Walking Boulder

26 Monday May 2014

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2014 Bolder Boulder, knee pain, Kristy Humes, Massage Envy, RMT, sartorius, Sebesta

When does Memorial Weekend start? For Ellie, school ended for summer break Thursday. For Karen and me, it started Friday evening with a couple’s massage. We’re currently on an alcohol abstention binge, so it seemed smart to substitute one form of relaxation for another. Happy Hour for Massage Envy. It worked out nicely. Kristy Humes, my registered massage therapist, gave me some tips on the knee pain I’ve had since last fall. Kristy suggested it is my sartorius which is a two-jointed muscle extending from the outside hip down and across the thigh to the inside knee. This video shows me how to stretch it.

I ran my longest distance of the last 2 months Saturday – five miles on Eagle Trail. I included the 200 feet in elevation climb up to Mesa Trail. I averaged just under a ten minute pace. That’s a good measure ( 2 minutes per mile) of the conditioning I’ve lost since my surgery. Adding injury to insult – I chaffed my inner thighs. Darn it. Still, I enjoyed extending my distance. The trail was muddy from all the rain but it didn’t bother me. I got in another good run Sunday. Eight miles. Huge! I intended to turn around after three but pulled a Forrest Gump and kept running.

Ellie and I woke up early today to walk the Bolder Boulder. We met up with Amy and the Sebesta girls for the bus ride down to the start. We jumped in the final wave and joined the party. The girls wanted to run at times and we ended up finishing quite a bit faster than I expected, in 1:50. That’s a 17:27 pace which is a few minutes faster than an average walking pace. Not bad considering the tens of thousands of walkers/runners we had to wade through. A pattern emerged wherein the girls would run on the downhills.

We met up with Wendy and Chase somewhere in the middle. They were dressed festive. This year’s Bolder Boulder reminded me of the last time I walked it about ten years ago with Brittany when she was Ellie’s age. I don’t know how many runners entered this year but the crowd in Folsom Stadium at the end was as large as for any CU Buffs football game. We watched the elite men and women races finish. I don’t think it was a fast day due to the heat, but those elites looked impressive. Makes me want to get into racing shape.

Cyclocross

10 Sunday Nov 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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age division, Longmont Turkey Trot, racing, Sebesta

Watched my first cyclocross today. Missed Gadget Girl in her inaugural ride in the sport this morning but went later in the afternoon to see the Pro division. This picture is of 12 year old Katie Clouse who took 2nd place among these elite women riders. We cheered for Gadget Girl’s friend Kristin Weber who took 4th place in the elite race.

Kristin is fighting for 3rd place wearing black in this picture. Both the race for 2nd and race for 3rd were awesome spectacles. It had me reminiscing about my race Saturday. I had two separate races in the Longmont Turkey Trot. I passed a lady in the 2nd mile who came back to try retaking me throughout the third, fourth and fifth miles. I let her surge ahead on the sixth mile to cool down, but it felt good fending her off for three miles. Then I put on a kick, which I rarely do, to pass a guy in the final 100 meters who appeared to be in my age division. With 50 meters to go, he passed me back. Sonofagun! With 25 meters remaining I found a new gear and surged passed him before crossing the line. I discovered later in the results that we actually tied with the same chip time. And he is ten years younger than me. Sweet.

Longmont Turkey Trot 2013

09 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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Beth Risden, Katie Hegg, race results, Sebesta, Thanksgiving

I know what you’re thinking. The Thanksgiving Turkey Trot seems to come earlier and earlier every year. That’s okay because Longmont had some nice weather for today’s turkey trot – 45° with a 4 mph wind. I saw half my neighbors on the course this morning. Jabe and Eve, Fran, Barb, Kathleen, Jen and the Sebesta family. Lindsey was stylish in her matching set of black Under Armour running tights and turtle neck top. This pic captures her dad Dave crossing the finish line.

I didn’t know what to expect running with a cold. Initially I had hopes of running under a 7 minute pace but gave up on that idea. I decided a couple of times this morning to skip the run but finally decided if I’m going to be miserable, I might as well be running. Running with a cold might not be advisable medically speaking, but I felt like some deep breathing might help my lungs and sinuses. That’s how a runner thinks.

I didn’t bother warming up since I didn’t plan to push my pace. I was surprised to see my Garmin display a 7:04 for my first mile. I felt pretty good. I ran the second mile in 7:11 and third mile in 7:13. By then I knew I would likely hold this pace because I was feeling comfortable. The cold wasn’t much of a factor. A lady, who at first I thought was Beth Risden because I met her and her husband Ken before the run, caught up to me and started racing me. Click on the link to read about Beth’s recent IronMan triathlon. This lady, who I learn later is Katie Hegg, looked like Beth so I thought I would mess with her by not letting her pass me. I ran the fourth mile in 6:53 and the fifth mile in 7:07. This really is a decent pace for me so I’m pleased. Katie surged on me in the final mile and I let her go. The cold might have taken the edge off my racing mentality. I felt like cooling down and finished with a 7:23 mile. I did put on a bit of a kick which felt good. My final time was 44:39. Not bad for running under the weather. Katie won her age division in 44:27. The results are posted here.

I’m happy with my form in this pic – taken in Washington Park at 17 miles into the Denver Marathon. Good to see my toes are pointed down. I recall fatigue setting in around this point and beginning to focus on form. That’s what I did today. I focused on form, on keeping my toes pointed down and arms at a good angle moving forward. I didn’t start breathing hard until I started racing Katie with a sub 7 minute mile. I’m glad I got outside today. I’ll be ensconced on the couch for the remainder of the day watching college football. I love November.

Basketball Jones

27 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Storytelling

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Sebesta

Who doesn’t like high school basketball? Basketball was so big in my hometown as a kid in the ’70s that Cheech and Chong’s Basketball Jones was the top song of the year. Going to the high school games in small town Iowa was the equivalent of Friday night lights in Texas for football – the gymnasium would be packed and the atmosphere raucous. Having my older brother play on the team made it that much better.

I’ve gone to a couple of Niwot High School basketball games this season to watch my neighbor Henry play. The crowd is a bit thinner than my memories as a kid in Iowa, but then that’s usually the case in Colorado as everyone is outdoors performing their own activity. At this time of year that would be snow boarding or skiing. Tonight though was special. The crowd was larger than average because Niwot was playing cross town rival Silver Creek. These two teams are fairly evenly matched. Niwot is maybe better on paper however all but two seniors are injured making the teams more on par. In fact, Silver Creek is visibly taller and they have a couple of football players.

Silver Creek completed half time with a small lead. And by the end of the third period had a ten point lead. But the fourth period was Henry time as he scored ten points and led Niwot to a one point victory. The lead changed like a million times in the fourth. Well, maybe less considering the final score was 49-48. But it was back and forth. It was so exciting all the fans were standing and the student section rushed the floor at the final. Karen and I sat with Henry’s parents and several neighborhood couples. We all went together afterward to the Pump House for drinks and dinner. Great live sports night!