Bolder Boulder #8: New gear, the Blevins BB Racers and training on the track

Maddie at Bolder Boulder 2011

Monday May 26, Maddie, Nora and I along with the 20 other members of the Blevins BB Racers team will be lining up in Boulder to run America's #1 10K.  This will be the 8th year in a row that Maddie and I have run the race in Boulder to celebrate Memorial Day and the beginning of summer.

Race packets arrived yesterday and I'm excited to add another Bolder Boulder t-shirt to my collection.  The good people at Bolder Boulder this year asked me to test some gear from race sponsor Helly Hanson and post my thoughts here.  The gear includes a pair of shorts, a tech-T and a long sleeve tech jersey.

                  

Its always fun to get some free gear, and this is all good stuff.  The shorts are long enough that I can wear them to track practice and the tops are a nice material with a contoured fit.  Helly Hanson is also supporting the BBRacers Club by providing jackets for the coaches.  

Last night was the first Tuesday Night Track workout at CSU with the amazing Jane Welzel.  We ran 6 x 800 meters with a 400 recovery after each.  We all started the first one together to find runners of similar pace.  I only made it on to the track for the tail end of Jane's instructions, so I ran the first 800 with no warm-up.  It was rough and I slogged through a 3:09. I teamed up with Dennis and Mike and we groaned at the prospect of running 5 more.  We did it though coming through at 3:09, 3:13, 3:05, 3:07 and then Mike asked me to make the call on #6.  I said that I'd love to think we could go sub 3:00, but I didn't think I had that in me.  "How about another 3:05? . . . Let's try to get as close to 3 minutes as possible."  Mike was in and took off.  We went out hard and I started to fade on the back stretch of the second.  Mike pulled out in to lane 2 and encouraged me forward.  I pushed around the final turn and we finished in 2:57.  Nothing stellar, but definitely the fastest (only) 800 I've run in the past year.  It was a good night at the track- great to see and catch up with some friends and good to be humbled a bit by my current fitness level.  Lots of work to do to get back to true racing fitness,  but I am on the right track.

Bolder Boulder 2012

Micah, Maddie and I ran our 6th Bolder Boulder 10K this morning and this might have been the best one ever.  We managed the 4:30 am wake up and 5:15 departure without much trouble and parked just steps away from the start line.  I ran in the B wave based on my 43:28 finish time from last year.  I had no big expectations for this race since I have been doing no 10K specific training and I ran 21 miles and a lot of vertical on the trails yesterday.  I felt okay as I warmed up and as I stood on the start line, so I hoped for a fun race and a decent finish- maybe close to 40 minutes.  The gun went off for wave B at 7:03 and I took off at a conservative pace thinking this could be a good race to work on running negative splits.  I hit mile 1 in 6:24 and all was well.  Mile 2 was 6:22 and the dreaded uphill mile 3 was a surprisingly quick 6:20.  I started to feel the effort here, but I reminded myself that there was only 3 miles to go and the next mile had some good downhill.  Mile 4 was 6:19 and mile 5 was 6:18.  Just over a mile to go and if I pushed I could actually run an all negative split 10k.  I dug deep and worked for mile 6 which clicked off at 6:15!  I ran in to the stadium and across the line for a 40:15 finish, my fastest Bolder Boulder ever.
I grabbed my lunch sack and ran the mile back to Micah and Maddie at the start.  Maddie's friend and fellow Blevins Bolder Boulder racer Megan was there with her family getting ready to run her first 10k.  We walked over to the start and in to the corral for the MC start where we met up with the rest of the Blevins team, all excited and ready to go.
Running with the kids was an amazing 97 minute whirlwind of yelling, laughing, sling-shoting, marshmallows, sprinklers, Doritos, slip and slides, cotton candy, leap frog, dancing and blue cupcakes.  We had a great time out on the course and then found a place in the stands to watch the elite race and the Memorial Day Tribute before heading back to the 29th Street Mall for our traditional post BB lunch at Daphne's and then home to rest.  Bolder Boulder has become the mark of the beginning of summer for me in Colorado and I love every second of it- crazy crowds and all.  Thanks Micah and Maddie for doing this with me.  It was a great day.

Micah, getting psyched up for the run

Maddie and Megan too

Marshmallows at mile 2.2

cotton candy at mile 3

Doritos!

the notorious slip and slide

new this year, blue cupcakes on Pearl Street

some inspiring signage at mile 5.5

racing in to the finish

taken by a former Blevins Bruin we met at the finish line

Micah heading in to the stadium for the finish

It's good to have a big brother

Bolder Boulder 2011

Yesterday I ran the Bolder Boulder 10K for the 5th year in a row for my 9th and 10th running of the course. I ran a slow 43:09 in the AB wave starting at 7:02 am then jogged back to the start to run in the MB wave with Micah and Maddie and many Blevins students on my BBRacers team at 8:27. I love this event, because it exudes many wonderful things about running. There are some 56,000 participants (making it the second largest running event in the country) from around the world and from all levels of running - beginner to elite. The event takes over the entire Boulder community for the day and there is a sense of excitement, fun and fitness that just makes running seem cool to all who are there to witness it. We have done this race as a family every year since we moved to Colorado. Last year, Ean said was her last because she couldn't face the craziness of the crowds again. She came back again this year though as an EMT and not a runner. Micah and Maddie did run again and Maddie set her 10K PR with a time of 1:29:59. Micah enjoyed his time on the course with his headphones on and sauntered in to the finish in just over 2 hours. We stayed to watch the elite race finish and for the Memorial Day tribute before heading back to pick up Ean after she finished her EMT duties. This is the perfect start to summer and a great day to be a runner in Colorado.