Boulder Frontroads Half Marathon.

 Bicycle/running path along the west side of the University of Colorado campus.

Last week I did the Boulder Backroads Half Marathon Course. This week I call it the Frontroads.

Straight down Broadway from my office at 13th & Canyon, 6.55 miles south, then double back, 13.1 miles.

Pretty good contrast. Pavement and traffic, more than half the distance is actually on asphalt. Word among runners, which I suspect is more myth than reality, is that asphalt is easier on the legs than concrete. Whatever.

At least part of my motivation for choosing to run this route was as preparation for my upcoming Colorado Half Marathon at Fort Collins, much of which, I'm told, is run on paved path. Though I do most of my short runs these days on the (paved) Boulder Creek Path, it seemed like a good idea to begin training for a longer distance on the harder surface.

I could feel the difference. Though I held my HR to the same upper 120s average, my pace was about a minute/mile faster on the pavement. This may partly be due to the speedwork I've been doing, but I don't discount the difference in the road surface. It's much easier running.

But the main way I could feel the difference was in my sore feet and lower legs. By the end of the distance it felt like running on bruises. Next morning, as I make these notes, my calf muscles are definitely feeling some stiffness.

I also experienced a technical failure of my GPS unit, the first time my Garmin Forerunner has been problematic. At mile 8.20 the timer stopped. Not wanting to get involved in those mechanics during a run, I opted to just live with the failure rather than try to solve it. As it turned out, I believe I could have just hit the Start button again and it would have kicked in. I discovered that possibility as I finished the run, back at my office, and attempted to turn the unit off.

So I lost my split-time data and my overall-time for the run.

I do know that at the half-way point, on a windy State Highway 93 south of town, my turnaround point came at 1:17:00. That compares with 1:21:00 last week, on the Backroads.

And since the HR monitor function continued to work through the end of the run, I know my HR averages stayed in the upper 120s-lower130s.

Though I wouldn't want to run all the time under these conditions, it was fun for all the differences, and for sure had a new set of challenges.

Into 60 mph traffic with no shoulder. It'll keep you alert.