Bolder Boulder 2013 Recap!

May 24, 2012 Bolder Boulder time: 1:02:26 with a pace of 10:02 min/miles

Immediately my goal for the following year would be to break 1 hour

Fast forward one year.

May 25, 2013 Bolder Boulder time: 1:02:38 with a pace of 10:04 min/miles.

L to R: 2012 and 2013 BB times

Disappointed? A little , but still very proud of my time.

Back in January, I ran another 10k with a time of 1:00:44. I was well on my way to breaking an hour. After the Canyonlands ½ Marathon on March 17, 2013 with a pace of 10:02 min/miles – I thought breaking an hour was a very attainable goal for less than half the distance (would be 9:40 min/miles). A few days after the race I gave blood. My running after that seemed harder and slower. I am not sure if it was just from giving blood, but it took me a long time to recover and get back to my pace.

Also, I started cross training more. I began swimming again and switched from the elliptical on non-running days to the spin bike. Whether or not this impeded my goal, I think for my overall fitness it is beneficial.  My training, effort, and enthusiasm never dropped.

While I may have been 12 seconds slower than last year, I moved up in my age group. Not to mention, I had run the Colfax Marathon Relay the previous weekend – 6.3 miles with a pace of 9:50. In 2012 I was 230 out of 711 for my division (32.3%) and 6344 out of 25163 for females (25.2%). In 2013 I was 196 out of 645 (30.4%) for my division. 5387 out of 23,273 for females (23.14%). It seemed hotter this year and the beginning of the course changed a bit. Luckily it is my job to make a story around numbers, so these numbers tell me even though my overall time was slightly slower – I did better in the field and I give that two thumbs up!

Let’s get down to the race details.

I headed up the night before and got to the hotel around 5. I had brought a sandwich from Whole Foods for my dinner, and a cookie, of course. I spent the evening watching TV, relaxing, got my race gear together and searched the web. I turned off the TV around 10 and had the alarm set for 5:40. For some reason though, I could not fall asleep! I don’t think I fell asleep until around 11:30 and usually I do not have a problem…I honestly think the TV and internet had me wired!!

Wake up eventually came, I thought that breakfast started at 6 AM, but it was just when the coffee place opened with food you could buy. I grabbed a coffee and a yogurt parfait and got ready back in the room. I was out the door by 6:50 and walked about a mile to the start. The Courtyard Marriott was very convenient for the start. When I got in to the starting area the first wave (7 AM) had just started! It was great to walk up to the corrals and see all the runners starting! There were lots of volunteers directing runners and there seemed to be a lot of porta-potties. I hopped in to my corral when I got back to the line and there was only about 10 or 15 minutes until the start!

Earlier waves

The start is so energetic! The wave process flowed so smoothly and it was great with the guy on the microphone pumping up the crowd! I knew I wanted to start out slower this year as last year I jumped the gun a little bit!  It was already getting really hot out, the sun was out in full force, and they reminded up to get lots of water! 

Corral at start!

The first mile is pretty flat and I was happy with my pace as I started out. My watched beeped with a 9:50 pace but the mileage was a bit off so it was actually 9:58. I hit the lap button once we hit the 1 mile sign to at least have my min/mile pace accurate. My watch for the second mile read 9:51 but officially it was 9:56. I had been feeling pretty good at this point and was happy with my pacing. I had sort of thought I was closer to low 9:50s but looking back it was closer to 10’s. I had thought if I could keep picking up the pace I could rock in during the downhill and hit the hour mark. I also knew, judging from last years miles that 3 and 4 would be the hardest.  

This year was so similar to last year its scary! I clocked in at 10:07 and 10:10. By now I knew the hour was shot and wasn’t even sure I could hit 10 min miles! I was really really trying, but my legs and lungs were not cooperating. I had brought my water belt so I’d have my cell phone, but I was actually really happy to have the option of water whenever I wanted. There was water every mile, but I skipped the first few since I had my belt. At mile 4 though, I grabbed water and threw some over my head, I was so hot, and it felt great. By this point it became all mental and I knew I just had to take it step by step! The crowd was amazing through the whole race. It is so neat to run through the neighborhoods as so many people are cheering, partying, waving, etc! Mile 5 didn’t get faster even though it was downhill and mile 6 was actually my slowest. Last year I remember being SO tired going up the final hill to Folsom Field. This year was similar but actually felt a little bit better. Going in to the stadium is so awesome as you run around the track and see the stadium filled! When I crossed the line I knew immediately I hadn’t beat last year, but was still super happy finishing!

I veered off to the left and went through the chute to get my new lunchbox filled with snacks!! I had about an hour before I was expecting Chris and Kori to come through the stadium so I sat down for a minute, snacked, and checked out the expo. AA’s phone was dead but we were able to chat over facebook chat, ha! He had been stalking my results on the computer :-)

Post run pic to AA

 I head back down to the stadium and started my search for Chris (cousin de AA)! As I was looking for Chris, two of the coolest things was when 2 lines of army men ran in to the stadium with an American flag. The crowd stood and cheered and they even did a bunch of pushups! Even better, and unfortunately I didn’t snap a picture in time, was the two firemen who ran in FULL ATTIRE. As they ran through the stadium, the crowd cheered like crazy and they took off their helmets as they finished.

 I can’t believe I was actually able to find Chris in the crowd! I knew what he was wearing since Kori had posted a picture of them in the AM which helped!! I snapped a few pics, headed to bathroom quick and then back to the section where we planned to meet. He found me as I started scanning for Kori! AA was able to find Kori’s splits online and knew she had already crossed mile 5. Chris spotted her and she looked strong! Especially since she was running with a calf injury, so hardcore!

chris is grey right before power bar sign

chris finish - look at all those ppl!

Kori coming around the bend in blue!

This year I stuck around with them and it was neat to see all the festivities and ceremonial aspects of it. There was a group of service men and women who were sworn in for service there! Sky divers landed in the stadium with flags for each line of service as well as the American flag!

We ended up leaving the stadium a little after noon and I had a little over 2 miles back to the car!

great day!

chris and kori!