Bolder Boulder update

/ Tracy Abell

Well, I ran the race this morning.

And it was tough.

Good news:  I didn’t walk.

Bad news:  I wanted to quit in the first mile.

It’s the first time Zippy Ramone and I’ve run together (we usually run in separate waves because it aggravates me no end that he’s faster than me).  But today he made a commitment to me and my race, and stuck with me to keep me going.  He’s a wonderful man.

I ran the race in 52:21, a mere 2 1/2 minutes off my goal but that’s okay. Because as I mentioned, I REALLY just wanted to sit down and have a good cry but I fought off that urge and kept plugging along.

I need you all to know how much your kind comments and good vibes meant to me.   When I was having those internal conversations about the merits of quitting the race, I remembered your support and it helped keep me going.  I didn’t want to let you OR me down.

One of the Bolder Boulder perks is a post-race massage given by massage school students.  In the past, I’ve received rather perfunctory attention that lasted a fraction of the massages Zippy gets post-race.  I always wondered if I smelled even more than the average runner.

Today, that all changed.  I got a 20 minute massage from a man named Lowell.  He stretched and massaged every one of my tired muscles.  I was crying tears of gratitude by the time he finished. 

Zippy complained his massage therapist finished working on him plus another runner in the time it took to get mine.  HA!

When we drove up our street, I saw a long streamer of toilet paper and wondered why someone chose today to TP our yard.  But it was our neighbor who’d strung toilet paper across our driveway.  I broke the finish line ribbon with the nose of my Prius!

I’m off for a long soak in a tub of Epsom salts.  Thank you again so very much for helping me make it through the race!

53 thoughts on “Bolder Boulder update”

    • Thank you, Laurie! I was so grateful to cross the finish line and be done with that race. The cool thing is even when the running is tough, the post-run endorphins are still there! I swear I can still feel them a bit this morning!

      Like

    • I thought about you when the alarm went off at 4:15 yesterday morning. We had to catch a 5:30 race-day bus to get to Boulder in time. Ugh. But mostly I thought of you and the mythical TEAM VINCA shirt, Linda, and it helped me keeping slogging. 🙂 Thank you!
      And you’re right about my neighbor deserving a T-shirt and so much more. She also gave us leftover desserts from her Sunday cookout so Zippy and I sampled several different pies and a chocolate covered strawberry as we watched the elite women’s and men’s races on TV when we got home. (We figured they needed the extra energy).

      Like

  6. Kudos!
    Tracy,
    Congrats on your race time! That’s absolutely fantastic. You’re pretty zippy yourself, I must say. Thank you for posting the race details. I dropped by earlier to check, which I know is terribly impatient seeing as this is still race day and all, but I’m so happy to hear you ran such a good race. Your neighbour sounds like a gem by the way.

    Like

    • Re: Kudos!
      Thank you, C.K.! It makes me smile thinking of you impatiently checking for race results. I still can’t get into the race site to find out where I placed in my age group (and maybe that’s a good thing) but whatever my place, I’m so grateful I could run and finish the race again.
      My neighbor IS a gem. This weekend is ten years in this house and we couldn’t have better neighbors (not just her but others, too). We feel very fortunate to have a little community thing going on here.

      Like

  7. Kudos!
    Tracy,
    Congrats on your race time! That’s absolutely fantastic. You’re pretty zippy yourself, I must say. Thank you for posting the race details. I dropped by earlier to check, which I know is terribly impatient seeing as this is still race day and all, but I’m so happy to hear you ran such a good race. Your neighbour sounds like a gem by the way.

    Like

  8. Kudos!

    Tracy,

    Congrats on your race time! That’s absolutely fantastic. You’re pretty zippy yourself, I must say. Thank you for posting the race details. I dropped by earlier to check, which I know is terribly impatient seeing as this is still race day and all, but I’m so happy to hear you ran such a good race. Your neighbour sounds like a gem by the way.

    Like

  11. YAY!!!!!!!! Woo, Tracy!!!!!! You rocked the Bolder Boulder!
    I’ve been thinking about you SO much and I’m so proud that you pushed through and finished! What a great accomplishment.

    Like

    • Thank you very much, Dot. It means so much to me to have your good thoughts and support. I even carried a packet of some energy gel goo (I’ve never used that stuff before) and squirted it into my mouth partway through the race but that didn’t do as much for me as thinking about all my friends supporting me to the finish line. And you guys taste better, too. (Um, you know what I mean).

      Like

  12. YAY!!!!!!!! Woo, Tracy!!!!!! You rocked the Bolder Boulder!
    I’ve been thinking about you SO much and I’m so proud that you pushed through and finished! What a great accomplishment.

    Like

  13. YAY!!!!!!!! Woo, Tracy!!!!!! You rocked the Bolder Boulder!

    I’ve been thinking about you SO much and I’m so proud that you pushed through and finished! What a great accomplishment.

    Like

    • Thank you, Robin! I loved the soak and even convinced Zippy to take one, too. I’m so glad to have that race behind me and now can run in the open space without obsessing about whether I’m running hard enough to train for the race. I have months and months before I need to start thinking that way again! 🙂

      Like

  16. 1. Good for you! Yey!
    2. Massage therapists at the finish line? Nice. They didn’t have that at the marathon I ran eons ago. But they did have medics giving people iv fluids.
    3. What a cool neighbor!

    Like

    • 1) Thank you, Lizzy!
      2) The massage is such a treat after that race. HUGE congrats on running a marathon! I’m so impressed with you folks who can go that distance. Whew.
      3) My neighbor is the coolest. I love her much.

      Like

  17. 1. Good for you! Yey!
    2. Massage therapists at the finish line? Nice. They didn’t have that at the marathon I ran eons ago. But they did have medics giving people iv fluids.
    3. What a cool neighbor!

    Like

  18. That is so awesome! I thought about you all day and sent good vibes your way! I’m so glad to hear that you made it and also that you did so well. I’m not surprised, just happy! Yea, Vinca!!!

    Like

    • Thanks so much, Sarah. Your good thoughts kept me putting one foot in front of the other and are doubly meaningful since you and I share the PTSD troubles. Thanks for sharing your energy with me. 🙂

      Like

  19. That is so awesome! I thought about you all day and sent good vibes your way! I’m so glad to hear that you made it and also that you did so well. I’m not surprised, just happy! Yea, Vinca!!!

    Like

  22. Thank you, Laurie! I was so grateful to cross the finish line and be done with that race. The cool thing is even when the running is tough, the post-run endorphins are still there! I swear I can still feel them a bit this morning!

    Like

  23. I thought about you when the alarm went off at 4:15 yesterday morning. We had to catch a 5:30 race-day bus to get to Boulder in time. Ugh. But mostly I thought of you and the mythical TEAM VINCA shirt, Linda, and it helped me keeping slogging. 🙂 Thank you!
    And you’re right about my neighbor deserving a T-shirt and so much more. She also gave us leftover desserts from her Sunday cookout so Zippy and I sampled several different pies and a chocolate covered strawberry as we watched the elite women’s and men’s races on TV when we got home. (We figured they needed the extra energy).

    Like

  24. I thought about you when the alarm went off at 4:15 yesterday morning. We had to catch a 5:30 race-day bus to get to Boulder in time. Ugh. But mostly I thought of you and the mythical TEAM VINCA shirt, Linda, and it helped me keeping slogging. 🙂 Thank you!

    And you’re right about my neighbor deserving a T-shirt and so much more. She also gave us leftover desserts from her Sunday cookout so Zippy and I sampled several different pies and a chocolate covered strawberry as we watched the elite women’s and men’s races on TV when we got home. (We figured they needed the extra energy).

    Like

  25. Re: Kudos!
    Thank you, C.K.! It makes me smile thinking of you impatiently checking for race results. I still can’t get into the race site to find out where I placed in my age group (and maybe that’s a good thing) but whatever my place, I’m so grateful I could run and finish the race again.
    My neighbor IS a gem. This weekend is ten years in this house and we couldn’t have better neighbors (not just her but others, too). We feel very fortunate to have a little community thing going on here.

    Like

  26. Re: Kudos!

    Thank you, C.K.! It makes me smile thinking of you impatiently checking for race results. I still can’t get into the race site to find out where I placed in my age group (and maybe that’s a good thing) but whatever my place, I’m so grateful I could run and finish the race again.

    My neighbor IS a gem. This weekend is ten years in this house and we couldn’t have better neighbors (not just her but others, too). We feel very fortunate to have a little community thing going on here.

    Like

  29. Thank you very much, Dot. It means so much to me to have your good thoughts and support. I even carried a packet of some energy gel goo (I’ve never used that stuff before) and squirted it into my mouth partway through the race but that didn’t do as much for me as thinking about all my friends supporting me to the finish line. And you guys taste better, too. (Um, you know what I mean).

    Like

  30. Thank you, Robin! I loved the soak and even convinced Zippy to take one, too. I’m so glad to have that race behind me and now can run in the open space without obsessing about whether I’m running hard enough to train for the race. I have months and months before I need to start thinking that way again! 🙂

    Like

  31. 1) Thank you, Lizzy!
    2) The massage is such a treat after that race. HUGE congrats on running a marathon! I’m so impressed with you folks who can go that distance. Whew.
    3) My neighbor is the coolest. I love her much.

    Like

  32. 1) Thank you, Lizzy!

    2) The massage is such a treat after that race. HUGE congrats on running a marathon! I’m so impressed with you folks who can go that distance. Whew.

    3) My neighbor is the coolest. I love her much.

    Like

  33. Thanks so much, Sarah. Your good thoughts kept me putting one foot in front of the other and are doubly meaningful since you and I share the PTSD troubles. Thanks for sharing your energy with me. 🙂

    Like

  35. Congrats on finishing. It’s always nice to know you ran through the pain and even got to cross the finish line twice. Even if you crossed it once in your car. he he he

    Like

  36. Congrats on finishing. It’s always nice to know you ran through the pain and even got to cross the finish line twice. Even if you crossed it once in your car. he he he

    Like

    • Thanks so much, Melodye. Your thoughts were definitely with me as I sweated it out on the course.
      Sending you a big hug (don’t worry, it’s not a stinky one).

      Like

  41. Thanks so much, Melodye. Your thoughts were definitely with me as I sweated it out on the course.
    Sending you a big hug (don’t worry, it’s not a stinky one).

    Like

  42. Thanks so much, Melodye. Your thoughts were definitely with me as I sweated it out on the course.

    Sending you a big hug (don’t worry, it’s not a stinky one).

    Like

Comments are closed.