Horsetooth Half Race Report

Today was the Horsetooth Half Marathon. My running training has been consistent, but very meager leading up to this race. I think I averaged 10-12 miles a week since last October with the exception of last week, where I loaded up all of my training in 6 days (~26 miles). Considering the preparation, I think the race went fairly well. I was hoping to average a 7:30 min/mile pace...which I did manage to do for the last 11 miles. Unfortunately the 9 and 10 minute miles at the beginning kind of screwed up my average : ). If you are not familiar with the course, there are some vicious and steep climbs in the first 2 miles of the race. Beyond that, most of the course is fast and somewhat downhill. I have this weird left leg issue where the blood supply gets cut off to my whole left leg when I go anaerobic. It's mainly an issue in criterium racing and not so much in running, but the steep start to this race made it an issue for me. I had to walk most of the 2nd hill...hence the 10-minute mile. Once I regained function of my leg, it was smooth sailing. Only problem was, I forgot to bring my gels along with me, and the race aid stations had nothing with calories. The only calories I took in for a 3hr 45 minute period (2 hr pre-race and 1hr 40+ of racing) were from 1/2 cup of dilute Heed drink at the 4 aid stations. Needless to say, I made it to about mile 12 before the glycogen was completely depleted and I was borderline dizzy with nonfunctional legs. Despite that, I managed to finish in a respectable time of 1:42:40, putting me 8th in my 30-39 age group (note, I'll be 40 in Nov). The conditions were perfect and it was a gorgeous morning with some quality training. I don't have a picture from today, but here's one from my last doggy race as a prelude to next weekend's Fast and the Furriest 5K. The dog in the picture is Muddy, my neighbors dog. He is one of the fastest running dogs on the planet ; ). Can't wait to test out his legs next Saturday!