The long overdue Bolder Boulder post

A month ago I went down to Boulder to run the Bolder Boulder. It’s one of, if not the largest road race in the country. It’s crazy. Crazy fun. As I’ve stated before, I’m training for a half-marathon (12 days from now) and the Bolder Boulder fell right in line with my training schedule. So I figured running it would give me a good test to see where I was at. That’s me up there in the photo in the red circle mere seconds before crossing the finish line. One hour after I started the race.

I did pretty well in the run. Better than I’ve ever done before. Not as well as I was hoping for but pretty good. I finished in 1 hour and 7 seconds. I was hoping to finish in under an hour. So close.

I love this race. Aside from the challenge of finishing as quickly as possible, there’s tons of entertainment along the way. There are bands almost every block of the way. There were belly dancers. There were folks giving out otter pops, cookies, marshmallows, bacon… everything. Then, when you’re in the last mile, the streets are lined with people. They’re all cheering for you. Maybe not you specifically but everyone and it FEELS like they’re cheering for you. Then you get to the stadium and run up this huge hill that nearly kills you. Once you drop into the stadium, thousands more people are cheering and you run to the finish line. So much fun!

The best part was I got to do it all with my family this year. We all went through at different times but we all participated in some way. It was so much fun and it was a good way to mark my new healthier lifestyle. Next up, a half-marathon that I can’t wait to be done with.

Best dad

I have a great dad. I really do. Growing up, I wasn’t always so in touch with how awesome he is but now that I’m older, I totally see it. I mean, just look at that picture… My dad was rocking the aviators and mutton chops and is very obviously happy to be hanging with me, the kid. Like I said, BEST. DAD. EVER.

Dad is the one that introduced me to skiing. That’s me in the front and him following not too far behind. He most likely didn’t realize it then, but he got me started on a sport that will be with me the rest of my life. One that I’m passionate about and absolutely love. Had it not been for him, I don’t know that I’d have ever gone skiing. Especially since we were living in Texas at the time. How many Texas dad’s take their kids skiing? Who knows, but mine did. Can’t thank him enough for that.

Again with the mutton chops! I gotta grow some in honor of him. I don’t know if Jess will let me get away with it, but come on! Here you can see Dad helping me open up a toy that he’ll be shocked to believe I have absolutely no memory of. He wont’ really be shocked, he’s told me often how spoiled I was at a young age. I didn’t see it then, cause I was obviously blinded by all the toys, but I was. My dad (and my mom) totally spoiled me as a kid. Heck, they still do. Even when they didn’t have a lot, they found other was to spoil my sister and I. I really don’t have much to complain about. My dad’s love for his two kids was apparent throughout our childhood and has remained just as strong as we’ve grown up and started lives of our own.

Would you be surprised to no that I have no memory of any of these photos? They were all so long ago. It’s not that all the stuff I did with my dad wasn’t memorable. I think it’s more that so much of it was memorable that I couldn’t possibly remember it all. I do remember running races with my dad in the front yard of our house in Houston, playing catch and throwing it as hard as I could to try to make my dad’s hand hurt, (he did a good job of faking that it hurt I threw it so hard). I remember multiple fishing trips and watching my dad drive the boat as I sat on the floor of the boat.

Most of all though, I remember never doubting that my dad loved me. I was a lucky kid. Not everyone grows up with a good father. I grew up with the best father. I may not have always shown my appreciation for how great he was, but looking back, I’m so thankful for the blessing he’s been in my life. I am the man and husband that I am because of all that he taught me over the years.

My dad rules. Happy Father’s Day!

Less than a month left…

As I’ve posted about before, I’ve been training for a half-marathon. I started running several months ago when ski season ended as a way to keep myself motivated to keep going to the gym. So I run, a lot. 15-20 miles per week usually. That’s ramping up a bit as race day approaches. This week I’ll run 10 or 11 miles on my long distance day. Last week I did 9.5 miles. It’s a long way and takes a long time.

I thought maybe I’d find an appreciation for running and it would make sense why people like my high school buddy and college roommate, Greg, enjoy it so much. To be honest, I haven’t really found that. When I’m running, for the most part it just hurts. I can settle into a rhythm for a while but around 7 miles it really starts to be a struggle. That’s not good considering my half-marathon will be 12.2 miles. That means I’ll barely be half way when it really starts to suck. Hopefully this last month will give me a little more endurance before the pain starts.

The only thing I do like is how well it’s helped me keep in shape. I’m in the best shape of my life. I’m thin. I’ve got good cardio fitness and my muscle tone is pretty dang good. I’ll keep running after the halfathon (my name for this crazy challenge) but I think the right distance for me is a 10K. It’s just long enough to be a challenge but still short enough for me to enjoy it.

The week before my halfathon is a local road race here in Hamilton. It’s a 5K or a 10K. I thought I’d do the 5K originally, but since is the last distance run before the big one, I’m kind of thinking I should just do the 10k. I’ll have a full week to recover and the distance will be good for keeping myself in shape. So I may just do it. Besides, it’s only an hour of running right?