Favorite Races of 2010 - Race 2

After 2 years spent at home during Memorial Day this year I was committed to finally return to Boulder, CO for the 2010 Bolder Boulder 10K. With college classes ending a few weeks before the race it was always hard to train while studying for my important Final Examinations. However, this year I was able to keep a minimal base and once I returned home I worked hard to up the mileage in the remaining two weeks before allowing my body a few days to rest.

Race day was filled with excitement was usual once my family all awoke around 5 AM to make the drive up north. We arrived at the start line around 6:15 which gave me almost a full hour to warm up before the AA wave started. Unlike 2008, when I last ran the race following my senior year in high school coming off a long track and field season, I had no expectations on what time I was capable of running. I had only run 6 miles a handful of times in the previous weeks and there was no time to build speed work into my training. But that is also one of the beauties about this race: there are so many people in your wave that you will always have someone to pace with, talk to, and work to beat.

As expected the first half of the race went fine, since I was trained mainly for a 5K race. Once 3.5 miles rolled around my lungs were feeling the burn and the side-cramps commenced, which proved hard to beat with the largest hill occurring just before mile 4. Thankfully I was able to push through and to my surprise I stayed with my group up until mile 5. By some miracle I was shocked to feel energy still in my legs as the street began to head uphill into Folsom Field. with just over half a mile to go I glanced at my watch and was once again surprised that a 40 minute 10K was not far off (my 2008 time was 40:00). Full of energy and excitement I blazed one of my fastest splits in the 6th mile and finished with a time just under 40:30! However, for me the fun was just beginning.

As I always tell my friends, one of the best parts of this race is the Post Race Expo. After catching my breath and drinking some water I headed across the street and began stocking up on all the free samples. As usual there was plenty of free food including frozen fruit pops, bagels, plenty of energy drinks, energy supplements, and even some organic chocolate milk! Once again this proved to be a great Memorial Day spent in Boulder as the family headed home, all satisfied with our times in the race, and with bags full of food soon to be enjoyed at home!