Who sets their alarm for 6am on a Saturday?
Anyone who plans to run a 5k, hike a 13er, then play 2 hours of tennis – talk about a jam-packed SUPER Saturday.
The intention is not to run and hike every remaining week of 2012 – just dumb luck last week’s 10 mile run in Louisville was scheduled back-to-back to the Waneka Classic 5K Fun Run in Lafayette (one of Ro’s regular weekly walks). ALSO, today’s race supported Centaurus High School’s cross-country track team…so came out for a mighty good cause (local youth). And come on…how many races are so close that you can walk there from home? Absolutely no excuses this day.
I competed in the local Citizen’s Race (which kept all varsity track kids out of the field :)). Stayed close and followed a guy named Dale before I blew past him at the 2-mile race marker. Overall, finished 19th!
Ran home, showered, and packed for my next Saturday activity – week 36’s hike challenge starting at Loveland Pass.
Don’t expect another road race out of me again until early December – the ‘ColderBolder’.
Not sure if I was inspired by my sister’s aggressive running regimen or whether I simply missed the excitement associated with running in an organized race…but on Saturday September 1st, I competed in my first road race since 2009.
As a kickoff to the Labour Day weekend, my town holds an annual 5k/10M road race named Coal Creek Crossing. Sure I only started running consistently again in July…but with me it’s always ‘Go Big or Go Home’ — so sign me up for 10 miles. LOL>
With such an early start, was able to snap a shot of our Blue Moon followed soon after by a pic of the Saturday morning sunrise.
The race wandered over local trails in both Louisville & Lafayette — very little of the running required on paved road. Kept my pace slow & consistent, really enjoying the experience. THEN came mile 9. Ok, strike that. Rather I saw the 9 mile race marker ahead — high high UP on Aquarius Hill. Can’t say I had ever heard of Aquarius Hill previously, but I will remember it now.
I survived of course, completed my race and headed over to the pancake breakfast pavilion. FAAAANNNTASTIC finish!
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- ‘blue moon’ still visible at race start
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- bib pick-up
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- 7am sunrise start
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- ‘Go Big or Go Home’ – local 10 mile road race
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- pancake breakfast finish — FAANNNTASTIC!
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- road race booty — why we really do this
Fast forward 2 days. I received an email detailing my race results (which I thought had been halfway decent). Talk about humbling. Ouch! These Coloradans are machines. Ok, ok — just wait ’til next year.
Thanks for participating in the Coal Creek Crossing 10 Mile.
Results for K R Haga:
You placed 96th out of 132 finishers in a time of 1:36:57 for a pace of 9:42 per mile.
Out of 67 men you finished 56th. The winning time for men was 59:19.
Local hike week.
Great thing about living in the Flatirons is that ‘local hike week’ doesn’t have to be ‘lame hike week’.
Woke early on Sunday, drove to Chautauqua – focused to hike Royal Arch within 2 hours. With Saturday booked with my baptism and a picnic, I was concerned this could be a ‘non-hike’ weekend. No worries.
Royal Arch is a fairly short hike but a steep vertical climb for almost a mile before relieved by a series of switchbacks. Summit view provides a panorama of Boulder, Boulder Rez and a glimpse of Denver (on a clear day). And at just under 7,000 ft (elevation), found it mighty easy on the lungs & admired tall pines from start to finish (complete hike under treeline).
Trail run return with 30 minutes to spare – Ro enjoyed that excess time at Community Park with his dog brothers 🙂
Hit the showers, followed by Sunday church. My hike challenge is still alive at 32 weeks!
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- 300 days of sunshine a year – LOVE LOVE this place!
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- just under 7000 ft elevation
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- Royal Arch keyhole
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- under the Arch
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- Live, Live SIMPLY & Live NOW!
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- hike reward: 30 minutes w/ Ro’s posse at Community Park
