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Archives for September 2014

September 30, 2014

Rocky Mountain High-est Leadville Marathon Race Report

I haven’t been able to get in any races longer than a half marathon on trails so I caved and signed up for a road marathon. Leadville’s marathon seemed like a good idea since it was at high elevation and I {heart} Leadville

IMG_2175The race claims to be the highest road marathon in the world, so I figured I might be good training for possible ultra marathons in Leadville next summer.

This was the first year for the race, it was small and low key much like the trail races I have been racing lately. If you get energy from crowds and lots of aid stations this race isn’t for you.

IMG_2174
It does offer friendly volunteers and incredible views.
Since the course had only a handful of aid stations I decided to run with my hydration pack and carry everything I might need. I was completely fine with this since I will be rocking my pack for my 50k so I might as well get used to it.
2014-09-07 11.32.07
I had a great day and enjoyed my time in Leadville. My only real complaint about the race was the lack of amenities. There were no restrooms along the course. For a full marathon I was disappointed. And frankly uncomfortable for quite a long time. Luckily there was a golf course pro-shop along the way that let me use their restrooms, a little more support would be great.
Not the races fault by any means but I did learn that when you train on nothing but trails, 26.2 miles of pavement hurts.
The best part was the the race support the nonprofit GECKO
Giving Every Child Knowledge of the Outdoors (GECKO). The premise sounds simple enough. Yet study after study shows that our children aren’t getting enough outdoor play. And this trend isn’t improving. The latest information shows that less than 25% of children are active outdoors more than twice per week. Does this statistic worry you? Because it definitely worries us.
The finishers medals were made by local school kids with the elevation stamped on it.

IMG_2180   Overall it was a good race and I would run it again for sure.

Posted by bethcurtis Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Marathon, Race report, Uncategorized Tagged: Marathon, race report

September 9, 2014

50k Ultramarathon Training – Week 10

How did we get through week 10 already?!? This ultramrathon will be here before I know it. I am looking forward to putting in some big millage weeks at the end of the month and hopefully that will be enough. With all that here is how week 10 went down:
2014-09-07 11.32.07
Monday: Day off of work means time on the trails! 14.5 mile trail run at Picture Rock in Lyons. Awesome new trail.
IMG_2153
Tuesday:  Walk with pups

Wednesday: 4.5 mile run around local lake

Thursday: 1.5 mile walk around city park (start of mini taper)

Friday: 2 mile run with Winston

IMG_2157 (1)
Saturday: 2.5 mile hike while monitoring prairie dogs

Sunday: 26.47 mile Leadville Highest Marathon (race report coming soon) Furthest I have ever ran at one time =)
2014-09-07 15.32.29

Total miles ran or hiked: 52.5 miles
Total hours training: 14:46

This week was interesting since I had Monday off of work for labor day. Even though I had raced a half marathon (Breck Crest) on Sunday and was racing a marathon that weekend, I couldn’t give up the chance to try out a new trail. So it wasn’t the best marathon taper ever. A lot of plans call for a three week taper but this wasn’t an A race so I mainly “trained through” and I definitely didn’t feel completely fresh on Sunday, but that may have also been the 10-11 thousand foot elevation. Next couple of weeks am traveling for a work conference, while it’s a lot of fun there isn’t a lot of down time. I am hoping to get as much running in as possible. Anyone know any great routes running distance from Disney?

Posted by bethcurtis 1 Comment
Filed Under: 50k training, ultra Tagged: 50k, training, Ultramarathon

September 4, 2014

August 2014 Recap

So much fun has been had since my last update! I kept meaning to get on and update with my races, volunteering and training but time just slips by! Best to just get it all in with a quick August recap.

Some Highlights

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Longest Run: 20 miles at Devil’s Back Bone
photo 4

Races: Beaver Creek Half Marathon
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And Breck Crest Half Marathon (supposed to be full marathon but was cut short due to crazy snowy conditions)
IMG_2136

Best running Moment: Watching Rob Krar win the Leadville Trail 100
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**Also it was really cool to get to volunteer at the finish line at leadville
IMG_1980

Coolest Wildlife Seen on a Run: Bison while on a work trip to New Mexico
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Favorite Run: Turquoise Lake in Leadville
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IMG_1981

Favorite Spectating: Watching my mom take second in her triathlon and my bother and dad take second in their duathlon at Boulder Sunset
IMG_2088

Best Post Run Meal: High Mountain Pies Leadville
IMG_1992

 

Monthly Totals:
Miles running: 160.6
Hours training (including some swimming, riding and lifting): 52 hours

Whew! August was a great month but I am ready for some fall fun, this morning I needed my headlamp for my morning run for the first time. I am looking forward to some cool runs, changing leaves and everything pumpkin!

Posted by bethcurtis 2 Comments
Filed Under: Month recap Tagged: Month Recap

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