I am so glad she met up with me because, again, the miles flew by due to great conversation!  We logged 4.9 miles, enough to put me at 18.00 miles.  I hope that we meet up more in the future because I think the two of us could feed off each other and improve our speed.  It is fun to talk to someone as into running as I am!

 

What a great morning!  It just reinforces what I already know…. I LOVE RUNNING!  And I love the running community…. Running has allowed me to meet some pretty awesome people and today was no exception.  Thanks Pat and Laura!