Philadelphia Marathon - RunMarathon

2nd standalone marathon attempt after blowing up at the MCM a few years ago.

super stretch goal was sub 3:30. Lined up next to the 3:15 pace group and figured i would start easy and let the 3:25 group catch up to me and see how that felt.

The first mile was pretty slow in 8:29 and it felt pretty labored, actually. And the next few I started feeling little pains here and there, so i was a little worried. If it was already hurting I may be screwed later!

3:25 group swallowed me up and spit me out on Columbus blvd. Their pace just felt like a little too much, so i let them go.

Kept the HR under 150 for the first 8 miles and was clipping away at about 7:50 avg and felt ok. The crowds downtown were amzing. Had to stop to re-tie my left shoe on the 34th street hill in Drexel as my foot was already hurting and didn't want the pain to get out of hand. Was a good move.

Miles 9-17 were consistent in the 7:40-7:50s and my HR crept from the low 150s to the high 150s. Still never felt great, but the pace was comfortable until the Falls Brige detour. For some reason that little section was mentally and physically very taxing. Looked at my watch and saw i was paced 8:45 for that mile. WTF. Snapped out of it and got the pace back to 8min on the way up to Manyunk. Things were starting to hurt...particularly my feet.

Saw my family just after the turn and they gave me a great boost. Stopped and gave each of them a kiss and hug and motored out of there feeling better. Kept reminding myself it's just a 10k now!

Things starting getting dark and really painful at mile 22 and Falls Bridge (again!). Pace was in the low 8s but it felt like I was working alot harder and HR was now mid 160s and rising. Luckily, i was passed by two Achilles team members (a guide and a racer tied together) and I latched on to them and just tried to stay with them. They carried me for a good 3 miles.

The incline @ mile 26 was deceptively brutal. I knew breaking 3:30 was going to be really close. I was in so much pain here and running with a pronounced limp. Could no longer really hear the crowd and had tunnel vision. It was wierd. Did that mile in 8:15. The last .2 felt like it would never end, but i was able to pick up the pace and bring it home.

I went from running 3.5 hours straight to barely being able to walk in a matter of seconds. Was really proud of my effort and how deep i dug to finish. Turns out I precisely even-split the thing at 1:45:09 and 1:45:09 (but it felt anything BUT even!). And it was a 52 minute PR over my MCM blowup.




other than try to find 19 seconds somewhere...absolutely nothing! Very happy.

Nutrition was good. Took a Gu Roctane 15 min befor start. Then another at 45 min, 1.5 hours, and 2:15. Switched from all water to some gatoraid on the back half.

One thing that was really motivating for me is I wore a TEMPLE t-shirt for my buddy who's last name is Temple. He's a marathoner, but he's not running this year because he's fighting cancer. Needless to say there was alot of crowd support here in Philly shouting "Temple!!!" the whole way, and I heard every one of them and thought of my friend, who would rather be running but instead is fighting for his life. Gave me motivation, inspiration and perspective.

Got some food. Warm chicken broth was amazing. Sat down and waited for my family to find me and get me out of there. Was not feeling good at all.


WEIGHT! Race morning was 228lbs. Need to drop about 30 if i want to be serious about reaching my potential at IMFL.

Run traing was great. Consistent work for about 12 weeks of 5-6 runs per week on a BarryP type approach. But i probably should have started with more of a base so that my build could have gotten mileage up to the 50-60mpw range instead of maxing out in the high 40s like i did.




great volunteers and crowds. Great seeing so many NYC marathoners enjoying themselves and thanking Philly for letting them participate.