I registered for this race ages ago - probably in February when I was just starting out with my running. It has been so helpful and motivating to me to have the PDR to shoot for. I know what works for me, and one of the things that really works is to have a goal or an event that I'm planning for. I have progressed with my running much faster with this race on the schedule than I would have if my first half was the WDW race in January.
I began my training late in June, so preparing for this has taken my whole summer. During that time I only missed one long run - the 8-miler I was supposed to do during my trip to Disney in August. Given that I was dealing with the hot & humid weather of a Philadelphia summer, and multiple vacations during that time, I'm pretty darn proud of myself. My longest run (a 10-miler I did on August 23rd) was great, and I felt well-prepared and ready as the PDR got closer.
A bunch of us at the WiSH Boards were doing this race, so we made plans to get together on Saturday for late lunch/early dinner in Chinatown. My husband Tom also joined us. I went to the expo to pick up my packet, and also switched corrals (my pace had improved a lot since I registered, so I moved up to corral 14 from corral 16). I hardly looked at the Expo at all since I had gotten there pretty late, and then joined Terri, Cam, Howard, Cindy, Matt, Karen & John for the walk to the restaurant. Anne, Robert & Pat were already there, and my husband joined us a little late.
Here are some photos from the lunch:
John, Cindy, Matt, Howard & Cam:
Terri, Robert, Anne, Pat & Karen:
One more after Tom got there - he's the one in the green shirt:
It was really great to get to know everyone, and we had a wonderful time. What a great bunch of people! Thanks, Terri, for organizing the meet!
Tom & I left because we had another pre-race event to go to! My brother Mike was also running, along with a friend of his, so he planned a get-together in his house with pasta and a showing of Chariots of Fire. We got there around 6:30, and enjoyed some great food and beer. Tom & I enjoyed the movie, but I think it was a little boring for the kids (Ally was complaining loudly!). We made arrangements for Mike and his entourage (his friend Yelena who was racing, and his girlfriend Susie who was cheering) to pick me up in the morning. The plan was for Tom & the kids to get there in time to see me finish, but avoid getting up at the crack of dawn with me!
We got home around 9:30. I still needed to finish some laundry for the race (whoops - poor planning on my part), so I got going on that, and got everything else ready for the morning. Over the years I've done lots of things that involved getting up early for events, and I knew I would have a happier morning if I took care of everything the night before. So I pinned my bib to my shirt, took care of my chip, put together my fanny pack etc. before I went to sleep.
I actually was in bed by around 11, and slept pretty well. I have to say, I did have some pretty weird dreams though! When my alarm went off, I was not in a great mood. In fact, I did not feel particularly like getting up and running 13.1 miles, but of course I got up anyway! Had coffee, a bowl of cereal, and finished getting ready. It was a beautiful morning for a race - clear, low humidity and about 60 degrees.
Mike picked me up, and we got there around 7:15. If it had just been me I would have arrived about 1/2 hour sooner - I think next time I'll drive myself so that I can be sure to get there with plenty of time. The WiSH group was meeting at the Rocky statue for photos and good luck wishes, and I made it just in time to get in the last photos! I then dropped off my bag at the gear check, and went to stand in the LOOOONNNGG portapotty line.
I was actually still in the line when the race started, but I made it to my corral with a few minutes before our group started to move.
Honestly, the first half of the race is a bit of a blur. I really enjoyed running on the streets of the city I have lived in most of my life. Everything was familiar, but it was also transformed by the context of seeing it through the eyes of a distance runner. I think it was really great to run my first major race in my own city. I never, never, ever thought I would be running a half marathon - until last January this would just not have occurred to me as a possibility - so running the streets of my own city was proof of my transformation.
Poetry aside, I felt pretty good! I was keeping to a 10 1/2 - 11 minute pace, which had me on track to complete under 2 1/2 hours (my goal time). I did end up using my i-pod after about mile 2. I just really wanted my running music! This ended up helping a lot later in the race.
It was also a real highlight to see the Kenyan/Ethiopian runners coming back down the Parkway as we were heading up it! Amazing!
The first five miles really flew by. There was a lot of crowd support on the streets. We then headed up West River Drive. I was running most of the time, and then walking through the water stops. This kept me more or less on the pattern I had established in my most recent training runs - I have been running about a mile and then walking for 30-60 seconds. By the way, the water stops were terrific! They were frequent, and well-manned. I had a Luna Moon at about 6 miles, and that kept up my energy level.
On both West River Drive, and then Kelly Drive there was much less crowd support, and I found that made a lot of difference. Nonetheless, I was feeling really good for about the first 9 miles - about where you cross the Schuylkill River at Falls Bridge. After that I had a tough couple of miles. My longest run had been 10 miles, and I think I was having difficulty mentally with going past that limit! I knew I was going to finish the race, but I found myself needing to do some mental bargaining to keep going strong. For instance - "If you keep running to the next mile marker you can walk for the next minute after that" or "All right, you can have a walk break now, but then you have to run for 5 straight minutes." It's funny to think about now, but it was very challenging while I was living through it! I felt tired, but I was still pretty strong. I think I had another Luna Moon around mile 11, and that perked me up a bit.
My slowest miles were Mile 11 & 12, and then I picked it up again when I had just one more mile to go. I was feeling a bit of chafing from my shirtsleeves, which was bothering me, but I knew I would make it, and that I would meet my goal time! It felt great to round that final bend, and then make it past the finish line! My official finishing time was 2 hours, 26 minutes 41 seconds, average pace 11:12. I got my medal, grabbed water, a bagel and some other food, and went off to find my family.
Here's the medal. I really like it!
Unfortunately, Tom and the kids missed seeing me at the finish line. I guess I went faster than he expected! I wasn't upset about it, but I think they would have enjoyed the whole experience more if they had been there for the finish. As it was, they arrived shortly after, and then we found my brother, Susie and Yelena and compared notes. I was tired, and a bit sore, but felt pretty good. In fact, the only thing that was really bothering me was all the new ways my clothes had found to chafe me. Yikes!
We stayed for a little bit longer, and then headed home. I took a much-needed shower, and then a short nap. I was tired, sore and very satisfied! In fact, I was so happy with the experience that I've registered for the half-marathon option at the Philadelphia Marathon on November 23rd!
My pace at the splits:
Mile 1 - 10:57
Mile 2 - 11:17
Mile 3 - 10:28
Mile 4 - 10:33
Mile 5 - 10:42
Mile 6 - 10:43
Mile 7 - 10:42
Mile 8 - 10:48
Mile 9 - 11:17
Mile 10 - 11:07
Mile 11 - 11:35
Mile 12 - 11:44
Mile 13.1 (I didn't separate the last .1 mile!) - 11:11
Overall:
- This is a great race! It's well-run, flat and fun! I definitely want to do it again.
- Right now, a half-marathon is plenty of race for me! I'm not going to even think about running a full marathon until late 2009, if ever.
- I live in a beautiful city.
- Running with people you know is more fun than running a race alone.
It was a great experience, and I hope for an even better one in November.
