Ralston Creek Practice Run

Only four more weeks until the Ralston Creek Half Marathon.  I have no idea why I agreed to sign up for this.  Probably because Mary looked at me with those sad eyes and told me it was all she wanted for her 36th birthday.

I woke up bright and early this morning and when I saw the sun was shining I had the bright idea that Mary and I should do our weekly "long workout" on the actual race course in Arvada.  After politely trying to text Mary and wake her up, she finally replied and agreed.

You see after signing up for this half marathon we both started googling it to find out more information.  Numerous blog posts talked about how difficult it is because of the "mountain" with switchbacks in the middle of the course.  We needed to go see for ourselves before making a rash decision to change to a different half marathon.

 
Mary tried to tell me I needed to stretch beforehand, something that I wished I would have listened to about five miles down the course.
 
 
It was about 25 degrees outside.  When you live in Colorado you consider that a nice winter day perfect for a workout.
 
 
Jefferson County does a great job of clearing the county trails.  There were just a few snowy/icy spots.  I only almost fell on my behind once.

 
Mary and I kept looking and looking for this scary "mountain".  What we found instead was a very gradual hill with switchbacks.  I don't enjoy going up hill, but this was nothing compared to some of the trails we hike.  I think there are a lot of people who like to exaggerate on their blogs, or those people live outside of Colorado.


The first three miles flew by, mile four dragged on forever.  By mile five I was a hurting pup.  My right thigh has been achy all week and today it was almost unbearable.  The arthritis in the lumbar region of my spine causes havoc with the nerves on the right side of my body.  I don't know if that's what's causing the problem or if something else is going on.  My left side felt great and could have gone on forever.  Oh the strain of being an athlete.  :)

At least we got to pass by these cute critters on the way.
 
We typically don't eat much before a workout and afterwards we are famished.  Since we were in Denver we stopped at the Rio for a late lunch.  Please notice there is no margarita in this picture which is a real sacrifice since the Rio has the best margaritas in town!  (Water is in that bottle.)
  
 
It was a nice treat to end a great day in beautiful Colorado.  After eating and then driving home and soaking in a hot tub for an hour I'm feeling almost human again.
 
I can do this, I can do this, I can do this.  Can't I?
 

Comments

polcat24 said…
Yes you can do it!! Shiloh and I are going to come and cheer you guys on!!
January 10, 2016 at 8:19 PM
Yogi♪♪♪ said…
Way to go. If you ever get a chance to come to Tulsa and I take you to Turkey Mountain you will probably wondering where the mountain is.
January 14, 2016 at 5:11 PM
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