Race report - Philly Marathon

[2doxies]

As promised, my race report! It got long


I love this race – I think it’s a great course with a lot of good crowd support. It takes you through many different areas of Philadelphia, from the historic area downtown to University City to Boathouse Row along the river. The weather has been great for the past couple of years, although it has been very cold in some years past. The full and the half marathon run concurrently. Last year I ran the half, so I was familiar with the first half of the course.

The race started at 7am, so my friend and I drove into the city and arrived by 5:30am. We parked and walked the mile to the start getting there around 6. The city announced two days prior that they would be increasing security measures; however, they didn’t really specify what that would mean. When we got to the fenced in perimeter area there were thousands of people in line to get through a security checkpoint. There were no volunteers directing people and the law enforcement officers didn’t really have much information regarding additional entrances. People were getting really anxious as the line crept on. I didn’t get through until 7am as the elite corral was getting underway. I was trying my best not to get rattled, this wasn’t how I envisioned the start. I hustled over to the corral area and got in line for the potties.

I was finally able to hop in the corral behind the one I was assigned to – they’re not strict about corrals at this race, and it was all mixed up at this point anyway. My plan was to go out slower than my goal pace and then evaluate how I felt every few miles during the first half. There were so many people around me for the first five miles that I couldn’t go much faster without doing a lot of bobbing and weaving anyway. The first half felt amazing, I felt like I could run forever! Tons of crowd support, hilarious signs, awesome cheer zones with fun music. There was a series of hills around miles 8 – 10 that I remembered from the half, but they were much easier for me this time around.

Going into the race, I was really nervous about the split at mile 13 – would it mess with my head to see people splitting off to the finish line for the half and hear the cheers? While training for the full, I tried to spend a lot of time training mentally and tried to practice a lot of self-talk. It sounds really ridiculous when I try to explain it to people who aren’t athletes, but it really saved me. I saw the people turning for the finish line and I said to myself, “let’s do this – it’s time to run a motherf*ing marathon!”. It really helped

The next 5 or 6 miles were kind of a blur. The crowd thinned out and I was able to pick up the pace a bit – my splits from this time were all around 9:30ish and I was feeling pretty good. I had trained on this portion of the course and I knew it well. My husband and daughter were going to be waiting at mile 20 and thinking of them helped me get through. Around mile 19, we headed into a neighborhood in the city called Manayunk; it’s an area where a lot of people move after college and there are a lot of fun bars and restaurants and funky shops. There was a band playing as we came in and several people handing out shots of beer. I took one, because why not? As long as I finished, it was a PR! In front of a restaurant, there were employees handing out homemade brownie bites – also delicious. I spotted by DH and DD – my daughter was crying because she hates when she sees me in a race and I have to keep running. I stopped for a picture with her, gave her a kiss and kept moving.

Mentally, this was a good spot for me. My longest runs in training were 20 miles, so I was in uncharted territory, but aside from being tired I felt good. I knew I was in the home stretch and this buoyed my spirits. However, I now know what people mean when they say the marathon is two races – a 20 mile race, and a 10K. That last 10K was a whole different beast than the first 20. As I started back towards the finish line, I put my headphones in for the first time. I was trying to take a Honeystinger gel every 5 or 6 miles, but they seemed so unappetizing at this point. I did start walking through the water stops and that was a nice, needed break. Around mile 22, by hamstrings started to feel really tight. My stomach was gurgling around mile 23, so I stopped at the first potty I could find. This was probably my lowest point – things were hurting and I still had a few miles to go.

By the time I saw the mile 25 marker, I had talked myself out of my funk. I listened to a podcast the day before where a sports psychologist spoke about the difference between pain and suffering and how to manage it. I told myself that I was not in actual acute pain, I was just suffering and it was temporary. For whatever reason, that helped me get through it and kind of embrace the feeling. Between miles 25 and 26, we ran past Boathouse Row along the river. My dad was a very competitive rower in high school and college and spent a lot of time there. He passed away three years ago; he was such a huge supporter of my efforts and I always think of him when I run. I think I spoke out loud asking him to help me get through this last mile.

The finish line seemed so far away! We ran through a chute lined with people but it just kept going, and going and going. Finally I saw it and picked it up. I saw the mayor at the finish line so I ran towards him for a high five, then I screamed, and then I started crying. All the feels!!! A volunteer gave me an awesome medal – it has a replica of the Liberty Bell on it that actually rings! It was amazing to hear so many bells ringing in the city afterwards. The snacks on hand afterwards were pretty decent, but the one amazing thing was cups of hot chicken or veggie broth. As soon as I stopped running, I got chilly and this totally hit the spot.

Overall, the total experience was mostly fun and extremely satisfying. I’ll probably wait a year or two to do another one, just because of the time commitment that the training requires. It was a lot of ask of my family, and I think I owe it to my husband to wait a bit for my next one. I trained for this while also doing crossfit three times a week, so I know that I can get my time down if it really commit to it. Next year, my goal is to be one of the awesome volunteers that help make the race so special!

Thanks for reading this novel, and thanks again for the endless supply of support and inspiration!

[sassystace]

Congrats, marathoner! Awesome job! Sounds like you were so prepared -- physically and mentally to have a great race! Embrace the suck is the mantra from that point at mile 22+ -- very cool how you could talk yourself through suffering and pain and I remember that feeling as well.

[bostonmichelle]

Congratulations on an awesome marathon!! Sounds like you had a really strong race.

[al320]

Congrats!

[cinco]

You did so well! I loved your race report. Thanks for sharing!

[runblondie26]

Congrats again! It sounds like you had a strong race and a great experience. You're already thinking about the next one!

Philly has always been a favorite of mine. The weather is perfect and the last 10k through Manayunk is so full of energy. The memories you have with your father and boathouses is really sweet.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Congrats! Great race and great recap!!

[sweetiesparkles]

You sound like an incredible person, both athlete and individual.

Way to go!!

[shellfish26]

Great race report and many congrats on becoming a MARATHONER!

The podcast you mentioned? Do you recall what it was? I think I need that, lol.

[juliabug]

Congratulations again! Running by the boat house must have been really incredible and emotional. My kids hate when I run by them, too. I always hear my daughter crying as I leave transition.

[2doxies]

Nov 23, 2015 12:49:35 GMT -5 sweetiesparkles said:

You sound like an incredible person, both athlete and individual.

Way to go!!

Thank you, that's very sweet of you!

[2doxies]

Nov 23, 2015 13:14:45 GMT -5 shellfish26 said:

Great race report and many congrats on becoming a MARATHONER!

The podcast you mentioned? Do you recall what it was? I think I need that, lol.

It's "Another Mother Runner" and the episode is from a few weeks ago and is titled "Advice and Insight from a Mental Skills Coach". The woman who they interviewed has written a book that's on my list to read. I listened to the episode several times

[itsme]

Congratulations!!! This was a really great race report. What was your training schedule like with CrossFit and running?

[mrshandy]

Awesome race report!!

It sounds like a really fun race. Congrats!

[clseale]

Great race report! I'm so glad you had such a wonderful experience. It sounds like you were so strong through the entire thing. Congratulations!!

[2doxies]

Nov 23, 2015 15:06:49 GMT -5 itsme said:

Congratulations!!! This was a really great race report. What was your training schedule like with CrossFit and running?

It got tough as the long runs got longer. In the beginning of my marathon training I would try to do CF on Mondays (leg day), Tuesdays and Thursdays. On my training plan, Monday was a designated cross training day, while Tuesday/Thursday were shorter runs (usually 3 miles). I would do my runs at lunch and go to CF before or after work. I tried to do my long runs on Saturdays to give my legs time to recovery.

I (probably foolishly) joined a team that was competing in a CF league this fall. Our comps were on Saturdays, so I had to shift my long runs to Sunday. I skipped monday CF after these.

[ktzmoh]

What a great race report! It sounds like you had a fantastic race and your training paid off! I heard from some others that Manayunk had some really fantastic crowd support and that was their favorite part too.

I really want to run this one one day. Philly was my first half marathon 6 years ago and it feels like home to me. One day.

[melmel48]

Congrats! Three of my friends did Philly as well! I say three, even though 4 people I know did completed it.. but I am bitter about the 4th person.    

[jene]

Congratulations! I loved your report, this sounds like a really great race!

I totally get you on waiting a little while between cycles, training for a full is such a time suck.

[erbear]

That is awesome! I've done the half before, but never the marathon. I love to cheer people on though!

[libbygrl109]

Congrats! This was such an inspiring report! I haven't listened to AR podcasts in a while, but definitely plan to look for that one.

[chw57]

Such a great race report. Awesome job!!

[gt7301b]

Great job and recap. Philly was my first full too. After leaving Manayunk was tough for me too, I made poor Mr. GT run back and run the final mile with me after he ran a marathon PR.

[jamalynn]

Congratulations!

[shauni27]

wow, what a great recap! I am SO impressed and beyond proud. Truly inspired. Congratulations!