2015 Colfax Marathon

26.2 Miles - 3:26:49 – PR (7:54 pace)
5th Consecutive Colfax Marathon
Denver Colorado


Coming into this race the plan was to just run it easily, I even considered switching to the half. Less than 2 weeks ago I had run a great race which left me physical and emotionally wreaked from running. Since then the longest I had run was 10 miles and just to test out my legs I ran last mile at marathon race pace. My coach gave me a little encouragement and I was ready to go. Don’t forget I was an ambassador of this race so I spent 9hrs on my still tired feet Friday working the Expo.

 Miles 0-15 (15 miles @ 8:05 pace)
I was a little worried how my body and mind would hold up late into the race. The strategy was to take it easy for the first 15 miles and put myself in positon for a PR. At mile 16 I would decide if I wanted to really go for it or back off. I ran the early miles all by feel, as soon as I felt like I was starting to get out of breath I would back off on effort. The first half of this course was pretty hilly with the last big hill being the entire 15th mile. Keeping this strategy of feeling like I could talk (I did chat with a friend the first 6 miles) I was able to cover the first 15 miles close to my PR pace.


Miles 16-20 (5 miles @ 7:32 pace)
Coming off mile 15 you are treated to a sweet 5 miles of downhill. I picked up the pace to 7:30’s but because of the downhill the effort was still pretty easy. I decided to not push any harder and keep the effort low. My feet were starting to ach and my quads and calf’s weren’t feeling so good, it was just leftover fatigue. The sun came out and the temps climbed but I didn’t feel like it affected that much. I was doing really well on my nutrition eating and drinking pretty often.


Miles 21-26.2 (6.2 miles @ 7:44 pace)
I couldn’t believe I had run 20 miles without any real problems. In my head a switch flipped “let’s go get that PR”. Around mile 21 I caught up with the 3:30 pace group and wasted no time cutting right through them. Blasting through that pace group felt great and now I was working hard to hold my pace in the 7:40’s but compared to everyone around me I was just flying. This is my 5th time running this marathon and I know every hill and every turn. Mile 23 we hit a major hill and I logged my slowest mile of the last 10K at 8:05. Looking at my watch I knew it would be close even if I ran my heart out. My thoughts were “I don’t care if I miss my PR this has been an amazing race”. My watch clocked me running my last 0.2 at 6:45 pace as I charged to the finish to collect a new PR.


Post race
That’s was a hilly marathon at altitude and I ran a hard 50miler 2 weeks ago so not really PR conditions. I only beat my time by 6 seconds but this race gave me a lot of confidence, I think I can run a lot faster. Because this was my local race I spent half of the day sitting in grass chatting with friends. I think I had 10 or so friends running the marathon, at least 30 in the half and a few more the relay.


The PR Drought is over
My last Marathon PR was over 2 and half years ago (12 marathons ago). Also during this time were a few ultras which probably contributed to the slowdown.


Weird Stat
My fastest 4 marathons are now separated by 1 minute and 4 seconds.
May 2015 Colfax – 3:26:49
Oct 2012 Rock n Roll Denver – 3:26:55
May 2012 Colfax – 3:27:27
May 2014 Colorado – 3:27:53



I do not look happy for some reason.  This is around mile 6 because I am still running with my buddy Matt in the blue.   This was Matt's first marathon

 

Just ran under the US flag which was very cool

Coming back through the stadium at around mile 20.   Looking like I am in much better shape and focused than I did here at mile 6.

 

2014 Colfax Marathon

26.2 – 3:58:48 (1:12 under my pacer target time)
Marathon #18, Colfax Marathon #4, Marathon Pacer #1 

The Colfax marathon is my favorite marathon and it’s near my home in Denver. At this point running this marathon has become a yearly ritual and I just fit other races around it even if my schedule gets ugly. This year I decided to run the Colorado marathon which is two weeks before Colfax but I figured I would be fine since I did the same thing last year (Colfax and Deadwood). Over the last 6 months I have become much more active in a local running club which supplies the pacers for the Colfax marathon. I volunteered to pace between 3:45-4:45 but asked specify if I could have the 4:00 group (9:09 pace). I felt happy and lucky when I was granted the pace group that I wanted most. A few years ago I would have killed to run a sub 4:00 now I was going to help others accomplish that same dream. 

Last year I ran 2 marathons in 14 days nearly unscaled running both within 10 minutes of my PR, 3:31 at Colfax and then 3:37 two weeks later at Deadwood. This year while attempting the same combo I felt like I pushed myself much harder at the Colorado marathon trying to get a PR. I came off of that race really beat up and dehydrated, neither of which would go away. In my experience recovery is slow painful miles that you need complete. It seems like you need a set number of miles regardless if you take time off or not (sometimes you have no choice). The next weekend I went for a 12 mile run with my friends only to have my calf locked up out on the run. I walked back the running store with my confidence in the gutter. I spent the days leading up the Colfax marathon running easy. Every run my calf felt a little better but they never got back to 100%. 

Start 0 – 6 miles 
I slept terrible the night of the race. I was so nervous and anxious, it felt like my first marathon again. Anything slower than 4:00 or faster than 3:57 would be a failure. I lined up in my corral and was immediately greeted by many strangers introducing themselves and then asking about pace strategy, aid stations my marathons stats etc. These questions carried on into the race and I didn’t mind because it was keeping my mind off my calf. The pace felt really easy which was a good confidence boost. We started a little slow because of crowding but we were on target pace by the end of mile 2. I knew we had to take advantage of the downhill over the next few miles and build up a little cushion of time. After the stadium it gets pretty hill so at best we would run on pace. As planned at the Broncos stadium (mile 6) our group came in around 1 minute ahead of schedule. 

7 – 16 miles 
Right after running thought the stadium the course creeps uphill for the next 9 miles. On the first hill I could again feel that twitchy calf. It felt like every step could be my last. On the flats the feeling would go away but I couldn’t stop thinking about how quickly those cramps came on and ended my run the week before. Today that I could not happen because I would probably really hurt myself by continuing on to the finish. Talking with runners again helped my put that into the back on my mind. I warned the group that the toughest part of the race is miles going up a big hill around mile 16. Every year that I have run this race this location has been my toughest spot. I forgot my own advice and at the bottom of this hill I gave my pace flag to another runner and said “I got to hit the bathroom can you keep pace for a bit?” Once I started running again I looked up the hill and couldn’t see my group and then I panicked. I charged up the hill and caught them within a mile, I think I had to run about 8:00 min pace to do this up that darn hill and beats me up every year. The good news was I caught them at the top of the hill so I could now rest the bad news my calf was screaming at me. During this hilly section time we ran right on pace keeping our 1 minute cushion. 

17 – 21 miles 
This next section is an awesome its 4 miles of gentle downhill. I didn’t enjoy that downhill so much this time around. I knew that we had to take advantage of this downhill and get a little more time in the bank. I didn’t want to speed up but that’s what the group needed. We picked up the pace by about 10 seconds per mile and by the time we passed though the stadium at mile 20 we earn another minute. My calf was crying with each step. A few times I contemplated passing on my flag and letting the group go without me but I couldn’t, I committed to a time and I was going to meet it that time if it killed me. At mile 20 I let the group know that we had a 2 minute cushion and if you feel good go for it and if you feel like crap you can run 9:30’s and still break 4:00. 


22 – Finish 
Our group went silent. The folks with energy to talk pulled away and the rest of us suffered in silence. I wanted to be a good cheerleader but I was suffering in silence too. Any other day I would have called it off miles ago and walked into the finish. But today it wasn’t about me and I had a job to do. My friend AL coordinates the pace groups and over the last few months I have become good friends with him. His personality reminds me a lot of my grandfather (AL is a little younger). But this is also why it was so much harder to back off when I was hurt. I thought a lot about AL in those final miles I kept thinking “I promised AL I would hit that time so I better hit that time”. The last few miles of a marathon always hurt but this one hurt more that it should. Over the last few miles the group lost almost 1 minute but that what I was expecting. In the final miles our group swelled as we caught up to runners that had fallen off their pace. At this point in the race no one was happy to see me I kept hearing “Ah crap the 4:00 guy caught us”. My calf continued to feel on the verge of injury but it held strong. Crossing the finish line felt amazing almost like it was my first. My watch read 3:58, success. 

Post race 
I was immediately meet by runners thanking me for keeping pace. Everyone had a unique story to tell me about their race. Some had not ran with me but kept me in their sights the whole race. Also at the finish were tons of my friends from the running club. They all wanted to ensure me that I was crazy for taking on a 4:00 marathon 2 weeks after coming within 1 min of my marathon PR. A television crew interviewed me another pacer. I also bumped into countless old friends and even my high school cross country coach. It was my best post-race experience ever. 

This is the majority of the full and half pacers 
 

Mile 20, you can just see the hurt. The longer the race went on the lower that sign was. AL said he was worried when he saw me at mile 25 nearly dragging the sign. 
 

Happy to have finished 
 

My friend Bruce completed his first marathon. He ran with my pace group for a good portion of the race. Next time he will have no problem getting under 4:00 
 

2013 Colfax Marathon Race Report

3:31:30 0-10 miles (7:53 avg Pace) I wasn’t really sure what time I wanted to shoot for today. But I knew that I had to start fast enough to give myself the opportunity to run a PR. During this first 10 miles I felt really relaxed and comfortable. It felt like the effort wasn’t too hard to continue throughout the marathon. I hit my first challenge of the day when my calf cramped around mile 5. No not the calf muscle again, I wasn’t happy about this and I was just about to speed up and go to my PR pace. The calf cramp wasn’t too serious it locked for about a half step and felt funny for about a half mile. But this was only the start of my calf problems because the same thing happened around mile 8. This is when I got passed by the 3:30 pace group. 11-20 miles (7:58 avg Pace) The 3:30 pace group was way ahead of their target so I decide to run with them for a while with the plan of going ahead of them in a few miles. The first half of this race has a lot of up hills followed by a long downhill from 16-20. Going up one of these hills I lost the 3:30 pace group completely. I could see them up the road and on the downhill I gained on them very slowly finally catching them at mile 20. It took 5 miles for me to catch the pace group. Again during this section I kept having calf cramps. Each time this happened I would slow down a bit and wait for the pain to dissipate (felt like a charley horse) it was very frustrating. 20-26.2 miles (8:33 avg pace) My family was at mile 20 and I had just caught up to the 3:30 pace group. I was feeling good and I was thinking I could still get a PR. When I went to take some salt I realized that I had lost my Ziploc with my salt tablets. The cramping got much worse and now it was both calf’s taking turns cramping. The 3:30 pace group left me in the dust and I slowed significantly. For the first time in the race I felt out of breath and the temperature was rising. These last miles were extremely difficult, I didn’t look at my watch once the last few miles. I knew I was dead meat but I was hoping I could make it to the finish. Takeaways -I finished in 3:31:30 which isn’t too bad and only a few minutes behind my PR. -Even though I didn’t get a PR I still feel like I am in the best shape of my life. Muscle cramps limited my pace at times but my cardiovascular system was hardly in any difficulty. -The last 4 miles I averaged 8:45 with the slowest being 8:54. I am pretty happy that this is my survival pace. A few years ago my dead man walking (or running) pace was 12:00-14:00 per mile. -Thinking back a few month this really puts the difficulty of that trail marathon into perspective (4:56 vs 3:31) -The last 3 road marathons were 3:27, 3:26 and 3:31 in all 3 of those races my calf’s were my limiting factor. If I want to get any faster I am going to need to strengthen those muscles. Colfax History I have now run this race 3yrs in a row and I plan on running it every year than I am able. 2011 - Marathon #4 - 4:28, 2 minutes off my current PR 2012 – Marathon #8 - 3:27, Huge PR of 27 minutes 2013 – Marathon #11 - 3:31, 5 minutes behind my current PR Finally some pictures Shirt, bib and finisher metal My favorite Spectators

2012 Colfax Marathon Race Report

Pre-Race

I woke up at 4am and had my banana, coffee and oatmeal.  This race starts earlier than most at 6:00 am but I was particularly happy because we would be out of the sun an hour earlier.  I had to walk about a mile to the starting line, I arrived at about 5:30 and spent most of that time waiting in line for the bathroom.   I was unable to find the bag check so I left my bag under a tree near the start which was gone when I came back.  At the start it was about 45 F and still dark.  The day before it had rained all day and never hit 50 degrees, today the weather would be perfect.

0-13.1 miles 1:45:18 – 8:02 pace, Avg HR 150

My plan was to toss out my conservative instincts and start the marathon off fast.  My goal was to go out at or near 8:00 minute miles (in my head this felt like a suicide mission).   Because it was so crowed at the start I just went with the flow and ran the first mile in 8:22.  I didn’t know till after the race while analyzing the data that mile 1 was my slowest mile of the day.   Once traffic thinned out I settled into a faster pace near 8:00.  My HR was pretty calm staying in the 140’s for most of the first half of the race.  I felt like I was working much harder than my HR was showing.   I clicked off many miles just under 8:00 pace, I felt really good and I was passing people nonstop.  They had a big clock and banner at the half way point and I was pretty surprised to see 1:45 (fast enough to be my second best HM).  I thought to myself maybe I could run 3:30 today.  My only worry was my calf that sort of felt tired or just off, I wasn’t sure.  I’ve had a lot of calf problems mostly minor but I don’t like them feeling weird at all.

13.1 -20 miles. Avg Pace 7:51, Avg HR 161
 Shortly after the highs of crossing the 13.1 mark I hit some rough patches in mile 15 and 16 which had a long steady low climb (not steep at all but tough at 8:00 min pace).  My HR exploded into the 160’s and my pace slowed back above 8:00/mi.  I thought to myself “that’s it my HR going to skyrocket until I slow into the 9:00 -10:00 pace”.  I tried to keep that in the back of my mind and I knew that miles 17-20 were mostly downhill (out and back course).  Also my family was waiting for me at 20 so I clawed out of my funk and returned to a pace just under 8:00.  I hit 20 miles in 2:39 which is my fastest 20 ever in any race or training run.  Once again I was feeling really good. My calfs were still my only worry they didn’t feel great but they were still holding.

Mile 21 – 7:50 – 168 HR

Seeing my family and my 20 mile time changed my state of mind.   “I want 3:30 I am ready to hurt” and hurt I did.  I wasn’t the only one either people around me were starting to break down.  I was passing people like crazy, I looked at my watch and I hadn’t speed up at all.  I can remember a single person passing me again not even relay runners that had just stared their leg at the 20 mile mark.

Mile 22 – 7:46 – 172 HR

At mile 21 I was supposed to eat my last gel but my stomach was starting to feel queasy so instead I went without and only had some water (couldn’t even look at Gatorade).  My calf continued to feel funny, I hoped it would hold a little longer but I tried not to think about it now.  My calfs have always been my week link and if anything is going to cramp or get injured it will be my calf so it’s hard to ignore their complaints.

Mile 23 – 8:02 – 173 HR

Coming off all that downhill was a hard transition now I had to work for those 8 min miles not just coast and get them for free.   Last year in this exact spot my calf started cramping and I was scared it would happen again.   I decided to not worry about pace and just get through this section.   Which was good because my watch started acting weird so I couldn’t tell how fast I was running (because of the downtown buildings).

Mile 24 – 7:23 – 174 HR

My Garmin was really going nuts and it was telling me I was at 8:40 pace.  But maybe it wasn’t messed up, I sped up to try and get my pace under 8:00 and when I came out of the big buildings my watch corrected itself from 8:00 pace for the current mile to 6:50! And then I hit a huge hill.  I went way into the red zone from going too fast and then climbing up this hill.  I spent the rest of this mile recovering at what I think was about 8:30 pace.  On my overall summary my watch said I max out at 193 HR and I am pretty sure it was during this hill after running 6:50 for half a mile.

Mile 25 – 7:55 –  174 HR

This mile really hurt, I was still in pain from that hill but I couldn’t let up.  I crossed 24 at 3:10 I knew I could get 3:30 if I just run the last 2.2 in 20 minutes.  I tried to do the math but failed to figure out the pace I needed.  For the first time in the race I was feeling too hot, in reality it was only about 55 F but I was sweating like crazy.

Mile 26 – 7:33 – 177 HR

12:00 to run 1.2 miles which now I can easily see is 10 min pace but I failed again to compute the pace needed and just kept pushing.   With about a mile to go we entered the park where we started and I just took off.  This is the first time I ever had a marathon kick.  I got some great comments from fellow marathoners as I passed them “you’re kicking ass” and “finish strong”.

Last 0.2 – 7:20 pace – 186 HR

Crossing the 26 mile marker felt awesome and suddenly the pain dissipated (runners high).  I continued to speed up as I charged towards the finish line.  I have never felt this good coming into the finish of a marathon it was a wonderful feeling.  I would have sprinted but I didn’t trust my “no pain feelings” I knew my body was really hurting and my calf was near failure.  Wasn’t worth a few more seconds and I already had a huge PR.  I couldn’t see my family but they could see me finish strong.  I usually look like I am about to die at the finishes.

A Few Fun Stats
- This was my 7th marathon (8 if you count the 50K)
- First time I ran negative splits in a marathon. First half 1:45, Second half 1:42.
- Fastest miles: 7:23 in mile 24 and 7:33 in mile 26
- Slowest mile: 8:22 in mile 1 
- Average Pace 7:55, Avg HR 158, Max HR 193 (second highest Max HR for the year)
- Miles between 7:45 – 8:05 = 17, Miles between 7:35 – 8:15 = 23

2011 Colfax Marathon

Pre Race:
At the starting line it was 37F and had just stopped raining. I wore my regular running shorts, tech-t, running hat, cotton hoddie and cotton socks. I received lots of great advice on clothing but in the end I couldn’t violate the most important rule in marathoning “don’t change anything on race day”. But I am going to buy some rain gear, so next time I will be prepared for anything.

Miles 0 - 6 “Relax we got a few miles ahead of us” (6mi @ 10:06 pace)
The first 6 miles were mostly dry with some light drizzle here and there. I started off slow and was boxed in by all the runners. I wasn’t about to go crazy like other people I saw weaving in and out of the traffic. Hey, we got 25 more miles I think you can make up for 1 mile of slow running. I was getting really warm debating on when I should toss the sweatshirt on the side of the road. Running in Denver is weird became its hilly but not big hills just short quick ones. Going up and down these little hills my quads didn’t feel right. Actually they didn’t feel right the last couple of days but I wrote it off as pre race jitters. My quads always get messed up as I cut back on the mileage. When I used to do the traditional taper (20 days) my quads would be useless at the start of the race. This year I have done a short taper (13 days) and that has helped a lot but not fixed the problem.

Miles 7 - 19 “Wet soggy and flirting with a DNF” (13 @ 9:53 pace)
By now the drizzle had become light rain but I was still feeling a little too warm. I ditched my sweat shirt at the Broncos stadium (9.5 miles). I didn’t realize at the moment but this was a huge mistake. At first running without the sweat shirt felt refreshing and my pace increased for the next few miles. I ran down a big hill around 14 and my quads felt terrible. Miles 15, 16 & 17 people keep saying just a little farther and then some downhill. I was like “please no more downhill”. Also during these miles my condition was deteriorating, I was getting really really cold. I remember at mile 18 I checked to see if my phone was still transmitting to run keeper and switching on the external battery, this was really hard because my fingers just didn’t want to move. At mile 19 I couldn’t open power gel with my hands, I had to use my teeth. I was seriously afraid that I going to have to duck out of the race just to warm up.


Miles 20 - 22 “Warming up, feels like I might be able to kick it in” (3 @ 10:11 pace)
I couldn’t remember if the course went back by the stadium. I figured that either way I was going to have to go find my sweatshirt. Luckily at mile 20 the course came pretty close and I only had to go off course (in the wrong direction) a few hundred feet to retrieve my sweatshirt. Around mile 20 it also stopped raining and was clear to the finish. I warmed up pretty quickly and my mood and pace improved. I finished mile 22 in 9:46, it had been 5 miles since my last one under 10:00. It felt like I had gotten my second wind and could finish the last few miles at a good pace. I was thinking that I could still get my medium goal of 4:22:00. But these feelings were short lived.

Miles 23 - Finish “The train has come of the tracks” (4.2 @ 11:31 pace)
After a 1 min walk break I was ready to start mile 23 with that same awesome feelings. But the first few steps into the run and my calf muscles nearly cramped up. I hate that feeling your muscles send out the second before they lock. Anyways I had some painful cramps last year and I wasn’t about to get one now. I changed my strategy to “forget about time, let’s just finish”. I think that when my quads are gone I must have changed my running form to one that is easier on them but really hard on my calf muscles. Nearly every step of the last 3 miles felt like it could have been the last before a huge cramp. The course went back through downtown Denver but this time I walked up every little hill. I ditched the sweatshirt again at mile 24(I was plenty warm for the last 2 miles). Even in this shape I was still passing a lot of people that must have been feeling worse. I was so happy to see the mile 25 marker, I wanted to sprint home but my legs would only allow 12 min pace. Crossing the finish line was a really good feeling and made it worth all the pain.

Post Race:
My official time was 4:28:03 my medium goal was 10 min pace (4:22:00). When I came through mile 22 at 3:39:39, I was 21 seconds under 10 min pace but after that I lost big chunks of time. This marathon was about 2 and half minutes slower than my last marathon. But I am really happy to have another marathon finished under 4:30:00.

I didn’t have any chaffing problems and only had got a 1 blister on one foot. The only thing sore today is my quads, everything else seems good. I am walking around normal today even on the stairs which is a day after first for me. I can remember the day after my first marathon every muscle seemed sore and my feet, ankles and knees were in bad shape too.

As every marathon I learned a lot and now I will adjust my training. 1 major problem I want to address is my quads, they didn’t feel right from the start. After 18 miles and a few small hills they were toast. In training I never have problems with my quads. I have successfully run many 18 & 20 mile runs without any quad problems and that’s usually just days after a tempo run. I am thinking that maybe over tapering is the issue not duration of the taper.



Here I am finishing, I am the one it the white shirt.



It’s amazing how quick your mood changes once you cross the finish line.


Finally some warmth, it only made it up to about 40F by the finish.