Runnin' of the Green - Run


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Denver, Colorado
United States
45F / 7C
Sunny
Total Time = 58m 38s
Overall Rank = 3053/3738
Age Group = F40-49
Age Group Rank = 454/570
Pre-race routine:

There was no pre-race trip to Old Chicago as we were handling family stuff. Instead we ended up getting a couple of Little Sneezers Pizzas and I ended up eating two pieces once they were cold and well coagulated. My stomach was not happy for the remainder of the evening but that was the end of the issue. Didn't notice it in the morning.

DS1 didn't get to the hotel until about 2 AM so, being a Mom, I was half awake until he was there safe and sound. Woke up about 7 but wanted to let the boys sleep a bit so I sat quietly texting DH then eventually got up and put on my green "kit".

Once the boys were ready we grabbed some Starbucks and headed to the train. A smooth pleasant ride later we were downtown Denver waiting among the crowd for SIL to arrive. While we waited we were approached by a man who looked uncannily like Robert Downy Jr on one of RDJ's bad days. The man was wearing a long trench coat and had a green bandage wrapped around his head. DS2 (my psych major son) said it appeared to be dressing for a head would. Anyway, the man told us this... "Remember, don't run for fun... run... for... fun". I did contemplate it during the run but never got it.

As gun time approached we moved in to our corral and I peeled off my warm layer so we could get a picture in our St. Paddy's Day garb. And then we were off.
Event warmup:

none. I knew this was going to be a very slow 4 miles.
Run
  • 58m 38s
  • 7 kms
  • 08m 23s  min/km
Comments:

This run was a blast! We let my SIL set the pace and we just ran along together chatting. DS2 and SIL were singing and dancing. The music was from SIL's iphone so there was some Journey and lots of girl-power songs. I think DS2 singing and dancing with SIL made the miles much more bearable for her. She did the whole thing without walking which is a first for her! We had so much fun. And the crowd of green in front of us was quite a sight to see.

Sadly at one point we were passed by a man pushing a stroller. Being passed wasn't the sad part. Listening to him curse the child in the stroller for dropping her blanket was the sad part. IDK but I figure if you're going to run with your child a PR is probably not on the agenda.

Speaking of PR's, even at SIL's pace this was a PR because it's my first 7k!!! DS1 and DS2 were in the M20-29 AG and to their credit they laughed about being 10th and 11th slowest in their AG.

We were at about mile 3 (right in front of the most awesome REI) when SIL realized she hadn't walked so we used that as motivation to keep her running, even up the hills and as we approached the finish she got soooo excited. We'd been trying to run 2X2 rather than 4 wide for the entire race but we went 4 wide for the finish. It was THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!
What would you do differently?:

Abso-frickin-lutely NOTHING!
Post race
Warm down:

We walked through the vendor area. They fed us corned beef on a bagel! Nice! We had beer coupons but didn't feel like waiting throught the crowd for the beer table. DS2 and I talked to the Ragnar people. DS2 and I signed up for Rock N Roll Denver in October. (I signed up for a 2:00! Guess I'd better get moving)

Then we chatted with SIL and bro for a while before the boys and I went to an incredible taco place for lunch then caught the train back to our car.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Pacing family is a blast. As I was putting my bib in the album where I keep them DS2 started looking at my bibs. He noted the 5ks and BolderBoulder races where I was obviously off my pace and asked for each whether I was pacing DS1 or SIL. He said I should write that on the bib next to the time. I think I'll remember anyway. Those races are their own kind of fun.

Event comments:

A lot of fun with a lot of participants dressed in all kinds of St. Paddy's garb. Well run and a lot of fun!


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Last updated: 2014-01-02 12:00 AM
Running
00:58:38 | 07 kms | 08m 23s  min/km
Age Group: 454/570
Overall: 3053/3738
Performance: Good
Course: Streets of downtown Denver
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4