A Very Memorable Memorial Day Weekend
Memorial Day weekend 2015 was much anticipated! Not only was I going to run my first road race, I was going to do it surrounded by family - the Redmore clan was descending upon Boulder. Vassu, Ahir, Seth and Kyle were going to run/walk the BolderBOULDER 10k with me, Josh and Van... and 50,000 other awesome folks.
Gary and Wendy came in a couple days early to stay with us and hang with the boys. Shannon, Kyle and the other Redmores arrived Saturday, and stayed a cute house in North Boulder they'd rented for the weekend. Van and Wes were SO excited to be surrounded by cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents - such a treat to have them all in our neck of the woods!
Sunday the clouds finally broke a bit and we ventured downtown to the Boulder Creek Festival. We split up and checked out the booths at our own pace - face painting, massage tents, honey tasting, tie-dyed tees, etc. After a while we met back up, just as the rain started coming down... and moments later it really started coming down! We opted to not eat at the food stalls but to head over to The Med. Josh drove Wendy over, but the rest of us followed Lindsay through the deluge, leaping puddles and jumping under awnings, finally arriving at our destination covered in rain and hail! We had a fantastic meal of a variety of tapas passed up and down the table - it was sooooo yummy!
The BolderBOULDER
Monday morning was the big race! Josh and I have lived here for almost 10 years and this is our first BB... but not our last.
I arrived about 10min before my start time with Chris & Chris. The crowd was bigger than I thought but finding our wave wasn't hard. We slowly moved toward the starting line. Each wave got their own pep talk and a gun shot - we were off! I couldn't help but have a big smile on my face. I'd trained since January for this! Last year I couldn't have run a mile... now I was about to run 6.2 - ha! It felt pretty good!
Chris(topher) said goodbye to Chris(tina) and I, and took off. She and I stuck together. It was a lot warmer than I'd anticipated, and sunny. There were house parties all along the race route - belly dancers (my favorite), drinking contests ("you do a cartwheel and we'll take a drink"), pancake bars on the front lawn, lots and lots of Oskar Blues tents, bands every 1/2k or so, people handing out treats from their homes like bacon and cupcakes, and lots of high-fives. The vibe was incredible! The crowds of runners never thinned out. I figured it would be crowded at the start and then disperse once people got a good pace... nope!
By mile 5 my lower joints were telling my they were about done. I was walk-running now. Chris was stickin' with me still. We saw the final hill into CU stadium and tried to push through! Coming into the stadium to the cheers of thousands of people was more than I'd hoped for. I dug deep for as big a finish as I could, threw my hands in the air, smiled and crossed the finish line to hug my friend.
In the end I had a finish time of 1:21 and a 13min split average. Not what I was hoping for but given the sun, the crowds and the hills (I neglected hills in training), I'm happy with it for my first time.
Vassu, Ahir and Kyle came in a little while after me, and Josh, Van and Seth came in a while after that. That's right: Van! My 7 year old boy did a 10k! He walked and ran and I couldn't be prouder of him. We all met up in the stadium and watched all the runners and walkers come in. When everyone had finally crossed the finish line the elite runners started. 8 women started, and about 10 min later 8 men. These were the folks from Ethiopia and Kenya, a few from Japan and the US, and all just mesmerizing to watch. They finished in about 30 minutes... to a stadium filled with cheering BB racers.
Smiling, tired and some of us more than a little sunburned (it was predicted to be raining!) we headed back home to get ready for everyone to join us for a little Memorial Day bbq.
That evening the house was filled with family and friends. It made Josh, the boys and I so so happy. We see everyone together so seldom that when it happens we try to appreciate it as much as possible. These are truly wonderful people and we are privileged to call them family.
Thank you Redmores and Shaddays for making the trek to Colorado for this amazing weekend!
Sunday the clouds finally broke a bit and we ventured downtown to the Boulder Creek Festival. We split up and checked out the booths at our own pace - face painting, massage tents, honey tasting, tie-dyed tees, etc. After a while we met back up, just as the rain started coming down... and moments later it really started coming down! We opted to not eat at the food stalls but to head over to The Med. Josh drove Wendy over, but the rest of us followed Lindsay through the deluge, leaping puddles and jumping under awnings, finally arriving at our destination covered in rain and hail! We had a fantastic meal of a variety of tapas passed up and down the table - it was sooooo yummy!
The BolderBOULDER
Monday morning was the big race! Josh and I have lived here for almost 10 years and this is our first BB... but not our last.
I arrived about 10min before my start time with Chris & Chris. The crowd was bigger than I thought but finding our wave wasn't hard. We slowly moved toward the starting line. Each wave got their own pep talk and a gun shot - we were off! I couldn't help but have a big smile on my face. I'd trained since January for this! Last year I couldn't have run a mile... now I was about to run 6.2 - ha! It felt pretty good!
Chris(topher) said goodbye to Chris(tina) and I, and took off. She and I stuck together. It was a lot warmer than I'd anticipated, and sunny. There were house parties all along the race route - belly dancers (my favorite), drinking contests ("you do a cartwheel and we'll take a drink"), pancake bars on the front lawn, lots and lots of Oskar Blues tents, bands every 1/2k or so, people handing out treats from their homes like bacon and cupcakes, and lots of high-fives. The vibe was incredible! The crowds of runners never thinned out. I figured it would be crowded at the start and then disperse once people got a good pace... nope!
By mile 5 my lower joints were telling my they were about done. I was walk-running now. Chris was stickin' with me still. We saw the final hill into CU stadium and tried to push through! Coming into the stadium to the cheers of thousands of people was more than I'd hoped for. I dug deep for as big a finish as I could, threw my hands in the air, smiled and crossed the finish line to hug my friend.
In the end I had a finish time of 1:21 and a 13min split average. Not what I was hoping for but given the sun, the crowds and the hills (I neglected hills in training), I'm happy with it for my first time.
Vassu, Ahir and Kyle came in a little while after me, and Josh, Van and Seth came in a while after that. That's right: Van! My 7 year old boy did a 10k! He walked and ran and I couldn't be prouder of him. We all met up in the stadium and watched all the runners and walkers come in. When everyone had finally crossed the finish line the elite runners started. 8 women started, and about 10 min later 8 men. These were the folks from Ethiopia and Kenya, a few from Japan and the US, and all just mesmerizing to watch. They finished in about 30 minutes... to a stadium filled with cheering BB racers.
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| Race photos. Names are of the finishing face to look for. |
Smiling, tired and some of us more than a little sunburned (it was predicted to be raining!) we headed back home to get ready for everyone to join us for a little Memorial Day bbq.
That evening the house was filled with family and friends. It made Josh, the boys and I so so happy. We see everyone together so seldom that when it happens we try to appreciate it as much as possible. These are truly wonderful people and we are privileged to call them family.
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| Kyle, Shannon, Ahir, Seth, Josh Wendy & Gary Alyssa, Wesley, Van, Vasudha |
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| sibling shot |
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| Can't. Stop. Laughing! |
Thank you Redmores and Shaddays for making the trek to Colorado for this amazing weekend!
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