Long rambly philly half report

[thebulldog]

 
I am sorry this is so long but i find these helpful. Thanks to everyone for their inspiration and encouragement these last few month. This was a huge deal for me.


This was my third half marathon and first race outside of DC.

We stayed at the Marriott on 12 and Market. Great hotel, great location. The staff had a table of bananas and water in the early am and had staff pointing us in the direction of the start. Dinner at the hotel was sort of a bomb but I got my one beer and pasta and went to bed.

We were rebels and left our hotel around 6am. The race wanted us there by 5 but that was not happening. Security was no problem. I walked toward my blue corral and got in line for the bathroom. Slowest line ever. The race started but i knew it would be awhile before i did. About 30 min later i finally made it to my corral but a lot of the race had left already (hitting that bathroom though was totally needed and worth it). The weather was actually really great. It was about 52 degrees at the start. I had a pair of throwaway old sweatpants and did the cut long socks on my arms. I kept these on longer than I thought and was glad I had them. Thankfully the sun didn’t really come out b/c that is when I get way too hot.


I was there for the go! And got to hi-five the Philly mayor on the way out. That was fun. The energy there was amazing. Everyone was excited and just pumped to go.

Mile 1-3 i was an emotional mess. Just excited and happy and thinking of my friend i was running for. Tears were streaming down my face as this was all really happening right now. I am a sap like that. There was a lot of things just going on at once. I mean what the hell? I am running a 1/2 marathon? I look at my garmin and was doing like 9:55 ....way way too fast but i said keep it for a mile. So i slowed down as soon as i saw the first mile marker. I got into a good groove after that and my eight min run and one min walk helped a lot.

By mile three i was in a great groove and i was two min under my goal so i was even more excited and said out loud "let's crush this bitch" and folks around me laughed. (I had a 2:30 half pace tattoo i found in a clearance bin at my Fleet Feet. I had it on my forearm and it was super helpful).

3-6 were great. I felt strong and my legs and feet were cooperating. Didn't stop, didn't need to slow down too much and kept walking only to my one minute or a slight slow down in a water stop. I ran with a girl for a little bit and realized i was with the 5:00 marathon pace group so that helped too....i blew past them a little bit in an burst of energy and it was helpful to keep the balloons they were using as a marker....although i kept them behind me. I was three min under goal.

6-8 holy hills. Between university city by Drexel and the zoo it was killer. I slowed down to a shuffle and walked up one at one point bc it was faster that way. Sigh. My splits show it too as i lost some time there. My hips started to ache a bit and i was feeling it in my big toes too.

8-11: i am losing steam quickly but i forced myself not to stop. My minute walk was awesome here bc i knew how much time i had until a "break." Without this i know i would have walked a lot more.

11-13.1: at this point i knew i was on the road to a big pr so after the last water stop...i said out loud "let's pr this. Don't screw it up...it's just a 5k" and the guy in front of me turned around to give me a high five and said “go do it.” it was awesome.

I did my last walk at mile 12 and just used every ounce of what i had left and ran the hell out of it. My ipod battery died so i took my head phones out and let the crowd carry me in. I was now smiling and teary at the same time. I had my garmin set to the total time at this point bc that last mile was hella long and i did not want to blow it by taking a break so close to the end.

But then i saw the glorious finish line at and ran for it...leapt cross the finish line arms open like i just won the olympics/superbowl/world series/ironman kona all in one.

I freaking did it. yay! Goal was 2:30...i came in at 2:28. I found DH who finished about 20 minutes before and we got our medals and water and all that jazz and snapped a few photos with my phone. i was on a total high and then we made the long trek back to the hotel. much needed shower and then off to Jim's for a cheese steak. We split b/c my stomach was a queasy mess. but it was still delish!

On the race itself, I thought it was great. There were some tight areas on the South Street and a few other places but it was not out of control. I never felt boxed in.
 
The crowd was fun. People had Kleenex boxes (I took a few!), favorite signs included “Channing Tatum with Puppies at the Finish line ladies” and “I am so proud of you total stranger,” “Touch here to Power Up” that had a mushroom from Mario Brothers, “Hug me if you are not wearing underwear,” “you think running is hard, trying holding this sign.” A fraternity by Drexel were holding out beers (sooo tempting). A dog had a sign on his neck saying “here humans, here humans.”
 
 
There were some dead zones so my ipod got me through that too.
 
And there really are all kinds of people that run races. The full marathon runs with the half for the first 13.1 and then there is a section where we went right and they went left. I saw all shapes and sizes, ages and ability. I am by no means fast and there were plenty of people right along with me. Lots of people stopped to stretch. One group of like 20 people were on a 3 min run interval and they would all move to the side en mass to walk. I no longer care that my gut hangs out a bit when I run. And it was actually fun to do.
 
At the expo I bought a race hat, some winter running beanies, some gels and pink compression shorts for the princess race in feb. I also got a head band from One More Mile that says “Forget the Glass Slipper, This Princess Wears Running Shoes.”
 
Gear: I wore Aspaeris pivot compression shorts. I have worn there for my last ½ and 10 miler race and my long runs. I love them. www.aspaerispivotshorts.com/

If you listen to music while running (I do and love it) I also recommend this app
itunes.apple.com/us/app/tempo-magic-pro/id390593407?mt=8
It is really great.

For my intervals, I used the run/walk feature on my Garmin Forunner 10 but I also like this app

itunes.apple.com/us/app/tabata-timer/id391275156?mt=8
because some times the little Garmin beeps are hard to hear.

I also love this thing:
www.addaday.com/

I bought it a few months ago and while I still get some pain in my inner calf, it is much better with this. I used it the night before and morning of the race.

I followed Hal H novice 1 plan. I say i stuck to it about 85%. I mainly missed the strength training parts but did most of the mileage and long runs.

If you read this far: two things by way of background: I started running in 2001 with the goal to run a marathon but got very ill about three weeks before and doc said no go. Ever since i have had a love hate relationship with it. I run to some cardio exercise but have gotten more serious about it in last two years. My 2013 goal was a race a month and I will finish it by the end of the month. This is the first year i have gone sub 10min mile in a race a (5k) and my half was all under 12 min miles. Woo hoo.


On friday, I learned a close friend back home got hit by a train and died living his wife and three kids behind. It was the saddest thing i have ever heard. He was a great runner, doing numerous marathons, including Boston twice. We were just really FB friends at this point but still it was just horrible. So i really ran that race for Mark.
 
 

i be typing from me phone. typos and grammer dont count.

[gt7301b]

Great recap and race!!

I'm sorry for the loss of your friend

[kams]

I'm so sorry to hear of your friend

Congrats on a great race, and a lot of progress this year!

[gummybear]

Wonderful recap! Great job on the race and I am so sorry to hear about your friend.

[al320]

How awful about your friend, im so sorry.

But great job at the race! Congrats!

Oh and i got to the start at 5. Im a sucker.

[sassystace]

Great recap and race! I am so glad you had such an awesome race--I knew you could do it!!

[taratru]

Great job and great recap! You have had a great year!

I'm sorry about your friend. Good for you for running for him. *hugs*

[libbygrl109]

Great recap! You did an amazing job!

I am so sorry to hear about your friend.

[Wines Not Whines]

Great recap! It's obvious you had a lot of fun and a great race.

[gt7301b]

Nov 18, 2013 10:45:07 GMT -5 al320 said:

How awful about your friend, im so sorry.

But great job at the race! Congrats!

Oh and i got to the start at 5. Im a sucker.

I told you so

I would have been better off staying at my hotel till 6:30 and peeing there.

[jchokie79]

Amazing recap, I felt like I was there running beside you! Congratulations on such a strong finish, you should be very proud of yourself.

Very sorry to hear about your friend, such a horrible accident.

[thebulldog]

Nov 18, 2013 12:50:08 GMT -5 jchokie79 said:

Amazing recap, I felt like I was there running beside you! Congratulations on such a strong finish, you should be very proud of yourself.

Very sorry to hear about your friend, such a horrible accident.

Even sadder...not an accident.

i be typing from me phone. typos and grammer dont count.

[lovesherheels]

I am so, so sorry to hear about your friend.

It sounds like you ran a great race! Congrats!

[runaways]

I love this recap so much. Sounds like you had a really great race and congrats on the big PR!

I'm also so very sorry for the loss of your friend and I think running for him was such a great way to honor his memory.

[Deleted]

This sounds like a wonderful way to honor your friend. Congratulations and way to make me cry.

[thebulldog]

You all are awesome for reading that whole thing...thanks so much.

And to further the aw-ness here is the just crossed photo. Another woman was freaking out with happiness too. She asked me to snap her so she got me back.

I am posting from my phone so i hope it is not huge.


i be typing from me phone. typos and grammer dont count.

[gummybear]

Great pic!! You looks beautiful