After running in Utah, I was kind of addicted to running in beautiful places. When the Rocky Mountain Vacation Races became a go, I decided to take advantage of cheap airline tickets and fly to CO. In fact, we decided to take a family vacation! The race was held in Estes Park, CO which is a great little town at the edge of the Rocky Mountain National Park.
Saturday morning was my race day! I was nervous about running in the hills and at such a high altitude, but the scenery was worth it!
To maintain races during Covid, we had a staggered start. And that also meant I didn't have to start running super early in the morning! Although while waiting for the start the runners tended to stay away from each other, I was able to talk to a couple of other runners at the start...it was nice to talk to people like the world was normal again!
The first part of the run was a gradual uphill, but I knew the downhill was coming. To help with running in high altitude, I also drank a lot of electrolyte drink. Either the altitude didn't affect me too much at the beginning or the electrolyte drink helped, but I was able to keep a decent pace during the uphill part of the race. Or maybe the view kept my mind off of running pains!
And I even saw some deer while I was running!
The downhill section was a place that I actually did pick up speed! Not only was it downhill, but it was also running toward the mountains! The last two miles were pretty flat and around the lake, so I thought I would be able to keep up my speed and finish extra strong. That didn't happen though. I think running in high altitude finally caught up with me and I felt like I was barely moving! But I did finish in less than 2.5 hours...seconds less, but less nonetheless!
While I went out there to run state 5, Dave and Camden also ran. They both ran the 5K on Friday night...and both placed in their age division!
Camden with his finisher medal and his third place medal (sorry Dave, no pics of your place medal!)
It was a great weekend for running and spending time with family! A great combination!
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