The pages of the calendar are flying off and the biggest weekend of the year in Boulder is upon us. Memorial weekend draws a big crowd to Boulder for the Boulder Creek festival BolderBoulder 10K Expo and Memorial Day race. Its the biggest 10k in the country and if you get the chance for the experience you really shouldn't miss it. Seriously, this race is so big its the a common question asked...oh you live in Boulder? Have you done or are you doing the BB?
This year offered a course change where the first 2k was a slight uphill instead of a speedy downhill and added about 4 more turns to the race. Using my awesome time from the Cherry Creek Sneak 5m I was seeded in the AB wave (3rd wave...of about 50), and my goal was 42:50 or better. Last year I was in the GL unseeded wave since I hadn't done a road race in 3 years (sadly triathlons and pole vaulting does not count). My running has really been progressing since the Platte River Half Mary that I did in April. I'm not sure if I'm faster or more fit then I was last year and I've certainly lost some muscle mass (my guns are more like pistols now). However, Ive gained experience, confidence, the ability to pace evenly and I'm more acclimated to the altitude.
I woke up at 5:25 to get in my pre race bagle early enough for it to settle before the race. The weather was @50*, overcast with a slight wind. My warm up was a run of about 1m down to the starting line. Don't you just love when you re able to do that? Not having to fight traffic and finding a parking space before a race is one of the best ways to toe the line stress free and in complete focus. I threw on my RR Vizipro uniform and Pearl Izumi Streaks (first time racing in these) and I was out the door.
When you have a race that's expected to draw over 50k (actually a record 54,554 entrants) people the starting area can be a bit of a mad house but this being my 2nd time in this race I knew the drill by now and found a great spot in the front of my wave. Most of my Boulder running friends were in the first wave because they are rock stars and can run under 40 mins. In my wave with me was my RR teammate John, and it looked as though we were going to have another showdown like at the Cherry Creek Sneak 5m.
By bugle the 30 second warning was announced and the gun went off. The 4 lane street provided ample room for the crowd so we spread out pretty quickly and this year instead of going out with a reckless 6:13 pace, I settled in with a conservative 6:22 pace and felt pretty good with it, despite the incline. I ran the first 2 miles with some of my friends who are members of the Boulder Express racing team. By the 3rd mile I was sick of the climbing, I was constantly assessing how much I had left in my legs and reserving enough for the hardest parts of the course. So instead of pushing the pace at the first chance of an extended downhill, I used that section to recover, knowing that Id have to do a bit more climbing over the next mile before gaining back all my efforts through potential energy.
Along the course there were many distractions of fun including belly dancers with actual bellies (not sexy!), slip and slides, min pools, garage bands and a dancing/singing Elvis.
Mile 4 brought with it the highest elevation of the course, I charged the hill and gradually increased my speed as we approached downtown Boulder. This section I had trouble with last year due to my wave assignment. Its a tough course, its a popular race and its 10k... people get tired by this point and either slow down or start walking making them tougher to pass and ultimately slowing you down. This year there were less people in front of me to cause too much of a road block but I did start to pass a considerable number of other A wave runners. Generally these people are good runners at sea level and try to run the same at altitude. You know what I say to that? "Sea Level is for Sissy's!" (I have the T-shirt).
Mile 5 I was brought back to reality and reminded myself of how this was another showdown between my teammate John and I. I didn't know how close he was, and didn't look back to find out. With less then a mile to go I tried to speed things up but it didn't really seem like I was successful. We turned on to Folsom Rd and began a short climb to the stadium finish and there he was. Initially he carried some momentum past me and the hill hit him. We exchanged words of encouragement and I thought he was going to go with me. I started my finishing kick with about 500m to go about mid hill and he didn't respond like he did at the Cherry Creek race.
I entered the stadium in full flight for the only flat part of the whole course .1 miles to go. The plastic runway protecting the field felt springy and fast compared to 6 miles of hard asphalt. I finished ahead of John by 2 seconds and with a PR of over a min over last year's time. Its such a hard race, but the most fun you will ever have. I reunited with my teammates and wallowed in the post race high, while waiting for the pro race to kick off.
overall place:878
division place:22 out of 454
gender place:773 out of 22348
mile 1: :06:22.60
mile 2: :06:43.31
mile 3: :07:02.50
mile 4: :07:02.73
mile 5: :06:47.14
mile 6: :07:02.07
net time:00:42:15.44
pace:06:48 (based on net time)
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