A run through the Garden

I got up at 5:00 this morning so that I could get to the Garden of the Gods 5K run by 7:15. 

I must be crazy.  It was not only cold, it was damp and foggy.  But I wasn't the only crazy one....Mary and Mr. Beans joined me.  I don't think they were very thrilled about their decision to join me.  Our friend, Miss BP, joined us also.


Do you know what I see when I look at this picture?  A giant.  I am a foot taller than these people.  I need Brian to be my running buddy so that I don't tower over everyone.


This run is mainly a 10 mile race, the first in a series of three including the Pikes Peak Ascent and the Pikes Peak Marathon.  You won't be seeing me at either of those races.  I was glad they added on a 5K for those of us who can't even consider a 10 mile run that has to be finished within 2 1/2 hours.


This was definitely the most beautiful run I've participated in so far.  Although we did a Garden of the Gods run a few weeks ago, this one came into the park through a different entrance.  Yes, there were hills.


Mary took almost 10 minutes off her time from the St. Patrick's 5K!


Mr. Beans added 10 minutes to his last 5K time.  I think it's because he didn't have Brian or Pappy there to motivate him to do his best, after all, it's not hard to beat three girls.


See that guy in the yellow shirt up there?  He won the 10 mile race.  They started 15 minutes before the 5K and here he is passing us on the way back.  His average pace was 5:08.  Wow!  They had a motorcycle leading the way for him and we got beeped at to get out of the way.  Hey, just because you're winning the 10 mile race doesn't mean that you have more right to the road than we do...we all paid the same entry fee.


This was a very welcome sign!


We've been getting a lot of rain the last two weeks and it's really green.  Maybe we won't have any major wildfires this year.  Manitou Springs hasn't suffered any of the devastating flooding last they did last year because of the burn scar.  We're very thankful for that!
 

Mr. Beans finished then ran back to get a picture of the three of us.  We finished in 49 1/2 minutes.  A 15:59 pace which I'm not happy with.  My last race was a 15:05 pace, but the elevation was almost 2,000 feet lower with no elevation gain so I guess I should be happy with today's time.  Miss BP is in the army and she was so sweet to hang back with me and Mary.  I'm sure she could have finished in half the time.
 
 
This race had the best spread of food and drinks.  All kind of fruits, pretzels, chips, water, Gatorade, and...
 
 
Beer!  Yes, beer after the race at 8:00 a.m.  I don't see anything wrong with that, do you?  Your body needs to be replenished after such a workout and what better way to do that than with hops and grains?


Then the pizzas were delivered.  Beer and pizza for breakfast!


But here's the coolest thing of all...a medal for 425th place.  Awesome!

Best race of the summer so far!  Next week--10K run!

Comments

Yogi♪♪♪ said…
wtg Ellen, Don't worry so much about your time, you finished!!

Beer and Pizza before 8 am. Why not?
June 9, 2014 at 5:37 AM
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