Bolder Boulder race report

I just read this article claiming that political apathy is so high in Hawai'i, that city council members, the city prosecutor, and even the mayor have little or no opposition in the upcoming election. There are still eight weeks left to register for any of these positions, so if you are unhappy with the way things are going in Hawai'i, don't just complain, run for a position.

This morning was the Bolder Boulder. I have been hoping to run a 42 minute 10k. All the excuses started of why I couldn't hit that mark as soon as I opened my eyes. I woke up to light rain. I rode to the race start wearing sweatpants and a long sleeve tshirt. I locked my bike, stripped to my cool running outfit, and waited in line for the bathroom. 45 minutes later, my wave was getting ready to rock. I overheard a few different kinds of conversations including,

"Don't run on your toes, it isn't good for you"
"Oh my god, look how badly I need to wax my eyebrows"
"Yeah I noticed your eyebrows a few days ago"

I maneuvered my way to the front of my wave and when the gun went off, I took off sprinting, exactly what I shouldn't do. Most people in my wave were walking or running the first mile before walking the next five. I signed up late so I was put in the back half of the 52,000+ entrants. The first mile was fine, I hugged the side and there weren't too many people in my way.
We passed the middle aged belly dancers that had no business showing their stomachs during mile two. The roads started getting thinner and the crowds began squishing together. It was nearly impossible for me to put my head down and find a rhythm. I slacked off a couple of times making the excuse that I should slow down and just enjoy the run. That seemed like a waste of time though. There was a pretty good Elvis around mile 3.
The weather was good for running. It was overcast and about 15C (60F). Some people had a slip and slide set up and a few brave souls dared to take the challenge. One guy that I was catching up to, veered off the course, slid down the slip and slide into the mud puddle, got up and continued running. I gave him a high five and was glad not to be him for the next few wet cold miles as I kept going.
What I noticed throughout the run was the lack of enthusiasm by the spectators. Everyone stood on the side of the road, silent until they saw the person that they were waiting for. They would give a little cheer and then leave the race to go home. In Hawai'i people are cheering for everyone.
Mile four was spent zig-zagging in and out of thousands of runners and walkers. Some people like to wear costumes which is always fun. There are a few bands on the course and some of them are decent. The fun ones are the people that probably only sing in the shower, yet on Memorial Day in Boulder, they decide set up a microphone and belt out their favorite tunes in front of all of us. It is hard to laugh and run, but I always clap for them. I wouldn't do it.
I saw my Mom at about mile 5. She was the obnoxious lady screaming at everyone. Telling everyone that they are doing a great job (even if they weren't racing).
When I hit mile 6 I thought that I spent too much time avoiding people to do as well as I wanted. There was a short uphill that made most people slow down (myself included) and almost throw up. We ran into Folsom Field, University of Colorado's football field that holds over 50,000 people. As we were sprinting to the finish, there were a boy and girl about 15 years old dressed as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They were pretty quick so I tried to catch them. As I came up behind them, I was shouting encouragement, "Let's go Turtles!" Unfortunately, the boy slipped going around a corner and the girl didn't look back, she picked up speed and made sure to beat him as he slid on his shell.
I finished the race, not knowing my time and went home to eat a big breakfast before work. After work, I came home and saw my time, 41:43.33! Woo hoo. A 6:44 pace makes me happy. I placed 893 out of the 52,000 entrants. Looks like I will need to break 40 minutes at my next 10K.
Pics will be posted when they are released.
Pau.