My First 10k

A while back I decided I wanted to start doing everything I've always wanted to but never tried - sort of like working on my bucket list while I'm still young enough to do it. 

So this year when emails started coming in about registering for the Bolder Boulder I knew I wanted to do it. Luckily, my friend Erin and her mom compete in it every year so I already had someone else willing to run it.

I kept telling myself I would start running to get myself prepared for my first 10k. But between school, work and DJ's crazy schedule I was never able to find time to go run by myself. Taylor and I would go on a 2 mile walk but the poor thing can't ride her bike fast enough for me to run.

Anyways, race day came and I was not prepared in the least. The night before we'd had a bunch of friends over for s'mores in the back yard. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep. On the way to the race Erin and I were talking about how much we'd trained for it. Her mom is a seasoned runner and we already knew that at 52 she'd be leaving us in the dust. Erin laughed when she said she hadn't really ran since St. Patricks Day. I laughed when I said I'd ran maybe 1/2 a mile to prepare for a 10k. I felt so out of my league among these well trained runners all around me.

As we started off I kept telling myself as long as Erin and I kept the same pace I couldn't stop to walk until she did. I was struggling but kept giving Erin the good ol' thumbs up that I was ok. Finally around the 3 mile mark she pulled out her head phones and said she was sorry but she had to walk. My exact response was "Thank God!". Apparently she was trying not to stop until I did.

The race itself was beautiful. I love Boulder. And the people cheering us on from in front of their houses were awesome. One house had a slip-n-slide along with a keg stand (we didn't partake in that), others were handing out chips, water, throwing water balloons or spraying us with their garden hose to help cool us down. My favorite was the house of guys holding out trays of bacon as we ran by. Yes, bacon.

I used my phone as my ipod so I was able to capture a couple pictures as well.

I was so happy to see this sign and know I was almost done. My legs felt like jello and running up all those hills had been killer. WAY TO GO! Almost there. . . but let me tell you, taking a picture while running is not very easy.

I loved that at the end of the race you ran into the CU stadium and there were hundreds of people in the stands waiting for their friends/family to cross the finish line. But what I also loved that on your way out of the stadium they handed you an orange, a snack pack and a beer.

For not training or being a runner I think we did pretty good. Final finish time was 1:11:55. I have a lot of work laid out ahead of me to improve my time. . . and on the way home Erin talked me into do a half marathon with her next May in Lincoln NE. Anyone else up for a challenge?