this is life in austin & aspen » marathon

Aspen: Golden Leaf Half Marathon

Lyssa — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 21:09:31 +0000

I had full plans to run the Vasque Golden Leaf Half Marathon, named by Trail Runner as one of “America’s 14 most scenic races”, which gains 970 feet in elevation on a narrow, winding singletrack before peaking out at 9,400 feet above sea level … but then I ran the Aspen Valley Half Marathon in June and hated my life and decided that as beautiful, scenic, and foliage-filled as the race may be, no way in hell was I running it. Or walking it.


Golden Leaf Marathon pic courtesy of Aspen Rec. Also, I have those Under Armour shorts. At least I think they’re the same. If not, I want the ones she has.

However, should YOU want to run, the 31st run will be Saturday, September 25 beginning at 8:30am in Snowmass Village, heading up Fanny Hill to continue along the Government Trail, finishing in Aspen. Finishers are cheered on at the finish line at Koch Park in Aspen.

Golden Leaf Half Marathon, aspenrecreation.com, 970.429.2093

On a related note, should you be reading from or traveling to NYC any time soon, The Fresh Air Fund is looking for runners and sponsors to join their Fresh Air Fund-Racers team for the NYC Marathon on November 7th. Over the past four years the NY Road Runners charity partner for the NYC Half-Marathon’s 325 Fund-Racers have raised close to $400,000 for The Fresh Air Fund!

More info? freshair.org/racers

Aspen: Aspen Valley Half Marathon [updated with humor]

Lyssa — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:27:30 +0000

Things I signed up for today: the Aspen Valley Half Marathon.

Things I haven’t trained for: the Aspen Valley Half Marathon.

Things I am nonetheless excited about? You got it. The race is almost all downhill, on easy gravel terrain, and it’s going to be a gorgeous, cool Saturday morning (at the ungodly hour of 7am, but I digress). I’ve been itching to run lately, so I figured why not? The most I’ve ever run before is 12 miles, and that was in crazy hilly Austin, so surely I can do 13, right?

This is the inaugural event for the Aspen Valley Marathon, a 13.1 mile half marathon from Woody Creek to Basalt following the beautiful paved Rio Grande Trail. The organizers intend to host a full marathon and half marathon on the same weekend in 2011 and it is hoped that the 2011 Aspen Valley Marathon will be a ‘Boston qualifying event’. Times should be super fast with the downhill!

Deets:

Saturday, July 10, 2010 @ 7:00am (ha!) / Jaffee Junior Park to Basalt Lions Park.

Fees: $50 until July 8th, 2010, $60 thereafter.

Course:

The course starts at the Jaffee Jnr. Park on the banks of the Roaring Fork river one mile South of Woody Creek just outside Aspen. The start of the course takes runners up an incline and out of Woody Creek Canyon for approximately the first half mile where the course meets the paved Rio Grande Trail and heads steadily down valley towards the town of Basalt. Please note that you should park at the Intercept Lot at Brush Creek & 82. We will bus all participants from intercept lot to start of event.

Um, is anyone else crazy enough in Aspen to join me in a random half marathon?!

[UPDATE] A gchat with my friend Lisa revealed that I’ve actually run 12 miles TWICE!
Lisa: your blog made me laugh….i wanted to post “do you remember what happened when you ran those 12 hilly austin miles??!!!”
but i know the situation was way different
me: hahaha
what happened?
I remember it being fine!
Lisa: you almost died!
me: (selective memory)
Lisa: you were on that cleanse
me: oh that was a different 12 miles!
I totally forgot about that!!

It was a terrible, awful, no-good cleanse where I couldn’t eat any carbs, not even veggie carbs, so I was grouchy as all get out, lethargic, and when I tried to run 12 miles, I had to stop and sit down by the side of Town Lake, then walk like three miles home. I tried to hitchhike home it was so bad. That won’t happen again!!

Weekend Watch: free yoga, crazy marathoners, and grand openings

Lyssa — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:44:03 +0000

lululemon on 6th & Lamar does free yoga classes taught by rotating instructors from around the city every Saturday morning, but they’re usually way too early for me. This time, however, they’re honoring the two crazy Canadians who are running a marathon a day to help save the environment, and they’re gonna be there doing some yoga! Check out Matt and Steph, who are completing an 11,000-mile run across Canada and around the USA, at www.runforoneplanet.com. Stretching it out for their impending 26.2 miles? Since I was planning on going to CrossFitAustin‘s Saturday team workout at 10am, I might just make the 8:30-9:30am call, where Yoga Yoga instructors are teaching this month.

If, and this will probably end up being me despite my best intentions, not even marathoners can get you out of bed, you’re in luck: lululemon is ALSO hosting a special yoga class Sunday night, January 18th @ 6pm – with those crazy runners.

Reward yourself for your hard work yoga-ing, crossfitting, running, whatever it may be, by attending the Grand Opening Party for Corey Michael Salon, downtown this Saturday at 6 pm. Across from Eddie V’s, Corey Michael is convenient, and this part is even more convenient: enjoy cocktails, music, food, networking, and even a red carpet. I went to an event recently where Corey Michael was doing makeovers, and not one to say no to letting someone play with my hair, I let one of their stylists “have at it. Do whatever you like.” While it wasn’t my fave style, at least she totally went for it and didn’t make me boring! Plus, she complimented me on my haircolor, which, we all know, I get done at Pink Salon. So if you go to the party and end up liking the stylists, mention Austin Tidbits (where I got all this info) when you book an appointment and receive $25 off any service!

RSVP at coreymichealsalon@gmail.com.

Friday Night Benefit at Tiniest Bar

Lyssa — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:46:13 +0000

Starting at 7pm Friday night, Team Spiridon, a local training group, is hosting a benefit concert at Tiniest Bar for empancipet and the Dick Beardsley Foundation–couldn’t decide between animals and people, I guess?

Lovers of music, animals, and running will come together for a night inexplicably called Night of the Moustache, featuring a benefit concert and silent auction, with food available for a donation. Dogs are encouraged and admission is free.

Eat a Peach headlines the entertainment, with musicians from a bunch of different bands including Topaz, Mudphonic, Nakia’s Southern Cousins, the Van Wilks Band, and Kevin McKinney’s band coming together for a dead-on, fresh homage to “the principal architects of Southern Rock,” the Allman Brothers Band.

Girl Guitar opens with a showcase of local up-and-coming female artists playing acoustic covers and originals.

EMANCIPE+ is dedicated to preventing animal homelessness and putting an end to euthanasia as a means of population control by providing low-cost or free surgical sterilization of dogs and cats. For more information, please go to www.emancipet.org

The Dick Beardsley Foundation is a community-based non-profit dedicated to providing grants to those who need help in seeking treatment for chemical dependency, as well as educating the public about chemical dependency. For more information, visit www.dickbeardsleyfoundation.org

RUMOR MILL: 12 Gage

Lyssa — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:56:55 +0000

I normally just post rumors on the sidebar over there, but this one is too juicy to relegate to the sidelines: Paul Petersen, legendary chef at The Gage Hotel in Marathon (full disclosure: I covered him in a 2007 article in Texas Home & Living) is rumored to be opening a restaurant in Austin called 12 Gage.

No one knows much more than that, though someone found a “9 months out” timeline dating back to September … which would put us at around 7 months out, which is actually more like 9 months in builder-speak. Some might remember Petersen’s Little Texas Bistro, an apparently charming and uber-popular spot in Buda that he closed to move to Alpine in order to take the Gage job in Marathon.

I can’t vouch for his food personally, but the man is passionate, creative, and very friendly, which is a good start. And everyone else raves about his food, so it’s gotta be good, right?

A little something extra: The line of salsas Peterson/The Gage debuted last year around this time is now for sale at local Central Markets. Three varieties of chunky, vegetable-based hot salsas will be available, including a “Ragin’ Serrano Rojo” and a “Venom Verde.” Petersen says, “I’ve used pretty simple ingredients like tomatoes, onions, garlic and peppers to come up with some really insanely good recipes.”

Look for the tattoo/hot-rod, Texas-inspired glass jars at Central Market.

The Worst Run of My Life

Lyssa — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:18:00 +0000

I attempted a 12-miler on Saturday morning and thought I was going to pass out on the side of the road, as my stomach was ripped out of my body by three fists grabbing and twisting it until it snapped. Or because I ate a big egg-white omlette with ground beef and turkey bacon and then went on a run, and apparently not eating carbs before running is indeed a bad choice.

You might remember that my nutritionist said that the body will start burning fat instead of carbs, so I should be fine running the half marathon on this low-carb diet. This is a lie. I never want to feel like I did on Saturday ever again. I am not running the half marathon this Sunday. Coincidentally, my boyfriend, who I was running the half marathon with-ish (he was running the full), hurt his achilles tendon and isn’t running either.

I dug a little into the research about burning fat instead of carbs, and apparently it DOES work. It just take two weeks for your body to truly convert. Two weeks?! She knew my marathon was in two weeks, why on earth would she prescribe this?!

I am learning more and more how to eat on the diet, so that’s going better, but I am frustrated by the length of time it takes the body to adjust. Truth is, I’d rather be playing sand volleyball than running 13 miles, so I don’t really mind not running the half marathon, but it’s just the insensitivity to my plans that’s bothering me.

Moral of the story: Low-carb is doable, and doable while exercising, IF you give your body time to adjust. I’m not as grouchy this week, so that’s good too. The body is amazing, and can adjust, but must be given time!

Argh Running

Lyssa — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 00:33:00 +0000

I’m experiencing more ambivalence about this half marathon business. My 3-miler was tough and slow today, I just didn’t have the energy. Damn low carb. But I’m getting more used to it, and it’s becoming easier, as any diet does. I did have a drink or two last night–hard liquor only, of course, as it has no carbs.

So referencing back to the post I wrote awhile ago about athletes and their neuroses and competitiveness to the bitter end, I’m still trying to sort out why running is so hard for me to really accept into my life. I ran cross country and track, and even track in college, so why the beef with it now?

Because I never really loved running. I never step on the trail, breathe in deep, feel my body hit the dirt, and sigh, thinking ‘This is so wonderful.’ The day can wonderful, or I can be excited about a time, but the run itself? Yuck. But it’s not just a non-love for running, because plenty of people don’t love it but can enjoy it.

It’s that all my life, running was a means to an end. My high school basketball coach forced us to run cross country, and when I was fast, she took note. In preseason workouts during college, the strength and conditioning coach was so impressed with my speed that he raved about me to the head coach. I ran college track because I quit basketball and didn’t know what else to do with myself. Running has never been the end in itself.

So can I change my mindset? Can I “trick” myself or re-teach myself to consider running the game?

Running is the game, running is the game, running is the game, running is the game, running is the game, running is the game…

Feet

Lyssa — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:02:00 +0000

My feet are messed up.

I’m training for the Austin Half-Marathon on February 17. I am a runner … but I hate running the majority of the time. I happen to be naturally gifted with endurance and speed, but running has always been something I do to get in shape for something else. I’ve never loved running for the pure joy of running.

My boyfriend, however, loves running. He ran his first marathon in October and loved it, and he’s doing the Austin Marathon. I’m training for the half for him–not just for him, but because I was curious as to what it was about the marathon that made him enjoy it so much. I haven’t found what I’m looking for yet.

But along the way, I’ve developed a bunion, and right now I happen to have a blood blister on top of my dang bunion. Nature is a bit ironic. Don’t only old people get bunions? And why did I never suffer from injuries throughout high school and college sports (D1 basketball and track), but I try to do some recreational stuff and I start falling apart?

Perhaps my body is trying to remind me that it doesn’t actually enjoy running. But I do it because it’s a goal, it’s measurable, and there’s an end result. Athletes never change … and we love being called athletes all of our lives. Athletes have messed up feet.