Chasing My Joy

My journey to becoming an Ultra Runner and Ironman

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June 8, 2017

Colorado Marathon Race Report – 2017

Back in May, Cory, Cannon and I packed up and headed North to Fort Collins. I signed up for the Colorado Marathon as a catered training day in preparation for Leadville Silver Rush. I have completed this marathon twice before in 2011 (my first marathon!) and 2013 and love it. It was a little sad heading out to the buses without Cory as we ran this race together in 2011 and 2013. But I was excited to get to see him and Cannon around mile 20.

For the Colorado Marathon you are required to pick up your race packet on Friday or Saturday before the race on Sunday. Fort Collins is about an hour north of where we live so it wouldn’t be too terrible to dive up and back twice but my brother lives in Fort Collins so it was fun to just crash with him overnight. Packet pick up was smooth and easy this year. There is a very small expo where you could pick up anything you might need for race day. Easy in and out without much excitement.

Marathon, Colorado, Colorado Marathon

The Colorado Marathon in a point to point race so they load all the runners up on nice tour buses and drive you up the Poudre Canyon. I was lucky enough to sit by a really fun family of a father and his daughters who were running the race together. It was nice to chat with them and tell them a bit about the race. This year the weather was much warmer than it has been in past years so I was way overdressed for the morning wait for the race start. The race organizers provide a bag drop so you can send all your morning things down to the finish. I got to the start area about an hour before the start time so I took my time milling around and waiting in line for the bathrooms.

Colorado Marathon Start

Sunrise in the canyon

Soon enough we lined up for the start, ready to get the party started.

The first 10 miles are my favorite part of the race, you run down the canyon, right next to the river through the pine trees, it feels amazing.

In years past the early miles have just clicked by without any effort. This year after just a couple miles I already felt a little tired. I could really feel the lack of taper but I was having fun regardless, I just kept reminding myself that it was a training run and just to take it easy. Since I wasn’t racing I decided to wear my hydration pack as that is what I will be using for my summer races.

We passed the half-way mark and made our way out of the canyon and started making our way towards town.  My brother and parents were waiting for me at about mile 18, it was such a great lift to see them. Cory and Cannon were waiting for me a little further along, it was the best thing to see my little guy.

The last few miles meander into town on a bike path, it’s still nice but as usual the last 6 miles of a marathon feel long. The last mile seemed to go on FOREVER, and according to my watch the course was half a mile long, guess I need to work on running the tangents LOL.

I was happy to cross the finish line and make some deposits in the training bank for the Leadville Silver Rush 50. After finishing we all headed to The Rio for Mexican food and margaritas. Last year we all came out to cheer my mom on when she ran the Colorado Marathon, it’s become a tradition that we head to The Rio, I was almost 9 months pregnant last year so there was no margarita for me. This year I so enjoyed having my margarita and celebrating with my family. Cannon was a champ, but really tied after his morning of cheering, he cuddled with his Grandpa during lunch.

Cannon LOVES his Grandpa!!!

And with that, marathon #6 in the books, I love this race, I hope to run it many more times in the future. Maybe even with my kids one day just like the Dad I met on the bus on the way to the start….life goals.

Three years of the Colorado Marathon

Posted by bethcurtis Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Marathon, race recap, Race report, Races Tagged: Marathon, Race Recap

May 19, 2017

Desert Rats Trail Marathon – Trail Running Festival Race Report

In April I ran my first marathon since having Cannon. I worked hard and got on as many trails as possible during the winter months in Boulder. When searching for an early season trail race Desert Rats Trail Marathon seemed like a good fit. I came in feeling ready for the distance but I was a little fearful of the hills and the heat.


We packed up the car, with what seemed like everything we own (9 months old need a lot when traveling!)  on Friday morning and started heading west to Fruita, Colorado.

Fruita is a really cute small town with a big focus on mountain biking, it reminded me a lot of Moab. We rolled into Fruita in the late afternoon and checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Fruita Comfort Inn which was everything we needed for a place to crash before a race and was really affordable. I particularly liked that the room had a microwave and a refrigerator, this was great for traveling with a baby.  Cannon was stoked on the king sized bed.

After checking in we headed to packet pick-up at the Fruita Community Center. In true trail race form packet pick-up was low-key and easy to get in and out of. After we had my shirt and bib we went to The Hot Tomato for pre-race pizza. The Hot Tomato was really cute but it was standing room only on a Friday evening so we put in our order and took Cannon back to the hotel so we could relax and get his dinner. We ate in our hotel room, got Cannon ready for bed and all turned in early.

Race morning was really easy, the trail head was just 15 minutes outside of town with plenty of parking. We got to the start line before the sun was up.

The start was nice and low key with plenty of bathrooms which is key to a successful race start! The race director reminded us to carry  water as the aid stations were 5-7 miles apart. The marathon and 50k started together, there was only about 70 runners in each race so the start was easy to navigate and find your pace group. You also run the first 2 miles on a jeep road before turning onto single track so there was no worry of getting caught in the wrong place in a conga line. The first climb was pretty long but afforded us a great view at the top.

The course was beautiful and kept us entertained with views and varying terrain.

Lots of smooth single track and rocky technical sections.

[Source] – Race photos were free with entry!

There is over 3000 feet of climbing and basically no flat sections to this course so if you are looking for a fast time, this race is not for you.

My favorite part of the course was where you run along the edge of a cliff above the river.

Then you get to run along the ridge above and see where you just were.

I took my time on the course, for me this was not about setting a PR, the course was difficult and it was hot!!! I just wanted to have fun so I did just that and took lots of pictures along the way.

My least favorite part of the race came right at the end, there is a really steep long climb along the highway on a jeep road, it’s not as pretty as the rest of the course. I was also cooked and ready to be done. Running in 70-80 degree heat after training all winter is a shock to the system.

The finish was fun, with lots of good food, Gemini Events knows we want more than a stale bagel and half a banana. They had the grills going and everyone was having a party.

I was tired and SO SO SO happy to be reunited with my boys.

Finisher medals were dog tags, nice little reminder of the race. I would definitely recommend this race to anyone looking for an early season trail race. They have the marathon and 50k on Saturday and a 10k or half marathon on Sunday.

Posted by bethcurtis 4 Comments
Filed Under: Marathon, Race report, trail run, Uncategorized Tagged: Marathon, race report, trail race

August 28, 2016

Breck Crest 10K Trail Race Report

On Saturday I was super excited to run at Breck Crest again! The last two years I have run the half marathon and loved it. Knowing that this is a difficult course all above 9000 feet there was no way I would be ready to run the half marathon 4 weeks after starting to run again. The 10K was still a bit of a stretch but I love this race so much I wanted to give it a go.  I won’t go too much in this post on how I did and focus more on just the race and how it was run.

Throw back to Breck Crest 2014, the weather was crazy! Looking forward to running the 10k this year and getting a hug from my little guy #trail race #trailrun #motherrunner #9weekspostpartum

The race starts and ends on the River Walk in Breckenridge. This is an ideal place as it is scenic and also has many clean, flushing(!!!) toilets and free parking. Because the race is small the start is low key and relaxed. The marathon, half and 10k all have separate starts with bike lead outs to wind racers out of town, to the ski hills and finally onto single track. The trails are smooth and wind through forested mountain hillside.

[Source]


Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the course because I decided to not carry my phone. As I was running I really wished I had grabbed our GoPro. Both the half and full marathons run around the back and over the top of the Ten Mile Range. The 10K runs about half way up then cuts around front and then rejoins the half marathon course.

THe first half of the course is mainly up hill on single track in the forest. After about two and a half miles you end up running out onto the ski runs and follow some jeep roads. This part has amazing views of the surrounding peaks and the town of Breckenridge.

[Source]

There is one aid station for the 10K well stocked with water, Gatorade and Honey Stinger products. Just when you reach the aid station you are back on single track to wind your way down the mountain. Most of the trails were smooth but there was a couple sections that were on very technical terrain covered in loose rocks. I believe in the past years we ran on the jeep roads instead of the trail but this year the Spartan Race was on the road.

I was a little worried when I heard that a Spartan race was running on the same day on some of the same trails. The Spartan Race has over 10,000 participants! I am all for people getting out and doing whatever activity makes them happy and keeps them moving but I worried how it might impact my little race. I was happily surprise that there was very little impact. There was plenty of parking when we arrived and we got a spot close the the race start. Our race had to be rerouted a little to not be on the same trails as the Spartan competitors. The only tricky bit was where we had to cross the road the Spartan races were running up. There were SO MANY people it looked like a big city marathon! Luckily I didn’t have to wait too long before darting across and continuing on my way back into town.

The race ends back at the river walk in town, it’s a little short of 10K at about 5.8ish miles in true trail race fashion. The finish area is a great low-key party atmosphere at the finish. There is a large grassy area and access to a small creek so it is a nice area for families to wait for their racers. There is also a Starbucks about a hundred yards away for a convenient caffeine fix. The tech t-shirt is nice and I like the design but it is the same design every year so I have one in three colors. The half and full marathon finishers received medals that looked really nice.

Overall I think this is a great race and I was really impressed at how the dealt with the challenge of the conflicting time of the Spartan race.

Posted by bethcurtis 3 Comments
Filed Under: Race report, trail running, Uncategorized Tagged: race report, road back to fitness, trail race, trail running

June 19, 2015

Ironman Boulder 70.3 // 2015 Race Report

First triathlon of the season…..check! This one will be remembered for lessons learned.

Ironman Boulder 70.3 is a great race, I participated in it in 2013 as well back when it was held in August. It was a perfect tune up for Ironman Lake Tahoe. In 2013 it was a huge PR for me, too bad I didn’t write a report!

This year there was no PR for me but I didn’t really expect one. I knew that I had a slightly better build up to Tahoe given that I had all summer and this spring has not been kind to us in Colorado. Also this was my first triathlon in over a year so I went in expecting to shake off some cobwebs and pretty much “train through”.  Also I decided to not take any time off for the race since it was local, bad choice! With a Friday mandatory bike drop off and lots of logistics that I am clearly rusty on, prep was a bit stressful.

Taking coach @imbethgerdes advice and doing some race week organization 2 sleeps! #ironmanboulder70point3

Taking coach @imbethgerdes advice and doing some race week organization 2 sleeps! #ironmanboulder70point3

Pre Race – I just bought a new Xterra Vector Pro wetsuit I took it for a test spin and realized it was much too big 3 days before the race. Jackie from Xterra was awesome and rushed me a new suit that got to my house Friday afternoon. So much for nothing new on race day!

 

I was a little worried about the forecast the days leading up to the race, it was stormy and cold. It was supposed to be sunny most of the day race day which was good but I was not at all heat acclimated so I assumed it may be a challenge.

These pics do not do the weather justice. Hoping for a better day on Saturday #ironmanboulder70point3

These pics do not do the weather justice. Hoping for a better day on Saturday #ironmanboulder70point3

Even though prep was a little rushed things went pretty well and it was nice to sleep in our own bed the night of a race. We work up at 3:15 am, drank lots of coffee and scarfed down a bagel with peanut butter. After that I stuck to Gatorade until after the swim (full sugar), this was possibly a mistake.

We got to Boulder Reservoir with plenty of time, it is nice not have to wrangle a bike in the morning and just have a transition bag. I was a little nervous setting up transition since it had been so long and I was worried that I had forgotten something important. I met up with Cory and my mom (who was racing the sprint) and headed to warm up. I got into my wetsuit and waded into the swim area. It’s always nice when you can get into the water before the race. The water felt good, not cold at all, a sleeveless wetsuit would have been perfect given that temps. Cory’s wave went off 30 minutes before mine so I wished him good luck then stood around chatting to other ladies as we waited. In 2013 they used the “swim smart” start, this year it was age group waves. I don’t think either was much different than the other. After waiting what felt like forever we waded into the water and waited for the gun.

Hello sunshine!!! #Boulder70point3

Hello sunshine!!! #Boulder70point3

Swim – 42:45 // Was really hoping for sub 40, maybe next time.  Luckily the swim course was pointing just enough to the north that we weren’t sighting directly into the sun. I have had to do that before at Boulder Reservoir and it’s blinding.

IMB swim

The start was smooth, I took an outside line given the angle and had clean water to swim. I tried to find feet to latch onto but they just seemed to be either too fast or too slow. So I Goldilocks’ed all by myself for most of the swim. Things went well even when I hit traffic at the two turn buoys.

Things took a bad turn when I got half way back on the third leg. Ironman decided to run their sprint race at the same time as the half. Their swim started after all the 70.3 racers had started their swim. This meant that people racing the sprint would run directly into people trying to finish their half swim. It was a giant cluster as swimmers of all different speeds combined for the last stretch. What made me really mad was thinking about how the men racing the 70.3 didn’t have to deal with the jumble, they all started before the women in the 70.3 so were out of the water before the sprint even started. It took me a significant amount to time to wind my way through the mess of people. I also was dunked, kicked and punched a lot. I also felt bad for the people racing the sprint who had to deal with all of us. This was not a great move by WTC, I was slowed a little and annoyed, but people who are nervous swimmers in the sprint were traumatized. I wish they would have waited longer before starting the sprint race, my mom did not have fun on her swim.

T1 – 4:09 // Moving into T1, I felt ok, a little dizzy from swimming so long then moving to running, I also felt really hungry. I saw my dad, and headed to my bike. I put sun block in my transition area knowing this was one of the first days of sun for the season and my skin was still winter white. I did the best job I could (not good enough, ouch!), threw on my helmet, glasses and shoes. On the way out I ran into a wall of sprinters trying to exit transition.

Bike – 56 miles 3:11// One loop course, some climbs, mostly rolling.

IMB bike

Leaving the reservoir was super tricky because there was a ton of us trying to get going at the same time. It was impossible not to draft for at least the first half of the bike there was just too many people getting out on the course at the same time. After getting out of the crush I settled in and started riding as best I could. I struggle to keep my heart rate up on the bike, I guess I am just distracted and lazy. I was near a group of girls and just tried to stay with them, sometimes leading and sometimes falling back and just trying to keep them in my sights. It helps a lot to say something positive to anyone that passes me or that I pass. I had an eating plan and even created bags of nutrition for each hour on the bike, I thought I was doing well, until I got home and pulled a bunch of leftover food out of my bento box, how I missed it, I don’t know. I felt great until the last 10 miles of the bike, I am guess it was because of the heat and the missed food. Note to be more careful about my calories and keeping cool for the future.

T2  4:54// Not sure what all I was doing. T2 was much easier than T1 so I cruised in tried to be quick, put on more sunscreen and cruised out to the run course.

9452096078_2a5f7987ae

Run 13.1  3:14 // The run was a two “loop” out and back

IMB Run

Oh man, I was pretty disappointed by the run. I felt terrible when I got off the bike! I just told myself to do everything I could to feel better and keep moving forward even if it was walking. And there was a lot of walking. I started by taking a lot of water, coke, and a salt pill. I kept moving forward and keep trying to make myself feel better. It took most of the first lap but eventually the nausea and dizziness left. At I negative split the run. I was so happy that I was able to stick it out and turn things around, that is what you need in a full Ironman! I still wasn’t moving great in the heat but I was moving and the second lap flew by much faster than the first. I shared kind words to all that I could. I tried to finish strong and then find a place to sit as quickly as possible.

Overall I feel okay about this race, it wasn’t my best or my worst….but it was a great way to make some mistakes and learn some lessons before the big show in Whistler! Just over 5 weeks!

Big thanks to Cory and my parents for all their support, Team SOAS for keeping me comfortable on race day and Xterra for rushing me a new wetsuit that was amazing! And of course my AMAZING coach Beth Gerdes who puts up with me.

It's go time! #teamsoas2015 #weareSOAS #IMBoulder70point3 #triathlon

It’s go time! #teamsoas2015 #weareSOAS #IMBoulder70point3 #triathlon

Posted by bethcurtis 2 Comments
Filed Under: 70.3, Race report Tagged: Boulder, Ironman 70.3, race report

April 26, 2015

Boston Marathon – Spectator Report

To be very clear, I did NOT run the Boston Marathon this year (maybe one day) but this year I got to tag along a spectate for my speedy hubby Cory who did run.

Going to Boston for the marathon was pretty amazing start to finish. On the plane it was pretty surreal to have so many athletes on one flight. At least half the people were wearing Boston Marathon jackets from years past the other half seemed to be wearing other marathon gear or ironman backpacks.

Just being in the city was also incredible, athletes everywhere! The locals were all so nice and encouraging. Everyone would wish athletes luck and seemed genuinely happy to have you in their city.

If you can ever go to run or even just to spectate I say do it, it was an incredible experience. I will write another post with tourist information I learned while there, but for now I will focus on the race and activities.

Pre Race Information: Boston Marathon had the best organization I have ever seen for a race. They sent great information well in advance and provided many maps and information. I felt like we always had everything we needed and Cory was clear on where he needed to be when and with what.

images

Expo: The race expo for the Boston Marathon is like nothing I have seen before, it was HUGE. While it took a little while to get in, the wait wasn’t long and there was bag check security. While it did cause some backups I did appreciate the level of security and that they seemed to really be concerned about everyones safety.

IMG_3166

For being as large and busy as the expo was, I feel that it was organized well. Staff, security and volunteers were all friendly and happy to help. We were directed in to packet pick-up, got Cory’s bib, shirt and goody bag.

IMG_3162

All the gear was pretty nice. Next we headed into the expo and made it into the official Boston Marathon gear area. There was so much stuff to pick from, it reminded me a lot of Ironman gear. The “must have” piece is always the official jacket that changes colors every year. It was pretty neat seeing runners wearing jackets from past years, I think the oldest one I saw was 1995. Cory didn’t love the jacket but my mom and I decided he needed to have it so we bought it for him anyway 😉

adidas-2015-Offical-Boston-Marathan-Anthem-Jacket

[Source]

Races – On Saturday there was two races being put on by BAA both finishing at the marathon finish line. An open 5k, that I so wish I had known about ahead of time. It would have been so fun to race even a 5k there with mom and dad! There was also a mile invitational. We watched a few waves go off, so fun to watch such speedy racers!

IMG_3174

Pasta Dinner – The night before the marathon there is a hosted pasta dinner. I can’t comment on it since Cory decided he didn’t want to go. I can’t blame him, every other race meal we have gone to the food has been bland and not terribly appealing. But I do wonder if we missed out on hearing some cool information. Let me know if you have gone, was it worth it?

Race Day – For racers, be sure to bring throw away warm ups! You have a checked bag but you leave that in Boston Commons and have HOURS before you start running. So bring something to keep you warm at the start that you don’t mind not getting back. Also if you can carrying your cell phone is nice if you have family or friends with you. It’s a huge race and it was so helpful that Cory had his, he carried it in an SPI belt and said he didn’t even notice it. Cory has offered to write a race report that I can post soon.

For spectators I will state the obvious and say get there early for a good spot and be prepared to walk kinda far. Public are not allowed very close to the finish line so wear comfortable shoes. Also there are multiple security check points. Don’t assume that because you have made it through a check point you are “in” like at an airport. I think we went through 8 check points. If you want to get around fast be sure that you don’t carry anything, even a small wrist bags will need to be checked. This year it was pretty cold and poring down rain so that added additional issues. I did carry a back pack with warm ups for Cory and in the end we were glad that I did! It was really fun to watch the elite racers come through I couldn’t believe how fresh they looked so close to the end. While I would have loved to see Des or Shalane win it was still amazing.

#latergram watching Des Linden taking an impressive 4th at the #BostonMarathon

It was really inspiring to see all the men and women from the military running in their fatigues. Can you imagine running a marathon in combat boots, much respect!

There is a service you can sign up for that will text you updates with your runners splits at certain check points, this was really nice to see. We cheered on everyone until seeing Cory come past us, the cold had gotten to him (he did not have throw away warm ups) so he wasn’t having his best race but was still having fun. We hurried as best we could back towards the finish line to meet Cory. There is a family meeting area organized by last name that makes things a lot easier, Cory had just beat us there. He was cold and tired so we were extra glad that I had his warm ups with me so he didn’t have to walk to Boston Commons in the rain to pick them up.

Overall great race and really fun. My Mom and Dad traveled with us, they are multiple marathoners themselves (hmmmm…apple doesn’t fall far from the tree does it) so they loved it too.

Cory did great on a wind, cold, wet day, #proudwife #BostonMarathon #BostonStrong

Cory did great on a wind, cold, wet day, #proudwife #BostonMarathon #BostonStrong

Up next: Boston Tourist Report

Posted by bethcurtis 1 Comment
Filed Under: Marathon, Pace, Race report, Uncategorized Tagged: Boston Marathon

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

May 14, 2012

Happy Mother’s Day!!!

Happy Mother’s day to all the mamas out there! I had a great day with my mom. This is the first year in many that we have been able celebrate with mom on mother’s day, it’s so nice having my mom and dad in the same state.

When I suggested a mother’s day race my mom was all in. After going over a few choices we decided on the Title 9K in Boulder. I have to say it was an AWESOME choice, this was a great race. We had a great time.

We arrived early so packet pickup was easy, I just wish they had some coffee.

The race started at Boulder Reservoir, this morning the reservoir was calm and beautiful. The race even personalized our bibs.

 
We were pretty excited about the race, it’s been too long since we have ran together.

My brother, dad and husband came to cheer us on.

The race was set up nicely with time corrals, unfortunately a lot of people lined up incorrectly and we were stuck behind a slow crowd for the first half mile. Luckily this was just a fun run and we got to see the boys all over the course.

Caught mom zooming past some other racers!

The course was beautiful, mom and I had the best time running and chatting

We averaged a 10 minute mile and mom’s longest run since she was injured last year. I am so happy for her and her progress knowing how much she loves running. Also she took third in her age group out of 25, my mom kicks ass!

After the race we headed back to mom and dad’s house for brunch including waffles and mimosas. It was a great day and I am so happy I got to spend it with my mom.



How was your mother’s day? I hope you all had a chance to celebrate or be celebrated!

Posted by bethcurtis 3 Comments
Filed Under: Race report, Races Tagged: 10k, race report

January 22, 2012

Frosty’s Frozen Five Miler Race Report and Chia Winners

This morning Cory and I headed down to Littleton CO for a five mile race.
Last year Cory and I signed up for the Winter Distance Series as well. Todays race was the second of the three races you can read about previous races here Rudolf’s Revenge 5k 2010, Frostey’s Frozen Five Mile 2011, Snowman Stampede 2011. We ran Rudolf’s Revenge 5k in December but I don’t think I wrote a race report on it (fail!)
I HATE racing shorter distances so I always question why I sign up for them but I had a really good time today. It was not too cold in the low 40s and it was a small race with about 600 people participating in the 5 mile portion.
I was a little sad because in December my parents were with us and mom ran the 5k, she is still working her way up to 5 miles and signed up for the 5 mile portion of the Boulder Spring Half but wasn’t ready yet today.
So it was just Cory and I, fun but definitely not as fun as when more family is there. Given that we were both racing we didn’t bring a camera along.
These pictures are from last year when Cory ran and I cheered because I had the flu. The course was the same just a little less snow this year.
Both cory and I got PR’s today Cory ran it in 34:03 and I finished in 43:07. My splits were pretty even, even the two miles that I couldn’t get my lap button to work!
My average pace was actually faster than last months 5k and I was rocking a cold this week. I hope this means that all the speed work is finally doing something for me.
Earlier today I used Random.org to choose the Chia winners:
First up was #17 Ashley!
and #11 Kate
Congrats ladies, please email me your address to bethcn at gmail dot com and I will send you your Chia Seeds!


Posted by bethcurtis 6 Comments
Filed Under: PR, Race report

November 27, 2011

Thanksgiving 2011 and Turkey Day 10K Race Report

I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving! I had the best time, I love, love, love having my family in town.

Our turkey day started off just the way I like it with a fun family race. My mom ran the 5k (she is recovering amazingly from plantar fasciitis)


You can tell where I get my smile from


Cory and I ran the 10k, we didn’t treat it as a race since our legs were pretty beat up from everything else this week so we treated it like a fun run and had a great time. It was a beautiful day, last year it was seven degrees this year it was in the mid fifties.


It was such a beautiful day, I wish we could have gone for a bike ride too but there was no time, there was lots of cooking to do.


Cory and I made the pies and mash potatoes for thanksgiving, it is so nice to cook in my parents huge kitchen.

Pie!

It was such a fun holiday, full if my favorite things: family, food, fun and fitness!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, I am glad you are in my life too.


Posted by bethcurtis 4 Comments
Filed Under: holiday, Race report

October 31, 2011

Denver Gorilla Run Race Report

The Denver Gorilla Run was so much fun! Over a thousand people showed up in costume to support Mountain Gorilla Conservation. As Cory and I got ready our dogs didn’t know what to do about the giant apes in their house.

It’s almost a requirement to dress up your gorilla and people were very creative. There was the full cast of the Wizard of Oz

And some very hairy beer wenches.

Although not caught on camera there were MANY people in tighty whities.

I have to admit that running in a gorilla suit was pretty miserable, next year I will either walk or seriously modify the gorilla suit.

On Sunday Cory and I road 50 miles from my parents house out to Boulder and back, it was nice and not too windy. We finished off the day with a swim at my parents club. The pool is SO nice and makes me dread having to go to 24 hour fitness.

This week will be a little off because we are flying out to Portland and driving my grandmas car to Colorado for her. That means no time for big workouts this weekend, Boo!

Monday: 45 min of PT exercises and abs

Tuesday: am 60 min swim workout (2700 meters) pm 6 mile run and PT exercises

Wednesday: 90 min spin and 45 min of PT exercises and abs

Thursday: 60 min swim workout, 2 mile recovery run with Pug and PT

Friday: 5 mile tempo run and 45 min of PT exercises and abs

Saturday: nothing =(
Sunday: Hopefully a two mile walk when we get home to stretch our legs.

Total: approximately 9 hours

What are your plans for the week?

Happy Halloween!

Posted by bethcurtis 7 Comments
Filed Under: Race report, training plan

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We are having so much fun learning to ski as a fam We are having so much fun learning to ski as a family! Ski traffic I could do without 🫠
✨2022✨ I can honestly say this was the best ✨2022✨ 

I can honestly say this was the best year of my life. So many adventures. I am loving the ages of these kiddos and cherish our time together. 

Very unsure if we can top this in 2023 but we are sure going to try!
We hope you had a merry little Christmas 🎄 We hope you had a merry little Christmas 🎄
Winter hiking is just so magical. Definitely not h Winter hiking is just so magical. Definitely not hating winter this year! ❄️
We kicked off the holiday season by visiting the N We kicked off the holiday season by visiting the North Pole and seeing Santa! 

The kids had so much fun and it was way cuter than I was expecting. They said it was better than Disneyland 😂 @northpolecolorado
Happy Halloween!!! Cannon really wanted to be To Happy Halloween!!! 

Cannon really wanted to be Toad from Super Mario this year so we tagged along. 

Scroll to see 2021-> 2020 -> 2019 -> 2018 -> 2017 -> 2016 🎃
We finished up our tour of France with a couple da We finished up our tour of France with a couple days in Disneyland Paris. I love Disney Parks and visiting Disneyland Paris was a dream come true. We had such an amazing time on our entire trip. 

We are trying to plan our next trip. Where is the best place you have ever been? Do you have a favorite trip? I would love to hear about it. My parents say that Ireland was their favorite so UK tops the list currently but Italy or Costa Rica are on the list too.
In our last couple of days in Paris we took a bus In our last couple of days in Paris we took a bus tour to see the major sights. Our favorites included walking the entire Champs-Élysées and climbing to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. We missed out on seeing the Catacombs because we didn’t get tickets early enough. c’est la vie, I guess we will have to go back 😉
A cousin reminded me that I never finished sharing A cousin reminded me that I never finished sharing our trip to France 🫠 better late than never! 

We spent our first day back in Paris with a trip to Versailles. We loved the gardens so much and particularly enjoyed Marie Antoinette’s little farm. The history here is incredible and the opulence overwhelming. We walked over 10 miles on our visit!
Before our long drive back to Paris we did the thr Before our long drive back to Paris we did the three castle hike in Ribeauvillé, France. We climbed up the side of a hill to three castle ruins from the 14th century. It was really fun to explore and a great way to burn some energy before a long drive.
While we were in the Alsace region of France we vi While we were in the Alsace region of France we visited the sweet little village of Riquewihr. Rumor says this was the inspiration for Belle’s village in Disney’s Beaty and the Beast. Can you see it? We could and kept singing Bonjour while walking through town.
After leaving Switzerland we made our way to Colma After leaving Switzerland we made our way to Colmar. This sweet little town in the Alsace region of France near the German border. We loved all the half timber buildings and winding streets. We had some great local food and wine. Colmar was a lovely place to get lost for an afternoon.
It was so exciting to see the Matterhorn in person It was so exciting to see the Matterhorn in person. The peak was never fully clear of clouds while we were there which was a little disappointing but it was still majestic . We took a cog train and gondola up then hiked about five miles down on the five lakes trail. It was a beautiful day and we got to enjoy lunch mid hike. We loved the little (car free) town of Zermatt. We enjoyed some fun Swiss playgrounds in town before dinner. I love Switzerland and it’s mountains!
With the last of our time in Chamonix we took a go With the last of our time in Chamonix we took a gondola and cable car up Le Brévent. We enjoyed hot chocolates and crepes at the top with views of Mont Blanc. 

Next it was time to drive on to Switzerland 🇨🇭
We took a cute cogwheel train up the valley in Cha We took a cute cogwheel train up the valley in Chamonix to Montenvers to visit the Mer de Glace  glacier. At the top you can take a gondola a little way down then MANY stairs to the glacier. It was sad to see the markers of where the glacier was in years past and how much it has shrunk. We did love exploring an ice cave that they dig out each year. We had to try twice to get into the ice caves as the first time it closed right as we arrived due to a storm. It was worth taking the train twice.
After riding to the top of Aiguille du Midi we sto After riding to the top of Aiguille du Midi we stopped half way down for a couple mile hike and a stop at a mountain hut for lunch. This might have been my favorite lunch ever. The views were amazing and the weather was nice. The mountains here are STUNNING!!! #aiguilledumidi #chamonix
We decided to spend a few day in Chamonix to explo We decided to spend a few day in Chamonix to explore the French Alps. The experience we were most excited about was taking the gondola up the 
Aiguille du Midi (highest cable car in France). You switch cable cars half way up so you can enjoy the views. The top outpost is incredible perching on top of the mountain. I’ve never seen anything like it! 

The day wasn’t completely clear but the views were still incredible. #aiguilledumidi #chamonix
After a long drive across the French countryside w After a long drive across the French countryside we landed in Annecy at the foot of the Alps. 

Annecy was such a pretty little town on the bank of a gorgeous turquoise lake.  We got to enjoy lunch at a canal side cafe, wander the streets, enjoy ice cream and playground hop our way through town. 

Very excited about our next few days in mountains of France + Switzerland.
We drove into the heart of France to visit the Go We drove into the heart of France to visit the  Gouffre de Padirac. A large cave system including an underground river. I don’t have many good pictures given the lighting and lack of patience. We loved climbing down into the cave and riding a boat along the river. Probably my favorite cave that I have visited. Kids loved all of it too and are so good about us dragging them along with us across France.
After leaving Mont Saint-Michele we drove to Loire After leaving Mont Saint-Michele we drove to Loire to visit Château de Chenonceau. It was stunning and the gardens were fun to explore. The history here is so rich!
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