Dog Days of Summer 5k, Lozilu, and pacing American Discovery Trail Half Marathon

I got an email from Pikes Peak Road Runners on August 5th asking for pacers for the American Discovery Trail Marathon on Labor Day. This was something that I had never done before, but had always wanted to do. I have been involved in this race since 2012. I worked an aid station in 2012 and ran the marathon in 2013. They were in need of a 2:15 & a 1:45 pacer for the half marathon. My PR for the half is 1:41 so 2:15 would have been way to slow and 1:45 was way too fast. I instantly sent out an email saying I could pace the 1:45 group. Then, I, of course, started freaking out. This race was 3 weeks after Pikes Peak Marathon. Could I do this? After Pikes Peak I took 6 days off from running completely. Then, I ran a 20 miler and it went great. Then, a week later, on August 24th, I ran a 5k and had a huge PR, so I was starting to gain some confidence.

I finished the 5k in 20:42 and that was after my dog stopped me for a poop stop. My PR in the 5k was 21:11. On Thursday, August 28th, my Mom ended up taking my kids for a couple nights and that allowed me to get out and do a run on the ADT half course. It was a lot tougher than I thought. Uphill on the way out and downhill on the way back. When I ran the course, I finished in 1:47 and thought, "Well, crap, I have to tell them that this pace is too fast for me". But, to my defense, I ran it in 80 degrees. I could probably go faster at 6:30am when it is only 50 degrees outside. So, I kept my confidence. I had registered for Lozilu that Saturday, August 30th, and had a fun time. It was very noncompetitive. It was a time to get together with a bunch of girls, talk the whole way, and get messy. I loved letting go of my competitive side and just having fun.

When I finished Lozilu, I went to pick up my kids. My son, Connor, was doing horrible. He had a horrible cough and looked so sick. Then, we got in the car to go home and he threw up all over the car. I thought, "Oh, no! This is going to spread through the entire family!" I was expecting to wake up on Monday morning feeling sick and probably get no sleep due to sick children. We went through Sunday with no one else getting sick so I was hopeful. I was still so nervous that I would let a bunch of people down and be a crappy pacer. This is when my awesome husband stepped in and said, "I know you can do this. You always do good at whatever you put your mind to!" I woke up at 5am on Monday morning ready to pace this race. I was scared to death! The nerves were worse than any race I had ever done. I was actually shaking at the starting line. I looked around and there were no pacers faster than 1:45. I was it! It felt like forever for them to get the race started. Once that gun went off, I started off and set into a good pace. It felt easy. Thank goodness! Only a few people surrounded me. One girl said, "I guess it is just us!" I said, "Yep, It looks like most people are sticking with the pacers behind us." At a 1:45 finish time, I was supposed to stick with a 8 minute/mile pace. So, my goal was to stay a little under that. I was clocking 7:50-7:55 on the first half. I was a little nervous because my Garmin wasn't right on track with the mile markers. It was about 1/10th mile off. So, I sped up on the 2nd half. I lost the first girl that was with me. She fell back. Another guy joined me and we talked the whole way about what races we had done, the weather, the town, everything…It make the miles fly by. Then, at about 3 miles from the finish, he flew ahead of me. Another guy flew ahead of me about 2 miles from the finish. I yelled, "You got it, dude! You are gonna hit a 1:42" Then, I was alone. I must have looked so funny being a pacer all alone for the last 2 miles. People were yelling, "Great job pacing! Why are you all alone?" I then looked at my watch and I was running 7:45's. Way too fast! So, I slowed down. I crossed the finish line in 1:43:42, which is a little fast. But, I was told to finish within 2 minutes under the goal time. So, I did what I was supposed to do. What a great experience!

Next up, Colorado Fall Classic Marathon