I must say—y’all are very interested in my first marathon! In all actuality, I’ve been researching a ton of different options for awhile. I was hoping to run the race in February but my options were slim to none. Plus, the more I thought about it, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to do my first marathon out-of-state. Foreign bed? Weird hotel room? Minimal sleep? Bad food? Not a recipe for success! So, when I saw an email from The Colorado Marathon roll through my inbox last week, I acted impulsively….and registered on the spot!
I first ran this course in May, 2012 when I ran the half marathon. It was a beautiful downhill course and I really enjoyed running it. The route starts way up in the Poudre Canyon and runs along the river for at least the first 20-22 miles. Then, the course cuts out and heads into downtown Fort Collins for the finish. As y’all can see from the elevation map, it is definitely a net downhill!
I wasn’t too sure how I felt about an entirely downhill course, especially since I’ve heard the first elevation drop can be pretty demanding on the quads. However, I loved the feel of this race when I ran the half and totally enjoyed the small-town environment that FoCo provided for the race. Plus, the whole thing only cost me $33! And no, that’s not a typo. Awhile back, I won a giveaway over at Trails 2 Brews. The prize was $100 towards any race registration, thanks to BMX Athletics. The entire registration for the full came to $133, but with that kind of discount, I could hardly pass it up, no?!
Obviously, I have a ton of time to prepare for this run since the race isn’t until May, 2014. However, something tells me that I am going to need all that time because I am absolutely NOT in any kind of shape to run 26.2 right now! I have the GTIS half in August followed by the Xterra trail half at the end of September, but I’m barely even in running shape for those races either. I’ve been looking at signing up for the San Diego Half Marathon in March, if only to ensure that I continue training like I should. Plus, I’m sure I could convince Will to fly back with me so he can visit his family. It would be like a win-win!
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Any tips for this whole marathon thing? The distance is pretty freaking intimidating!