Colder Boulder 5k 2008

I always run with my Garmin 305. I don't think of myself as a slave to it, but I like to track my miles and pace over long and short workouts. It sometimes causes confusion in races, because my totals rarely match the race length exactly--it may read a 5k as 3.2 or a marathon as 26.43. This comes down to how much ducking and weaving I do on a course, however, varying off the straight line that determines a course length. As such, I don't let it bother me (with one exception, but that was a different story).

Naturally I had my Garmin with me today for Boulder's "invitational" 5k followup to the summer Bolder Boulder 10k. "Invitational" means that runners who finish in under 62 minutes are able to race other runners in special heats based on finishing time. Ostensibly this lets runners compete against others who are theoretically at the same ability level or speed (although as my friend Laura commented, what's to stop a runner from turning in a deliberately slow 10k time and run in a later heat with comparatively slower runners?). There is also an "open" division for people who didn't finish the 10k under the cutoff time, or wanted to sleep in a bit. Unlike the summer 10k, which runs through the neighborhood, the 5k winds its way through the CU campus, which is quite pretty in the fall. And, for the first time in all the (3) years I've run this event, the conditions were absolutely perfect. There was no wind (like last year), no ice anywhere on the course (like 2 years ago), the sun was shining, and temps had to have been in the low 50s to upper 40s.

I ran in the "54:00-59:59" invitational. Now, the day before, I ran a fantastic but pretty grueling 22-mile training run with my marathon training group, Runner's Edge of the Rockies. Because of this, I didn't plan on running a very fast or hard Colder Boulder. I figured I could probably finish in under half an hour. After a 2-mile warmup jog, however, I revised my thinking: sub-30 would be a miracle.

At 9:17 (cutting it close as usual) I lined up at the start. My Garmin was on; I'd used it to track my warmup miles. At 9:20 the gun went off and so did I. I didn't look at my Garmin to see what my pace was--I was going to run this one totally by feel. I knew this would be a slow race, because I was still a little stiff from the previous day's long run. Moreover, I was okay with that. So I wasn't going to let myself look at my pace, speed, time, or distance. I just put it out of my mind and let myself go.

Actually, the first half of the race felt fantastic. I was passing other runners, which I always enjoy (who doesn't?). And I felt great! That 2-mile warmup really made the difference--if I hadn't done that, I'm sure I would have had a terrible race.

A little more than halfway along the course, at the aid station, I slowed to a walk to get a drink. At this point I glanced down at my Garmin for the first time, to see how I was doing. Horrors! The damn thing read 00:00! I hadn't turned it on at the start! I took some consolation from the fact that my pace was coming down from sub-8-minute miles (it does show my speed, even if it's not recording). But I was discouraged: at about the 1-mile mark, feeling as strong as I was, and noticing all the people I'd been passing, I'd started thinking I was going to have a pretty good race after all. Now, I had no idea.

I admit: I was dejected at that moment. I let myself walk for a minute or so, over the course of which I was passed by about a dozen people, all of whom I had previously picked off. But I shook it off. I reminded myself that I was doing this for fun. I had nothing to prove to anybody. I'd run 22 miles just 24 hours ago, dammit! So what if I wasn't recording this? I'm still enjoying myself and feeling great!

With that, I started running again. Soon I passed the most recent runner to have zipped by me during my walk; and a moment later, I passed the next one. And then the next. And then I made it my mission to re-take my lead ahead of all the runners who had passed me. Why not? They were still running at roughly the same speed and, unlike me, had not had the luxury of a recovery period.

So I did. As we wound through the most picturesque portion of the run, the heart of the campus, I kept my speed up and, one by one, passed by all the runners who shot past me when I was roadkill. With each one, my heart lifted and my spirit soared a little higher--and my turnover picked up, just a little. I counted them off in my head: "Five...four...three...two...one..." I passed the last one at the three mile mark. I had regained my position in the pack with one tenth of a mile to go. As I turned the second-to-last corner on the north side of the Field House, I saw two more runners ahead of me. They were going at a pretty good clip; but so was I. I could take 'em. As I turned the last corner into the Field House, I turned it on full blast, sprinting to the finish line, rocketing past those last two runners, and (according to my friend Dan) practically flying over the finishing mats. In fact, I think I cleared both mats in one stride!

I have no idea what my pace was in that final .05k sprint. If I had to guess, I'd say crazy fast. It felt so good. Not the fact that I'd passed two more people (although that was nice), but just the sheer pleasure of my speed. I wonder if sprinters feel like this all the time. My heart was going a mile a minute (hell, by the end there maybe I was too!). I couldn't stop smiling. So what if I couldn't tell what my time was yet? All I had to do was wait a few minutes for the results to be posted. And even then, it didn't matter. I ran a fun race. I really enjoyed myself. If I'd deliberately decided not to use my Garmin, I probably would have had a faster time (since I wouldn't have had my pity party walk). But none of that mattered. I ran a solid race, felt great, and had enjoyed myself. And (except for about a minute in the middle) I never once worried about how fast I was going, or how far I'd gone or had yet to go, or anything like that.

Of course, once the results were up, I made a beeline for the posting. And I'm happy to say that I PR'd and finished in 24:21 and placed 11th out of 74 in my division!