Tough Outing

Well, on Monday I had the privilege of returning to the elite field of the Bolder Boulder 10k. The year before I was the 10th individual on the 2nd place team. Coming back this year I was hoping to improve upon both of those placings. I knew the team of myself, Ryan Hall, and James Carney were capable of running very well and had a shot of winning against the always tough Kenyan and Ethiopian teams. I knew that I was a year older, stronger, and I thought wiser; but unfortunately on Monday I didn't use that last commodity. The course had changed from last year, instead of starting the first mile and a half on a slight downhill, this year the first mile and a half would go the opposite direction, going on a slight uphill. Last year the Ethiopians who went 1-2-3 blazed a 4:18 first mile, and I was in the back of the chase pack at 4:35 at the mile split. Even though I knew the course had changed, I anticipated a similar fast first mile in this years race. After a good night's rest, a warm up that adjusted for a 15 minute delay to the start, and my usual pre-race rituals and prayers, I was ready for this year's Bolder Boulder to get going!

When the race started I was surprised to find myself leading for a while, I felt smooth and watched as we went by the 1k mark at 3:00, and the 1 mile mark at 4:52. "Great paced race" I thought, "The Africans are actually going to run pretty even paces this year." At that point I got a little caught up in the excitement of running for Team USA on Memorial day, and stayed with the lead Africans for a quicker next two miles, instead of hanging back and playing it safe with Ryan and James. Right around the 5k mark, I started to pay for this decision. I knew I would have to gut out around 3 miles of pain because there are no alternates, and falling way back or dropping out was not an option. James and Ryan caught me around 3.5 miles and I tried to go with them, but no success. I could feel myself getting slower and slower, and was surprised that tons of guys weren't passing me. During this time, I also did a terrible job mentally, I did the worst thing someone in my position could do, think negative. As Jason Hartman passed me on the uphill on the last mile, I could hear myself start to breath louder and louder. It must have been pretty funny for some of the fans I ran by that last mile, huffing and puffing hard enough to give them a nice breeze on an early summer day. I finally ran into Folsom Field, and barely remember saying "crap" as another runner passed me the last 200, which Annika said she heard as I ran by her. I don't know if I've ever been so relieved to cross a finish line.



As bad as the second half of the race was (I was right around 16 minutes for the second 5k) the whole weekend was pretty fun. Getting to be teammates with Ryan and James was a ton of fun, and I hope that I continue to have the privilege of running for Team USA on national holidays.

Now I am in Fort Collins with Annika, getting all the last minute details of our wedding put together. My parents have done a lot of work and planning for us, and I am extremely grateful for that: Thanks Mom and Dad! After getting married on Saturday, Annika and I will get back to Flagstaff Monday night, then I fly out for my next race, the USATF 8k road championships in Carmel, IN.

Oh! And I almost forgot to mention the most exciting news of the past week, before heading out to Boulder, Annika had an ultrasound and we found out that we'll be having a baby girl come mid-October! We were both excited about this and happy to see that her development is progressing well; becoming a daddy is becoming more and more realistic everyday!