Posting from the Sky!!!! Post-Race Thoughts

Hello from the Sky!!! I'm currently flying home from this weekends marathon and I'm trying out Deltas free Wi-fi in the sky-- SO COOL!!!!!!


I know what you're thinking... "You had a marathon this weekend??? We didn't even get a Race RUNdown!!!" Don't fret, you didn't miss anything... I was very swamped last week and didn't have time to post. SORRRY! No worries, I'll include lots in the post race thoughts below. For now, one more marathon and one more state down. I have a whole TWO weeks until my next race-- oops I mean raceS-- I'll be running back to back marathons Oct 3 & 4, but thats for a future post.

Post Race Thoughts... Boulder Backroads Marathon
-Stephanie (in the Sky over ~ Colorado)

Yesterday was the 11th annual running of the Boulder Backroads Marathon in Boulder, CO.  The hills were brutal only to be outdone by the fierce heat on open roads. But... the race is over, another medal won, and another state down! A state, I'll choose not to visit again for a while... at least not to run! Boulder/Denver is a BEAUTIFUL area with lots to do for those outdoor-types. WARNING however-- do NOT underestimate the SBD enemy-- ALTITUDE!!! Although Boulder is ~2000 ft lower than my race a few weeks ago in Park City, UT the air felt much thinner-- and with the mix of long winding hills, these proved to be quite the challenging race for those of us NOT from high altitudes.

Pre-race:
Saturday, we spent the day getting to know Boulder a little better... but going to a CU football game!!! And guess what? They won!!! Colorado University played Wyoming and had a nice little victory! Go Buffs??? That's weird to say when you're used to "GO Bucks!"

The Race:
It was quite cold when we got to the start at 7am (an hour before the gun time). However-- that changed quite quickly over the next hour.

*Race Annoyances of Stephanie #1* (We're going to start keeping track of these because they seem to be common problems and QUITE annoying! These are general marathon problems and do not apply exclusively to this race) #1-- WHY don't race directors think to put water out at the start line prior to the race??? I mean... they ask you to show up an hour or two prior to the start and they don't think we'll need water? For the $60-$100+ entry fees they can afford to put water out at the start! Also... if its a hot day, don't you think the race direcctors would want to make sure we're hydrated??? Just a thought.
*Race Annoyances of Stephanie #2* Weather chages! No, that is not the annoyance, but it doesn't seem that the directors take this into account when they plan the race start time. 8am start for a race that can varry in weather conditions is not the BEST idea. Running your 20-something miles around noon on a hot day is KILLER. Would it be so bad to ask for a 6 am start??? I know we're in September, but if the weather is know to be irratic, plan for it please!!!!

Just prior to the start the heat felt like we were mid-day. Ugh! The gun goes off and so do the runners! The course was anything but easy. If you weren't climbing hills, then you were on flat open roads with no shade and swealtering sun! Shade didn't come until I hit the 25 mile mark... yeah, real helpful! Running up hill was definitely killer and it took a while to get a stride.

To keep from getting heat exhaustion I took the race VERY VERY easy... purposely walking for a minute every other mile and up some of the major hills. What was shocking??? The REALLY GOOD runners were too!!! Around mile 16 we started to see runners going in the other direction. At first I was confused because I didn't know what race they were running, especially since they seemed to be going pretty slow and some were walking. I soon found out that they were the winners of the marathon and they were only about 2 miles in front of me... and I was going SLOW!!! I was shocked to see how slow they were moving and that they were even walking. There were ambulances speeding by continuously and I saw more people drop from the heat and on oxygen through the race than I cared to! Crazy conditions for a crazy race.

Good news.... FINALLY I have a normal medal again! The past 2 races have been plastic/glass monstocities! Its so good to see a solid metal medal! Also, this race had some pretty rockin swag-- a cool t-shirt AND  a hat and LOTS of giveaways from all their sponsors.

More to come in the official race ratings...

Happy Runnings!