Rolled into Pueblo 10 minutes before bib pick-up ended. Landscape more reminiscent of New Mexico than the Rockies. Former steel town (one old smokestack remains)…Spanish just as prevalent as English. LOVE the diversity of our state – Eastern Plains to the Rockies, canyon walls of the Western Slope, red clay of Pueblo. Colorful Colorado.
Only 2 ½ hours from home but decided to hotel before tomorrow’s marathon…close 5 minute walk away. Still full from my Deli lunch, night-walked the City downtown before setting my morning wake-up buzz. Last shuttle bus depart: 7:30am, late 9am marathon Start.
Woke Sunday to sunshine, forecast low 60’s – ‘bout 15 degrees cooler than Friday’s unseasonal high. No specific time goal today, training focus [has] been on leg strength: Wyoming’s Bighorn 50 in June. PR speed will come later.
Hour+ wait before the day’s start. Met up with fellow 50-Stater Dave Bell, introduced myself to 3 other Maniacs. No matter how remote the run, our community’s well represented/we’re a tight knit group. Even in far-away Russia, I connected with 4 fellow Maniacs.
2:04 2nd Half – STRONG!
First race with a watch, have resisted for years. HUGE adventure planned in March, needing an easy way to log my daily mileage. (Thanks Bro, lovin’ my 2014 Christmas gift!)
Race Start. Easy 10+ minute pace, still chatting with my 50 State friend …decided to use today as a training run. Beautiful weather, why not? Trekked entirely on bike path. First few miles in Lake Pueblo State Park. (in my opinion) Left too early, nothing crazy scenic in Pueblo.
Never been one to run & talk, never felt it possible. STRONG today – consistent training paying off. Easy, comfortable 2:35 first Half (one of my slowest starts ever). Hung with Dave thru mile 14. Quickened my step, said our goodbyes & I took off. Checked the watch: 8:35 mile. Goal: every mile under 9 minutes. Electrolytes & water at each aid station. No walk at mile 18. No slog at 20.
2:35 first Half – dude, we were way way back. Didn’t catch another runner ‘til mile 19…but then I kept ticking them off. Guy in a red cap, girl in pink tights, 2 couples running together. But where’s the Newton kid? (First 5-6 miles Dave & I traded leads with the ‘Newton kid’. Guy shared my shoe love, Boulder’s local Newton Running Company. Been running in Newtons since early 2015.)
Series of loops, miles 18 to 23 – spotted ‘Newton kid’ on my left…at least a mile half lead. Older lean lady-Ironman tattoo, woman wearing a North Carolina cap, my first Maniac. Mile 24 – 9:03 mile. Dug deep to drop pace under 9 again. No pills, no puking – that was last year. Mental transformation.
Mile 25: Blue Newton shoes in sight. No walking, he’s not given in. If I want it, I’ve gotta catch him soon. Mile 26: I’m still a body length back. Breathing hard, been pushing for too long…too late in a race. Finish line ahead. Held my breath, swallowed hard. Sprinting, I didn’t look back.
Marathon #82 – my strongest 2nd Half in years…a 2:04 – after running 13+ miles. Laid in the grass & panted. Stretched, up in 5. Shook hands with fellow runners, congratulated their achievement.
BIG day for me. Not my finish time…but HOW I finished – at least 5 more miles left in the tank. FAAANNNTASTIC!
On track for 100 – next weekend: Fort Worth’s Cowtown Marathon, everything’s bigger in Texas 🙂
Keenan Haga
Pueblo Marathon and Half – Marathon – Pueblo, CO Feb 19, 2017
Overall: 57 4:39:24
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- Downtown night walk
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- PBR World Headquarters
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- marathon #82, my Louisville neighbor’s first Half
Direct flight on Southwest, winter marathoning in Michigan – extending my monthly steak to 39.
Crazy quick turnaround on Super Bowl weekend. 16 hours – touchdown to take-off. Landed late Friday nite, rental car pick-up, 20 minute drive to Wyoming — Wyoming, Michigan 🙂 frugal Super 8 fast sleep, 5 hours total. Checked my weather app – still below zero. Yikes! After balmy treks in Florida & Georgia, today would be my first ‘true’ winter marathon of 2017.
We’ve all heard of Punxsutawney Phil, the little furry guy in Pennsylvania who comes out, sees his shadow, and declares six more weeks of winter. Then there’s Augustus T. Groundhog, better known as Grand Rapids Gus. He’s Phil’s much more interesting cousin. Unlike Phil, who it seems can only see shadows, Gus has much better eyesight and can look at a calendar on February 2 and know that spring doesn’t start for six weeks. Gus suggested that instead of lamenting over six more weeks of winter, we should EMBRACE the cold and snow and do something fun.
And so, the Groundhog Day Marathon was born.
Full Marathon:
Like the movie, you’ll feel like you’re repeating the same day over and over. A total of 6 loops of approximately 4.4 miles…will have you feeling just a little case of deja vu. 500 Runner limit combined for full and half marathons. Don’t plan on the course being free of snow. It’s paved, which means no underlying rocks and roots, but that’s about all we’re promising.
Parked my rental at John Ball Zoo & boarded an early 6am shuttle to the Start. Michiganers know, sub-zero Start = HUGE WARMING tent (that’s where all pre- & post- race festivities centered). Unfortunately, the porta-potty still stood outside – brrrr on the bum). Multiple layers, neck scarf, sweats, beanie & a Captain America hoodie (summoned all my super powers this run).
Crowded full & half-marathon field, combo start. Whitney Houston anthem, air horn start, careful walk over heavy ice to snow-covered trail. Tough first mile. Mind wandered, now 9 above zero, self-questioned whether to run or call it a day. Runner field thinned; I adapted to course conditions. More like running [on] trail today: focused on foot placement & staying upright.
First lap in 41 minutes, one minute behind goal…my pre-race ‘non-snow’ goal. Sunshine on the next 2 laps created landscape magic. Ran thru a frozen forest, popsicle-like trees & field grass weighed heavy under quarter-inch ice. Winter beauty, truly stunning.
Wind ceased, third run aside Grand River. Large upstream chunks of ice pushed down its center, breaking thru the city stream. Crazy beautiful. Sun disappeared, temp held steady at 12 degrees. Lost much of the field as half-marathoners completed their journey.
NEVER a fan of laps – but DID look forward to 2 stretches each rotation. Popsicle forest & the iceberg-laden Grand River. Ya’ll know I’m a fan of winter…& this was some of its best.
Last lap, last aid station. Water or Gatorade? Naaahh mahh, wahhh-ter. Just point, she says: ‘sometimes my tongue freezes too’. WHAT? true Michiganer experience.
Lost 6 minutes over the last 10K – but overall, my strongest run all year. Fastest finish time, fastest recovery, fastest car ride back to the airport. Didn’t refill my tank, completely outta time (sorry Enterprise, but only drove 22 miles total). Small airport, no problem with security – yikes! my return flight was already boarding. Would have to shower at home 🙁 #dirtyflyer
Groundhog Marathon
SAT FEBRUARY 4
K R Haga M Louisville CO US 4:39:12.86
tomorrow: Super Bowl 51 at Ash & Tom’s home — Go Pats!
next weekend: skiing Vail (first time) — LOVE LOVE my Colorado life!
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- first WINTER marathon of 2017
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- sub-zero pre-dawn Start
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- landscape magic
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- summoned all my super powers
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- frozen hair
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- super cold, lotta snow & my STRONGEST run all year
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- another Age Group first!
To all of you who ran Groundhog, I hope you are as proud of yourselves as I am. Remember, this is a race with a mileage that killed the first man that did it (and it sure as hell wasn’t tundra-level weather when he did). You are so frickin’ awesome! To those who volunteered–manning/womanning the aid stations, warming tent, and parking direction–I feel like you had it even harder because you endured the arctic to provide us runners with the crucial necessities we needed to achieve this goal (and you certainly don’t mess around when it comes to cookie variety ). Thank you for being there and being an immensely valuable presence of this race when you easily could have just slept in and let us die. To all who were involved in creating this year’s Groundhog with set-up, management, and that kick-ass warming tent at the finish, thank you for giving the running community this opportunity to be completely insane and run this race. I’ll see you at the next one!
Punxsutawney Phil Sees His Shadow
Georgia or Vegas – either location keeps me on my 100 marathon path.
Two/three marathons a month (Jan-June, Sept-Oct), only one in July & August (attitude climbing both months). Running consistent, training hard, on track for Dublin/October 29th. Set a goal, visualize/see yourself there, make it happen.
Friday morning flight to Atlanta – chose Georgia, same day bib pick-up, AFB run location. LOVE our country & any experience which supports our Armed Forces. PLUS travelled to Hoover Dam just last month (Vegas run option).
Flight delay in Charlotte, didn’t ATL jet-bridge ‘til almost 7pm. 2 hour drive to Macon, quick shuteye, early a.m. start.
Much of the South was coated in ice just a week ago. Many marathon friends were disappointed when Mississippi Blues cancelled their annual event. 6 days later – what a difference! Gonna be a warm one today, high would top 80 degrees.
2 laps, 13.1 mile course = marathon medal #80. Unexpected marathon delay…didn’t actually start running ‘til almost 9. Sun already high. Yep, gonna cook today. Both of my 2017 winter runs have been crazy warm & balmy.
2 miles thru housing & base training facilities, short wooded trek, then 3 miles of open-space…ran parallel to the Base air strip. Hefty hill at mile 10, popped up into a manicured golf course, easy rolling hills – one lap complete.
Second lap: started slow, stayed slow. Walked in Florida 2 weeks ago, a steady jog would be momentum-building from last race. ALSO, no meds – neither pain nor nausea pills (purposely didn’t pack either). Ground heating up, air strip rotation ahead: no trees.
Watched participants shed their shirts. Always been too self conscious to race shirtless. NO more.
Pushed up the course’s one sizeable hill (now mile 23) & slogged to the Finish. Zapped, always struggle in heat, breathing’s all over the place. Not a great finish, but improved 20 minutes on 2017’s first marathon.
3 week break ‘til my next 26.2 mile trek…legs getting stronger, no more gutting thru 26.2.
Museum of Aviation Marathon
Warner Robins, GA
1/14/17
MOA Marathon Results
38 K R Haga 4:54:47
Hotel shower & a swanky nite in Hotlanta. Dinner at the Livingston, Marriott upper-floor stay (glass elevator ride UP). Lazy Sunday morning start, pricey a.m. breakfast, afternoon flight home.
Next weekend: snow hiking in Staunton State Park 🙂
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- pre-race, pre-dawn museum tour
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- barbershopp’d ‘Star Spangled Banner’
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- warm day in Dixie
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- Robins AFB
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- marathon #80, 2nd of 2017 — not your typical JANUARY finish pic
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- swanky digs in Hotlanta
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- ATL skyline: ’til next time, Georgia
