Boilermaker Training Plans

It's been effing hot and I hate running in the heat. Last night's 4+-miler was in 87, sunny, and super muggy. With pollen basically choking me the entire way. It's everywhere. Ick. BUT I've started my training for the Boilermaker 15K that is in about 8 weeks. (Oh, crap -- we still haven't made hotel arrangements!)

I don't have a goal for this race except to beat my last time, which -- in 2010 -- was 1:13:45, 7:55 pace. I'm thinking it won't be terribly difficult since my recent half marathon was run at that exact pace. Rather, I RAN it at that pace, stupid passive voice! 

Possible secret weapon: 

I added a spinning workout to my routine last Wednesday. A way to get my legs moving fast without impact. And with the added resistance, I know it's helped in the past shave seconds, even minutes off race times.

As much as I'm dreading it (because it's so damned hard to get back into spinning after a 2-year hiatus), I'm going to give it another go tonight. Does anyone else have the Spinning Turn + Burn DVD? I swear the instructor must have been sleeping with half the class with all those swoon-eyes.

(My mind wanders to strange places when I physically challenge myself.)

15K PLAN:

To develop this plan, I used Smart Coach via Runner's World at Jen's suggestion.I likely won't run my easy miles at certain paces (I usually come in around 8:25/mile versus 9+ -- but with the heat, who knows?) However, the harder workouts are definitely something I'm sticking to. And the good news? They aren't all that far off what I did in my last training cycle.

I like that most weeks are just 4 days of running and those that are 5 have some pretty low mileage. I'll be fitting in a spinning workout + a yoga class each week, too.

I'm not so sure about the 1:10:50 magic number that the calculator came up with for my finish time. The course is hilly and hot, hot, hot. But at least doing the speedwork to try and achieve this goal will help with my longer-term 1:40 half marathon plans for the fall.

So, that's what's going on in my training. How about you?

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Upcoming Events

Three days. That's how long it took for the Boilermaker 15K to sell out this year. I feel like every year there's this huge hype around how many people will register and how fast it will happen -- I know it was quick in 2012, too, but most every other year, we had at least a month or three.

We heeded warnings and secured spots on the first day.

Is anyone else running this race? It's one of my favorites, not just for the after-party, which is -- truth be told -- pretty incredible. And the beer. Yeah. Beer is definitely a plus. But I love the neighborhood spirit. So many fun things to see and hear along the way. Llamas, people. Llamas.

It's a challenging course, and all the activity helps distract the mind from all those hills.


The 15K is giving the half marathon some competition for my favorite distance. It's long enough to be satisfying, but short enough to allow me to get some speed. (I consider anything under 8 minute miles speedy.) Recovery time is a breeze and it never cuts much into my running schedule. I also think I have a lot of room for improvement.

Now, I will also be running a half marathon in the spring, but I'd like to make the Boilermaker my ultimate goal race. My PR is 1:13:45, set back in 2010 (race report here). Obviously, my goal would be to PR in the 2013 race. I'd like to go under 1:12, if possible. That means paces that hit about 7:40.

A lot will be dictated by the summer heat and humidity. In reality, I just try to finish feeling good because I absolutely hate summer running.


Registering for a race (I haven't had anything on the calendar for some time) got me motivated to run a steady long run on Sunday. I should be able to shave 7 minutes off this time, right? Which leads me to a question I've been asked before. Most recently, Cassandra asked it:

"How fast do you run your long runs?"

My answer won't be very helpful because I often don't keep track. I do my long runs mostly to get in the distance. I map out a route, and put one foot in front of the other. Completing the distance at a comfortable, steady pace -- without taking walk or rest breaks -- is usually my goal.

I only once a month or so wear a watch. Or if I'm running with some of my runners club friends, I'll usually find out at the end how we fared. Of course, it depends on the distance, but for training runs involved with 15Ks to half marathons, I'd say it ranges between 8:15 and 9:15 pace.

Lucky for me, I found this great article -- "In the Long Run" -- by Hal Higdon, from way back in 2002. Though it's specifically about marathoning, it's actually the article from which I based my own, and still current, long run method for all distances. Higdon writes: "Speed is of limited importance during long runs . . . they’re more about time spent on your feet."

He continues, "Experienced [runners] who do long runs at race pace risk both injuries and over-training." And then, "Generally it’s better to err on the slow side. Not every long run needs to be done at the same pace, nor does the pace within each run need to stay the same."

For those who need a number, Higdon suggests 30 to 90 seconds slower than goal race pace. It's a wild range, but just lets us all know that -- AGAIN -- speed is not the point during long runs for most of us. Other workouts on the track and elsewhere are for that purpose.

In the coming months, I'll be writing more about my plan to bring my pace down from 7:55 to 7:40 (Stephen says this is a very conservative goal, but we'll see).


All I know is that the last time I ran this race, we didn't have a cuddly toddler to worry about. I think my biggest anxiety is figuring out where we'll stay the night before. At home with a 2-hour drive to the start the morning of? Or cram the three of us into a crappy hotel room and risk not sleeping at all?

We're planning to book a room today and figure out if we'll cancel or not in the next couple months. Any racing parents out there have tips for away-game races? What should we do? We're considering leaving Ada overnight with a set of grandparents, but even that sounds like potential for disaster. Or if we bring her and drag the grandparents with us, that -- too -- could cause issues for everyone.

Hmmm . . .

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Weekend Scenes

We're having trouble believing it was just the weekend because we had little rest and relaxation. In fact, I think I looked like this for most of my waking hours.

But we did manage to sneak in a few fun things. Like all the new thing in bloom after all the gorgeous weather we had been having.


Playing dress-up on Sunday morning.


Then the 15K I mentioned in the Sweet Chili Granola recipe. (I don't usually post on the weekends, so if you missed the recipe, you should definitely go check it out.)

You can see a huge difference here. I'm a middle-of-the-pack runner. Especially because I didn't race on Sunday, just did a 10(.3) mile training run at 8:26 pace ("race" time was 1:18:54).

Good times with good people.


Then there's solitary Stephen.


He ended up coming in second overall in 53:21. (Uhm. I think I may have hit my 10K mark around then! Speedy Mr.) Even was interviewed by the local paper, where he mentioned Ada: "My daughter was born back in November, and this is the first time I'm feeling the physical exhaustion of being a father."

I love it.


What I don't love is how our cat Rivey bit into one of the tires on our BOB. It was out of commission all last week while the temps were optimal. We finally got time to patch it. Just in time for the winds to pick up, making it cold again. I've only recently become comfortable running 3 miles with it, so I need to keep it up!

Here's to a new week. Complete with at least 4 loads of laundry we're cycling through on this Monday night.

How was your weekend?

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Sweet Chili Granola

If you haven't read Writing Chapter Three, we've been dealing with some stuff this week. Cranky baby stuff. Like, she skipped two naps today. So, we just got back from a l.o.n.g drive in the country after paying over $4 a gallon in gas, no less -- I'm cheap about car-trips lately -- begging Ada to please, please, please fall asleep. And she did. The minute we pulled into the driveway, she woke up again.

But enough about that. Tomorrow we're running a 15K. Leaving this one at home with grandpa, who assures us he's bringing his patience . . .

Stephen's racing it. I'm treating it as an excuse to run double digits again (with warmup, I'm planning to do 10 total, maybe 11). Thankfully, my rolled ankle is feeling much better. Not perfect. But OK enough to participate.

Recipe time. I think this might be the first time I've ever made granola. I thought I'd make it an interesting batch. The combination of flavors is fun -- it has a kick to it, too.


SWEET CHILI GRANOLA

What you'll need . . .

• 1/4 cup Earth Balance or butter
• 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce (I used Wegmans brand)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons water
• 3 cups rolled oats, uncooked, of course
• 1/2 cup dry roasted almonds, sliced*
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds

Method . . .

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Find a rimmed baking sheet. I imagine you can use a regular sheet, but it'll be hard to stir during the process without dropping oats everywhere.
2. * I highly recommend using dry-roasted almonds. They get super crunchy this way. I just took mine and cut them in half with a knife, ultimately creating lots of crisp pieces.
3. In a small saucepan, combine the Earth Balance and chili sauce over medium heat. Then add the brown sugar and soy sauce.
4. In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats, almonds, and sesame seeds.
5. Add the cold water to the sugar mixture. Stir well. Then pour onto the dry ingredients. Mix well.
6. Spread mixture over the entire rimmed baking sheet. Place in the oven and set timer for 30 minutes.
7. I stirred the granola every five minutes to get everything nice and toasted. Then let cool before eating.

Back to the craziness. Hopefully I won't be logging any more miles after 9PM tonight. So far, so good.

Have a great rest of your weekend!

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Boilermaker 15K Race Report

We've written about how much we love the Boilermaker 15K before. And after this year's event, I'll go as far as to say it's my favorite road race . . . EVER. Not only because I prefer half marathons and 15Ks to marathons (faster racing, faster recovery, less mileage-intensive training). But also because it's incredibly well organized . . . it's a great course . . . and the after-party is out-of-this-world amazing -- complete with free Saranac brews.

We also have a ton of friends who do the race each year (and it's definitely the kind of race you do again and again and again). I'd say in all, we knew over 15 people racing this year (and I'm sure more than that). So, we were definitely excited to see all of them at the expo and at the finish.


But, wait. Who's that FL girl in the lower right-hand photo? Is that . . . Healthy Ashley?! Yes. It is! We left for Utica, NY, on Saturday morning, and I just happened to check Twitter and then some blog posts. When I saw that Ashley (one of my favorite bloggers) would be around the expo for Bondi Band, I was -- at first -- in disbelief!

I was thrilled when I realized that this was "really happening" and I'd get to meet someone I've been chatting with for months now. Ashley is a sweetheart, and it was super fun to meet up with her and even do a little yoga.



I even snagged 3 Bondi Bands for myself. They're AWESOME. Especially this very race-appropriate one that reads: Will Run for Beer!


But after a bit, we had to move on and check out the rest of the expo with our best friends Lindsey and John.




I even tried a push-up challenge. But everyone looking at me psyched me out and I could only manage 48. Oh, well. There's always next year! (Plus, the prize was a shirt that said something about loving beef. Not exactly something I want or need.)

Some ladies really rocked this board!


Also! Free Greek yogurt!


Now, back to the real matter at hand: the race! We headed to bed early on Saturday night after watching a couple cooking shows. We don't have cable, so I was pretty much glued. Sleep wasn't that great. I woke up several times and then in what seemed like 10 minutes, it was 5AM and time to get up. Parking wasn't difficult, we parked near the start with no problem. The race attracted over 13,000 participants this year -- so, we were happy to experience little hassle.


More people meant more problems using porta-Johns before the race. I think the race directors did a good job with adding more this year. However, the lines were still horrendously long! Stephen and I are coming up with a list of race essentials, but related to the porta-Johns, we recommend bringing a bit of your own toilet paper and some antibacterial wipes! Ick.


The course isn't exactly flat, but I wouldn't call it hilly. I think my least favorite part is in the final mile. Spectators kept assuring us that "it's all down hill" after mile 7. But, uh. Hello, peoples . . . it's flat with a tiny up-hill near the end. So, if you -- like me -- decided to go all-out, that gentle incline didn't feel so gentle.

Yeah. Don't always listen to those (seriously fantastic) people on the sidelines.

But we couldn't have asked for better weather. Though the temps had been in the mid-90s all week, race morning temps were in the 70s. The sun was out. The humidity wasn't terrible. So, good overall.


After the race we searched around for our friends, ate snow cones, drank a couple beers, and enjoyed music. My favorite part every year is when the fighter jets fly overhead -- but I didn't seem to catch those this year. Our times, you ask? I PRed! Stephen didn't have the best race day (according to him), but he did wonderfully, too!

Here are our stats:


Ashley

Official time: 1:13:45
2009th out of 11,525
7:55 pace
78/932 for F25-29
341/5,114 F overall


Stephen

Official time: 56:16
172nd out of 11,525
6:03 pace
44/865 for M25-29
156/6,411 M overall


Will we do this race again? You betcha! And again and again and again! So, if you're in the upstate NY area (or even if you aren't), check out the Boilermaker 15K. As I wrote above, this year's event attracted a record-breaking number of people. It's the best-organized race I've ever participated in. And the people are just great -- every neighborhood comes out to cheer on the racers, it's one huge party from start to finish and beyond! Plus, if you "run for beer" like I do, it's the perfect motivation to get yourself off the couch and start running!


Now we're wondering -- what's YOUR favorite road race? Is there one that you return to year after year? Is there one we and other readers should check out? Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.

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