Mother’s Day Title 9k

If you are a sea-level dweller (like myself) and are going to run a race at altitude (as in, Boulder, CO altitude), you may as well chuck any plans of PR’ing and run to have fun.  Or, set more abstract goals besides pace; or, hold yourself to some other relative standard.

I managed to do all three at the Mother’s Day Title 9k this Sunday, which takes the all-female field around the Boulder Reservoir.  In the past when I’ve run this course, it’s been blisteringly hot, or exceedingly windy, both of which really suck on this open, dusty course.  This year, however, Sister-in-Law, Niece and I woke to fairy-tale conditions: a nip in the air, a sparkle in the sky, and legs as fresh as a daisy.  (Maybe it was all that piano-dragging I did as a tune-up? Ouch, that pun hurt!)

Let me say right now that I am not sentimental; nor do I really care much about tradition.  However, there’s something special about running this Mother’s Day race with my sister-in-law, my 2-year-old niece, and a competitive field made up entirely of other women.  It’s a tradition that I hope the three of us will keep as long as Title9 (the clothing company) organizes the race–I want to be able to run it with my niece until she’s strong enough to beat me one day.

My niece, who will heretofore be known as “Miss T,” is in that chatty, hyper-acquisitive stage of her language development, and therefore is a pip and a half.  Add that bubbly personality to a 9k race, and, well, let’s just say she charmed every woman we passed on the course (they didn’t even mind we were passing them).  From the starting horn, Miss T was clapping her hands and shouting “whoo hoo!” Her giggling and exclamations of “vamos vamos” and “muchas mammas” kept us moving.  This kid had so much fun (we took turns pushing her in the jog stroller), she was actually leaning forward in her seat, willing us to go faster.  She wore the tee-shirt I gave her for her birthday, which says: Girls Got Game. You Can Beat Me (In Your Dreams). Ha! Goal #1: HAVE FUN. Check!

Sister and I agreed that at the 7k mark, I’d take off and see how fast I could finish.  Usually, she beats my ass (I chalk this up to her longer legs and the fact that she lives at altitude), but this year she hadn’t had as much time to train as she’s been taking care of my newborn nephew for the past few months. Even though I finished before her, she still maintained her time from last year! Sweet. The last 2k, I concentrated on maintaining an effort level of around 95%, which meant I was probably running 9:30’s (I just couldn’t do all that conversion in my brain and keep running).  After about .5k, I realized I was passing everyone who was in front of me, and decided to have that be my goal aside from pace. I kept doing the body check, and each time came up with feeling good feeling strong I can maintain. This was a great feeling in and of itself, since the last two times I ran this race I struggled to (and pined for) the finish line. As luck would have it, I did pass every woman in front of me, even turning on a finishing kick (to which a few women responded but to no avail). This was a spindled race, so the motivation to get in front of just-one-more-woman felt much stronger to me than when I’m running against net chip times. Goal #2: ACHIEVE AN ABSTRACT GOAL. Check!

Since I was racing with my brother’s watch on my arm, you could say I was running on borrowed time, but the 56:16 net finishing time was mine-all-mine! That is my new PR for the course, by 3:07. (Even my gross time, 58:52, is a course-PR.) Goal #3: EXCEED A RELATIVE STANDARD. Check!

As soon as I gulped a cup of water, I went straight to the sidelines to cheer in the women. I cheered loudly for everyone, but when I saw Sis and Miss T, I went bonkers. They rocked that finish line, and Miss T definitely earned her High Five. A successful race, on all counts.

Let’s not forget the bonus: my little brother let me keep his watch, thus saving me from having to go buy another cheapola CVS jobbie!  Double-sweet.

Here are some other reports from the race: The Byrne Blog, How to Do It All & gaiaCreative