Jackson Hole, Wyoming
state #39
Vacation Races Grand Teton Half Marathon
There is no easy way to get to pretty much anywhere in Wyoming. Jackson Hole is not the most difficult part of Wyoming to get to, but it is not simple and it is definitely not inexpensive. The flights were fairly steep. Probably the most that I have spent on airfare so far. Maybe they just don't want people to visit there. They might find out that they like it there and want to stay. I will say that the mountains were beautiful. ~ of course, there were periods of time during this race where I could not see, so maybe those parts were not so pretty. The pictures, however, as you can see are very nice.
I don't know who this guy is/was, but I am betting he was faster than me. lol
I did not allow Valerie to go with me, because I am certain that she would not want to leave. She can be stubborn sometimes and I dislike having to drag her through the airport to go back to the sauna or sudatorium that we call Florida.
I left out on Friday afternoon directly after a full day of work. We flew to Denver and I had to rush through the Denver airport to get to my flight on time. Most of the plane was in the same position as we were running late out of Tampa and we apparently had to take a longer route due to all of the tornadoes and inclement weather around the country that had to be in our original path.
Knowing that I would not be able to make it early enough to get to the packet pick-up, I paid an extra $20 to have them mail me my bib and shirt. So, I was already checked in for the race and had no need to go to an expo or whatever packet pick-up they had set-up for this race. I got in just before dark and rented a car. Dark, btw was not until about 9:00 - 9:30pm. Budget Rentacar did not have a desk or kiosk at the airport, so I had to take a shuttle to the rental car building... which passed right through downtown Jackson Hole and one street off where my hotel was. It was a very easy drive from the rental car place, and I found my hotel easily, checked in and went straight to sleep. The race started at 6:30am, but we had to be at the shuttle at a crazy 4:45am. According to the information supplied by the race director there were three potential shuttle pick-up venues. I chose one that was right in downtown Jackson Hole. That way I could simply walk from my hotel. All that would have been great except that the shuttle arrived at the starting location just after 5:00am. Did I mention that the race did not start until 6:30am? Did I also mention that it was about 36ºF outside? So, we had to stand around in the cold for well over an hour.... waiting. Some of you may be aware that waiting is not one of my favorite past-times. Oh well, c'est la vie. It was cloudy... maybe foggy a better descriptor, but I think it was actually a cloud that was covering us in moisture and preventing the soon to be rising sun from warming us. I drank hot water to warm my hands and innards.
I suspected that the elevation would be a bit of a factor for me as the race started at 6100ft and rose to 6400ft by mile 11, so I decided to start slowly and hope that I was feeling well and potentially pick up the pace as I was able. I started at an 8:30 pace but ended with 8:15 for mile 1. Mile 2 was 8:18. I was feeling more fatigued than I normally would for an 8:15 pace, but thought I could manage to maintain that. Somewhere in the middle of mile 3 I got a little dizzy and a headache. Ending mile 3 in 8:49. From there, it did not get any better. I am just not yet prepared to run at altitude. It is as simple as that. I thought there was some potential that I could train harder and be in better shape and maybe run slower than I would have by a little bit, but still run fairly well. That did not happen. For me it was a bit of a disappointment. I finished 1:57. I only wish that I could report here that I took time to view the beautiful scenery and stopped to take pictures, etc... Below are a few pictures that I pilfered from instagram and facebook that were taken by others.
This last picture is not me standing at the photos spot at the finish area. I am aware it is someone else. I have no idea who it is, just that it is not me. I put it here so you could see what it looked like. If you really want to, you could imagine me in the photo, or photoshop, or print it out and draw me in there. Whatever helps you.
After the race, I had the entire day to drive around and see the area. It was pretty low key. I had no agenda, but just drove and looked and stopped when I felt like it. I drove over to Jackson Hole ski resort and drove around the race course to see all of the things that I missed while I was running. I toured through Jackson and ate when I felt like it, shopped for the kids and browsed many of the shops. I was not in any hurry. I did not have to be anywhere or do anything in particular. After I got some dinner, I went back to the room and watched a movie. I know, I am boring, but I thought a little rest would be good before I went over to Seattle to work for the week. Just what I needed. It would have only been better if my family was with me.
Next race is Jun 22 in Portland, Maine. I have only 12 more races (11 states and Washington, DC) and 12 more months to go. Here is a graphic of where I stand in my 50 in 50 in 50 quest.
I don't know who this guy is/was, but I am betting he was faster than me. lol
I left out on Friday afternoon directly after a full day of work. We flew to Denver and I had to rush through the Denver airport to get to my flight on time. Most of the plane was in the same position as we were running late out of Tampa and we apparently had to take a longer route due to all of the tornadoes and inclement weather around the country that had to be in our original path.
Knowing that I would not be able to make it early enough to get to the packet pick-up, I paid an extra $20 to have them mail me my bib and shirt. So, I was already checked in for the race and had no need to go to an expo or whatever packet pick-up they had set-up for this race. I got in just before dark and rented a car. Dark, btw was not until about 9:00 - 9:30pm. Budget Rentacar did not have a desk or kiosk at the airport, so I had to take a shuttle to the rental car building... which passed right through downtown Jackson Hole and one street off where my hotel was. It was a very easy drive from the rental car place, and I found my hotel easily, checked in and went straight to sleep. The race started at 6:30am, but we had to be at the shuttle at a crazy 4:45am. According to the information supplied by the race director there were three potential shuttle pick-up venues. I chose one that was right in downtown Jackson Hole. That way I could simply walk from my hotel. All that would have been great except that the shuttle arrived at the starting location just after 5:00am. Did I mention that the race did not start until 6:30am? Did I also mention that it was about 36ºF outside? So, we had to stand around in the cold for well over an hour.... waiting. Some of you may be aware that waiting is not one of my favorite past-times. Oh well, c'est la vie. It was cloudy... maybe foggy a better descriptor, but I think it was actually a cloud that was covering us in moisture and preventing the soon to be rising sun from warming us. I drank hot water to warm my hands and innards.
I suspected that the elevation would be a bit of a factor for me as the race started at 6100ft and rose to 6400ft by mile 11, so I decided to start slowly and hope that I was feeling well and potentially pick up the pace as I was able. I started at an 8:30 pace but ended with 8:15 for mile 1. Mile 2 was 8:18. I was feeling more fatigued than I normally would for an 8:15 pace, but thought I could manage to maintain that. Somewhere in the middle of mile 3 I got a little dizzy and a headache. Ending mile 3 in 8:49. From there, it did not get any better. I am just not yet prepared to run at altitude. It is as simple as that. I thought there was some potential that I could train harder and be in better shape and maybe run slower than I would have by a little bit, but still run fairly well. That did not happen. For me it was a bit of a disappointment. I finished 1:57. I only wish that I could report here that I took time to view the beautiful scenery and stopped to take pictures, etc... Below are a few pictures that I pilfered from instagram and facebook that were taken by others.
This last picture is not me standing at the photos spot at the finish area. I am aware it is someone else. I have no idea who it is, just that it is not me. I put it here so you could see what it looked like. If you really want to, you could imagine me in the photo, or photoshop, or print it out and draw me in there. Whatever helps you.After the race, I had the entire day to drive around and see the area. It was pretty low key. I had no agenda, but just drove and looked and stopped when I felt like it. I drove over to Jackson Hole ski resort and drove around the race course to see all of the things that I missed while I was running. I toured through Jackson and ate when I felt like it, shopped for the kids and browsed many of the shops. I was not in any hurry. I did not have to be anywhere or do anything in particular. After I got some dinner, I went back to the room and watched a movie. I know, I am boring, but I thought a little rest would be good before I went over to Seattle to work for the week. Just what I needed. It would have only been better if my family was with me.
Next race is Jun 22 in Portland, Maine. I have only 12 more races (11 states and Washington, DC) and 12 more months to go. Here is a graphic of where I stand in my 50 in 50 in 50 quest.
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