Boilermaker 2013

I registered (and my wife) for the 2013 Boilermaker 15K late yesterday afternoon.  At the time I registered, there were about 1,000 slots left out of 14,000.  This morning, I noticed that it was sold out.  I'm glad that I got our registration in when I did.

The Boilermaker:  The Boilermaker takes place in Utica, NY.  The marquee event is the 15K, but there are several other races that take place over the weekend, including a 5K, with wheelchair divisions for the 5K and 15K (which I might add are quite cool and inspiring).  The organizers claim that it's the largest attended 15K in the country.  I don't know if that's accurate, but it sure is crowded - especially if you're in the last corral, like we were last year.

Last Year:  Last year was the first time that we attempted this race.  I finished in 1:22:51 (8:54 min/mile).  Although I had run a marathon prior to this, I had never attempted this distance before.  Thus, I went into it with a marathon pacing mentality.  I started slow, and decided to hold back until the fabled golf course hill.  After the hill (about mile 4 or 5), I ran the rest at a lactate threshold pace.  I ran the first 4 miles in about a 9:40 pace, and the remaining at approximately an 8:10-8:15 min/mile pace.  My fastest mile (the downhill portion of the golf course), was at 7:45.  I ran the last half mile at a 6:42 pace, so needless to say I think I could have probably gone out a little faster, and netted a slightly faster overall time.

Goals For This Year:  One of my goals for an event of this distance is always to finish.  My other goal for a race this long is to finish injury free.  At this point, I'm shooting for a sub 1:15, but I solidify this more as we get closer to the actual date, and determine how my training is going.

Corrals:  I don't know how they determine the corrals for this race, but I know that it's a big gripe for many of the participants.  I hope I'm not in the last corral this year, because they seem to dump to many different abilities in this group.  I indicated that I projected to run this race at a 9:00 min pace last year, and yet I had to dodge walkers in the first half mile of the event.  Worse even, some people would simply stop running right in front of me.  If you're in this corral and you're trying to achieve a goal finishing time, pay attention to the strategies section that follows.

Strategies for Newbies:  If you care about your time, my advice is that you get to the front of the last corral, if that's where you are seeded.  I saw a bunch of people running on the sidewalk instead of the road, thus avoiding much of the congestion.  I didn't try this last year, but I might consider it this year.  It's so crowded, you'll be tempted to weave around people.  Try to resist this temptation, and make gradual path changes.  My experience from doing a lot of weaving at the Philly Marathon was that it wastes energy, and actually makes your race significantly LONGER.  No joke, I added about a quarter mile more to my marathon because I was impatient and weaving a lot.  I know a quarter mile isn't a big deal, but the first time you run a marathon you may think differently (think about having to go another quarter mile after you cross the finish line - who wants to do that?).  Instead, relax, take in the moment, and know that you'll get around that pack in front of you.  I also found that politely asking if you may pass seemed to work well.  On another note, I accidentally bumped some guy's elbow with my upper arm as I passed him.  He was irate.  I apologize immensely; it was not intentional, and I should have said such immediately.  As it turns out, I didn't say much because I was trying to focus on my race, but as I pulled away, I could hear him continuing to shout insults at me - so I turned around, looked him in the eye and shouted, "then move over to the side!"  I know, I know...  Very immature.  I am indeed sorry for how I handled it, but part of me also feels like he should have never lined up in front of me, especially if he didn't care about his time (which is one of the things he indicated when he was shouting at me).  Drink lots of fluids throughout the race, try to hit the tail end of the water stations (less congestion), and make sure you look behind you if you're going to walk through the stations (so that you don't cut someone else off).  Also, beware of people doing that in front of you.  Lastly, don't underestimate the gradual hill that climbs towards the college - or the final hill towards the last stretch.  Both of these hills hurt me more than the infamous golf course hill.

Training Thus Far This Week:  I was so bummed that I got passed on the uphills in the Frozen Foote on Saturday, that I decided to do hill fartleks yesterday.  I ran just over 6 miles, easy 1st mile, easy for most of the rest of the runs except the hills, I ran some of them at tempo pace, and some of them at interval pace.  I was sore afterwards.  I think it's kind of funny how running easy in between any sort of interval always seems to be a faster pace than my normal "easy" pace.  Perhaps it's psychological, perhaps any slower pace feels easy after a hard bout, or perhaps it's physical, your more warmed up and pumped up, so your body just moves faster even though it feels easy.  Maybe it's a combo of both.  Thoughts?

Today I ran out easy 20 mins. and then turned around and came back easy.  I ended up going just under 4.2.  My paces were about 15 seconds per mile faster than my normal easy runs.  Am I getting to a new level, or was it just a good day (or was I pushing harder than I thought I was)?