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Philadelphia Marathon
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Philadelphia Marathon - RunHalf Marathon
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Comments: My plan was to start off running 10 minute miles hold that for about 10 miles and then see what would happen miles 10 - 13. Miles 1 - 2: Slower than I wanted as course congestion limited my ability to move out. Mile 1 was 10:49 and I enjoyed looking at the downtown skyscrapers as I ran. Phil was long gone, Vanessa in site but ahead and Karen and I side by side. Mile 2 was covered in 10:14 Mile 3 ws covered in 10:07 and included a water stop where I took in my first GU (Carbboom Expresso...mmmm more coffee) and of course I lost Karen at this water stop as it was very crowded. I looked around, wasn't sure if she was ahead of me or behind and then I just took off solo. Mile 4 & 5 was covered in 20:18 as I never saw the 4 mile mark and we were now running still in Philly but much more neighborhood feel with crowds of spectators all over. I enjoyed watching so many racers that I passed, or that passed me. Some running for team in training with pictures of loved ones that had passed or were battling the disease currently. ONe lady had a shirt that said marathon in all 50 states and had 5 of them crossed out. I was feeling good and was now picking up the pace. Mile 6: 9:47 and I felt like I could PR today...it was cool, just a sprinkle or two of rain and the course was flat. Mile 7: 10:02 took in another water stop and Vanilla flavored GU and headed by Drexel university where I saw some FRAT guys on the roof of there house and they were really yelling and having fun. I wondered if they had just woken, or had they been drinking all night and pulled another all nighter, HA! Mile 8: Headed up a hill and out of the city 10:58 due to the hill and I just shortened my stride and kept moving up and out of the city. Mile 9: Back to the flats and slight downhill heading into Fairmont and 10:05 on the watch. Mile 10: Starting to tire and then Oh Shit...there is that hill from the TRI, short steps, keep it moving, getting tired...walk for 30 seconds...get going again...slowing, can see people at the top and turning to go back down. Hit the water stop and take another Coffee GU. Hit the 10 marker in 11:57, DAM! Mile 11: tired, quads getting taxed, back down the hill into the park 10:58. Mile 12: The hardest mile and the one that felt the longest up & away from the Museum and around the Skykulle (spelling) river. Time - 10:58, just barely shuffling along at this point and mentally I tell myself "Boy am I glad I'm not doing the full marathon today" Mile 13 & .1) 11:25 keep the shuffle going, not fast just want to reach the finish. Quads are really feeling it and I am tired. Rach the Museum and about .3 to go...crowds cheering and I barely beat the Marathon winner! Hee,Hee. (I say to myself "At least I wasn't lapped") Phil had a great first race and posted an impressive 1:39 and Vanessa did great and at 21 finished her first 1/2 in 2:12:16. Karen rounded out the field in 2:21 or so (she wasn't sure of her exact time). We took some pictures which I'll post later and caught a cab back to the hotel for showers and then headed out for our 5 hour trip back. We had a great time! What would you do differently?: Maybe not race the 15K one weekend before, other than that...Not a thing! It was fun.  Post race
Last updated: 2007-11-20 12:00 AM
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 2007-11-20 8:30 AM |
Veteran  169  |  Subject: Philadelphia Marathon |
| 2007-11-20 9:25 AM in reply to: #1061879 |
Veteran 288 Haddonfield, NJ | Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon Thanks for the kind words. Great race with the family! I'm glad the cab thing worked out -- we had chauffer service from Bridget. I hope you come back down next year. I'm definitely going to do the 1/2 or full in 2008. |
| 2007-11-20 9:32 AM in reply to: #1061879 |
Veteran 205 Fayetteville, NC | Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon Congratulations on a great race! You were doing really awesome until mile 10. I think if you hadn't run the 15k the week before, then you probably wouldn't have slowed for those last 3 miles. You were probably not fully recovered from that race. You did an awesome job. So did your other family members. It must be cool to have the entire family race together!! |
| 2007-11-20 10:12 AM in reply to: #1061879 |
| A very cool place in Colorado :) | Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon Sounds like and AWESOME TIME!!! And really, you DID just run a 15k last weekend and check out your TIMES! Holding a 10' pace for that long is impressive, Tom. WELL DONE!! Psst: maybe next time you should drink the coffee, not eat it with the rest of your breakfast |
| 2007-11-20 10:28 AM in reply to: #1061879 |
Champion 10471 Dallas, TX | Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon Sounds like you had a great race out there! Congratulations! At least it got hard towards the end. Otherwise it would have been a walk in the park for you. |
| 2007-11-20 11:19 AM in reply to: #1061879 |
Champion 19812  MA | Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon Nice race Tom!! Impressive pace and I'm sure you have a faster day in you with tapering and all that. This is all building your running towards IMLP! Doing a 15K and 1/2 Mary back to back weekend is like Max does.. crazy but builds. So neat it was a family affair and you are sharing your passion with Karen and your daughter & her wicked fast BF. Can't wait to see you for some training next year |
| 2007-11-20 11:39 AM in reply to: #1061879 |
Champion 5345 Carlsbad, California | Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon Excellent Race Tom Philly is a tough course with a lot of late race "Long Steady" uphill sections that can easily be missed. (Read: False Flats) This feature of the course really conspires to suck the life out of a runner late in the race. Way to stick this one out and finish strong and very nicely done right on the heals of your 15k. Definitely good training for LP next year. Oh, and that is awesome that V & K did well too. Take Care and have a great Thanksgiving. Cheers |
| 2007-11-20 5:40 PM in reply to: #1061879 |
Master 2411 Goodyear, AZ | Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon Congratulations to the whole family on a great race! What a great race report! You have to be happy with this race as part of the bigger plan- each race gives you more experience for the big one! Well Done! |
| 2007-11-21 1:08 PM in reply to: #1061879 |
Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon Great job slugging it out to the finish. Very cool that it was a family affair too. Have a great t-day, big T! |
| 2007-11-21 4:11 PM in reply to: #1061879 |
Veteran 117 Newark, Delaware | Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon |
| 2007-11-21 7:33 PM in reply to: #1061879 |
Extreme Veteran 393 Columbia, South Carolina | Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon Way to go, Tom! Aside from the el-crappo expo situation, sounds like a great weekend and a nice race had by all! Wish I could've been there! |
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This race was going to be a family race and the debut 1/2 Marathon for my daughter Vanessa and her boyfriend Phil.
V & P arrived Friday night and we packed the car and headed to Philadelphia Saturday morning. First stop was Dunkin Donuts & then several stops at various rest stops in NY & NJ. We didn't turn on the radio for the entire 5 hour drive. We just chatted, kids slept a bit and we enjoyed each others company.
Expo:
The expo was held in one of the Temple University buildings. Temple is located in a disstresed area of Philadelphia with TRASH all over the streets except of course in front of the actual school. I can imagine the potential students coming for a tour and the guides keeping them strictly in the school district.
Found the expo and it was a nightmare. We found our names and numbers and stood in the longest line I have ever seen at a race. Thousands of people in line trying to pick up Race Bibs. WE stood in line for about 35 minutes and then sorted out to proper tables split up by 1,000 numbers. 1 volunteer per 1,000. I was 15,000 table and the volunteer was explaining how to attach the chip, don't bend it, where to atach Bib, & then head to seperate spot for Tshirt. Took an additional 25 minutes.
Met Keith(Panic Tour) who was on MadCow's mentor group with me last winter & we still keep in touch, JessXU who needs no explenation and Jen0 who is one of Jess's friends. Also met Keith's brother Chris and his two kids Jake - My new best friend and his older brother.
We had planned on going to dinner, but PT's wonderful wife (Bridget)would have none of that and invited us over for a wonderful home cooked meal. They live right in the heart of Philly in a wonderfully decorated home that reminded me of the brownstones in Boston. WE were treated to Pasta (wheat or white), delicious salad, bread & two types of sauces. YUM! Bridget had set out some nicely thought out apps that hit the spot after the wacked out expo experience. We ate, chatted, talked some TRI, met the pooch, a Boston Terrier puppy named Forester....very cute dog! Wished everyone a good race and we headed off around 8pm back to the hotel.
Race Morning: We got a wake up call at 4:30 AM, I jumped into the shower ate a wheat bagel, banana and cup of coffee. Looked out the window as rain was expected as per the weather man the night before and to my surprise it wasn't raining. I wore my dark grey addidas shorts, grey bike sleevless jersy with pockets for GU;s and a Brooks black wic shirt on top. Caught a cab so we didn't have to worry about parking (good idea). Hit porta potties and it was cold, wished the family good luck with Hugs and kisses (No, I didn't kiss Phil..LOL) and headed to the race start.