The Race: Denver Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, October 20, 2013.
My Training Plan: Since this was the first race since my broken foot (broken during the Delaware Marathon), my training plan was modified. I started training in July with a 7-week recovery plan for people who have suffered from stress fractures. While my injury wasn't a stress fracture, but it was the closest I could find online to something that would work for me. It was a run/walk program to get me back into running slowly as to allow the foot enough time to fully heal. After that training plan was complete, I basically had another 8 weeks to get up to marathon mileage. I had to increase my mileage pretty quickly over those weeks, especially since I was training for back-to-back marathon weekends.
Weather: The weather was perfect marathon running weather. We started off in the upper 40s and ended in the lower to mid 50s. The sky was cloudy so the sun wasn't beating down on us. It wasn't too windy until the very end when we were coming back into the city and the wind picked up.
Running Attire: I wore my black running tights, a long-sleeved purple running shirt, my Liz shirt, the hat I got at the Delaware marathon, and my running belt.
Who I ran with: I came to Denver alone and wasn't planning on running with anyone specific. I met a very nice guy at the start line who had two pre-teen/teen kids that were running the half marathon (in corral 1, so they were pretty fast!). I lost him when we started, but caught up to him around mile 4 or so. He had recently moved to the Denver area from Mississippi and apparently had something to do with producing the movie October Baby. We chatted for several miles until I lost him at a water station around mile 11. After that, I didn't really stick with anyone during the race.
The Course: The course has some rolling hills that are very minor, and one fairly big hill toward the end of the downtown portion. Most of the course would be considered to most runners as flat. There were some nice parks with rivers or lakes. The leaves were changing, so that added to the beauty. The course also went through some very nice neighborhoods and started and ended downtown. It was a nice way to see the city.
Organization: As to be expected with the Rock 'n' Roll marathons, the organization was very good. The expo had a lot of good vendors and free samples. The water stops were well stocked and had enough volunteers, even when there were large crowds toward the beginning before the half marathon split. The race facebook page and the marathon website kept you in the loop about the weekend activities, although I don't recall getting any emails with information.
Swag: The Rock 'n' Roll series never has much to offer as far as SWAG. They pretty much only have the typical medal, race shirt, and a bumper sticker. I did like that they have separate Men's and Women's cuts for race shirts. However, the shirt design was rather boring and they don't have different shirts for the half and the full marathons.
Starting Line: When I arrived at the starting line, there were plenty of porta potties with reasonable lines (first thing I look for!) There wasn't a lot of signage to know how to get to the gear check. I had someone ask me where it was, and I had no idea. There was supposedly a place you could get pre-race water and bananas, but I didn't look around to find it.
The corrals seemed well organized and there was adequate signage to see where you were supposed to go. However, the volunteers didn't enforce runners to line up in the correct corrals.
The race did not start on time. It was supposed to start at 7:15, and the first corral didn't leave until 7:25. To catch up, they let corrals 1 and 2 go together, 3 and 4 together, etc. Even though there was a delay and the corrals went together, it didn't seem overly crowded when we started running, so the corrals going together was not a problem.
Fans: The fans were very good. The bands were spread out well along the course and fans tended to group around the band areas. Most of the fans cheered for all the runners and not just the one or two they came to see. I had a lot of people calling my name and cheering me on as I went. Denver seems to be a very friendly city.
I also had my personal fans there. My husband's sister's in-laws came to cheer me on around mile 21 and took pictures of me coming and going.
Finish Line: There were plenty of goodies at the finish line. For hydration, they had water, Gatorade, smoothies, chocolate milk and one free beer per runner. For food, they had PowerBars, pretzels, bananas, and fruit cups. As usual for the Rock 'n' Rolls, they had a post race concert. They also had plenty of porta potties.
Results: For a first race back from injury and a race at an altitude I'm not used to, I was very pleased with my results. My time was 3:57.
How I felt: I felt very good during the first 11 miles. I started feeling very sluggish around mile 12, and that lasted through about mile 19. My tendon on the back of my knee started to bother me a little bit, so I slowed down. Around mile 20, though, I got my second wind and sped up. The last 6 miles were my best miles of the race.
Travel/Tourism: I flew into the Denver airport, which was easy and convenient. The airport is a pretty good size with a lot of flight options, even from smaller cities. I can't comment on hotels or rental cars in the area because I stayed with my husband's sister's in-laws, so I didn't have to look for a hotel, and they took me around so I didn't need a rental car.
While I was in town, we went to Red Rocks amphitheater and walked around Golden, CO. The Red Rocks area was very pretty, and you could see downtown Denver in the distance. We also went to Golden, CO and saw where the Coors factory and the flat rock on the Coors bottles.
We also went to the 16th Street Outdoor mall in downtown Denver, where I got my Hard Rock shirt. The outdoor mall has just about everything you need, with restaurants of all different levels, clothing stores, etc. There are buses that will take you to each block for free. Other than buses and emergency vehicles, it is pedestrian traffic only down the street.
In Golden we ate at the Old Capital Grill, which is a historic building where the capital of Colorado was almost located. I had a delicious buffalo burger and fries. In the Denver outdoor mall, we ate at a seafood restaurant called Willie G's. I had the Red Snapper Charlie meal, which was phenomenal. I would definitely recommend both of these places.
The day before the race, I did a short, easy run on the Cherry Creek trail. This is an 11-mile side-walked trail along a creek with some very nice views. I could see the mountains in the distance. The trees were turning their fall colors, and looked beautiful next to the creek.
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