I never usually write race reports. But then again, my goal for the usual race is just to finish. This year, I had an actual goal with time involved. And I had posted about it on the internets. Twice.
Since I don’t run that many races anymore, I’ve decided that when I do, I’m going to take them a bit more seriously. Not that much more seriously, because let’s remember it is me, after all…
But enough about my serious running goals, let’s talk about the Bolder Boulder as it happened almost a week ago…
–It was the first race that no carb-loading took place the night before…maybe ever? The hubby made me spaghetti squash and fried eggplant, with plantains and a salad fresh out of garden. I wasn’t missing carbs one bit and didn’t have that heavy feeling the night before the race.
–Race morning: Got up early to stretch, drink coffee and eat a banana w/ almond butter. Felt like a champ.
–Ended up in same wave as a friend and had someone to chat with for the first mile. Before I dropped her. Although, in her defense, she was suffering through a sinus infection. (Hi Robin!)
–After parting ways with Robin, I ran the race by myself. Well, me and my watch. It’s the first time in three years that I haven’t had my husband running the race with me. I think the solo effort helped me to keep an eye on my mile splits and to push myself harder than usual. Not that he slows me down or anything, but without my husband there, I was able to fully focus on my performance. And it showed in my time.
–No water until mile 5. It felt good to keep running through the early water stations and since I rarely train with much water, I was okay not getting any until later in the race.
–After I got home and checked my results online, I realized I pulled off a negative split. Meaning that I ran the second half of the race faster than the first. This has been a goal of mine for a long time and it’s the first time I’ve actually pulled it off.
–Shaved three minutes off last year’s time, which was the very public goal that I made sure to tell everyone about. Also? I was *this close* to coming in under an hour. Like 21 seconds close. Can you guess what my goal is going to be for next year?
–Felt strong the entire time. I was passing people in the last couple of miles and that’s something I really enjoy doing. Because in years past, it wasn’t something I was doing much of.
–I did the whole thing with a busted lip. It’s a long story but suffice it to say, I’ve had prettier years running this race. (You can see a little something on my chin in the first picture and yes, it’s a big gnarly scab.)
–I honestly think that CrossFit had a lot to do with my success in this run. I didn’t do that many training runs before the race but because my core is just generally stronger, I had more power overall, less soreness in my legs and the ability to push myself when necessary. Not to mention the fact that I’ve done way more sprinting with CrossFit than ever before by myself. Sometimes I just need someone yelling at me to insure that I run short distances.
This race just gets better by the year and is the perfect start to my summer racing season. I plan to continue running this one for as long as I live in Boulder.
And because it’s apparent that I stole borrowed the photos above from Brightroom event photography, let me just say thank you to Brightroom event photography for capturing this year’s race.
(Maybe next year I’ll actually buy one? But only if you get pics of me looking good. Deal?)
