Wednesday, September 7, 2011

#29--American Discovery Trails Marathon

Colorado Springs, CO
September 5, 2011. 5:00:49

Over the weekend I checked Colorado off the list.  I've put it off to avoid hills and altitude.  Well, I had to do it sometime.  The ADT Marathon was a good choice because it was pretty easy to get to and not as challenging as some races in Colorado.  Although it was a trail marathon, it was not technical and had a net descent from 7000+ ft to around 6000.  With this altitude, one would expect a 5-10% slower time, and that's what I got.  I was very surprised to finish in 5 hrs.  The altitude was a factor, but the biggest thing was I didn't taper real well.  My legs were pretty sore and tired from boot camp the week before.  Downhill races are very tough on your quads, and mine are still very sore.

I posted a picture from the course at the bottom of the page.  The scenery was beautiful.  There were only about 400 marathoners and very few spectators, so there was a lot of time to run alone.  That's fine with me, but not real conducive to running a great time.

I was disappointed in my time, but glad I finished.  I didn't really have any other goal.  I viewed this race as a long training run for the big one this fall, the ING New York City Marathon.  I'll rest this week and then get into a New York state of mind!

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