Philadelphia Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
United States
43F / 6C
Overcast
 		Total Time = 2h 36m
Overall Rank = 3449/4333
Age Group = F34-39
Age Group Rank = 289/368
Pre-race routine:

Out of bed about 5:30, had the usual breakfast, got ready. Mural Painter came at 6:20am to pick me up, awww... Everything was going well until the point when I failed pee when I should have. The details are TMI, but I knew it was bad news.
Event warmup:

Light hopping around and light stretches, not much. It was cold.
Run
  • 2h 36m 99s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 12m 02s  min/mile
Comments:

The first two miles felt creaky and slightly sore, frankly not pleasant at all. Told myself I'd warm up.

Due to the fluid still in my bladder, I stopped for a porta-potty line just after Mile 2. WHAT A SLOW LINE! It took about 5 minutes. To my dismay, I watched people I'd left behind streaming past me. :( I also saw a couple of people in costume, and cheered for them: "GO HULA GIRL!... GO ROCKY!" The Rocky guy and his buddy were particularly animated.

Well after the agonizingly long wait, I took care of business and got back on my way -- FLYING! Suddenly, I felt great. Untouchable. A machine. Fabulous. Steady. Rhythmic. Passing people. Happy! Pretty soon I caught up with Hula Girl, and Rocky and his buddy, kindred spirits who had all found each other, singing their way through the streets of Philadelphia. Okay, the lead guy was more "bellowing" than singing, but it was still fabulous. First, GO SPEEDRACER, then the segue into:

IT'S THE EYE OF THE TIGER
IT'S THE CREAM OF THE FIGHT
RISIN' UP TO THE CHALLENGE OF OUR RIVALS
AND THE LAST KNOWN SURVIVOR STALKS HIS PREY IN THE NIGHT
AND HE'S WATCHING US ALL... WITH THE EYE OF THE TIGER!

Pretty impressive how many lyrics that guy knew, and all while running. Well after some fun and hooting and hollering, I left them behind.

Though I was running based on effort, without a watch, the optimistic goal I had in mind was 11:20 splits throughout. When I hit the 4 mile clock at some fairly even number, I did the math in my head... and hit the 5 mile clock 10:40 later. Whoops! Considered slowing down, but just. felt. too. good. I'd enjoyed negative split my other two half marathons by large margins and felt SO good, couldn't resist. Wanted to make up for that potty break. Kept running at what felt like a good clip.

Well, roundabouts mile 7 the course starts to climb. Not very steeply, but for a long time, which slowed me down... a lot. Felt myself flagging. I had planned to walk inclines, but they were just too long to walk the whole dang thing, so I alternated running and power walking. Unfortunately, soon after Mile 9... the Rocky Trio were back. They'd caught me again. Uh-oh.

"What pace are you guys running?" I asked. The answer was 12 minute miles. This confirmed my latest round of mental math, which had put me at a 12:20 pace for the previous mile. I ran with or just ahead of them for a half mile or so. This part of the course is pretty much devoid of spectators, much less fun than Center City, and I was really starting to feel the miles... here, the Rocky Trio were the best thing going. Nevertheless, I KNEW that in order to even come close to goal, I'd need to leave them behind. We were in sight of Mile 10, where the course turns around and heads slightly downhill or flat the rest of the way. They were going the whole 26, but it was time for me to kick it into gear. They cheered me on, especially Hula Girl, who encouraged me to relax my shoulders and got my stride looking normal again.

Those last three miles were HARD. My heart and lungs felt fine, but my LEGS were screaming. My hips felt like I was trying to push them sideways out of their sockets. So I pushed, focusing on people to pass, pushing, pushing. Didn't feel like I was gaining much speed, but tried. Yelled aloud every now and then, which kind scared people but oh well. For the last mile or so I was yelling at myself maybe half the time. Stuff like, "GO LEGS GO!" and "LEAVE IT ALL ON THE COURSE!"

Finished.

Chip time: 2:36:00... less than 5 minutes over a PR. So the pee break may have killed a PR, but it was still a great race. Other than that, my pace was right at my optimistic goal range.
What would you do differently?:

Do whatever it takes to pee before the race.
Post race
Warm down:

ooh, warm-down. That would have been a good idea!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

1. Not training on the right kind of hills. If I do this again, I will train running up 34th Street.

2. Not peeing before the race!


Event comments:

Seemed well organized. Aid stations were advertised as only every 2.5 miles, but there was an extra one around Mile 4. Water at some, Gatorade and water at others, plus gels at Mile 10.

Pretty good crowd support the first 7 miles and the last 1/2 mile (half-marathon course). EVERY intersection was policed.




Last updated: 2007-10-13 12:00 AM
Running
02:36:99 | 13.1 miles | 12m 02s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/368
Overall: 0/4333
Performance:
Nutrition: I took a gel & water at Mile 2.5; water & a little Gatorade at the extra aid station just before Mile 4; water at Mile 5; gel & water at Mile 7.5; water & Gatorade at Mile 10. Felt fine throughout.
Course: The first half of the Philadelphia Marathon course: start in front of the Art Museum, head roughly across Arch Street, down beside the Delaware River, back past the Independence Center then jaunt through South Philly then back up, across the Schuylkill River into U City. That first 7 miles or so is fairly flat and urban. After that, it's 3 miles of gradual uphills: up 34th Street through Drexel University and then past Memorial Hall up to the turnaround at the top of West River Drive/MLK, then 3 miles flat-to-downhill back to the Art Museum for the finish. The urban parts had good smatterings of spectators even in the chill, the park part not so much.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]