The race that was…n’t!

On Monday, for Memorial Day I toed the line for the Bolder Boulder 10k.  I’ve done this many times before, running for Team Colorado or in the citizen race in the past.  Today was different, I had achieved a decade long goal, to run for Team USA (check out my cool USA bottles that Polar Bottle had ready just in time for the Bolder Boulder 1ok)!

Polar Bottle had me customize my bottles with my signature!

While Monday’s race was disastrous for me I ran for so much more than just myself.  This day was about taking one more step on my journey towards my dreams.  I wasn’t only running for Team USA but I was also running for all those who have served or continue to serve so that I can live in a free country!  While many of you are wondering what a disastrous race entrails, for me it is when nothing goes my way and there is really nothing I can do about it!  I’ve had races (Bloomsday 12k for example) where I did not have a great race but I can pinpoint what went wrong (my legs didn’t like the new taper we tried and therefore I felt flat)!  However, for the BB10k it was different.  It is what most runners call, an “off” day!  My “off” day consisted of the thought to drop out on more than one occasion (think five or six times and the race is only 6.2 miles long) and to run the most painfully slow pace despite feeling like my effort matched that of a sprint!

Like I mentioned before, however, this Memorial Day race is about so much more than myself and that is what kept me going when I all I wanted to do was drop out, curl up on the sidewalk with my head between my knees and be invisible.  These are the days where I believe we build the most character.  Bad races leave you searching for the one or two good things that where.  The good news coming out of this race was by me finishing, I helped Team USA White earn a $4,000 prize split between the three of us.  Had I dropped out Team Mexico would have beat us and I would have “cheated” the two American women in front of me out of the hard earned prize money.  So while the race was what I consider to be a really bad day, I am ready to move forward knowing I did my best on that day even though my best was far from my best most days!

I greatly appreciate all the support from the community yelling my name out on the course or yelling, “Go USA”!  I appreciate all the support from my sponsors: Brooks, Zeal Optics, Polar Bottle, First Endurance, Nuun, NormaTec, and EllitiGO!  I appreciate all the support from my team (that consists of family, friends, and the people that keep my body healthy!)

Running into the packed stadium is such an amazing experience that will forever be embedded in my mind.  It is the loudest finish I have ever run into and that says something about the running community here in Boulder!  Despite feeling like I had a bad day, bad days are made better by amazing experiences such as running the pro race at the Bolder Boulder.  It is made better by all those people screaming for you and for all those people who sacrifice their lives or put themselves in harms way to protect our country!

Until next time…