10k @ 10,000 feet

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This definitely the most scenic race I've ever done. Not that I've done tons but it still counts! My hip flexors have been bugging me a lot lately and since I've become wiser I know I can't just keep running and have them fix themselves (sadly those days are gone :( ). So going into this race I hadn't really run more than a few times in the previous few weeks. I took an extremely nonchalant attitude into the race and ended up finishing in okay time for not really having run at all and having my hips hurt to the point I had to walk when I wanted to be running.

To set the scene for you I didn't even know what time the race started when I left my house to go run it :) Our internet hadn't really been working and I didn't know anyone else running it so I figured I'd just show up at 7:45am because the race shouldn't be starting before that. As I walked to the gondola (you take the gondola to the 'top' of Vail and start up there) I asked a dude who was decked out in hardcore trailing running gear what time the race started. He said you had to be up the gondola by 8:30 because it started at 9am... perfect! He was extremely surprised, yet not so amused, that I didn't even know when the race started (had I been in better form it'd have been my goal to beat him :) ).

The course is really cool yet pretty rough. It goes from the top of the gondola steadily downhill to Mid-Vail then back up next to the top of the gondola then up (and up) to the top of Chair 3. Only then do you actually get to go downhill again back to the top of the gondy. The views are incredible and the weather was ridiculous- literally not ONE cloud in the sky (and this is from the unobstructed view at 10,200 feet!). On the way to Mid-Vail we enjoyed views of the Gore Range and town of Vail. On the way to the top of Chair 3 it was ridiculously clear views of Holy Cross (the closest 14,000+ ft. peak) and wildflowers galore covering Game Creek Bowl.

Oh yeah, the day before I had decided it was a good idea to run up Paulies (I know there's a topo on here somewhere, I've done it before) :) So for the first half of the race I was actually feeling really good and strong (Paulies is a steep hike so compared to that it was cake) and then my muscles decided they were tired from running up a mountain the day before and it was pretty tough going after that. At about mile 4.5 my hip flexors started flaring up pretty badly and I was reduced to walking a section I would have rather run. (Note: Unless you are a super elite runner there is actually a lot of walking that takes place, more so at 10,000+ feet :) )

I managed to finish w/ a pretty good kick which is always leaves me feeling better about the race as a whole. Had the flexors not been bugging me and had I been able to run more the past few weeks I could have been below the 1h mark, but as it was I finished in 1:07:54.

Time: 1:07:54

Elevation (min/max): 10,127 / 10,937 ft

Trail Type: Mostly single-track, some dirt road

Scenery: Ridiculous. Worth making a trip out here to do the race just to check it out!

Swag Bag: WORST one ever! Fruit loops, Oreos, rice crispy treat (did a 6 year old pick out the stuff?!) And the t-shirt? I think everyone is giving it to their mother

How I Felt Overall: We'll give it a 6.5