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Philadelphia Marathon - RunMarathon


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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
United States
Philadelphia Marathon
25F / -4C
Sunny
Total Time = 4h 17m
Overall Rank = 4666/7231
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Up at 4:15 and made some coffee. Ate a Detour protein bar,a banana and drank some G2. Got my mom up at 4:30 and left the house at 5 for the drive to the race site. Parked at 23rd near the Parkway about 5:40. Pretty easy. Sat in the car until about 6:15 and walked to the race site.
Event warmup:

Not much really..it was cold so I really just jogged in place while waiting to cross the starting line.
Run
  • 4h 17m
  • 26.2 miles
  • 09m 49s  min/mile
Comments:

My first marathon! I would have never have imagined doing this just a little less than one year ago. In Feb 2008, I was on a trip with my wife and a friend suggested I sign up for the Philly Sprint Tri. So I signed up and started training. I had a great time at the events (did 5 Tri's this past year) and ran the ING 13.1 Distance run in September. Felt good and a friend who ran the 13.1 with me said I should try the marathon....so there I was this past chilly Sunday....thank god I have friends who talk me into things!

My wave started 24 minutes after the first 'countdown' at 7:00. My goal was to keep a steady pace (9:30 - 10:00) throughout the run. From the split times on my GARMIN 405 watch and the (inaccurate...at least I think) timinng chip, I achieved my goal. I felt really good through the city. The crowd was awesome in Center City and it really kept things moving.

I didn't like the hills in Fairmont Park..and the water stations were a slippery mess. (ok, water + sub-freezing temps = ice...didn't anyone consider a little salt for the stations? I mean, it was nasty)

Oh, I didn't like the hills coming out of University City either...but I kept moving.

My first sorta "man, this is a long way" moment came about mile 16 when I started to realize that I still had 10.2 to go and my legs felt a little fatigued. My breathing was good, my nutrition was good (Gu every hour and a cliff shot at mile 19, along with a wonderful roadside brownie in Manayunk.....no beer for me though...some enterprising and energetic folks had some brew in cups...good idea which I passed on..)

My friend Chris stuck with me but we lost our other buddy Andrew about mile 17. We kept each other company through another hill into Manauynk, had a blast with the crowd in the 'Yunk and turned at 20 and it started to hit us that we would really be able to do this. Our watches were pretty much in synch the entire run and we felt strong.

But...I hit a hamstring 'wall' about mile 25 and had to walk a bit to stretch it out...damn, my 4:15 target time was toast..Chris walked with me briefly and then we pushed to the end. The crowd was great at the finish and we both put in a little 'kick' to make it look really good...and to get to the finish line faster.

I couldn't find the family in the crowd, but that was ok. I had done it and really pushed myself this year further than I ever imagined. What a great way to end 2008.

The 'unofficial' time on the Philly Marathon site has my finish at 4:20...that's off by a few minutes frankly...I hit my watch as we crossed the starting line and at the end I hit it (unfortunately) a minute or so after I crossed and it read 4:19...so I expected a more 4:16-17 time. My buddy Chris has the same issue. He finished just a pace ahead of me and his time on the site is higher than his watch. Strange...

After I got my medal, blanket and through the pretty weak food line..(banana, juice and some broth..)I met my family and since we were going to wait for my mom to finish walking so we went to Friday's for some food (on the Parkway) and then walked back up. I left all my warm/dry clothes in the truck so I had to wrap myself up in the blanket. Not too bad but still chilly.

Met my mom after she finished walking, took some photos and then made the trek home. A great day.


What would you do differently?:

Train more next year...get in a few longer runs as I only did the half marathon, a few 10 mile runs and one 19...could use a two or three more 'longer' runs in the 15-19 mile range.
Post race
Warm down:

Nothing but a walk down the parkway to the Fridays for chicken wings, potato skins and BEER!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training....

Event comments:

Two things stick out for me, but it's my first marathon so maybe I'm being picky..

1) Ice at the water stations. A little forethought could have limited the risk. Just a bucket or two of salt to toss down. I mean, it was nasty slippery.

2) Food. It's really pretty anti-climatic to cross the finish line and get your blanket and medal and then be faced with an anemic selection of bananas, pretzels, juick (in little cups) and warm chicken broth w/ or w/out rice. I mean the broth was good after the run and it was warm, but I think for the $$ spent they could do better somehow.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2008-09-03 12:00 AM
Running
04:17:00 | 26.2 miles | 09m 49s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 4666/7231
Performance: Average
Course: Flat with some moderate hills through University City, Fairmont Park and into Manyunk.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

{postbutton}
2008-11-25 7:21 AM

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Veteran
199
100252525
Glen Mills, PA
Subject: Philadelphia Marathon


2008-11-25 8:41 AM
in reply to: #1824997

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Not a Coach
11473
5000500010001001001001002525
Media, PA
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon

Congrats Phil!  Quite a journey you've had this year!

The results on-line actually had me a few seconds slower than the chip time that was relayed to my wife.  Not sure what's up there (though a few seconds don't matter too much).  I think they had some issues with this timing system last year too IIRC.

2008-11-25 9:46 AM
in reply to: #1824997

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Veteran
199
100252525
Glen Mills, PA
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon

thanks....I didn't find out about the text updates until during the race...bummer. That would have been nice as my wife forgot that the 'clock' didn't match my time as I started about 7:24 and not 7:00....she and the kids sat in the stands for a while and then figured I had finished and went to the family area! All good anyway.

My timing was off pretty considerably..not just seconds but minutes frankly...I mean, I hit 'start' on the watch and 'end' a minute or so after crossing the finish and the watch read 4:19 so they are definately off. Either way, I know what I did and next year I'm targeting a sub 4:00...

Did a spin class today and the legs felt really good. I'll swim tomorrow...

See you around.

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