Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

July 13, 2008

The day started at 5 am.   It was raining and it was windy in Utica.    I thought, never ran a Boilermaker race when it wasn’t hot.  Even better.   Wouldn’t you know it by 7:30 am on the way to the start line, it stops raining.   The race announcer states a piece of Boilermaker history that it has never rained DURING the race. I took a quick look behind me and saw this mass of people, 11,000 altogether waiting.   As the gun went off, I found myself only 30 seconds or so from the start line.  I thought “ cool, won’t have to dodge the numerous people who don’t belong in the orange corral”.    At mile 1 , a volunteer yells out split times, 7:05..7:06..right on pace. It’s getting hot and muggy, typical Boilermaker fashion the sun is out.    Mile 3 approaches, the first of 2 steep climbs, and its real muggy and need take water at every station.   The climbs go well, the golf course goes smoothly this year, 5K split at 22:17.   Downhill after mile 4, I’m holding back as to not run a 6:00 mile as I approach mile 5.    I begin to get myself ready for Burrstone road and miles 6 to 7 which I know is a steady incline that really hurts.   10K split at 43:47 seems to be a steady 7:03 pace.   All of a sudden the bottom drops out on me, I feel drained and the next few miles were just “ one foot in front of the other, you CANNOT stop for anything now, just get to the top.”   Mile 8, finally!! A long downhill, thankfully and let gravity do its job.  I don’t even remember much just focusing on relaxing and breathing. Just as you know it, there is the 9 mile marker.    The rest is downhill to the finish line, although not feeling great, I feel relaxed.   Cross the line in 1:06:08 gun time.   I’m mad.  “What went wrong?” I was thinking 1:02 or 1:03 with how I felt midrace not the 1 hour or under as my goal.   We then figured it out.. “man, way too fast” the first couple of miles, with a 7:06 split it was really 6:36 taking off the time it took me to get to the start line.     Oh well..live and learn as always, another Boilermaker down.

Net time 1:05:38 – ( 7:06 / mile) 691st / 9,773 finishers. 51st / 637 in age group 35-39.