Denver Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon

My husband, Randall, and I wanted to run a half marathon together.  The experience was about running the entire 13.1 miles side-by-side and experiencing it as a team.  We chose the Denver Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon because it was a flat and beautiful course on the main roads of Downtown Denver.  How often can people run through the heart of Denver without breathing car fumes and dodging shoppers?  As a bonus, the Rock 'n' Roll Series is known to be full of music and entertainment for the entire race, offering a party-like atmosphere.  Our experience was slightly different than advertised but we had a great run and finished together as planned.

To begin, both of our boys came down with a horrible case of croup a week before the race.  We hoped 7 days would be enough time to nurse them back to health before we ran, but every day they got worse.  Our youngest, Owen, had it first and he couldn't sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time.  We found ourselves tag teaming throughout the night to try and get some sleep.  Ethan contracted the virus 3 days later.  He woke us at 3:00 in the morning, coughing and moaning in his sleep.  Randall ran into Ethan's room, knowing something was extremely wrong, and about 10 seconds later bounded back into our room holding a completely limp 4 year old.

I jumped out of bed, grabbed Ethan, and rocked him in the bathroom while Randall prepared a hot shower.  Ethan was turning blue and incoherent.  When he breathed between coughing spells, he sounded like he was breathing through a cocktail straw.  Never in my life have I experienced the pure terror as this moment brought.  Owen's doctor gave him steroids to open his lungs the day before and luckily I had one left.  We fed it to Ethan carefully watching him struggle to breathe with pathetic gasps of air.  Within a few minutes he was able to breathe at about 50% and another hour later he was almost 100%.  Needless to say, Ethan slept with us for the rest of the night and I questioned the entire night whether we should have gone to the emergency room.  I laid there next to him, my hand on his chest, feeling the comforting rise and fall of his lungs.

The Rock 'n' Roll Series requires every racer to pick up their own packet.  A husband cannot bring his wife's identification and retrieve her materials.  Therefore, only a day after Ethan's terrifying episode, we had to make a quick trip to Denver to pick up our bibs and hurry back home to our sick kids.  My in-laws are used to watching the boys.  They raised 3 kids on their own and we knew our kids were in good, loving hands.  However, this is a policy that I really wish the race directors would change.  They are not thinking about the countless couples with children who compete together and how much this one detail can complicate a family's week.  I understand the fitness expos are a large source of income and endorsements, but it almost made one of us pull out from the race entirely.

Two days after retrieving our packets, we awoke at 4:00am.  We left the kids and my in-laws sleeping in a dark house.  Our boys were still sick and miserable, but we trained 12 weeks for this.  I don't want to be a selfish mom who thinks of her needs before the comforts of her kids, but this race meant a lot to me.  The boys were showing slow and steady improvement and we figured we would run and be back before lunch time to relieve my husband's parents. 

We arrived at the race with about an hour to spare before the first wave.  Walking around the pre-race entertainment, I became energized from all of the people, music, and fanfare.  I didn't forget about my kids' health but once we decided to run, we needed to enjoy the moment and not worry.  As we moved to our gate, I felt instantly part of something.  The gun went off and wave-by-wave we moved forward to the starting line.

Randall and I trotted off at a comfortable 8:45 pace warming up for the first mile and a half.  Before the race began we promised ourselves that the focus was not going to be about passing people and being overly competitive for the first 5 miles.  We wanted to run and finish together and find a nice pace that we could equally maintain.  Neither of us anticipated the start being downhill, which offered a great warm-up mile.  We passed hundreds of racers and settled in with a wave that began over 5 minutes ahead of us.

Every few miles we encountered live bands, or stereos streaming rock and roll music.  Fans lined the streets of Downtown Denver with signs and cowbells.  My favorite sign was about two thirds through the race, "I don't even know you, but I am so proud of you!"

As my Garmin beeped through each mile, I thought about my boys.  I hoped they were happy and feeling better, but I refused to feel guilty for leaving them.  I wish I would have worn my headphones for this race because a little more music could have provided a nice distraction from my wondering mind, but Randall was by my side and provided support and conversation.

Between miles 10 and 11 my knees and ankles began to ache and I finally started to feel a bit tired.  Throughout the race I snacked on Chomps and took swigs of water from my backpack.  I think having a constant resupply of calories kept my energy high, but that 10th mile hurt.  Reactively, I started talking to Randall about random things, mainly our boys or future races I wanted to try.  But after we passed the sign reading 11 miles, I felt better, more energized and ready to finish strong.  I asked Randall if we could speed up our pace and he was game to get it over with.  So we trotted along at an 8:00 pace until our final mile where we decreased our pace to 7:00.

That final mile was exhilarating!  Scaffolding laced the streets for photographers to get a higher vantage point.  Friends and family members of the 14,000 racers lined the streets hooting and chanting.  Randall and I crossed the finish line hand-in-hand.  Running it together is the one thing that I will forever take with me from this race.  I feel fortunate to have a husband that is as dedicated to running as I am.  We challenge each other and keep ourselves focused on our goals.  Finishing together symbolized our dedication to each other and our sport.

After crossing the finish line, pictures were taken, bottle after bottle of water and Gatorade were thrust into our hands and before we knew it, our arms were full of every type of energy bar, bagel, and fruit one could possibly imagine.  For that short instant, I felt like a celebrity.  I felt disillusioned throughout the race by the lack of music but the finisher's party did not disappoint.

Overall, I enjoyed the race.  The people were spirited and entertaining, the course was inspiring, and the post-race entertainment was worth while.  The race shirts were hideous, but it is rare to find a race shirt that one actually wants to wear.  Most importantly, when we got home, the kids were okay.  They weren't the mess we feared them to be.  Sure it took a few more days to get them back to their healthy selves, but had we stayed home with them instead of racing I would have regretted it.  Sure, kids need their parents when they are sick.  But I literally give my boys 100% during every waking moment.  When they need me, I am there.  I put down everything for my kids and I am lucky to have in-laws ready to help and provide additional love and affection whenever we need them. 

Hopefully someday Ethan and Owen will look upon our race photos and see their mom and dad accomplished this goal as a team.  Sure, Randall and I could have run our own race and independently posted faster times, but it was more fun with company.  I want our kids to see their parents doing things together because we genuinely enjoy each other.  

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