The Bolder Boulder

Ahh. The Bolder Boulder 10k race. Little did I know how big of a deal this race is in Boulder, and in the country. I mean, the race has it's own office, so I guess that should be a hint. It's also a $52 entry and is individually chip timed, so there you go.

image by oregon live

I got up at 5 a.m. to eat my half a banana and bagel, gather my racing pack, walk the pups, slather on sunscreen, lace up my Nike Frees, and drive up to Boulder. I parked halfway between the start and finish, so I got to do a brief warm-up on my way to the start line (and it was chilly!). I got up the start area by about 6:30, so I had almost an hour until my start time in the EF wave at 7:24. I must say, this race was highly organized. I supposed it would have to be with 53,700 people running, but everything was clear and exactly where they said it would be (via maps online). Clearly they've done this before (31 times before, in fact).

I had planned to run with my pack and possessions, but then I thought about how nice it would be to be those two pounds lighter, so I opted to let the mobile lockers take my stuff to the finish line. The dilemma was my stupid inhaler. I needed it about 20 minutes before the start, but I didn't want to be waiting in line at the lockers at that point instead of being with my designated starting wave. I saw one other person with an inhaler wandering around. She planned on carrying it, so I decided to do the same. (I also worried that I might push myself too hard and end up needing the darn thing on the course.) Racing logistics...I still need to figure all this out.

The waves actually started on time (more or less). I'm quite grateful for the waves because of the number of people and because at least I got to start with like-speed people with less temptation to take-off. We started out heading down 30th on a slight descent, so that was a great pace-builder. I had to keep reminding myself to take it easy (you don't win by running the fastest mile first). By win I mean doing a PB, or personal best. I have zero delusions of actually placing first. I can't run a five minute mile, so that's that. I am, however, good at maintaining a pace and enduring (and getting better). It's funny how running is such a solitary sport, yet we race in giant packs, often with friends, but it really comes down doing a little better than you did last time. There are only a handful of people in each race that are competing.

It's difficult for me to accept the fact that I am not and cannot be the best. To say that I am competitive would be a ridiculous understatement. This was only my second race (unless you go back to elementary school fun runs), and my first at this distance. Also my first race alone (I had T.S. running with me the first time). I don't particularly enjoy running in big groups, but it's a challenge for me. I have to remember that this is still for ME amidst the packs sprinting by. It was easier in this race...I think due to the sheer numbers of people. There was no "front" of the pack to me, so I didn't have that space jeering at me.

Still, I found myself trucking along and had to force myself to back off a bit. From 30th we turned onto Pearl St. and headed across 28th and then up Folsom. That's where we encountered the first (and longest) hill of the race. The incline wasn't bad, but the hill continued up Folsom and then up Hawthorn as we entered the third mile. Then it flattened out a bit allowing me to re-calibrate a bit. We continued winding around the edge of North Boulder until we headed down 19th St. Yet another hill faced us as we moved along into our fourth mile. At this point I was struggling to maintain a good pace. I wasn't tired, but I was trying to hold back a bit for the last mile or so.

After some more flat spots, we hit a slight downhill at 13th St., which really helped me hit my stride. I noticed that I was on the right track to meet my goal of 62 minutes for the race, so in my head, I set a mid-race goal of finishing at 60 minutes. Entering the fifth mile, I felt pretty decent, but I kept thinking about the hill at the end of the race, so I tried to slow it up again. My legs kept wanting to stride out (in retrospect, I probably should have just trucked on). We crossed downtown Pearl St. and wove our way back to Folsom, this time headed toward the CU stadium. With a mile to go, I was starting to feel my lungs getting tight and my mind went back and forth between "Oh god, I'm going to die" and "It's less than a mile."

The final half mile was all uphill, I think the second steepest of the course (kind of cruel, eh?). I knew I was close, but I struggled up that last hill into the stadium. The path built in the stadium was metal platforms with ridges where the pieces met. I, of course, immediately thought about how horrible it would be to fall NOW, with the finish line in sight. I didn't dwell on that long though, and I am proud to say I kicked it into high gear and sprinted around the stadium over the finish. While that last hill got to me, I was still able to dig down and finish strong...something I always try to do.

I finished in 60 minutes and 20 seconds, so I met my original race goal, but didn't quite get to my mid-race goal. With the chip timing, I get to see my individual mile times, which is a great way to see my weak spots. My first mile was my fastest (oops), but not by much. In fact, my fifth mile was only a second slower than the first. My third mile was by far my slowest, so I can see that I tried to pace myself too much at that point.

Throughout the race I was able to stay fairly relaxed, which has been something I've been working on. I was also able to put to use some of my tips from running books I've been reading (such as keeping your hips under you, passing runners one at a time, and breathing evenly).

Overall, I'm happy with the way I raced. I think I prepared well and raced the best I could for me today. I still wish I could have hauled butt up that last hill to make my mid-race goal time, but that will just be my goal for my next 10k in Estes Park. I ended up placing in the top quarter of my wave, the top fifth of women, and the top quarter overall. I can't complain.

After getting home and eating some much needed fuel, the only pain I have is in my ankles, probably because I'm not used to running on pavement as much as I am trails and rocks. I recovered quickly (less the few moments of wanting to collapse at the end) too.

I will definitely do the Bolder Boulder again next year. It was really cool to run through the city and have many of its people on their lawns watching, entertaining, handing out water and popsicles. The guy I remember most was in his bathrobe, on his "stationary bike" (bike on a wooden platform thing), pedaling with a beer in his hand. Boulder.

I'll be posting links and pictures as they become available!

Visit Bolder Boulder 2010 for news on the race.

Visit the Finish Line 8:20-8:25 for the live finish. You can kind see me toward the end, but the picture quality is poor. I'm in a pink shirt, black shorts, and sunglasses. It will be like Where's Waldo.