Tag Archives: All Boilermaker All The Time

Post-Boilermaker Post

Posted on July 10, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

So I ran the Boilermaker 15K in Utica, NY this morning. Very slowly. In fact, I got slower every mile, except for the last little bit, which I inadvisedly tried to sprint. I had to do it, although it was kind of the nail in the coffin (I do enjoy macabre imagery).

Anybody who is hoping for a cheery overview of a premiere event, this is not it. The Boilermaker is a great, a wonderful, a unique event (and I do not use the term unique lightly). I had fun, chatted with some nice people, and was glad to be a part of it. But I had a little trouble. Since this is my blog about me, and I am going to tell it as I experienced it.

Things went pretty well for the first four miles. Breathing was a little difficult due to humidity. However, the temperature was not too hot; the overcast skies helped. We felt a few sprinkles of rain before the race started, but that went away, and no thunder rumbled.

A couple of times I got a little stitch in my right side. I lifted that arm over my head in a stretch and tried to breathe more deeply. So far so good. Then my left knee and my left hip started in on me. The hip was more of a problem. It hurt! I kept saying, “Oh crap!” Nobody paid me any mind to which I took no offense. We all have our problems.

The last three miles were bad. I had been saying to myself, “Just run your own pace, run your own race” almost since we started. Eventually I started saying to myself, “Just keep going.” The spectators cheering us on helped. My fellow runners, too encouraged me.

For a while I ran next to an older gentleman. His walk was the pace of my run. He told me how he had broken his foot one year but did not go to the doctor till after the Boilermaker, because the doctor would have told him not to run. Wow! At least all my bones were intact!

The last 1.3 miles took forever! “You’re almost there!” they kept telling me, to which I replied, “Promises, promises!” Then I figured if I had enough breath to be a wise-ass, I must be doing better than I thought.

In these races, be they 5K or 15, I try to keep myself from starting my final sprint too soon. I have done that at the Reindeer Run 5K in Little Falls more than once, and it is not pretty (not that I am especially pretty by that point in a race anyways). Today I questioned my ability to sprint or even speed up at all, but I firmly told myself not to worry about it. Just finish! That was my goal.

As I said in the first paragraph, I somehow found it in myself to sprint at the end. Go faster, go faster, I urged myself, and my poor old body responded as best it could. For one reason, I was so close to end I wanted to get there as soon as possible!

And it was not pretty. However, I see I am over 500 words. That is a long post for me. I will stop blogging now. I may tell the rest of my tale tomorrow. But no promises.

Pre-Boilermaker Slacking

Posted on July 9, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had my last pre-Boilermaker run this morning. A little over a mile and a half, 22 minutes (incidentally, my favorite number). Then I pretty much slacked for the rest of the day. Eventually I wrote a few post cards and walked them to the post office, taking the long way back for a 22 minute walk, a little over one mile. I did a load of laundry, surprisingly not during either the run or the walk (as regular readers know, my favorite multi-task). I did the dishes.

Now I sit, lounged on my couch, drinking more water (hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, they say) and wondering if it really is essential to eat pasta the night before a big race. I know it is traditional to “carb up” at such times, but is it science? Or is it merely psychological? You see, it is very warm for me to think about cooking something to eat. Additionally, I do not want to dirty more dishes.

Me, pondering the worth of effort in the heat.

I thought a picture would pep things up. This is me in Love’s Labour’s Lost last summer with LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company. It was pretty hot then, too. My costume was supposed to have another layer, but there was no way I could stand it. It was impractical anyways, since I played two roles and had to change. But I digress.

Getting back to the Boilermaker 15K in Utica tomorrow, I am looking forward to it, despite my usual trepidations of parking, timing, and should I really be eating spaghetti tonight. I hope to have fun and write a blog post about it. In the meantime I am going to bill this as a Slacker Saturday (although my digression into theatre may make a Non-Sequitur Saturday eligible) and drive on. Happy Saturday, everyone!

(B)Lame it on the Boilermaker

Posted on July 8, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am inordinately late making my Lame Post Friday post. I made the conscious decision not to post last night. I looked at the blank space on the Add New Post screen and said, “I don’t want to.” Perhaps it was reprensible of me as a self-proclaimed daily blogger, but these things happen.

I had suffered from a headache all day at my not heinous but also not air-conditioned job. A cool shower felt good, but I could not just lounge around. I had to go to the MVHS Health and Wellness Expo at Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) to pick up my packet for the Boilermaker 15K in Utica tomorrow (tomorrow? Yikes!).

The Expo is a big deal and very well attended. I had to contend with a goodly amount of traffic, which can be intimidating when you are not sure where you are going. Yes, I have been to MVCC before but not since the mid-teens (that is the 20teens, not my teens). I have never been much for crowd scenes, especially when I am by myself. However, one does what one must.

I might as well just admit that the Boilermaker has always intimidated me to a certain degree. It’s not running 9.3 miles I fear; I can rely on my own stubbornness to get me through that. It is just such a large event. Will I find a place to park? Will I make it through the long lines at the porta-potties before the race? Will I be able to navigate the really large crowd at the after-party? These are the questions that haunt me.

The actual running is less of a problem. I lament the crowds, but I cannot deny that all those people cheering us on can be a big help. I like to read the signs, high five kids, dance to the bands… It is a fun run.

So now I have talked myself back into looking forward to it. I expect to go back and forth as the day wears on. No matter. It will give me something to do while I hydrate.

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Posted in humor, Lame Post Friday, personal and tagged All Boilermaker All The Time, blog post, blogging, Boilermaker, Boilermaker 15K, crowd scene, late post, MVCC, running. Bookmark the permalink.

Another Pre-Boilermaker Run

Posted on July 7, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I melted again today, although with no discernible difference in my waistline. However, I did manage to go for a short run and will now attempt a Running Commentary Post.

I had been taking myself all day that it would be a good idea to run, but I was naturally reluctant to do so once I got home. In my defense, heat and humidity! I spent the greater portion of the day feeling sweat pour down my body. Ugh. But the Boilermaker 15K is a mere three days away. I must maintain.

First I called my Mom and Dad. Mom said perhaps I should not run in this weather. Dad thought I might try it and switch to walking if it was too much. Since I only contemplated a short run, I decided to try.

And now I will pause to bring up something that always bothers me: when you say you can’t do something and somebody smugly replies, “Well, not with that attitude.” I have probably alluded to this before, but I will repeat it. Almost every failure I have had, and there have been many, some epic, I have gone into with great confidence. On the other hand, many times I have thought, I probably can’t do this but let me just try. And I do it, surprising myself as well as my detractors.

It should come as no surprise that I succeeded in my attempt to run today. I thought, one mile, fifteen minutes, slow pace. My pace was faster than a 15-minute mile although I made no effort at speed. As I went, I thought 20 minutes might be good. Oh well, maybe 17.

I made it for 20 minutes 31 seconds, 1.49 miles. I suppose I could have made it a full two and a half miles, but I felt pretty pleased with what I did.

Now I have to start worrying about the myriad practical details involved in running the Boilermaker: getting my packet from the Runner’s Expo, which involves finding said Expo; putting on the right clothes the morning of, eating the proper breakfast, getting to the starting line after deciding the best time to get to the starting line, finding a parking space; and through it all hydrating, hydrating, hydrating. I haven’t even mentioned getting to bed at a good time, getting to sleep, and waking up on time. I think there are probably a few things I have forgotten I need to do. I am not even sure I remember how many days there are between Thursday and Sunday.

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Posted in humor, personal, running commentary and tagged All Boilermaker All The Time, blog post, blogging, Boilermaker, confidence, hot and humid, running, Utica Boilermaker 15K, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

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