Colorado Marathon!

Last Sunday I ran my second marathon with my good friend Angela! We've been training for 18 weeks for the Colorado Marathon in Ft. Collins. The first 17 miles ran down the Poudre Canyon and was simply gorgeous! The weather was awesome...slightly chilly at the start, but no wind and it wasn't hot (perfect in my mind). We ran the first 17 miles (all downhill) without having to take any walk breaks, which I was very pleased with. Pat met us at the 17 mile mark, so every time I wanted to walk, I reminded myself Pat was just up ahead. After we hit 17 miles, the course became flat with a couple of hills (not steep by any means, but after you've ran that far, anything seems steep). At that point I slowly started to fizzle out, but still felt better than I did during my first marathon. I missed a PR by a few minutes, but still came in under 5 hours so I was pleased. Now I get to take a week off and gear up for Dam to Dam 20K in Des Moines, IA on June 4th.

Angela and I taking a break after reaching mile 17.
Huffing and puffing up Bagel Hill (not that steep, but it felt as if we were climbing a mountain).

My smile is masking the pain:)

We are about 4 miles or so from the finish line. The girl in the orange vest running beside us is my good friend Kari (who by the way, is 8 months preggo).

The bridge going over the Poudre River (most of the race followed the river). If you look closely, you can see Angela and I running across.

Sprinting to the finish.

Finally done!