Race Report: 2014 BolderBoulder

There are times to go hard and chase after your PR like my dog chasing a rabbit in the back yard. Then there are times to be a good husband and put someone else’s goals ahead of your own. Yesterday’s race was a case of the latter.

Some months ago after perhaps one too many glasses of wine, my wife floated the idea of running this year’s race. It was really a question of, do you think I can do it. With the exception of people with serious health concerns (none of which she has) I think anyone can complete the race. Obviously my answer was an enthusiastic yes.

While she came to regret that question at times, between me, her sister and her trainer, she was not given the opportunity to back out. We badgered her and pestered her until she gave in, registered and trained.

Hence, yesterday morning at a time much later than usual, we found ourselves at the start line, ready to go.

One thing I noticed, especially as we moved past the two mile mark, was how much more there was to see at a slower speed. Residents out on their lawns or driveways were more than just blurs. Parks and open spaces that I had never been aware of before were suddenly apparent. It was a unique view.

Tisha, my wife, had been doing some good training runs, but the initial stages of the race proved to kind of hard for her. First off, the day was warmer than any of us expected. According to Garmin Connect, our start time temperature was 63*. However, humidity at 52% and no real breeze to speak of, it felt warmer. Of course, I’m sure we also went up from there. As a result, she found herself much warmer and dehydrated than on the training runs. Making matters worse, the first aid station did not have enough cups for all of the runners going by and we actually had to wait in line for water.

We ran flat and downhill sections and took adequate walk breaks in between and she continued to push on, even though it was getting to be more and more difficult.

Before too long, however, we were headed up Folsom Street and toward the stadium. Soon it was entry. Given the slower pace, I was able to shoot the following video as we entered. It’s not the greatest quality, but I think it conveys what finishing this race looks and sounds like:

And here’s a shot taken by our friend who had already finished.

 With the fun of Memorial Day now behind us, it’s back to the hard training for me. My coach gave me a bit of a break last week with travel and race recovery, but now it’s back to some pretty hard and long training. There’s much preparation still needed for the Mountain Top Experience Ride which is just 3 ½ weeks away!

More updates to come.

Thanks for reading!

Race Report: 2013 BolderBoulder

This weekend, 30 years ago, my younger brother and I spent a weekend with our grand parents at their home in the St. Vrain Canyon about 45 minutes from Boulder. On a cold and rainy Monday morning, they drove me to the start of the BolderBoulder--my first ever.

It wasn't until this afternoon that I realized I've hit that anniversary. Otherwise, it was Memorial Day so, of course, I was in Boulder.

Like any race that starts out of town, my day began very early, about 5:30 in this case. That was okay. I made good time all the way until Boulder. And then I hit town.

There's no doubt that thousands of cars converging on a town at the same time create traffic. However, near as I can tell, the handling of traffic near the intersection of 28th Street and Colorado Avenue might has well have been handled by a four-year-old. Despite me and thousands of my fellow runners coming in on 28th, some genius decided to short cycle the light. This lead to it taking about 15 minutes to drive the last mile to the starting line. It nearly cost me starting with my own group.

Fortunately, that didn't happen, but I did make it to my group with about 45 second to spare. Not the way I would have planned it.

But start I did and soon I was running north on 30th Street and feeling pretty good Before I knew it the course was moving back south on 28th and the Flat Irons were in clear view.

It was a warm day...really warm actually. I had the benefit of starting earlier but as we approached mile 4, this annual tradition looked fairly inviting:

I abstained because I was carrying my cell phone but also because I was not sure I could get up again if I stopped.

It was harder than last year, but it also went by quickly. I struggled through the last mile up Folsom Street, including the big hill leading to the stadium and was soon enough met with this view:

It was nice to be finished.

Race Review:

Next year:

There's not a lot but a couple of points I think the race organizers should consider:

1) Get the city to make it easier to get into town. I left 90 minutes before my start time which would have been more than enough had I not hit the traffic snafu right after getting into town. A cop at the intersection actively metering the traffic flow would have saved a lot of time and congestion.

2) Timing based on a tag on your shoe is better than none at all:

but with the ability to put the chip on the bib, this is probably something that needs to be done away with.

The Good:

Course support: Despite being very late, the security guards that maintain each section let me through. It would have accomplished nothing to make me wait for the next group. Common sense prevailed and they let me through.

Post Race: Every year, I get a new lunch bag with lots of good stuff in it. Here's the bags waiting for the finishers:

Finish: It's always cool to run in a stadium, but more so when it's the stadium of your alma matter. Granted, the CU Football team has not been very impressive lately, but it's still a great way to cap your race.

My 11 year old niece ran her first BolderBoulder today. I have not had a chance to talk to her yet, but I'm guessing she liked the finish too!

Even when the race feels a little tougher, it's still the best place to be on Memorial Day.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the week ahead!

Running for Boston, Too.

Normally around this time of year I would be posting about my registration for the BolderBoulder.  I would express my excitement about being back in the race for another year like this one I did just over a year ago.

But given Monday’s events in Boston, this year’s registration felt particularly poignant to me. This year, sure, I’ll still be out there for my own selfish reasons. But I’ll also be out there, as will many others, in a show of support for everyone who was affected by the bombings.

While one is a full 26.2 mile marathon and the other just a 6.2 mile 10K, they share a lot in common:

• Both races draw thousands of participants from all over the world.
• Spectators line the length of each course.
• Boston and Boulder are as much an event for the local communities as they are for the participants.
• Both draw large participant fields: 25,000 + in Boston, over 50,000 in Boulder.
• Each race is steeped in tradition (granted Boston’s is about 85 year older than Boulder’s).
• Sadly, both make good targets for would-be terrorists.

I don’t especially appreciate false bravado so I won’t talk about how I’m going to muster my courage and face down those who would seek to intimidate me and my fellow citizens into altering our lifestyles out of fear. No doubt, the threat will be reduced by the efforts organizers of this and several other large races. No doubt, I would not willingly put myself in the way of obvious and imminent harm. But no doubt, not much else would keep me from doing what I love on Memorial Day morning: running this race. Is this one for me? Yeah, it always is. But this year it’s also for my fellow runners in Boston, their friends and family and most especially for the victims.

Race Report: 2012 BolderBoulder

Oh, how I love this race! It’s tempting to just sit here and gush about what a great event this is, but I’ll actually try and provide a decent summary of the day.

I live in Parker which is more or less the extreme southeastern corner of the metro Denver area. Boulder is more or less the northwestern corner. In other words, it’s way across town. It’s only 45 straight-line miles, but when driving that works out to more like 55 miles and well over an hour. There’s always a bit of a traffic delay when 50,000 plus descend on the city at the same time. My brother, sister-in-law and I left my house a little after 5:30 but it was past 7:00 when we parked.

Fortunately, even with thousands of people arriving, we were actually able to very quickly secure parking at the 29^th Street Mall which is right next to the starting area. It was close, but I had time to see to my pre-race business and still get into the EA start coral with time to spare.

The race is often characterized by, shall we say, less than perfect weather. Rain and/or overcast have been a feature in more Memorial Days than not. This year, it was sunny and just cool enough to make for pleasant running conditions. Ideal, I would say!

While they do use a timing chip, BB continues to use a wave start. This is sensible since you need to space out those thousands of participants. As a result, waves go off in roughly 1 minute intervals. I am amazed at how well they stay to their schedule. Near as I can tell, my wave started at 7:17:40 just as planned.

This is the second year of a new course that takes you north, rather than south from the starting line and just as I though last year, it just works. North I went until making a left at Valmont Road and soon after another left heading back south on 28^th Street. Before I knew it, my watch was vibrating on my wrist telling me the first mile split was 8:02. I felt pretty good and figured it made sense to bank as much time as I could. I doubted I would be able to continue that pace. In fact, mile two has the first hill and I figured that would slow me down.

However, the split on the second mile was 8:05. I still felt pretty good. Might as well keep banking that time, I figured. Three miles in the low eight minute range ought to make it possible to improve on last year’s finish time of 55:47. As you finish the third mile, you’re on one of the few down hills—the course contains 232 feet of climbing. So at this point I felt like I should continue to keep going. I felt okay and my heart rate, while high, was not bothering me.

At mile four, you are about to climb the highest hill on the course. After my experiences at Horsetooth last month, this monster hill that always seemed so hard went by without much notice. Better still, after cresting it, you’re headed back downhill and it’s a great chance to pick up speed and recover your heart rate.

When my watch told me that my split for mile 5 was 8:01, I knew I was going to have a good day. The question was, how good. With 1.2 miles left, I had a net time of 40:51. I could have slacked off to a 10:00 pace and still had a modern-day PR. Of course I was not going to let that happen, but there was also no question it was going to be harder coming into the finish.

I was also attempting to capture a few pictures along the way (my iPhone camera was behaving poorly so sorry there are not more in-race shots). I wanted to get those, but not at the expense of a good time.

As I approached the turn off of Folsom Street onto the ground of the Stadium, it was clear that I was not going to finish under 50:00 so I figured it would be okay to get a quick shot of the entrance into the stadium. No picture can really explain what it is like, but after having done this 15 times, I still love it. Only an Olympian gets to finish in a stadium. Well, only an Olympian or a BolderBoulder participant!

When I complete the ¾ lap around the field, my watch showed 51:19 and the official time from the race says 51:18. That’s only 4:20 behind the last time I ran it as a young man (1991 when I finished in 0:46:58) and faster than I did in any of my first three years. It made me a happy camper!

Not far behind me, my brother was pacing his wife and got her to a finish of 58:18, more than 8:00 better than last year!

Post-race for us has always been hanging out in the stands, enjoying the food in the complimentary lunch bag and watching other finish the race. The highlight of that has to be the entry of a group of Marines wearing black t-shirts and combat pants entering the stadium in formation with the two of them carrying the colors.

 This is always greeted by a roar of approval from the crowd. Just before reaching the finish, the group runs off to a side area and, being Marines, they do push-ups. Then they reform and cross the line.

We all enjoy races, barbecues, time outside and other leisure activity on Memorial Day. And that’s okay. But it is a poignant reminder of the reason the holiday was originally established after the Civil War. This day, above all other reasons, is to remember and appreciate all who have served our country, active-duty, retired, alive or departed, we owe them all a huge debt of gratitude. The entry of these admirable young men and women as the race winds down drives that point home. Nicely done, Marines, nicely done!

So here’s the overall review of the race:

The Bad:

Price: I’ll always pay what they ask (within reason) but I can see how this could get expensive for a family. I know that they have costs to put this one on, but with 50,000 or more entrants, dozens of sponsors, and lots of ancillary way of making money (sales of T-shirts, Crocs, posters, etc.) there has to be a way to make it more affordable for folks, even if they just want to run and not pick up any of the swag. Some races offset their entry fees by including a charitable fundraising option. They might want to consider that.

That’s it. This is a great race and this is the only area of criticism I can offer this year.

The Good:

Organization and Logistics: Since Dick’s Sporting Goods is the key sponsor of the race, they are also the primary way to pick up your packet. Within a week or so of registering, I was able to go by the store near my office and get my stuff with no hassle. I also received e-mail updates as necessary and the website is kept up to date with all the info one could possibly need. Once the race starts, I never find myself in a huge mass of people, stuck at the pace of the slowest person. Sure, I have to run around a few folks, but that’s really not a big deal. It’s nothing short of amazing that they can do this with so many tens of thousands of participants.

On-Course Support and Entertainment: How many races do you run where you see Elvis, the Blues Brothers, two sets of belly-dancers, and every kind of band from garage, to middle school kids, to tribute to professional club band? And while most of what I hear is while running by, they all sounded pretty good to me. What’s more, there’s an army of volunteers doing everything you need done at a race. BB signs them up in droves and I’ve never thought to myself, gee, they could use more help.

Pre & Post Race Access: There’s tons of parking in the vicinity of the start. I don’t know what the capacity of the garage at 29^th Street is, but I would imagine that it’s significant. Additionally, there’s parking available in the surface lots until 10:00. Now that the start and finish are so close, that’s a realistic cut-off for most participants. Unlike last year, there were no issues with leaving. Although the elite race had yet to start, we were able to depart the garage and be on our way back to Parker without any detours or excessive delays.

Finish:  There’s just nothing like it. The finish is nothing new, but it’s a great feeling to end your race by running into a football stadium and take most of a lap to the line. I’ve finished in some unique places like on the parade grounds of the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot at the end of the Rock & Roll Marathon or through the legs of a gorilla in Greeley last year. Nothing compares, however. Additionally, with seating for nearly as many people as there are participants, it’s a great place to hang out after the race.

There’s little question as to why this is referred to as America’s Best 10K. I always seem to have a good at this one and I hear those sentiments echoed by others. Throughout the race, participants and spectators alike end up getting caught up in just how fun this thing is. It’s the reason most of us do a race anyway. Otherwise, just training would enough. No matter how old, slow, or fat I may get in the years to come, I hope each early Memorial Day morning finds me at the start of this race.

Okay, I guess I did gush a little bit after all!