Boulder Half Marathon

Was I ready for the Boulder Half-Marathon?? I was doing pretty good on my running. I didn't have any exact workouts. I wasn't training for a half-marathon, but I figure I was putting in good mileage and I could do it. My longest run was about 10 miles.

The week before the race I had a tempo run. The run was 8 miles. It was a great run. I did the run with the Rocky Mountain Road Runners, so it was more like a race. I ran 8 miles in 51:26. With the pace I was running I would have run a 1:26:45 half-marathon.

Pre-Race
I got to the Boulder Reservoir in good timing. It was such a nice morning. They moved the times forward one hour because it doesn't become light until 7am. I heard that it wasn't safe for the volunteers to be in the dark directing cars. Today was going to be a hot day. The temperature was told it was going to be in the mid 80's.

I got a chance to talk with several RMRR members. Deb Cunningham was doing the full marathon and I had the chance to talk with her. This race was more of a training run for her. Same for me I thought. I was in to race, but not to get carried away.

Start
The half-marathon started at 9am. It was pretty hot already and I knew it was going to be pretty tough. The worst part was the wind. The wind was strong and no shade.

My first two miles were rocking!! I tried not to take it too fast. I always seem to take the first mile too fast. I was having a good race and feeling great. It wasn't easy though. I had one runner drafting off me. He did gain a great advantage. I was in about 15th place overall after the first 10k. Miles 7, 8 and 9 were hard. I started getting cramps in the side. I seemed like I was overheating and loosing steam. I lost it after mile 9. My pace slowed, the cramps were still there and I was fatigued. I felt worn out and well...spent.

I struggled for the remaining race. I had 16 people pass be after the first 10k. 16 people. My pace struggled and I almost felt like walking. I knew I was off pace and my goal was to finish.

Finish
The finish seemed like it was forever away. I finally made it and was exhausted. I chugged 2 12.9oz bottles of water. Big mistake. I will try harder not to gulp the water that fast again. I get sick when I gulp water like that.

Mile 1: 6:04, Mile 2: 6:08, Mile 3: 6:28, Mile 4: 6:46, Mile 5: 6:54, Mile 6: 7:08, Mile 7: 7:00, Mile 8: 6:37, Mile 9: 6:52, Mile 10: 7:17, Mile 11: 7:55, Mile 12: 8:21, Mile 13: 7:53, Mile .34: 2:34

Overall Time: 1:32:04
Pace: 7:11/mile
10k Split time: 41:29
Overall Rank (male): 31/699
Division 25-29 male: 10/74

What a learning experience this race has been. I learned to take it easy especially in the wind. Better training and more race specific training. I was very hard on myself about this race. It took me about 3-4 days to get over it.

I had to get over it because a new adventure awaits. One week and I compete in the 24 hours of triathlon race (as a team).