I watched the sun rise over the Boulder Reservoir Saturday morning. The snow-melt water so still, I felt like it was waiting for me. After 11 weeks of training, I was here now, at the shores of the Rez and I was ready to race my summer marathon.

Just like last year, I parked my car right next to the start/finish line and set up an ice chest nearby to serve as my personal aid station for each of the 4 x 6.55 mile loops. This would be only my second Boulder Rez race, but I feel like I’m establishing a routine of disregarding the parking instructions for the general public and owning this venue. I’m a 64-year-old about to race a marathon in the heat of the summer. I’m going to run it my way.

The weather participated beyond expectations, in the 60s and 70s while I ran. One of the coolest days all summer. Leading up to today, I’d been glued to my Weather Channel app. I felt like I was as fit as my last marathon and that I could run well, if not for the heat. The start would be 20° hotter than my race in May, but I was acclimated for running in the 80s. I was excited for 70s.

***loop 1***

I lined up with the fast runners (you know they are fast because they are shirtless) on the starting line in the corral. I was making a statement to myself that I was there to race. At least, I was presenting the attitude of a racer. I hoped it was true. I didn’t have a very good training week, and the week before that my training consisted of smoking cigars and drinking scotch in Vegas. In my defense, it was 115°. Toeing up on the actual starting line would likely lead me to go out too fast, but I had to know if I was going to push myself and I didn’t want to wait to find out.

I settled into 11th place after the first mile. With only 150 or so runners, the field spread out and I was running mostly by myself after two miles. Ten men and one woman were ahead of me and I didn’t expect to catch any of them. The woman caught my eye as she passed me because, for one, she passed me slowly and I tried to hang with her for a couple hundred meters, as we started to cross the dam. And two, her outfit was a matching set with the top and bottoms having a fruit pattern. I thought it was fruit. I complimented her on her strawberries afterward, joking that it should have been peaches since she was from Atlanta. She pointed out to me they were roses. I don’t run with my glasses on.

I probably started out a little fast, completing the first loop in a 7:49 pace. But I was shooting for 8 minute miles and that was pretty close. My 500ml water bottles with LMNT hydrated me well and I finished it right at 6 miles and fueled with my 40g SIS Beta Fuel gel just before reaching my personal aid station where I resupplied. My hydration and fueling plan was on target. I felt good knowing I’d achieved my first objective of pushing myself. My performance the 2nd loop would demonstrate if I’d gone out too fast or if I was running within my means.

***loop 2***

The second loop started out a bit lonely. Those ten or so runners ahead were well ahead of me. It didn’t seem to matter. I could feel my pace and gained confidence knowing I felt comfortable at an 8 minute pace. I felt like I could hold it forever.

Two half marathoners who’d started 10 minutes behind me eventually caught me in the middle of the loop and I welcomed the chance to surge after them. I was in race mode. Eventually four 3/4 marathoners and about a dozen of the 100+ half marathoners would pass me, including a 15 year old boy running his first half who sprinted past me at what was the end of the race for him. I was just warming up.

I felt strong the first half and completed my second loop almost as fast as the first, running an 8:03 pace, which put my entire first half at a 7:56 pace – right at my 8 minute target. Only one second slower than my first half pace in May. It took some racing discipline because of how spread out the runners were, which I was proud of. I consistently surged on the downhill sections in the backroads – around miles 5 and 6. Downhills are free speed. If my first loop was about demonstrating a commitment to racing, my second loop was about confidence. I felt good going into the 3rd loop, confident I was going to finish under 4 hours.

***loop 3***

My 3rd loop started out alone again with all the half marathoners crossing the finish line behind me. I caught up to the slower half of the pack though after a couple of miles. It felt good to be passing other runners. I started doing the math, paired with how comfortable I felt, and became confident I’d finish well under the Boston-qualifying time of 3:50. At the same time, I gave up on breaking 3:30. I didn’t feel like I was running much slower, and I wasn’t, but I did slow down to an 8:20 pace for the 3rd loop.

My overall positioning was interesting, something I learned from the race results. I was 1st in my age group on every loop, while actually improving my overall gender position from 10th to 6th as other runners faded. I passed one marathoner who’d been in front of me on this 3rd loop. That tells me now that my slowing pace wasn’t just me fading but that conditions and marathon fatigue were affecting the field, and I handled them comparatively well. I think my summer afternoon training had me well acclimated for the heat.

***loop 4***

The 4th loop still had a good number of half marathoners running, although many were actually walking which stole the pleasure out of passing them. I’d filled my hat up with cold ice water from my personal aid station and felt refreshed. I didn’t slow down to over 9 minutes until mile 24. That’s when I felt the sun on my back. I sensed I’d slowed down and regained some speed with my regular surges on the downslopes in miles 25 and 26. Mile 24 would be my only mile over a 9 minute pace.

I passed another 3 of the runners who’d been running ahead of me on this segment. All 3 of them on the dam between 21 and 22 miles. I never caught the woman. I only recognized one of the runners because I’d talked to him before the race. Good to know I held on better than half the men in front of me.

My second half was slower, as it always is, at an 8:35 pace overall, but I could have run that pace for the full distance and still qualified for Boston. I was happy with it. I didn’t really feel like I’d slowed down on the 3rd loop, although I knew I was fading on the 4th loop. Still, I find that slowing down by only 8 minutes for the 2nd half to be acceptable. My first half marathon was 1:44 and my 2nd was 1:52.

I only ran 5 minutes slower than the downhill Colorado Marathon. That tells me my fitness has me strongly in the 3:30 range. It also takes a racing mentality for an aging man to hit that mark and I’ve showed up twice now this year to race. I need to keep that race attitude going until Boston next April. Not sure what will be the bigger challenge over the next 8 months, staying in shape and injury free or keeping the racing frame of mind.

Waiting for the awards ceremony, I found myself sitting next to Andrea Zmaj, the 40 year old women’s winner who passed me in the first mile and finished about 10 minutes ahead of me. I thought her roses racing outfit was unique. Her husband presented her with roses at the finish.

I accepted my coffee cup award alone on the podium, just like I was for much of that 1st and 2nd loop. The other 60 year old runners were still out on the course with 2nd and 3rd finishing over an hour behind me. The summer heat. Andrea took my podium photo.

Six weeks until Boulder. Austin in February and then Boston in April. I feel good that twice this year I’ve shown up at a starting line intending to race rather than merely finish—and twice I’ve proved I still can. Having the frame of mind to push myself hard for three and a half hours and then having my body capable of responding is like magic to me. I’m going to keep at it.