In addition to my bib pinned on the front of me, I pinned a special bib on my back as well. Its purpose, if we wanted to wear it, was to honor military personnel (past, present, deceased or living) serving our country. I decided to honor Moshe “Bananaz” Thompson (yes, we really call him that). He is a dear friend of my friend LeRon and subsequently has become a good friend of mine through the years. Moshe is currently stationed in Iraq.
The race had a FedEx drop point system worked out that was pretty cool. For an extra couple of bucks, you could drop a bag of things (clothing, personal items, etc.) into a FedEx truck near the starting line and by the time you were finished, the truck had relocated to the finish line where you could claim your items and be on your way. We definitely took advantage of that – storing wallets (perhaps we were a little too trusting, although all worked out), cameras, keys and a long-sleeved shirt Lexi decided she didn’t need.
Eric, Lexi, Ellie and I were all in the same heat – mainly because we had requested to be. It was the “GB under 11:00” group which was simply runners that signed up claiming to run an 11:00 mile or faster. Troy and Tyler ran earlier because they were able to use a previous qualifying time (in an official race) to more accurately measure their pace and place them with others of their same speed. Our GB group was still somewhat comparable to each other, but the speed of runners had a much larger range in timing than I’m sure Troy and Tyler’s individual heats had.
The Colorado University Athletic Director stood at the starting line, sending us off by the sound of a gun. Strangely, as if she wasn’t expecting it, I think Ellie jumped a mile when the gun went off. It was kind of funny. She and I had decided to at least run the first part of the race together and admittedly, this was most helpful to me. I was worried I would be too slow for her, but we had discovered a month ago we may actually run a similar pace and having a partner to run next to made all the difference for me. We shot ahead of Lexi and Eric at the start and begin our 6.2 mile journey.
Along the way there were various bands, music and other things to keep the runners entertained including a “Blues Brothers” band, Elvis impersonator, National Guard band, a kids band, belly dancers (Ellie was disappointed with them, lol), kids gymnastic acts and a Reggae band. I had invested in an iPod Shuffle and placed a strategic playlist on it for this specific race. I avoided listening to it during runs leading up to the race, trying to save it (and thus be “excited” when a song came on) for race day. I even thought I might run at least half the race without it, feeding off the crowd and entertainment. However, I wasn’t really that impressed with the acts and at 5,000+ft. above sea level and “slightly” winded after Mile 1, the iPod Shuffle was rolling nice and loud almost right from the beginning.
There were a few things the locals did that cracked me up. They made Mile 2.2 the Marshmallow Toss, throwing marshmallows to willing racers as they ran by. Yes, I caught one. No, I didn’t eat it. Are you kidding me? Haven’t you seen The Hangover Part II yet? J There was a Slip and Slide in someone’s yard, free Beer and Donuts around another turn, a Doritos station where people ran up alongside you with an open bag of Doritos encouraging you to grab a handful and a guy throwing water balloons TO racers (not at them) that we could in turn bomb at someone else. Near the end, there was an old man and his wife parked in their lawn chairs, waving an American Flag holding a sign that said “Only 2.1 more miles to go”. It made me smile. So did a bend in the road marked by a bunch of people holding up funny signs such as “Keep Going, Keep Going, That’s What She Said”.
I was also impressed at the number of kids running the race with their parents. I guess the energy level and endurance of kids is quite high although all I can remember related to running at that age is faking an ankle injury in gym class so I didn’t have to run THE mile…let alone 6.2! The Bolder Boulder encourages costumes and many racers took them up on this. I saw an guy in an Indian costume, a 10 year old girl in a grass skirt, a woman wearing ski goggles, a man wearing a cow suit, another racer dressed as a puppet (including strings attached to all his limbs running to a wooden circle suspended above his head), many neon shoes/socks and a group of runners dressed as cats slamming cans of Bud Light Lime in the parking lot before heading to the starting line. Hilarious.
As for the run itself – my main goal was to finish without walking…no matter how slow this meant I might be jogging in place. My secondary goal was to finish under an hour which was probably a little far-fetched but nonetheless it was sitting there in the back of my head. It was pretty crowded the entire race but Ellie and I did a good job weaving in and out of people to keep a decent pace. Without a watch on you really have no way of tracking your time. For me, all I could go by is the training I’d done leading up to the race. The official chip tied to my shoelace would have the final say when the race was over. After Mile 1 I was definitely more winded than when training in Maryland, but could still breathe much better than my jog with Troy in Keystone a few days prior. Mile 2 is kind of a blur besides the marshmallow toss and Mile 3 and 4 seemed to drag on forever. I did my best to ignore the fact that there was a lot of race left and while after Mile 3 I thought I’d be thinking “Yes! Halfway there!” I was instead thinking “Ugh, only halfway there…”
After Mile 4 I was starting to drag. I knew 2 more miles was attainable, but I began to breathe even harder and my legs were getting a little tired. It was right around this point that Ellie pointed ahead and said something. It took me a minute, but I finally figured out that she had spotted Eric and Lexi! We were both so confused because we thought we had been ahead of them from the very beginning…clearly we were mistaken. They weren’t going to be an easy catch for us – they were flying. Yet, looking back, this was the best case scenario for Ellie and I. And if you know the Blankenships, then you know what happened next.
Ellie and I picked up our pace. Not too much or we’d burn out…but we kept one eye on Eric and Lexi and the other eye on the road. They had a nice rhythm going and were not going to be easy to catch… But we made sure not to let them get any farther ahead of us and began to chip away at their 30 yard lead. Both Ellie and I will tell you that those last 2 miles were like death. We thought we were running faster than we had been running before but at the same time were so tired that we wondered if perhaps it just felt like we had sped up because we were having to work so hard.
Shortly into Mile 5 my body started telling me “More Oxygen Please.” I felt a little lightheaded and my leg muscles ached. We also both realized (we’d forgotten) that the 6 mile marker wasn’t the end – we’d have another .2 miles to go. The road widened and Ellie and I almost evened ourselves with Eric and Lexi. Finally, crossing the 6 mile mark and giving each other a high five (as we did after each completed mile) we fired up the last kick. The Bolder Boulder sure didn’t make this easy. It was uphill for a good 100 yards…and it was hell. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to lay off a bit and wait until the top and then kick it into high gear? Or if I should plow right up the hill and hope I’d have something left when I reached the top? I’m not sure how much thought I really could put into it at this point either – my brain cells were probably dying from lack of air – not trying to solve a simple problem. “All I Do is Win” by DJ Khaled had just finished playing (totally random timing) on my iPod Shuffle and I didn’t have time or patience to search for the next “perfect song”. So I just replayed the song and starting pumping my arms. I think my legs followed – although I’m pretty sure they were going up in flames at this point.
As the hill flattened off, we ran down a path leading into Folsom Field, Colorado University’s football stadium. I shoved myself into the highest gear I had remaining (which was admittedly more than I expected after I ran up the hill) and raced toward the finish line. The last 150-200 yards or so was wrapped around the football field –110 yards down one side, curved around the endzone, and straight toward the opposite 50 yard line where last timing platform, linked to the chip in your shoe, lay waiting for each runner to pass over. The Finish Line.
I had done it. I had finished the longest race of my life and I hadn’t stopped once. Best yet, I had done it next to my sister. We both hate running…and we BOTH had done it.
Yes, there are races that exist with much greater distances that many of you have probably raced in (half marathon, marathon, etc.). But I will never run that far. And today it was okay – because after 6.2 I was just as proud. And yes, Eric and Lexi had no idea we were stalking behind them, racing to keep up and eventually pass them. Had they known, perhaps they would’ve ran faster and not allowed us to come even close to passing them. But hey, I’ll take what I can get. Because of the Blankenship competitive spirit kicking in that last 2 miles, Ellie and I ran our fastest mile split times of the whole race.
My Split Times
Mile 1: 9:24
Mile 2: 9:43
Mile 3: 9:55
Mile 4: 9:53
Mile 5: 9:07
Mile 6: 9:04
Official Final Time: 58:56
Pace: 9:30
I finished under an hour! For my full results, click here. (You can even see what place I finished out of 723 total 31 year old females! lol).
After a few group shots, a cup of Gatorade and snarfing down the free snack pack they give you after the race, we said goodbye to Eric and Lexi and the 4 of us showered in our hotel and headed to Denver. I felt like a train had hit me. My body was just exhausted. I guess that is what you get when you turn it into an actual race and push yourself versus a 60 minute jog through the park, lol.
Lunch at the Denver Chophouse & Brewery, watching Maryland Men’s Lacrosse lose a heartbreaker to Virginia in the National Championship game, and some casual walking (to get the blood moving) along the famed 16th Street rounded out the afternoon before heading to the airport.
So…now here I sit on the plane – thankful I have a window seat, no one in the middle seat next to me and most of all that I haven’t cramped up yet. Yet, I am even more thankful that I have such an awesome bond with my brother and sister. I love them both so much and only wish we lived closer. Maybe someday…
#BolderBoulder2011
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Love it! I would have engaged in a little "we're not racing...but I'm racing" behavior myself, no doubt. Congrats on completing at high altitude. ec
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