US 8k Championship Results

I didn't exactly reach my goals but it wasn't majorly disappointing. I ran 23:28 and finished 14th and since they paid the top 15 that was a major silver lining. Here's a link to the full results: http://web5.nyrrc.org/cgi-bin/htmlos.cgi/721574.2.097872164485429626

As you can see, I'm wearing the jersey of my new sponsor, Saucony. I'll post more details about the company and our new partnership.

USATF 8k Postponed & Letsrun.com Front Page!

Two pieces of news: 1. The USATF 8k hosted by New York Road Runners has been postponed until tomorrow thanks to the weekend's winter weather. We're set to run at 9 am on Sunday. The course has been changed from one 8k loop to a 1.7 mile loop that we will run nearly 3 times. 2. I somehow got my name mentioned on the front page of Letsrun.com. For family and friends who don't know the site, it's an American based, online home of distance runners all around the world. The mention is a link to the mensracing.com interview from last week but I never thought I'd see my name on letsrun (aside from some junk on the message boards, but even that's usually news for me).

MensRacing.com Interview

The New York Road Runners host a site that has been one of my favorites for years. They put up photo galleries from big races, do athlete profiles and put up daily distance running news. In all the times that I've visited the site I never really thought that I'd see a picture of myself on the top of the page. If you visit www.mensracing.com today, that's exactly what you'll find. In preparation for the USATF 8k Championships they contacted me for an interview. Here's a link to the full article: http://www.mensracing.com/athletes/interviews/2007/blakeboldon031407.html

Champion Nutrition

Late in the fall I came in contact with a great company that has sincerely helped me take my training to another level. Champion Nutrition has been sending me selected products and their support is greatly appreciated. If you're a competitive or recreational athlete or a coach, their product line is guaranteed to have something that will meet your needs and help you reach your potential. Please visit their website to view their complete product line: http://www.champion-nutrition.com/champion/splash/strength.php

ISU Last Chance Recap

Last Saturday was another good step in my running career. Coach Ihmels and I decided a few days in advance that I'd run the mile to try and help Brandon Rooney and then later pace the 5k for Guor Majak. Guor is a red shirt freshman who finished 6th in the Big 12 in the 5k & 3k. Brandon is a sophomore who was 4th in the Big 12 mile. Both of the guys were just off of the provisional qualifying marks for NCAA nationals and they're certainly both fit enough to run that fast. Our Australian steeplechaser, Jayden Russ, volunteered to set the pace for the mile and he did a fine job. Unfortunately, I was running so horribly that I didn’t really see the benefit of his work. Maybe a little more background is required. The night before, another post-collegiate runner, Rob Duncan, stayed at my apartment. Rob, my roommates and I all went out to dinner and I just had this feeling that I was on the precipice of something big. The nerves weren’t bad but I started putting a lot of pressure on myself because I knew that based on my fitness anything slower than four minutes would be a failure. That night was mostly sleepless as I tossed and turned and had nightmares that I couldn’t run 67 for a 400. I woke up in the morning feeling like I’d already raced. I went for a shakeout run and then the waiting began. Thankfully the race was scheduled for 12:15 so the torture wouldn’t last all day. On the warm up I felt like crap and it was just an awful crescendo of distress until about half way through the race. While I was finishing up my warm up I looked into the bleachers and saw three people. That’s right, THREE! It was a good feeling because one of them was my mom. She had braved the icy & snowy roads to come watch me run. Not only was I comforted by her presence, there was some solace in also knowing that not many people were there to see me fail at my first indoor mile in 3 years. That was the most positive thought I could find during my warm up. A few minutes later, while all my competitors were at the line waiting for the final instructions, I was around the corner with my head buried in a garbage can. Every ounce of my breakfast was finding its way out and I just turned to Coach Ihmels and said, “Here I am puking like a little bitch.” He said something like, “Blake, you’re so fit that 4:01 is going to be easy.” Then I trotted over to the start line and the race was off. Fifty meters in I told Jayden that he was too fast but thankfully he didn’t listen to me. He was right on pace but I felt like total garbage. By 200 meters Brandon had wisely gone around me and was in hot pursuit of the pace that Jayden was setting. I continued to fall off the pace and by 400 I was 62 seconds and 2 or 3 seconds behind the two leaders. Throughout the first 400 I contemplated dropping out but I had told Brandon that I would help him out once Jayden stepped off so I’m pretty sure that’s the main thing that kept me going. I was thinking that I could at least help Brandon crack 4:04. At 800 I was 2:02 (almost 2:03) and I hadn’t really closed the gap much on Brandon. Knowing that I told Brandon that I would set the pace from there I picked it up and caught them right before the 1000. This was unfortunate timing because Jayden was sliding out to lane 2 to get out of Brandon’s way. I was coming up too fast and I knew that he didn’t see or hear me so I had to swing out to lane 3 to avoid a potential collision. I saw 2:31 for 1000 meters and knew that I had my work cut out for me since I was going to have to lead the rest. I went past Brandon with too much speed and he wasn’t able to come with me so I had to run alone the last 600. I heard a few other splits (like maybe 3:01 for 3-quarters) but I don’t remember thinking about the time as much as just thinking “Keep running.” With 100 meters to go, it was a familiar sight because I’ve done a lot of my speed development sprints indoors this winter. I just thought to myself, "This is like I’ve done a hundred times – just run 13 seconds." The only thing that I remember about crossing the line was looking up at the clock. The clock had been stopped at 4:01 and some tenths and I thought to myself, “at least I got a pr” but only a few moments later the correct time flashed on the screen. I stumbled over and gave my biggest fan, my mom, a big hug. After a short cool down I got a quick rub down from the man, James Brockway and was off to re-hydrate before pacing Guor in the 5k. For the 5k, I had hoped to make it 3200 in 8:56 but after the African from UTEP went around me at 2600 I dropped out. My pace had been good but I was tired of fighting him for the lead. We tossed a few angry words back and forth shortly past the mile and so I wasn’t too anxious to hurt myself to help him out. The first few laps felt EASY but after the 4:27 first 1600 I started realizing how tired I was and I didn’t want to hurt myself. Big thanks to Kevin Born from the ISU team for the photo. My best guess this is at 1400 meters but it could also be at 1100. It's a little blurry but I'd like to credit that to my amazing speed rather than the photography. Hopefully this is my first of many sub 4 miles but thanks to all of you who have called or emailed your support. Special thanks to all of you who are actually still reading this long rambling.

Boston & USATF Recap

Obviously the trip to Boston went well and I should have posted these details a week ago but I’ll share a few stories. I’ll go over the race and then talk about the rest of the trip. Finishing 4th and getting my first medal at a USATF championship is a good step in my career and I never complain with a personal best. My time of 7:57.19 was more than a three second best but Coach Ihmels told me not to call him unless I ran 7:55 so we didn’t talk for a day or so. As the race went I only saw one split and I didn’t really have a lot going through my head. I saw 2:38 for the first 1000 meters but I wasn’t sure if that was for me or if that was for the leaders. I was a couple seconds off the lead in the middle of the pack at that point. When Jonathon Riley passed me I knew it was time to move up because he and Matt Tegenkamp were headed through the pack. I followed those two for a few laps but I’m not sure exactly where I lost contact with them. While watching the race on ESPN2 I noticed that I went through 1500 meters at 3:59 and most of the second half I ran on my own. It was a good run but I was disappointed to have traveled all the way to Boston to run that much alone and I really feel like I could have run several seconds faster. Confidence in races is definitely something that I need to continue to work on. For the most part, the trip went as well as the race. Thursday was a long travel day and despite being tired when I landed I had to navigate through Boston in my rental car. My first mistake was traveling with no cash. It made for an interesting interaction with the toll booth attendant at the tunnel. She had to write me a ticket and she was not happy about the line that I caused. After picking up my host for the weekend, Terry Shea, we headed to the Reggie Lewis Center for a run. We did 5 miles together and I did eight 200’s to shake out some of the rust from travel. I felt awful so I headed out for a couple miles to cool down and I apparently made a wrong turn (or two). As a bit of background, the indoor track is located on Malcolm X Boulevard on the campus of Roxbury Community College. I guess I headed the wrong way and I was kindly reminded of this by a middle-aged African-American lady when she yelled at me, “Boy, you best not be runnin’ down this street.” I took my first turn back in the direction of the track and decided not to head this way again after dark. Friday I ventured to Boston from Terry’s house in Cambridge to pick up my packet at the meet hotel and to head to the track again. I took the T and made it around the city without major incident. I got to have a look around and it gave me an excuse to get out of the house. Before heading to dinner with my friend, Erin Dromgoole, I went to the BEST barber in all of north Cambridge. I didn’t catch her name but the shop’s name was Elite Barber Shop and it was located on Mass Ave in Cambridge. It was an experience that I’m positive I can’t find in Central Iowa. She is a great lady but definitely used the F-word more than any other barber or hair stylist I’ve ever met. Somehow it was totally perfect. As is the case with most race days, Saturday was uneventful until after the meet. Erin and I went downtown to meet up with friends from ZAP Fitness and had a good time enjoying Boston night life. Without a doubt, the highlight of the night was hearing about Brendan O’Keefe’s world record in the nude 5k. It’s a story that I won’t soon forget as he had me laughing so hard I nearly fell out of my chair (literally). The only other detail worth mentioning was that some anonymous jerk smacked into my rental car while it was parked on the street. The only damage was a broken rearview mirror and I haven’t noticed any charges from the rental company car so maybe I’ve escaped that one. For those of you anxious to hear the details about my first sub four mile, I’ll try and post that soon. If you’re still reading, keep your eyes peeled on MensRacing.com. There might be some info on me popping up there soon.

Iowan Sub 4 Milers

Here's some trivia that I found really interesting. There are only 3 Iowa high school athletes that have gone on to run under four minutes in the mile. 1. Randy Wilson, Knoxville High School, 3:58.74 (May 11, 1985) 2. Blake Boldon, Clarke Community High School, 3:59.18 (March 3, 2007) 3. Jerome Howe, Treynor High School, 3:59.2h (May 3, 1975)

First Sub 4 Mile!

Today I broke the barrier that has been a measure of milers for over 50 years. I ran 3:59.18 and ran almost the entire race by myself. Right now I'm at home resting for a few minutes before heading back to the track to pace the 5000 at 4:30. I will post details about both efforts (and the trip to Boston) in a day or two. For now, I'll just post the splits- First 800 - 2:02 and change, second 800 - a little over 1:56 with a 57 last 400. Here's a link to results: http://www.cyclones.com/fls/10700/track_live/index.htm?DB_OEM_ID=10700