Mike and I headed up to Denver the day before the race with hope that our race would go well after an extremely stressful week for both of us. We did all the things that would help us have a successful race the next day. When we got to the drop off point and headed on the bus to get to the starting line, we quickly realized that the bus driver didn’t know where he was going. We eventually made it there but not without some anxiety. That should have been a sign to me that the day would not turn out like I had expected. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for a running race. I started at the front with all of the other fools and when the gun went off I went out at my intended pace and was able to hold that even through the crazy first 2.5 miles of rolling hills. The uphills were not insignificant and by the time I made it to mile 4 I was already a little tired. It was the first time that I had no umph or energy at the beginning of a race. It was all I could do to hold a 7 min pace. As I descended down the course, I noticed how horrible the road was with a bank at every turn. This did not pose well for someone like me who already struggles with a testy SI joint. Despite all of this, I gave it my best and just tried to hold a somewhat decent pace so I could finish. Somehow I still managed to place 2nd in my age group even though I only ran this race in 1:33.37. It would have been easy to be disappointed in my time that was 6 minutes slower than my last revel half marathon, but I knew deep down that my efforts were truly the best I could have done that day.
EXPO
race day
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