Boilermaker race report
July 12, 2009So it was not my best race, by a long shot, but I learned a few things, about myself, anyway, if not about running. 
I knew it was not a good sign when about a mile after the start, I find myself looking at the sides of the road for the “porta potties that would be all over the course” as was announced at the start line. I finally see people running off to the bushes to do their business, and I think “that looks like a plan.” Only one tissue in my bag and I don’t want to take the time to get it out, already losing precious time, so I say to myself “this isn’t good.” Keep running.
First mile was probably my best, about 9:15. All downhill, pace-wise from there. This was just one of those days where I could not focus, could not push myself to keep going no matter how hard I tried. Or didn’t try, I’m not sure what was going on. But the crowd support was really good and there were tons of volunteers. And a fly-over by military jets at 10:30 this morning, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
I do like shorter distance races the best, I think. 10K and 5K and flat courses, especially. This was not a flat course, I’ve shown you the elevation chart before. The Beast, or that huge incline between miles 3 and 4 was really not the worst. It was the inclines around the 10K mark, and the other inclines that just seemed to go on and on forever. I did find myself walking a lot. I just had that “empty tank” feeling that we all know of, literally the entire way. Couldn’t get rid of it to save my life. Not gatorade, water, gels, or enfuralytes could really help banish it today.
Things I did see that I really liked:
- A guy dressed up as an F.X. Matt beer can. That’s the kind of beer they used to have at the finish party. Now it’s Saranac. I’ve discovered I don’t really like it, but it was still alright to drink after so many weeks of being good.
- A guy carrying a full-sized flag passed me just as we started to go up the Beast, holding out in front of what looked to be a quite heavy, full-length flag with the enblem of “Don’t Tread on Me” and the rattlesnake symbol. He definitely got some cheers.
- Passed some wheelchair racers, who had only started about 15 minutes before us. (They definitely should get more of a headstart because when it came to the downhill right after mile 4, this one poor lady had to put on the brakes. After doing that huge hill, she should definitely have been allowed to take more advantage of the hard work she’d put in getting up there.)
- A spectator holding a sign that said “thank you, Dr. Braker, for saving my life.” I was like, “can you imagine being that guy/girl out there on the course, who sees that and how good it’ll make him feel?” It made me feel good to see it!
- Lots and lots of family spectators. My sister and her family saw us off at the start. I understand my nephew, Jack, who’s 5, was crying because he wasn’t able to see his actual “Aunt TT” run past him, I feel so badly for the little guy.
- So many kids and adults were out there with their hands out to “slap five.” I made sure to hit many of them on my way.
I have some pictures below from the beginning starting line area – the sign with “Good luck, Sweaty Freaks, Aunt Terri and Uncle Jamie” was done by my nephew, Sean, who’s 8. He came up with the motto all on his own. He even drew us both in on the sign, and then added a bubble after I took the picture, in which he is saying “get going, you lazy bums.” The other one is being held by my nephew, Jack, the 5 year old. For privacy reasons, I can’t show their faces on here, but take it from me, they’re quite adorable.
Our stats are below – my brother ran on his own, and I think he did amazingly well. He said his quads were definitely burning afterward, and I feel badly that he had to wait so long for me at the finish line. We then waited for at least a half hour until my mom could make her way to us from the finish line, so unfortunately we lost out on our “ultimate carbo-reloading, glycogen replacement time window” so we’re taking it easy today and heading down to my mom’s seasonal campsite near Cooperstown, NY. It’s really beautiful down there, for those of you who have never been.
Brother, Jamie (“Jim”):
- Chip time: 1:05:05 (average pace of 6:59)
- Place overall: 796 (of 10,582 finishers, although we’d heard 10,877 were signed up)
- Division: 64/675 (Men, 35-39)
- Men overall: 710/6018
Me: (don’t look, it’s really awful, honestly):
- Chip time: 1:36:47 (average pace of 10:23, although my Garmin said I ran 9.42, for 10:17 average pace)
- Place overall: 8339 (UGH)
- Division: 404/581
- Women overall: 3124/4564
The weather was nice, a bit sunny for my taste (I’m so used to running so early in the morning when it’s overcast, I’ve grown to like it.) I wish I could figure out why I did so badly, I’ll just have to think about it some more. I’m refusing to get down over it, I’m planning on trying to run a 5 mile race in Weston next week if I can leave work early enough to get there (think it starts at 6 p.m.) and I really am beginning to think that a 10K or shorter is my distance. Five miles is what I run in the mornings and it’s my perfect distance for not needing extra water. I think I carried too much extra weight today on my back, maybe that contributed to the slow pace. Not sure.
Anyway, there’s a 10K coming up in Gloucester that I am now going to turn my sights to. It was written up as one of the fastest 10Ks in the country, and it’s known as the Lone Gull 10K, held in September. It’s flat and there are ocean breezes. If you ask me, that’s a really great combo. Maybe I can hit one of my goals for the year by doing it, to run a 10K in the 54 or 55 range.
Thanks to everyone for all of the support and good luck wishes. I’ve not been able to get on the computer as much as I would like, so I’ve been trying to respond to messages via my new iPhone and I’m not the best thumb typist as many of you have probably already discovered.
My nephew Jack's sign "good luck Uncle Terri and Aunt Jamie"
Good Luck, Sweaty Freaks, Aunt Terri and Uncle Jamie
Jamie and I at the staging area, taken by my sister
That was a great race report Terri. And your stats aren’t terrible… I know it’s hard to have results different from what you’d hoped for, but you still got out there, did the race and it sounds like you had a good time overall. You got to share the experience with several members of your family, you got to feel uplifted by others on the course, you had the chance to learn more about yourself and your running style/needs…. I think it sounds like a successful event.
Those are great signs… I hope someday to run a race where I have so much family support, that would be awesome. You’re very lucky.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend and recover well.
Ugh. I hate that “empty tank” feeling, especially in a race. Still, it sounds like you did the best you could under the circumstances. Good for you, you sweaty freak, you.
Family, friends, and finishing. That’s a great combination.
Thanks, Reese. At least I got out there and did it, right? About 200 people didn’t get to finish. And also having my niece and nephews there with my sister was just awesome.
hey, you didn’t do terrible! i can understand feeling disappointed in yourself with your goals and all, but i still think you are awesome
nothing wrong with sticking to shorter races and throwing in the occasional long run – running is meant to be fun after all! i respect you for actually wanting to endure the pain of a 5k/10k – i always want to drop out in those races ’cause it hurts to run hard, lol.
i love the drawing of you. i think you need to eat more, looking a little thin these days!
Hey-you went to the start line and raced! That’s more than i did today!! I didn’t even make it to the start! So you are a winner in my book!
I’ve had my fair share of empty tank races and runs-and yes they suck! But you always have a good run that makes up for it! Blame the sun-I always do!!
You’re right, Penny, there always will be another good run to make up for it. For me, I had two of them this week, and they added up to 9 miles, go figure!
as to you not running the 10K, I can totally understand, with your work schedule, it’d be hard to race with any energy!
Thakns for the race reports and the photos! Don’t beat yourself up – you made to the start line and you made it to the finish line. And the beer garden. That’s what really counts!
I personally found that running past 10K takes a real training commitment. I felt more comfortable at those distances once I started running around 35 mpw on a consistent basis.
I hear you, Glenn, about the mileage. I just think for me to get in those extra miles, it means another 2 or 3 hours per week, and I’m not sure i can fit all that in, or that my body could take 5 days of running, plus another of cross-training, which I think is important to keep up some leg speed (the exercise bike has definitely helped me. That and some strength training occasionally, I admit I don’t do enough of it.) You give me something to aspire to!
Great race report and photos–ha, I LOVE your nephews’ signs!
I’m sorry you had one of those days we all dread, where you feel like you’re running on empty from the start. BUT, rather than throwing in the towel, you gutted it out and pushed yourself to the finish line . . . and that speaks volumes about you. I know days like these can be disappointing, but I actually think that finishing under these circumstances is more impressive than finishing with a PR on a day when everything goes right. You are one tough cookie, and you certainly have a lot to be proud of!
Also, thanks so much for the shout-out in your last post! I’m so glad you could draw inspiration from my comment
Hey Irish, you are very welcome for the shout-out. I did see a few people who I think were reading my Camelbak and then look at me as they ran by. I think they liked it! My last few miles were actually some of my best, suprisingly! I think I was just really disappointed that day because I had actually been “training” for this race and focusing on it for the past several weeks. I know now to not make such a big deal of it. And there’s always next year when I think I’ll run it again.
Great race report, Terri! Sorry the race didn’t go as you would have liked. It was definitely a sunny one and I’m sure that had something to do with it. Good for you for continuing on. Running 9.3 miles when you have an empty tank is tough to do!
Hope your legs recover well for the 5 mile race.
Yes, if only it could have been overcast that day like it normally is when I run, I could have been all set… I think I’ll be ok for the 5 miler because it’s next week, let’s just hope I can get the day off. I hope you get to run the Boilermaker next year, it was fun.
Like everyone has said, don’t beat yourself up. We all have bad days and it really sucks when they run on race day. There will be plenty of races out there for you to kill it on.
Focus on the fun you had during the race and with your family.
I am, it was pretty cool. My little nephew ended up being photographed by our local newspaper and it was shown online so I’m going to link to it in my next post! That’s the second time he’s made it online from a race. It was pretty cool to have them there at the beginning so we couldn’t make ourselves any more nervous than we already were.
It sounds like a hard race, congratulations anyway!
It was definitely tough, and now I know middle distances are not necessarily my strong suit, but it was a fun race, with tons and tons of crowd support. I’ll know how to tackle it better for next year and also the kind of hill training I will have to do. None of my hills even compare to those. Some of the worst ones were the ones that almost looked flat but seemed to never end.
The ’sweaty freaks’ sign is sooooooooooooo funny!!
I will have to tell my nephew how many people loved his sign, all his own creation too! That makes it even more awesome!
Yes, that seems to be a favorite of everyone. The woman they show stretching behind Sean in the photo, kept cracking up every time she looked over at what he was writing.