Front Range Runner

New directions...

On the graduate school front things are going awesomely.  I submitted my thesis electronically this morning.  It was accepted by the graduate school and has been forwarded to the publisher.  This means I am done!!!  All I need to do is turn in my keys, return a library book and give back my school keys!  Graduation is going to be a reality!

As for running, I finally was able to get out for a run.  I had a bad tension headache, but I still went and the running actually made the headache dissipate.  I did an indoor workout today at the local community center.  I did 4 miles (I was running an average pace of 9:05/mi), but erred on the side of slowness and ran for 37 minutes.  I felt really good and it gave me a chance to work on my stride.  My wife told me about a coach that said your stride should feel like you're gliding along, not pounding.

As for moving to Texas, I've found some good races down there.  There's a cool trail race up in the panhandle in October.   I'll think I'll do the 20km option.  I'll also try my hand at the Houston marathon next Feb.  Good times shall be had by my feet.

This summer's goals

So, I've already interviewed with two companies here in Colorado - one in east Denver and one in Boulder. I'm really hoping to stay here (for a variety of reasons), and if I do, there are some awesome races that I will most certainly partake in...

Ones I'm definately doing:

Two of the races are taking place before I graduate with my Masters degree: These are the
Platte River Trail Half-Marathon and the Greenland Trail 12.5 km (or I could call it the quarter 50 km and define it like the define marathons). The Platte River trail is, as you guessed, a trail that goes along the Platte River from Littleton into downtown Denver. It's flat and fast, and the net elevation is a 120' drop.

The other one is the Greenland Trail 12.5 km race. It's right after the half-marathon, so I thought it would be a nice one to do next. I was planning on doing the 50 km, but school got in the way. I think the half marathon and the 12.5 km race was a nice compromise. As you can see, the location is stunning (it's between Colorado Springs and S. Denver):

I think Deene is doing the Greenland race and I belive she's the only one from the RBF that'll also be there, so perhaps we can have a Colorado meeting of the RBF!

Contingent upon job location:
I've finally broken down and decided to run a marathon. I decided to try my hand at a destination race: the Park City Marathon It starts at an elevation slightly above where I live, but only goes up to ~7000'. I'm not particularly worried as I regularly train at 6000-8000'. It looks stunning, and my wife and I spent part of last April in Park City. It's beautiful and only about eight hours away from where we live.

There are some other, shorter races that I'm planning on doing if we stay here. Some trail races near Colorado Springs, and a trail half-marathon at White Ranch up the street from where I live (but that's way off in September). I hope injury doesn't hit me between now and then!