Cownundrum!

 photo from funwithgravity.blogspot.com

The plan for today was mile repeats at our favorite speed-work running venue: the South Boulder Creek Trail - almost flat, soft even surface, pastoral...  It is also open space grazing land - and today "grazing" was in full swing.  Cows, bulls, calves.  Many protective mama cows, very frisky and somewhat cranky bulls, and lots and lots of frolicking calves.  Cows and calves blocking the gate.  Bulls snorting and looking for their next ...uh... partner.  Packs of calves trotting like preschoolers following their cow leader.  Mile repeats at 10k pace just weren't going to happen today out on South Boulder Creek.

We ended up easing our way through the bovines, then ran west to the CU cross-country property and did 10-minute surges there.  Workout done, but potential mile pace remains a mystery.  It's getting pretty close to Bolder Boulder day so I am increasingly curious about what pace I might reasonably expect to run.  Quantifiable clues so far:

• April 4th: 2x5k, 1x2k workout with 5k's at 28:54 and 28:41 and 2k at 11:32 (avg 9:17 pace)
• April 11: .5, 1.5, .5, 1.5, .5 mile interval workout (avg. 9:03 pace)
• April 14: 5k race, 26:07 (avg. 8:23 pace, possibly short course)
• April 18: 5x1k workout (avg. 8:29 pace)
• April 28: 15k race (on trails and dirt roads), 85:38 (avg 9:12 pace, 2:04 faster than my 2011 time - in fact the fastest I've ever run it, having run it in 2007, '10 and '11)
• May 2: 1x2k, 2x1k, 4x500 workout (avg. 8:39 pace)

So.... what pace might I expect to run for this Memorial Day's Bolder Boulder????  Last year I ran 56:59, the year before 57:02 (roughly 9:11 pace).  I think I can beat that.  But by how much?  No doubt about it, I need to fit in a mile repeat session!