Running with the Big Dogs

Today's scheduled group run was a 46 mile trek from Highlands Ranch to Boulder. Actually, it was a 46 mile run for Steve, Anthony and Sonja. For the rest of us, we were invited to join and run with them for as much or as little as we wanted. On Thursday, Steve told me that he wanted me to run between 8 and 9 miles. So, my plan was to join the group at Kipling and run to the Conoco station in Morrison. The plan did not quite unfold as anticipated.

I estimated that the group would be at Kipling around 8:30 am. As usual, I was running late. As I drove along C-470 towards Kipling I kept an eye out for the group. Just before Kipling, I saw Steve, Anthony and Sonja. I realized that I would not have time to park the car and join them. So I changed my plan: I decided to start at Ken Caryl and run towards Kipling until I joined them.

As I drove to Ken Caryl, I start thinking about how the group was only Steve, Anthony and Sonja. I was kind of surprised because I expected at least one or two other team members to be running with them. Then I started thinking about turning around and not running with them; all three are fantastic runners and I was uncertain that I could keep pace with them. However, I knew that they planned to go at a relatively slow pace (10 min miles) because of the long distance. At worst, they would drop me, and I would just run alone to the Conoco station.

I parked my car and decided to try my new Yak Traks since there was a little snow on the C-470 trail. As I got out of the car, I was pleasantly surprised that it was not too cold. I ran on the C-470 trail towards Kipling. I tried to focus on kicking my butt. It was difficult because my leg muscles were still a little sore from the Thursday run with Steve. After about 8 minutes, I saw the group. When we met, I turned around and began running with them in the other direction on the C-470 trail. As we went past Ken Caryl, I pointed out where I had parked. I had arranged for Brenda to pick me up at the Conoco and drive me back to my car.

As I ran with the group, my legs started to warm up. We headed towards Bowles Ave. This stretch of the C-470 trail is not too fun as it primarily goes up as you head towards Bowles. As the grade increased, I started feeling it aerobically. The hill did not seem to bother Steve, Anthony or Sonja as all seemed strong as we went up. This relatively high effort for me would have been a problem if I was running the entire distance. Fortunately, I was only going around 8 miles.

As we got near Bowles, we saw two figures standing on the trail: one tall and one short. They were Troy, Sonja's husband, and Annie, her daughter. Troy was providing support to the group for the entire run. Annie was dressed in a cute pink outfit. When we got to Troy, we followed him over a fence and climbed up a wall to reach the car. Steve, Anthony, and Sonja refueled and added water to the water bottles that they were carrying. I didn't plan on taking any nutrition other than water since it would only be around an hour and half run for me.

After refueling and restocking, we got back on the trail and headed towards the next rest stop: the Conoco station. The next portion was fairly nice as it was slightly downhill. I was feeling pretty good. The weather was also great. The sun was out and the sky was a beautiful blue. As we approached Bear Creek Lake Park, the trail started back uphill. I was glad that it was gentle as I was struggling a little when the trail started to go up.

We entered Bear Creek Lake Park. Fortunately, the entry into the park was downhill so I was able to recover a little. I was still trying to kick my butt but it was getting harder. After a while, the trail started to slope up again. I was not happy about this as I was starting to struggle to keep pace with the group. However, I could see the Conoco so I knew it was not much further. As we ran under C-470 along Morrison Road, Steve asked me how I was doing. I told him that I was struggling to stay with them. Steve encouraged me by pointing out that I didn't have much further to go.

We reached the parking lot. Again, Troy and Annie were waiting for us. Tyler was also there. He planned to join the group at Alameda and run the last 26 miles with them. Way to go Tyler. I said goodbye to Steve, Anthony and Sonja and watched them run up the road. All them still seemed strong after 17+ miles. It was awesome to run with them for a portion of the distance. Maybe one day my fitness will be at a point where I can run the full distance with them. For today, however, my limit was around 8 miles. I found Brenda, and we drove back to my car.