Thoughts on the Boilermaker.

From the vantage point of a few days post-race, I have some thoughts about my training and what worked and what didn't.

Obviously, for me, it was a great race so there must have been a lot that worked. I'm not getting any younger, but I posted a PR on Sunday (1:13:59) in what many consider a tough course to PR on. I would agree. There are some challenging hills and a fair number of twists and turns. Plus, the Boilermaker is a big race with about 13,000 runners so the first two miles are pretty congested.

But, my running has been going well this year. I feel that I've come back post-baby stronger than ever. I beat my goal time in the half-marathon in April, set a 5K PR in June and now a 15K PR. It's all coming together.

Not by chance, of course. This year, I've run a good balance of endurance- and speed-building workouts. My endurance increased significantly during half marathon training and then I added speed on to that during 5K training. Although I wasn't the best about sticking to a 15K training plan, I believe I was able to hold on to a lot of that endurance and speed that I gained, simply by remaining consistent with my runs.

So what worked for the Boilermaker? Was it that I only had about 3 hours of sleep the night before? Doubt it. Was it having to drive for almost two hours to get to the race. Nope.

I believe that what worked for me was actually pretty simple:

1. Rest. Sure, some of it was forced, like when I was sick and missed a few planned runs. But rest is SO key to success!
2. Hard long runs. I didn't run long as much as I would have liked but when I did, I ran fairly hard. I ran over hilly routes, keeping my pace steady and fairly quick, and speeding up at the end.
3. Easy, enjoyable regular runs. When I wasn't running long or doing some speedwork, I was thoroughly enjoying running easy.
4. Cross-training. At least once a week I've been doing a different workout. My favorite right now is Jillian Michaels' kettlebell workout and I really believe that the improvement in my core, arm and leg strength has helped my running.

Basic stuff. Tried and true. 

I'll probably think more about the race as I put together my half-marathon training plan, which I really need to do since my training starts on Monday! In the meantime, here are some of my race pics:

And, yes, I am biting that bottom lip again! Old habits die hard . . .

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Felice