20’15K Boilermaker

The 2nd Sunday in July; For many runners, especially in New York, this day means the famous Boilermaker in Utica, NY. 38 years, and still going strong, this race, whether the 5K or 15K, is a must for anyone who runs.

For me, this is a family tradition of sorts; my cousins, Aunt and Uncles, Grandfather and Dad have all run it over the years, and I ran my first event, the 5K, in 2011, and since 2012 have completed the 15K.

This year, I had no expectations in mind. Although I have got runs in 3x a week, and worked my way up to an 8 mile run a few weeks before the race, I had not done a lot of hill training or interval training, so it wasn’t as ‘focused’ in my training. I also didn’t eat as well as I should have the week leading up to the race, so I really had no idea how I would fare.

On race day, I had an english muffin with peanut butter about an hour and half before the race started and was dropped off at the start line about an hour before the race- my usual routine. I drank some water, used the restroom and took a little walk around to warm up my muscle. I had newer sneakers on, and retied them about 6 times before the race started so I was hoping I wouldn’t end up with blisters. I lined up at the front of my corral so I would have a good start, and a few minutes before the gun went off I had a sort of calm come over me. It wasn’t nervous energy like I had before the Bridge Run, but rather a relaxing feeling, that everything was going to be fine. My Grandma said it was my Guardian Angel watching over me. As we were about to start, I had a couple splits in my mind for course, and figured I would try for them, but would chalk it up to poor training if I missed them.

There are 15,000 people who register for this race, so when the gun went off, it took me a couple of minutes to cross the start line. But when I did, I tried to just find a good pace to stay in because the first part of the course is the hardest; a slight incline leading up to a long hill between mile 3 & 4. During the first mile, I also decided to have some fun this race, and took my phone out of my arm band to take some pictures of the sea of runners in front of me and various parts of the course. I figured if I wasn’t going to get a personal best, I would at least have some fun over the next 9 miles.

As I approached the 5K part, I had my split last year in my mind- 28:52. I crossed at 28:23 this year and felt good about the pace. As I made my way up the long hill, I felt really good, the hill hardly phased me as I passed dozens of people who either went out too fast, or weren’t doing well on the climb. I hit the Mile 4 mark at 36:44, a 9:11 pace, still right around the pace I wanted. But once the long downhill came, I picked up the pace to try for average pace from last year which was 9:03. I increased my speed but remained comfortable, telling myself to try to just go that speed as long as I could. As I approached mile 5 I was at an 8:50/mile pace, and at the 10K mark I crossed at 56:20, dropping my pace to 8:40. Mile 6-7 was hard, as it has a slight incline, and there is no shade from the sun, but when I hit mile 7 at 62 minutes, I knew I was in good shape to get a personal best. At Mile 8, I had picked up the pace a little more to finish strong, plus it was downhill. My family was waiting for me around mile 9, and they weren’t expecting me so early and almost missed me running by, but I was feeling great. As the finish line came into view, I kicked it into high gear and crossed at 1:21:32, beating my previous time by 2 minutes 45 seconds, and dropped my average mile pace from 9:03 to 8:45.

I was feeling so good on the last mile or so, that I was a little sad the race was over. I never though i would say this, but that was the easiest 9 miles I have every ran. The beauty of this race, is that with so many runners, you can pick someone out to either keep pace with or try to pass. The crowds are great too, I also kept my eyes out for any water stations to keep myself hydrated and cool. Plus i like to run through anyone who is spraying a hose onto the course. After running this course 4 times I am starting to learn where all of these important areas are!

Once I hit the finish line, I got water and headed to the post-race party, sponsored by Saranac Brewery. I got some food, and enjoyed a beer. I was feeling so great from my ‘runner’s high’ that I almost got a 2nd one even though I don’t really like beer, but that is how great I was feeling.

I didn’t come down from this ‘high’ for hours, and as I thought about the race on my way home and realized how much my running has improved over the years- especially on a long race like a 15K, it reminded me of why I started running and why I sign up for races. It provides such a sense of accomplishment, you see your hard work pay off and you realize you are capable of more than you think you are. Work hard, stay consistent and your fitness will improve. I can’t wait to run this race again next year. Maybe I will shoot for a sub-80 minute finish? Something 4 years ago I would have never imagined would be attainable.

Over the last 4 years running has been many things to me,and I have had my ups and downs with my feelings of it, as every runner does, but this race showed me that sometimes when you just relax and have fun, the results you get are better than you could have imagined.