When my sister told me that BolderBoulder is like a big, long party, she wasn’t kidding. Sure, the elites take it seriously. But a ton of the participants seem to go for the crazy antics. A few were dressed in costumes. Spotted a banana, grapes, gorilla head, and plenty of tutus. More impressive were the spectators along the route path. Tons of hoses to cool us off (did I mention it was in the 80s?) plus others daring runners to partake in “performance enhancement drugs” such as otter pops, Doritos, pancake syrup (wha?), and, my favorite, cupcakes. Plus, a slip ‘n’ slide.

But, lets get on with it. The race. Lets preface this with I didn’t train as well as I could have. I had my concerns with the altitude (sea level is for sissies, they say) and I was recovering from both the stomach flu and a cold/bad rattle kind of coughing thing (which I still have, btw). I also shouldn’t discount the fact that this was my first out-of-state race. While my sis’ home, where I stayed, is pretty much as welcoming and comfortable as i can get without being at home, stocked with everything you could ask for, it was a little bit different than my notmal routine, and to rely on someone else who organized the trip just took me out of my element. Not to say i wasnt soo grateful for that (thanks, sis!) Ultimately what affected me most was something I could control and something I couldn’t. One, my prerace eating plan was not well thought out. I did have the eggs, toast w/PB that is normal for me, but the timing was off, and then I forgot to pack a GU with me at the start line. Two, it was hot. Like, Africa hot. Or, just Boulder hot, and there was no way I could have trained for that. As a result, by mile 3 I had a side stitch and at the4K marker I had to stop and walk. I proceeded to stop at least 2 more times (not including water stops, which I took miles 2 -5) to walk a few meters.

Something I was prepared for … The hills. For some reason I had envisioned a very hilly course, but in reality there were just a few smallish hills. The course summit, which came at the start of mile 5, actually motivated me and I ran my fastest mile at that point. The final hill, on the way to the stadium that leads to the finish, was the most annoying, but not anything I couldn’t handle, even if it was at a slow pace. Nothing will ever beat the hill at the Seattle Rock and Roll Half turning the corner at mile 5 or so and seeing a giant “real” hill in front of you.

At any rate, I had a great time. So glad that I could do this race with my sis. “Who won?”, the husband asked when I called him after the race. Well, it’s not like we were competing or anything, but if you must know. I beat my sis. Or, as the kiddo would say, “Haha, I win! You lose.” (We’re trying to teach her sportsmanship, really we are). The first time i went running with my sister i was probably in 7th grade. I was chunky and unathletic, and she ran cross country and did track. I couldn’t make it more than a few blocks before heading home. That maybe was the last time i ran with her, too. Of course that was 25 years ago and I finally figured some stuff out. And, these days Sis is recovering from injuries and all … But, you know, just thought I’d point that out. I was faster than her, just this once. 🙂

Final details: time: 1:11.20
Pace: 11:28
Fastest: 10:44, mile 5
Slowest: 12:25, mile 4
Overall place: 21,845
Woot!