The Bolder Boulder question

Another stellar morning in Boulder. During today's run, I was greeted with the sight of two hot air balloons rising up behind Valmont Butte as I made my way to my volunteer job. (The balloons are the two specs just above the butte in the center of the picture...my phone camera certainly leaves something to be desired...)

A few mornings hence and the Bolder Boulder will fill the streets with runners and spectators. It's quite the gala event. I've not yet decided what approach I will take this year: run? race? run with a friend? see how fast I can run? As I trotted home from my volunteer job, I crossed paths with a fellow Boulder Road Runner who asked what I was shooting for on Monday. I told him I wanted to finish with a smile on my face. He had the better answer when I asked him what his goal was. His response: "I want to be drinking a beer by 8 a.m."

As for racing versus running, my body has still not fully transitioned out of the long-slow-run mode. However, I had a revelation after volunteering at last weekend's Big XII Track & Field Championships (a fantastic meet by the way - info can be found at www.cubuffs.com). Much of my volunteer time was spent at the back of the final straightaway where I had a fabulous view of runners flying down the track...spectacularly chiseled bodies, with soles of their shoes flashing back at me as the runners accelerated toward the finish line.
A few days later, as I was doing 90-second repeats along the South Boulder Creek path, that vision of the soles of the shoes came back to me - and I started pulling my feet through, lifting my heels behind me...not as high as my butt like the gazelles of the Big XII mind you, but certainly off the ground more than the millimeters I had been lifting them all last summer. My goodness, what a difference that makes! Not only does one go faster, one goes further with each footfall as well. Miraculous! My hopes for a potentially fast(ish) Bolder Boulder went from "hah! in your dreams!" to "hmmm! perhaps...maybe...wouldn't entirely rule it out..." Bottom line goal, however, remains Finish With A Smile! It is the 6.2 mile-long Bolder Boulder party after all!