je suis fini avec le bolder boulder
at precisely 5 o'clock am my alarm startled me. i knew that i had to run and run hard that day. i decided to get up and take a shower. next, i made some coffee to prepare me for the run. as we picked up our friends, we talked about life, friends, and...the race. i was the only rookie in the van. i did not know what to expect. we made it to the drop off point about 45 min. before the race started. was i ready? no, but a trip to the bathroom cured this. i found a spot out of the brisk wind but in the sun as a location to stretch. my dad and i crept towards the starting line getting ready to go. as he edged us to the outside in case we needed to pass people, we were finally ready.
at exactly 08:18:30, the gun sounded. we serpentined our way through the crowd on the sunny boulder morning. grandparents, kids, parents, siblings, boys, girls, we saw as we passed them. the 1km mark came sooner than i expected. we continued to weave through the crowd past the roaring onlookers. about a mile and a half into the race, my dad's leg started to hurt. i was going to wait, but momentum and his wish disallowed me. our first hill. i stepped it up a notch to pass some people. as we turned through the neighborhoods and city streets, we were always greeted by a new site. bellydancers, ballerinas, hungover college kids, musicians, volunteers were among the people being passed on the sides. the bolder boulder is rarely a race for a PR. cell phones, cameras, costumes are all welcome on the course. 2km, 3km, 4km, 5km sponsored arches were being passed victoriously. i felt like a world class runner as i was passing people left and right. it was merely a falsehood as the people i were passing were walkers and joggers. the downtown streets of boulder propelled me past more people as there were many people cheering outside the restuarants and shops. 6km, 7km, 8km, 9km. i was almost there. my foot was starting to fall asleep. dang, i knew i should have loosened my shoes. 9.5km. a hill stood in front of me. mentally it was steeper than realistically. as i hit the base, i accelerated. i passed more people as we were bottlenecked into...folsom field, the univeristy of colorado stadium. i knew it was coming, but until i entered the stadium with tens of thousands onlookers, i had no idea what to expect. a half run around the stadium and i would be finished. again i slithered through the crowd of people as i was wanting to get to that finish quickly. the outside lane proved to be the quickest route. as i turned the corner, an opening presented itself for me. i sprinted around and ended up under the banner and on past the line in lane 7. 49.47 was my official time.
at exactly 08:18:30, the gun sounded. we serpentined our way through the crowd on the sunny boulder morning. grandparents, kids, parents, siblings, boys, girls, we saw as we passed them. the 1km mark came sooner than i expected. we continued to weave through the crowd past the roaring onlookers. about a mile and a half into the race, my dad's leg started to hurt. i was going to wait, but momentum and his wish disallowed me. our first hill. i stepped it up a notch to pass some people. as we turned through the neighborhoods and city streets, we were always greeted by a new site. bellydancers, ballerinas, hungover college kids, musicians, volunteers were among the people being passed on the sides. the bolder boulder is rarely a race for a PR. cell phones, cameras, costumes are all welcome on the course. 2km, 3km, 4km, 5km sponsored arches were being passed victoriously. i felt like a world class runner as i was passing people left and right. it was merely a falsehood as the people i were passing were walkers and joggers. the downtown streets of boulder propelled me past more people as there were many people cheering outside the restuarants and shops. 6km, 7km, 8km, 9km. i was almost there. my foot was starting to fall asleep. dang, i knew i should have loosened my shoes. 9.5km. a hill stood in front of me. mentally it was steeper than realistically. as i hit the base, i accelerated. i passed more people as we were bottlenecked into...folsom field, the univeristy of colorado stadium. i knew it was coming, but until i entered the stadium with tens of thousands onlookers, i had no idea what to expect. a half run around the stadium and i would be finished. again i slithered through the crowd of people as i was wanting to get to that finish quickly. the outside lane proved to be the quickest route. as i turned the corner, an opening presented itself for me. i sprinted around and ended up under the banner and on past the line in lane 7. 49.47 was my official time.
3 comments:
Oh shoot, I am jealous. I forgot how big that thing is. And good time man. I don't remember my time the last time I went, all I remember is falling on the curb and getting a big scrape on my leg! Make me run when I get back!
Good job man!
finishing a long hard run possibly feels better than heroine shot between your toes. i ran a 5k in p-cola once. i had food poising the night before. irony or fate?
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