Day 13/June 18/10 Friday
Wally and I are the last to wake up after our shenanigans last night. We wake up to find T.J. off at class and Max and Sam reading in their room. We wait for T.J. to get back to class and then do our run.
Run
The run is over before I can even blink. We all kept a decent pace while we ran through downtown Boulder and down pearl street. The run ends at the boulder creek where all of us dip our legs into the ice cold creek. It really is cold and we get a decent ice bath in. After the ice bath we go back and make lunch while we watch some T.V. afterwards Sam T.J. and I go to CU’s massive quad to read and lounge about in the sun. When we get back to home base Sam Max and I cook dinner while Wally and T.J. go to the Boulder Running Co. to get new shoes. Dinner is a success and we quickly take showers and put on our finest as we head off to Amanda Goods 19th birthday party. The party is on the other side of town at Shannon’s house. It is a fun Party and we stay late into the night. Another day gone bye in the blink of an eye. Something is bound to slow us down… hahah yeah right!
Day 14/June 19/10 Saturday
10 AM and Wally and I are woken up by Sam leaving through the front door. I lapse back into sleep, last night was rough. I wake up at eleven and poor myself some lucky charms and write some more of my blog while I wait for Wally to get up. Sam has left to go to the farmers market in town, T.J. is reading in his room and Max is on his computer eating breakfast as well. Wally wakes up and we all talk about our night. We had previously discussed running at one around the boulder res. So when the clock strikes one we all pile into the car and drive to our long run.
Run
Instead of running around the res like we had planned we discover the eagle trailhead which runs west back towards the mountains. The path quickly narrows and Wally jumps to the lead with me T.J., Max and Sam in pursuit. The pace is Wally quick and the trail is not flat. Surprisingly I feel great and stay right on Wally’s heels. Unfortunately the whole way out has been mostly downhill with only a few exceptions of short bunny hills. At 25 min we all stop at a pavilion that is in the middle of the prairie to look for water. Unfortunately there is none and we can tell that the mid days heat is getting to us. We take a team vote and decide to head back so that way we are not to far away from water. We make it back only a minute slower even though we have increased our pace. Back at the cars Wally decides to stop his run short because he is feeling dehydrated, a smart choice as it is only June and there are plenty of long runs to be had later in the season. Back on the larger dirt road I run stride for stride with T.J.
This is the feeling that I had missed the most during my year of injury. I missed running with my best friends going stride for stride down some back road with nothing but the wind in your hair and the crunch of the dirt beneath your feet. We increase our pace only slightly as the road curves up hill and before I know it I have reached my turn around point. I finish my 65 minute run averaging 6:55 pace and I feel great. Even though it is hot and my legs burn of lactic acid I still feel great about today’s run. Max is the next to finish 5 minutes after me and then Sammy and T.J. round out the days run at 85 minutes. Everyone is quite and tired on the way home, we have pushed our bodies hard and we have earned a break. Back in Boulder Max, Sammy, T.J. and I head down to the boulder creek to ice our legs. The creek is so cold we have compared it to being colder than the ice bath back at IWU.
With the ice bath complete Max, Sam and I head off to target to get this weeks food from Target and Safeway. We pick up chicken, ground beef, shrimp and pasta and some snacks for our house and then head back to cook dinner. When we get through the door with the groceries Wally and T.J. inform us of a wing eating competition they had just watched on T.V. the challenge is at a local tavern only 3 minutes from our house and of course Wally cant pass up a challenge so we decide to not cook tonight. The only sign of nervousness that Wally shows us is in his speech. He tells us he has butterflies in his stomach however he remains visibly calm as we wait for the bucket of 50 wings to come out. The rules are that Wally has 30 minutes to clean 50 wings with out puking until he leaves the tavern. One rule that also creeps up is that Wally only has to have all of the meat in his mouth by 30 minutes and then he has unlimited time to finish that with out voming and he will have completed the challenge. The timer starts and the whole restaurant cheers Wally on as he sets a demanding pace. T.J. calls out the first split, 20 seconds for his first wing. At this pace Wally will have time to spare!! Wally continues this record setting pace until he reaches 30 wings. Wally still has 20 minutes left and has 20 wings left!! That’s only a minute per wing and he has been averaging 20 seconds there is no way he can lose!! At least that’s what we though going in to wing number 31 when T.J. calls out the split 36 seconds. Still under pace however slowing down is not good for the stomach. 36, 36, 40, 40, 45, 45, 45, 56 Wally is slowing down dramatically. With 12 wings to go time has finally caught up 12 minutes left. 9 minutes left and Wally has only put down two wings. The pain has become visible on his face, however we are all there cheering him on and he has yet to put in his kick. 6 minutes left and 7 wings completely doable. We had talked about our strategy to use the rule about only having all of the wings in your mouth at the buzzer and with 3 minutes to go Wally peels away all of the meat off of the last 4 wings. With a pile of meat in front of him and less than a minute to go Wally starts swallowing his last bits. With his mouth clear he pushes the last peace of meat into his mouth as the timer goes off. The room is silent as everyone waits to see if Wally will be able to swallow the massive amount that currently lies between his cheeks. 22 agonizing minutes go by and Wally still has some meat left in his mouth. Suddenly Wally opens his eyes and comes out of his food coma to swallow the last bite. He has done it!! The crowd literally goes wild. Wally beat the wing king challenge and now gets his picture on the wall of fame. It is an impressive feat and one that has taken its toll on Wally. While we wait for his t-shirt, Sam walks Wally back to the apartment. While waiting for Wally’s t-shirt our boss Tommy comes in to the tavern. We tell him about what he just missed and we joke around for a little bit until Wally’s shirt arrives. We say bye to Tommy who tells us to stay safe and head back home. Another successful day in Boulder that flew bye, I wonder what's next?
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