The 2009 Bolder Boulder is in the books. It was an absolutely beautiful day for a race, not to hot, not to cold or rainy (Yes, I'm talking to you 2008 Bolder Boulder). Overall I'm pleased with the result, but I feel that I've got a lot of work to do and could done better this year.
I trained a lot (relative) more than last year, so I was interested to see how I'd do this year. Last year, I essentially willed myself to keep up with Kim and Rebecca, finishing about 1 minute (1:02+) behind with about 11 miles of training (yes, total). This year I did a couple of 5k's and I've been running 5k's a couple/few times a week for training. This year I ran the race solo, Kim was afraid that I'd make good on my promise to beat her I suppose, so I wondered how I'd stay motivated. If you've been reading this blog, you know if given the choice between walking and running I'd rather walk.
So, my wave was scheduled for 7:45 am. I figured since I was running by myself I could pretty much show up whenever I wanted after that and go for it. I didn't take into account that future waves might be walking waves or the associated challenges of running through walkers. More on that in a minute. I arrived at the local mall to ride the bus at about 7:15, figuring 30 minutes would be plenty of time to ride the bus to Boulder and make my scheduled time. Last year we parked and immediately got on the bus. 
This year, I waited an HOUR to get on the bus. By the time I got to the start line it was after 9:00 am, which was smack in the middle of the walking waves. Before I got started, as I usually do I have an urge to use the porta potty. I had every intention of #2, but not a single porta potty had any toilet paper => a new item going to the race bag is a roll of toilet paper.
Back to the race. Since I was running alone this year I decided to purchase an ipod shuffle. I'd never seen the need for this device, but it's really cool. It snaps on the back of my hat and I can't even feel it. So sweet. I loaded it up with a bunch of songs that would keep me moving. Great idea, I'll be using this on future training runs and races. I don't think I'll use it on the bike, as that's a different animal, but for closed course running races, I have no problem using an ipod.
The first mile was about 9:45 and feeling good. The walking traffic wasn't a problem as I was at the start of my wave, so not much traffic to contend with. Just after passing the mile mark it was sea of walkers packing the course left to right. It was immediately difficult to find room to run. I bounced in and out of traffic, up on the sidewalk, down, left to right, where ever it looked like there was a clearing, I went for it. Consequently my splits suffered, which partnered with aching heel pain and general fatigue resulted in a total time of 1:06. Not exactly what I was looking for, but considering a number of factors, I can't complain to much. The bottom line is that I need to improve my run fitness. Running doesn't come naturally to me, therefore if I'm ever going to get beyond 10-11 minute miles I'm really going to have to work for it.
Things that went well:
* Aside from walking through the water station at mile 4 and 5, I ran the entire race.
* Listening to music really had me focused on the task of running the race. The downside is that I didn't take in what was going on around me or the bands as I did the previous year.
* I think I could have run faster, I think there was more in the tank, need to figure out how to tap it, push myself to run faster.
Things to improve on:
* Get to the race on time and run with a running wave. I probably ran a 10.5K with all the dodging and weaving I did.
* Improve running fitness and cadence, which will probably require more than 5K's for training a couple times a week. I may have to change up the routine a bit.
* More stretching, particular related to tight calfs and subsequent pain in my heel and bottom of my foot. Getting older, I need to be more disciplined about stretching, particularly when my everything feels fine.
So the first big race on my schedule this season. As I said, overall feeling good with room for improvement.
Next up: Longmont Triathlon
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