Boulder by Foot or Bust

In two days we have another LONG run planned. This is the big push for Steve, Anthony, and I before the Catalina 50 miler in January. We are going to run from Highlands Ranch to Boulder, a little over 46 miles. These runs take some serious planning. Troy is SAG support all day and he will follow us in the car and stop at our predetermined aid stops. We have a rolling aid station that will be set up in the back of the car where runners can pop in, grab aid, and continue on. Since this run is entirely on bike paths and roads we plan to go at a little faster clip. We don't have the altitude gain that we are used to so it's more about just getting the miles in, staying warm, staying hydrated, and keeping a solid mental outlook. Several of my teammates have expressed interest in running with us for certain sections of the route. I hope nobody gets scared away by the cold temperatures, because we will still be out there...running away.

Are you interested in joining us for a few miles? It's gonna be slow, like 10 min miles, but if you don't have anything better to do and want to come watch the carnage, let me know. Send me an email and I will give you the low down. Troy will be keeping track of our pace and projected time of arrival at our water stops (7 of them), so you will be able to call him and get an ETA on certain locations.

These runs take work to prepare. I just got together all the food that I am bringing and the new addition this run is boiled potatoes to dip in salt, and seran-wrapped loggs of mashed potatoes with butter, cream, and salt. I have heard a lot of ultradistance runners like these two foods so I thought I would give it a try.

I also picked up a new running pack. I can honestly say that I wore out my fuel belt! The elastic is over-stretched so it barely stays on, and it bobs around a lot. I did lots of research on the web and decided on the GoLite HydroSprint. It carries one bottle and a gel flask. It has two pockets that are stretchy and can fit lots, including my camera. I'll let you know how I like it. Getting it was quite the adventure. Not a single store in Denver carries GoLite packs. So, I got on a webchat with GoLite and the guy told me of a place that I could go to in Boulder to pick it up. I called the place, and they said I had to make an appointment. So I made an appointment and drove to Boulder. It was like the underground GoLite shop. I bought the pack and as I was walking to my car I noticed that the price was $16 less than I was looking to pay online with shipping. I was one happy chick-A-dee.

New GoLite pack, ready to run.

Here is my food spread for Saturday, all packed and ready to go:

Here is the planned route for Saturday.