Boilermaker 2009: Part II

Yes I know part one was a tease...but I got busy and didn't want to rush through the post just to get it up so everyone could read it! So now I present part two:

Every year I run this race, the 9.3 miles go by in such a blur and this year was no exception.

As I crossed the start line, the chips attached to all the runner's shoes beeped. Its a funny sound and has signaled the start of every race for me the past 5 years.

The first mile was decent - I felt the nervous jitters seep out of my legs and I pounded the pavement at a comfortable pace. I did minimal weaving and dodging around other runners and felt like I had made a good choice to start closer in the yellow area. The first mile is slightly hilly and stretched out in front of me I could see thousands of runners bobbing up and down.

Mile 2 was also uphill and this mile is known as the international mile because of all the cultural bands, dancers and people that stand along this area. I enjoy hearing all the music and seeing all the people as I run but I know that I miss a lot because I am partially focused on running.

I found a group of cross country girls for mile 3 and went too fast and started feeling a little drained but my pace felt good. Mile 4 was in the golf course and this is where my favorite hill is because it also contains the best downhill! As I was climbing the golf course hill I saw a race photographers trying to get people to wave to the camera so I took that chance to be goofy. We will have to wait and see how I look once they post the pictures!! I ran the downhill mile so fast and then continued into mile 5 too fast and by the time I reached the deadly hill at mile 6 I was feeling it.

I mentioned before about my knees and I was feeling them through most of the race. The pain did not start out as badly as it had been on my last run that previous Thursday but it was still slightly present. I think the adrenaline of the race helped to keep it at bay or maybe the two rest days prior to the race.

My knees definitely hurt at mile 6 and onward until the end. I knew I was slowing down on the uphill and picked it back up on the downhill into mile 7 and 8. This is the point in the past races where I have wanted to go faster but my legs just wouldn't do it. I had little trouble until I was halfway into the ninth mile and there was a slight uphill before the "final 0.3 mile downhill" to the finish. It was horrible...I just wanted the race to be over with because my knees were hurting badly.

I finally made it past the nine mile maker (which along with all the other mile markers stands permanently in the ground year round!) and I started looking for Brian. He had brought his camera to take pictures and I wanted to make sure I saw him. He caught a few pictures of me before I noticed him and could smile and make sure I looked happy! The finish line is the most packed during this race...there are so many spectators yelling and cheering, its an incredible feeling!

Crossing the finish line was amazing because I finally got to stop running. I took off my chip from my shoe and received my finishers pin! I had been keeping track of my splits throughout the whole race so I knew I was on course for a PR. The weird part is that I feel like I could have gone faster, except for the whole knee hurting part because I felt good the whole race!

My chip time was 1:13:07 which is a 3 minutes PR from last year! It was amazing running that fast and I totally believe that the longer slow distance running is to blame. I never ran that fast pace for my long runs!

Here are my mile splits from my watch:
Mile 1 - 8:10
Mile 2 - 7:57
Mile 3 - 7:43
Mile 4 - 8:08 (favorite uphill)
Mile 5 -7:02 (favorite downhill)
Mil e 6 - 7:34
Mile 7 - 8:20 (uphill)
Mile 8 - 7:29 (downhill)
Mile 9 - 8:17 (almost dead)
Last 0.3 - 2:20

Here is some more stats for you:
Chip Time - 1:13:07 (7:51 pace)
358th female finisher
Age group - 95/725

Gun time - 1:14:54 (8:03 pace)
338th female to cross the finish line
Age group - 89/725 to cross finish line

First 5k - 24:44
Second 5K - 23:37 (48:21 10k split)
Third 5k - 24:46

This post is already long so I'll post pictures tomorrow for an early photo Friday!!

Now that the race is over, I am resting. I took Monday and Tuesday off and tried to run this morning (Wednesday) and I almost didn't make it the 1.8 miles I set out to do. My right knee was in so much pain and after the race I had trouble bending my knee and going down stairs. I think its runners knee but I have never had this much pain before so I am slightly worried. I have been icing and taking the "drugs" and I am going to wait until Sunday or Monday to try running again and hopefully be pain free!

Thanks for reading this race report. This Boilermaker has to be the best one yet!! But I say that every year!! Happy running!