Race Report: ColderBolder

A little late, but finally a few words on my "big" winter race this year - the ColderBolder 5K.

As I mentioned in my last post, my motivation to train and run this race had been slowly dwindling. Dwindling to the point that I seriously considered sleeping in and blowing it off. But, I persevered - my main motivation being that I didn't want to waste the race registration money and I wanted to collect my Headsweats Alpine Reversible Cocona Beanie. So, I dutifully made the drive to Boulder.

After parking, registering, and making a bathroom stop, I huddled near the start line. The waves were going off 10 minutes apart and mine was the last of the invitational waves. Lining up, I started to get excited and felt glad that I was participating. The gun went off and that pre-race excitement lasted about half a mile. After the first few minutes, I seriously wanted to quit. I've been really drained emotionally lately - the stress of finding a job is getting to me and I had been particularly upset the day before. For me, running is as mental an exercise as it is a physical one. When I'm in the pool or on my bike, I can lose my thoughts more easily and just get into the rhythm of it. But, sometimes when I run, it's like I have to will myself through each and every step. When I'm not feeling it, I'm not feeling it. ColderBolder morning, I wasn't feeling it.

I quickly shifted into "survival" mode, for lack of a better term. I told myself that I should completely forget about my time (luckily I left my Garmin at home) and asked myself to simply run the rest of the way without stopping to walk. Sounds silly, right? Although I am by no means a great athlete, one thing I know I can do is run 3 miles continuously! "Run the whole way" is a goal for a marathon or half-marathon, not a silly little 5K. But, I suppose that's how it goes sometimes. You never know what variables you will be working with on a given race day or training day and you have to roll with the punches. Sometimes what you think will be an exercise of prowess and speed turns into a grueling task of perseverance. And, as much as I wanted to quit, I'm happy I persevered. I felt like I was slowing down to 11 minute miles, but I kept willing each foot to follow the other. Things looked up a little when I passed the second mile-marker, which was right near the starting line. The open wave was scheduled to start 20 minutes after my wave and they hadn't started yet, so I knew I was running sub-10 minute miles after all. I kept it up and finished in 30:48 (9:55/mile). It felt like icing on the perseverance cake to finish with a sub-10 min/mile pace.

What kept going through my head during the race was a scene from Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me -- Austin looks at the camera bewildered and exclaims, "I've lost my Mojo!" As I ran, I kept reminding myself of the movie's "lesson" -- if you have Mojo, no one can take it, it's just a matter of finding it within yourself. (I swear, I'm not obsessed with Austin Powers -- I've only seen this movie once, but for whatever reason it popped into my head!)

Even though I've been feeling a little Mojo-less lately, I know I haven't lost it, and I know I'll get it back, sports-wise and life-wise.