Gaspin’ in the Aspen Race Recap 2014

August 25, 2014 by Zucchini Runner in Running | 10 Comments

Enough pictures were taken on this short 40 hour trip, that I’m going to let them do MOST of the talking. As some of you may remember, I did this same race last year at the Flagstaff Nordic Center. It held true to its name again and I was indeed gaspin’ in the aspens.

A baggie full of goodies greeted me at Run Flagstaff off Route 66 by the ever sweet FancyRunningGirl. <3 Awesome.

Packet pick-up at Kickstand Kafe. Loved the number, and the shirts this year.

We rode our bikes to get around, since the RV was hooked up to the campsite.

“Holy. Hills. I might regret these tomorrow.”

But it was so gorgeous.

And the weather was amazing. I’m wearing a SWEATSHIRT. (Meanwhile, back in Phoenix, it’s still 105ºF.)

This is what you see in a mountain town, at 7,000 ft elevation. Green mountains!

Oh, and I maaaaaay have bought some cool new trail running shoes since I HAD to go to Run Flagstaff to get my goodie bag.

Pre-race fuel the night before. Perks of having an RV. 😉

Some chillin’ under the stars with the boy Rocco.

Selfie #215 because taking selfies in the dark is WAY harder than you think…

It was COLD at the start line. I just left 100 degree weather, remember? It was 55ºF at the start, not to mention nice and damp… so no dust this year! Yay!

Amidst the gasping, I would stop to take some pics along the way. I just HAD to capture some of these moments with something other than my memory.

This is Stephanie of Now I Run, she is super cool. You can read her race recap on her blog. 🙂

I didn’t catch her name, but I told her I’d post her pic to the blog! Hopefully she will comment below and I can update this. 🙂

No words.

Stormy skies.

Absolutely breathtaking Aspens.

Proof that I was still running… 😉

Oh look at that! Mr. Zucchini Runner showed up on the course to take some pics! Woo hoo! 🙂

Giving it my all at the finish line.

I finished 2 minutes and 45 seconds slower than last year… and I am OK with that. Spending time with Mr. Zucchini Runner on the bikes the day before, and burning out my hammy’s was worth it. It was also worth it taking the summer months off from any hard training this year. This was the perfect intro into my racing season.

Lyndsay Hupp, of Huppybar was providing little samples of her whole food energy bars. I snagged two flavors to try. Needless to say, I just placed an order for a dozen of the orange spice ones. 😉 You should go check out her site too! These suckers are loaded with the good stuff.

Soaking up the last bit of the cold, beautiful weather while we could.

Purple wild flowers, I couldn’t resist!

Not sure why we don’t live here yet.

Post race recovery cookie? Sure… I did balance it out with some antioxidant dense Rooibos tea though. 😉

Instead of medals at the finish line, we got these bad boys.

Old vs. new – What do you think?

I told Vince at Run Flagstaff that my old shoes felt like bricks on my feet… you can see why here…

Look at the difference in tread?!

All in all, this was an amazing weekend. We both love Flagstaff, and I’m not even exaggerating when I tell you I was looking at homes for about an hour online today. That happens pretty much after every visit. Maybe someday we will call Flagstaff home… 🙂

Gaspin’ in the Aspen 15k :: Race Recap

June 20, 2013 by Zucchini Runner in Life, Running | 6 Comments

How could I not fall in love with a race named Gaspin’ in the Aspen!? I know it should have scared me, but it’s such a catchy play on words! I’ve wanted to register for it since I first heard it last year. 🙂 Located in the pines of Northern Arizona, on the trails of the Flagstaff Nordic Center, the name tells the race story well. So does this elevation profile from my Garmin. 🙂

Summer is my favorite time of year to head North and escape the sweltering heat found in The Valley of the Sun. Anxious to beat city traffic, we left work early to reach higher elevation and cooler temps. Our first stop was “packet” pick-up. It was really only an awesome shirt and a bib – not really a packet of any kind. 🙂 The back of the shirt says, “I kicked aspen!” which I love.

I was excited about this race and mini-vacation all week long. Then on Thursday I found out two of my runner friends, Danielle and Rob, were coming up to race the 5k and 15k too! As if that wasn’t awesome enough, I found out en route to Flagstaff that yet ANOTHER runner/blogger/friend was camping and racing too! You may remember her from my San Diego Race Recap last week – Missy, the Sugar Coated Athlete. I was stoked! Ahhh, the wonder of social media.

We set up camp at the Flagstaff Nordic Center which – as you can tell – took forever and was ROUGH. 😉 Then I immediately found my friend Amy who was doing the race with me (and coincidentally camped right next to Sugar Coated Athlete)! Amy and I set out for a little shake-up run to get the blood flowing, see the trail, experience the extreme lack of oxygen and beat the setting sun. I didn’t even bring my camera/phone along!!!!! What the?! We did remember our head lamps however… just in case!

Thankfully I was already somewhat familiar with the trails. Mr. Zucchini Runner and I had stayed at the Flagstaff Nordic Center a couple times last Summer. I was preparing for the Flagstaff Marathon, but due to a horrible, horrible cold; couldn’t do the race. 🙁 It was nice to get the legs and lungs moving and help them remember it’s normal to burn from lack of oxygen. 🙂

The next morning I was so laid back about the race, Mr. Zucchini Runner was in amazement. Where was the freak-out-mode hiding?! I think 90% of my stress on race morning is typically caused by 3 things: a) getting to use the port-o-potty before the race b) not getting to the race start on time due to traffic c) getting to use the port-o-potty before the race. 😉 Neither of those were a factor last Saturday, so it was smooth sailing. In fact, I rolled out of the camper 10 minutes before the race started. It was amazing.

Shortly after Amy, Missy and I were off and running in the beautiful, fresh, pine scented air…….. wait a minute?! Holy dust in the mouth GRIT. 0_O Arizona needs rain. BAD. Instead of the fresh, pine-scented air I had dreamed of all week, it was more like the cattle you see below… (Missy, I LOVED your Haboob analogy too – it made me laugh out loud. Now, the fact that BOTH Missy and I have included this in our post, should tell you how bad the dust truly was. Seriously. I woke up the next morning with a nose bleed and my eyes were practically swollen shut. It took them about 3 full days to fully recover.) -_- About 2 miles into the race, the herd spread out, making the dust more bearable.

Photo courtesy of Sugar Coated Athlete

This is more like it! Ahhhhhhh… pine-scented air!!

In the final stretch, Amy was just steps behind me!

GO AMY!!

Amy and I ran most of the race together, with a little gap in the middle where we were apart. (This lady just won first place woman in the Adrenaline Night Run 13k the week before… she’s a rockstar.) It was so nice to chat on the downhills and gasp with a buddy on the uphills. On the last downhill, we both took off and I was able to keep the pace when it flattened out. I was hoping she could stick with me, but knew she was more tired than I was! At one point, I yelled back, “Come on Amy!” haha It was so nice to have a positive push to keep each other going. I’m always about finishing strong and she WAS RIGHT behind me!! (Oh yes, and did I mention she woke up the next day and hiked and ran a total of 23 miles down and back out of the Grand Canyon? Rockstar.)

Photo courtesy of Neil Weintraub

At the finish I finally found Danielle and all the ladies gathered for a little post race recap, snacks and coffee. (From left to right: Amy, Danielle, Missy and myself (clearly, my eyes are starting to seal shut from the dust). Danielle’s husband Rob took 3rd place in his division – awesome job!

Mr. Zucchini Runner, Amy and I rounded out the weekend with some great food, treats and a beautiful hike through portions of the race course.

A little yoga in the wilderness.

By far, the most breathtaking portion of the run and hike.

You can see course markings in the foreground.

My boys. <3

The hike was a good way to avoid lactic acid build up and therefore sore muscles, but I wanted to be extra sure, so I used some of my tried and true torture devices. 😉