INSTANT RACE --- CHAPTER 1

2007-05-27T15:49:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, May 26^th, I had the pleasure of speaking with Bolder Boulder Race Director Steve Bosley and his father, Race founder and former Race Director (and University of Colorado Regent) Steve Bosley. They were aghast I hadn’t registered for the Race and shamed me into going to the Pearl Street Mall to register, where top Race organizer and former Boulder Chamber V.P. Alice Swanson was managing a crew registering hundreds of procrastinating runners.

Aaron with Race Founder and CU Regent Steve Bosley.

I had been more motivated after having lunch with the women runners comprising “Team Colorado.” Stephanie Bylander, Tera Moody, and Amanda Occhi all had compelling stories. And seeing teams from Kenya, Mexico, Ethiopia, Japan, Korea, and other countries also was motivating, as was spending time top athletes in Colorado’s history such as Uta Pippig, Ellen Hart, and Frank Shorter.

TEAM COLORADO MEMBERS WITH AARON:
Tera Moody (Boulder), Aaron (Erie), Amanda Occhi (Colorado Springs), and Stephanie Bylander (Alamosa).

My problem was I was 20 pounds over my “running weight” of 180 and I had not been training except perhaps for carbo-loading. So I had two challenges. First, how does one lose 20 pounds in 28 hours? Second, how does one get in shape for a 6.2 mile run in a day?

TEAM USE MEMBERS WITH AARON:
Kate O'Neill(Mammoth, CA), Elva Dryer (Gunnison), Aaron,
Sarah Slattery (Boulder ---2006 winner).

Short of major surgery -- which would require significant recuperation time anyway -- I had no way of figuring out how to lose 20 pounds. I simply had to accept the fact I would have to run with a 20-pound monkey on my back (OK, on my stomach and derriere). That was a depressing thought.

And, if I starved myself, I would be too tired for the Race. So, I decided my best strategy was to eat less but enough to have energy for the event itself.

For training, I knew I was in a losing position there, too. If I ran between now and the Race’s start time, I would be too tired to even finish the Race. So, I decided my “training program” would be to not run at all. I concluded my top priority was to take a nap.

With my sophisticated training strategy completed (eat-and-sleep), I now was ready to run in the 29^th Bolder Boulder -- the biggest annual summer party for athletes and observers in Colorado.

Team USA Member Katie O'Neill, Aaron, and former Bolder Boulder
winner and Boston, Berlin & New York Marathon winner Uta Pippig.

Next: Final preparations

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Aaron Harber hosts "The Aaron Harber Show," seen Fridays at 9:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm on PBS Station KBDI-TV Channel 12. Please go to www.HarberTV.com for more information. Send your comments and topic suggestions for both columns and TV shows to Aaron@HarberTV.com. You also may view programs on a 24/7 basis via the “Broadcast Videos” section of the Website. Many of Aaron's columns also are available on the Website on the page entitled “Aaron’s Opinions.”