Colorado Winter and my "Old Kentucky Home"

Well it is that time of year where the nip in the air and the snow starting to fall on Pikes Peak (as seen in the above picture) gets you giddy, and constantly checking the web cams at local ski resorts to see how close you are to all the winter fun that lies ahead.

This did not use to be my normal reaction to winter knocking on the door. Originally I am from Kentucky, and no doubt for all of you that have never been there you are inevitably thinking of chicken, horses, and hillbillies with no teeth or shoes. But I have to say that I LOVE my "Old Kentucky Home"! Kentucky is absolutely beautiful, and it has plenty to do for mediocre adventurers like me. Great hiking, biking, and climbing is right there at your finger tips. Plus my city of Louisville (I grew up in a smaller town of Lexington, but lived in Louisville for about ten years) has so much to offer. It is like the perfect combination of a big city and a small town. It also has GREAT FOOD!!! If I were to compare Colorado Springs (and possibly even Denver) with the city of Louisville I would be hard pressed to say that Louisville isn't the better metro area. In fact when you compare food, arts, activities, and culture, directly with the cost of living it may be hard to find a better bang for your buck anywhere else in the country.

However, the KY winter is fairly depressing. In fact it may be a U.S. center for seasonal affective disorder. The skies are generally grey, it is fairly cold, and it rains more than snows. So I have to say that winter in Ky was never very exciting, and for the person who likes to go outdoors it can be a real bummer. For the most part people just hang out in their homes and wait for spring.

This is definitely where I have to say that Colorado has KY beat. Most days in the Springs the skies are clear and sunny, with all the beautiful snow dropping just to the west of us in the mountains we can see everyday. All the sunlight makes the temperatures feel milder than they do most of the time in KY, but the mountains which are about 1-2 hours away get so much snow that you find as much to do outside in the winter as you do any other season. Last year in addition to our normal snowboarding and skiing, we added ice climbing, snowshoeing, and cross country skiing, to the list of activities we would enjoy over the weekend. So as winter and the colder temperatures approach, instead of feeling the normal gloom and doom, we find ourselves excited and impatient for winter to find its way to us. Colorado is great place to be in all seasons, and that is probably the best reason to love it.

Half Marathon Pic

Me crossing the finish line on the right.

"The Other Half"

This was a stellar weekend for me. First I got to watch the University of Kentucky football team finally pull off a win against Steve Spurrier and South Carolina (while sitting next to my good friend Jason, a South Carolina alum). Then I finally got to run the half marathon (13.1 miles) that I have been training for over the last few months, and it went swimmingly. The race is called "The Other Half", and it takes place in Moab, UT. I ran it with my friend Jason, which is who you see me standing with in the picture above. We both felt really good throughout the race and had a blast.

Since the race was bright and early Sunday morning, we drove into Moab Saturday afternoon, picked up our packets, and found a place to eat and watch the game. After the game we went to the grocery store to pick up some bananas for the morning and some Vaseline to prevent race chaffing (I had forgotten the stuff I normally use). While standing in the checkout line I turned to Jason and said "Does it look bad that we are buying bananas and Vaseline and nothing else?". Jason responded by immediately moving to the next lane with the bananas while I remained in mine with the Vaseline.

As far as results go I was ecstatic. As I have mentioned before in the blog I am not exactly a fast runner and my goal for this race was to run somewhere between a 9:45 to 10 min/mile average pace. Well I have to say that training at nearly 3,000 feet higher than the race's elevation helped me out tremendously. I ended up running at a pace just under 9 min/mile and finished with a time of 1 hour and 58 minutes. This got me 427th place overall out of 1537, and 37th place in my gender and age group out of 204. I was really pleased!!!!

But I have to say a few things about the race venue itself. The backdrop for this race is just amazing. The entire race is on a road running right next to a river in a gorgeous desert canyon. It was unbelievable. At one point I looked to my left and saw the La Salle mountain range in the background and nearly stopped running to stare at the view. And at the beginning of the race we were getting to see all of this as the sun came up. It was without a doubt the prettiest race I have ever done.

However, there is a downside to running a race in a place so far out and beautiful. Number one is that there is no easy was to get to the starting line. All runners had to meet at one of two locations in the town of Moab to catch a shuttle to the start at 6:30AM. From there we took the shuttle about 40 minutes out of town to get to the start. Secondly, because it is so remote, you don't have as many encouraging spectators on the side of the road cheering you on. And finally this course is pretty flat for about the first 7 miles and THEN the hills start. Having to do all of your hills in the second half of the race kind of sucks, but at least the last mile was downhill.

Tomme came to cheer me on and take pictures and I was so happy when I saw him near the finish line. After the race Jason and I got our complimentary post race beer and relaxed. It was a really great day, and as excited as I am for the race to be over I enjoyed it so much that I am already considering doing another one next year.




Me seeing Tomme near the finish.




Jason at the finish.

Mediocre tip: Buying Vaseline and bananas at the same time looks shady.