Earlier that day I had decided to do something I haven't done much since winter started: run a route I've never done before. Not only was this a route I had not done before, I also did not quite know what it entailed. It had been a while since I'd had a running adventure, and I felt in dire need of one.
Of course, this was noon, and that was long after my titular random day had started. Around eight this morning, I woke up wondering if I was actually going to follow through with my idea of running a half marathon at ten. I had taken the week easy after feeling a little flat earlier in the week, and learned about the half on Friday. I figured since I'd already basically tapered, if unintentionally, and since I needed a qualifying time for Pikes Peak, I might as well jog one this particular morning. But I was wavering when I woke up in the morning. After some nudging from my gf, I opted to give it a shot, and headed down to Cherry Creek Reservoir to register and run.
As I pulled up to the parking lot, I felt the familiar stirrings of excitement and nerves creeping up from my stomach, and realized that not only was I going to run a half, I was going to race a half. My legs felt pretty good after a relatively light week, and I wanted to see just what I could do in a half that wasn't at 8000 feet with 2000 feet of vertical in the first half of the race.
I thought I was going to race, any way. I got to the registration table, found out that they only took checks, and after making a somewhat snarky comment (I apologize) walked back to my car to drive back to Boulder.
I decided, after being unable to contact any of my running partners, to run a triple hogback loop. I had heard about it from a few other runners out here, and it sounded like a good little run. I knew it went up Sanitas, out the far side, and then somehow connected (partly via trail) over to the Hogback Loop north of the Dakota Ridge houses. I took a quick glance at Google Maps and decided that the connecting road was North Cedar Brook, figured I knew enough, and drove over to Wonderland Lake trail head to star out.
After a quick stop by Lucky's Market for a couple gels (somehow between Cherry Creek and Boulder I had misplaced several) I was off. I took 4th street at a relatively quick 7min pace, with my legs feeling ok but not great, at cut over Dakota Ridge down to the Mount Sanitas Trailhead to take on the first hogback of the day.
Sanitas was about what I expected: crammed with hikers, but surprisingly no other runners, out enjoying the gorgeous day. Did I mention it hit 65 on my run? Despite the crush of hikers, and thanks to their generally courteous attitudes, I hit the top in a surprisingly decent 20 minutes. After popping a gel and a quick swig of water, I was off down the East Ridge. This was one of the few places I encountered ice all day, which slowed me down quite a bit for a descent (not decent) time of 10 minutes.
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| First HogBack |
At what Johannes (of Boulder Trail Runners Tuesday Tempo Run fame) calls the Visitor Center, I took a trail that pops out amid a few of the larger houses around, and found myself running down South Cedar Brook Road. I took this to Linden, up Linden to North Cedar Brook, and at the top of that I found myself unsure of where to go next. This is where I ran into the old timer and got his unhelpful answer.
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| There was not a good "scenic" spot to take a picture on the second hogback, but I liked this mirror. I'm the green dot in the center. |
After a few exploratory jaunts up the various options, I ran down (straight) Cedar Brook, past a "no outlook" sign, and found myself on Ridge Road, which looked promising. Sure enough, this road soon dead-ended at the start of Old Kiln Trail, a trail I had passed many times running near Wonderland Lake but had never ventured up. After passing the Old Kiln, and unfortunately neglecting to take a picture, I found myself back on familiar ground, heading past the Dakota Ridge subdivision and on to the aptly-named Hogback Loop.
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| Wonderland Lake, from the top of the Hogback Loop. |
I had forgotten how technical the singletrack on this trail was, and found myself occasionally stumbling on rocks and sliding on the small patches of snow that still lingered on the trail. But soon enough I made it up to the top ridge of the hogback, and after my second gel and the last of my water, I took off down the slope for the home stretch.
Despite my legs being tired by this point, I had decided early on that I was going to put out a good effort on the last few relatively flat and very nontechnical miles. My legs were tired enough at this point, a bit over ten miles into a run with a fair amount of vertical thrown in, that I assumed "good effort" would mean something around 8 minute pace on these trails.
Thus, I was very surprised during this section when I looked down at my GPS watch, which normally reads a little slow pace-wise, and was clocking 6:30 pace. I was running with a slight downhill, but into the wind, and was utterly surprised by the pace. Since my legs felt like they had a bit more in them, I decided to see just how much I could push the pace over the last couple miles. There were sections, uphill into a brisk wind, that I hit almost 8 minute pace.
On the other side of the coin, the last mile I absolutely flew. My last mile clocked in at 5:19, making it the fastest mile I've run (that was not entirely downhill) since moved to Boulder. You can probably guess where my confidence went at this point.
It got me thinking, also, that I might be shortchanging myself in races. I wonder now what I could have run in the half, had I been able to do so this morning. It also makes me think strongly that my sometimes disappointing results in races up to this point can be traced to a mental block, where I don't think I can run as quickly as I actually can.
It certainly bears more exploring.
It also makes me want to race.
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