Philadelphia Distance Run Report (Sept 16, 2007)

I was nervous on Saturday. I don't know why but I was. It can't be the distance because I've done half-marathons before. It can't be the weather because it was suppose to be beautiful conditions. Wait. Could it be the weather? Maybe the conditions were too perfect? Maybe I didn't want to blow this opportunity?

All day Saturday I was thinking, 'am I drinking enough water? does juice count as water? maybe I shouldn't drink the juice? what should I eat for dinner? Should I stay off my feet all day? I know, I know, if I walk down those steps I'll misstep and twist an ankle. '

After dinner (oven-roasted chicken from Texas Roadhouse), I packed my running bag and laid out what I was wearing the next day. I sat down for five minutes and thought about what possible things am I missing. I threw extra gels in, sports beans, an extra shirt in case the one I intended on wearing suddenly went up in flames and I need something else to pin my number on. Having satisfied my thought process that there wasn't anything else possible to pack in my running bag, I went to bed at 9:30p checking and re-checking and re-checking my re-checking to make sure the alarm was set to a 24 hour station for 4:50a Sunday.

The alarm went off and I jumped in the shower. My wife woke up and asked me, 'why are taking a shower before a 13 mile run?' I don't know but I felt like I should. I guess I just wanted to keep awake and this was a good way of doing it. After the shower, I fed the cat and went down stairs for coffee and breakfast. Usually, I eat (2) Clif bars before a race but discovered (by accident, I think) that I've run well eating pancakes instead. So, blueberry pancakes and coffee it was.

I've learned through early morning races that the digestive system has a mind of its own. It doesn't always kick in when you want it to. My intention was to leave the house by 6:45a but was sidetracked by my digestive systems own wake up call. Still, I was only 10 minutes late and realized that was one less trip to the ever-lovely port-a-potty line. Driving down, in 46 degree weather, all I kept asking myself was, 'why am I giving up a perfectly good day off from work to do this?'

The race starts and finishes in Eakins Oval around the Art Museum. I got there around 7:15a with the race starting in a half hour. I noticed the corrals were lined up on a different side than last year. Hmmm. Wonder why? I was in Corral 7 but was able to move up to Corral 4 because I was on a corporate team. It was a perfect day. The weather was gorgeous. I stood in the corral thinking about how I should run this race.

When the gun went off and I began walking to the start line, I convinced myself if ever I was going to do a sub 2-hour half, it would have to be on a day like today. I couldn't waste the weather by going out too slow. I was going to roll the dice and see how I felt along the way.

The race goes down the Franklin Parkway, around City Hall and east on Market Street. It use to go past Independence Hall but instead, this year, we went to the right of the building. They've changed the course! Nobody was quite sure where we were going but hoped the thousands of people in front of you knew where they were going. We zig-zagged through Society Hill finally turning west on Walnut Street.

I had to do a 9:10 pace to reach my 2 hour goal. I hit the 5k mat at 26:46, less than a 9 minute pace. By this point in the race, you can tell whether you are having an off day or whether you are on target. I felt fine. I felt strong. I just have to maintain this pace.

After you going up Walnut Street, you head north on 16th Street for a bit before going up the Franklin Parkway towards the Art Museum again. Once you hit the Art Museum, you go around the left side of Eakins Oval and head towards Martin Luther King Drive and along the Schuylkill River.

This is about 5 miles into the race and though I was feeling good from a running perspective, I began to develop a sharp pain in my right shoulder. My shoulder? Geez, am I having a heart attack? Don't you get pains in your left shoulder if you are having a heart attack? Should I slow down? If I slow down, can I get my pace back up again? Even if it was a heart attack, would it matter if I slowed down or not? Within 5 minutes, the pain went away. At least in the shoulder.

I hit the 10k mat at 53:50 and the 7 mile marker at 1:00:46. All I had to do was a little bit better than 10:00/mile pace and I was in free. I was still feeling good. I wasn't going to ease up. I was going to do it today.

The course continues up MLK Drive to the Falls Bridge. You go up a slight hill and across the bridge, bearing right after the bridge onto Kelly Drive and back to the Art Museum. This point is mile 9. This point is where my leg cramps began.

This year, the water stations had Accelerade on the course as the sports drink. I can't drink water in a race as my stomach gets upset so rely on the sport drinks. But, I read the sport drinks stop after the mile 7 water station. I knew I would have to go the last half of the race without hydrating. And, I'm starting to cramp up with 4 more miles to go.

I hit the mile 10 mark in 1:28:09. I had a 5k race to go and I had to be smart about this. So, I backed off. There was no reason to push. All I wanted to avoid was having to stop and get the cramping out of my legs. They weren't bad. I had to be careful. So, I backed off 30 seconds from my pace and relunctantly drank some water to hydrate.

The last mile of the race is around Boathouse Row. There is a slight uphill for the last half mile of the race. It's also directly in the sun. I put my head down and just followed the back of the feet in front of me. By this time, my hips were hurting, my legs were hurting, my feet were hurting. I made it to the top and started sprinting to the finish. But, the finish line wasn't there! What the...? Where's the finish line? They moved it from where it was last year! I had to go down the end of Eakins Oval (again!) and make a sharp right turn towards the famous Rocky steps at the Art Museum. After making the sharp right, I finally saw the finish line! I sprinted with arms thrust in the air with a time of 1:56:50, almost 8 minutes off my PR!

So, despite my down summer, I begin the fall season with an accomplishment that I've been aiming to do since I started this long distance stuff. I know I measure myself on how well I can do a half-marathon not a full one. And it answered my questions of why I take a perfectly good day off from work and do this. This feels great!

Pictures of the race can be viewed on http://www.runphilly.com/home.html