Race #11 of the 13 in 2013

Race #13 Overall

Race Bib

After several months of preparation, it was time to fly up to Philadelphia to experience my very first half marathon.  It was time to see if I could even handle going a long 13 miles.  My training had been hit or miss really.  I ran on average 2.5 times a week, usually a bunch of four milers with an occasional 10K and throwing in a long run most weekends.  The long runs worked their way up to ten but never really got to eleven which isn’t saying much because even though I found it relatively easy to run eight and nine, I always found it harder to keep going after reaching ten.  I ended my training by running just under eleven miles through serious hills in central Mississippi.  This may have proved to go a long way to helping me get through Philadelphia.

The flights up were uneventful; the weather slightly chilly but nothing terrible.  It started off about 38 at night, 50 during the day but the forecast called for an incredible warm up leading up to the race which arrived right on race day.  Race day started off around 52 and got up well into the 60s by noon.

The expo was pretty incredible.  It took a while to figure out where to go in, but it was set up rather convenient with plenty of booths and activities and freebies even.  Getting in and out, picking up the bib, bag and packet were a piece of cake.  There were plenty of people in the convention center but it never felt crowded.  I found out that I was all the way in the last corral.  Not really a surprise but I was sort of hoping that I was at least one up from the rear mainly because at this point I was still very nervous about how I was going to react once we started racing and certainly didn’t want to risk falling too far behind or getting picked up by the sag wagon.  The minimum pace was announced to be 16:30/mi which I knew I could walk at the very least, but what if I seriously hurt something en route and had to stop…  I worried about all sorts of petty things.  I sized up some of the crowd in and around the expo and I just didn’t really feel like I belonged.  I have always been very shy or at least extremely introverted around new surroundings.  So I found it hard to really mingle with anybody.  Most people were talking about their training and what they were expecting, and quite honestly I just wanted to talk about what race day was going to be like and what other people thought was right or wrong in preparing.  There were lots of younger people and many had a serious running and even racing background, so it didn’t take long for me to feel out of place.  But I kept thinking about why I was doing this to begin with, and honestly it always came back to just having fun… win/lose, first/last, fast/slow, it didn’t really matter as long as I had fun doing it.

This made being in the back corral a blessing as well.  It’s definitely where I belong.  This is where many grandparents are running/walking, women are running for a charity and most likely wearing a tu-tu while doing it, or even a guy dribbling a basketball for the whole course.  This was where the wounded warriors who lost a limb in combat we’re testing their will to live normally.  This was where the crowd enjoyed the crowd giving high fives along the course.  This was where time didn’t matter; just go out and give it your best and have fun doing it, even soak in some of the atmosphere that could easily be left behind when you take off too fast or concentrate too hard.  I had little to really worry about here which gave me much more opportunity to just have fun.  At this point, I began to realize that I do belong.  Certainly I don’t belong in the elite class or in the serious competitor class, but I belong in the I Just Want To Live class.  I want to live knowing that I enjoyed every minute of it.

Race morning went quicker than expected.  I woke up around 5 knowing that security was supposed to be tight, so everyone was expecting slow lines.  They encouraged people to be out there for 5, but knowing that I was in the last corral and wouldn’t start until at least 7:30, I decided to push it and shoot for 6.  Luckily my hotel was within a few short blocks from the starting line (although my corral was all the way back around the museum at the end of the row).  When I walked out of the hotel, there were people everywhere, all walking northwestward up Benjamin Franklin Parkway towards their corrals.  It certainly was an amazing sight.  People everywhere, all over the roads.  At this point, only a few cross streets were still open to vehicles.  Ben Franklin was certainly closed off.  We reached the security checkpoints right past Logan Circle and I quickly finished my bottled water thinking that I’d have to toss it before entering.  That wasn’t the case at all.  Along Ben Franklin, there were multiple huge gate areas set aside strictly for runners only, no spectators.  At this point, you basically just showed your bib and some security might look at your clear bag but our guy told us to go on in and good luck.  What was supposed to be a logistics nightmare ended up taking all of ten seconds (2 minutes if you count the time it took for me to stop and finish my breakfast water that I could have easily taken in with me).

Starting Gate

So once in, it was on to gear check to drop off my bag with all of my goodies for the end.  It started off about 52 degrees so I wore a jacket and sweats out there.  I ended up shedding the sweats because I definitely wanted them at the end.  (Turns out I didn’t need them as the temp warmed up into the mid 60s by race end.)  I kept the jacket on all the way into the corral.  I had read that in large races, many runners would just throw clothes away at the start of the race and charities had even made a huge deal now about picking up the ‘garbage’ clothing to donate to needy or homeless people.  So I wore an old jacket with a hole in it that I had no problem ‘throwing away’ as I really didn’t like carrying it for the entire race anyway but wanted it just in case it was colder than I expected.  Turned out the weather was really perfect and I throw off the jacket before crossing the start line.  That jacket was pretty warm though, so I’m sure someone will get great use out of it.

Starting

The race began with customary speeches by the promoter, Mayor Nutter of Philadelphia, singing of the national anthem and of course the playing of the Rocky Theme.  At 7am, the elite runners were off.  It took about 20 minutes before we started moving up towards the start line.  At around 7:30 or so, we were awarded with the pleasure of crossing the start to begin our race.  It still took me over two minutes to cross the start.  I think there were some 33,000 plus people registered for this series of races, 12,000 racing in the half itself.  There was also the full marathon and an 8K the day before.

As far as race gear went, I stuck with shorts and a shirt that I was used to.  I also added compression shorts and shirt underneath which have proven to prevent chaffing for me at least.  I didn’t take the hat but really didn’t need it.  I did take the iPod thinking I would need it at some point for motivation, but I found out that I didn’t need that either.  I never used it.  That sort of shocked me, but then again racing with 25,000+ other people in a huge crowd is much more exciting than running around by yourself all the time.  You tend to get bored by yourself.

Mile 1 – City Hall

Mile 1: I wasn’t sure how to start the race.  It was very crowded and I figured I’d find someone slow and walk behind them to wait for things to spread out a bit.  Turns out that Ben Franklin was perfect, such a wide avenue that it really didn’t take long for the initial wave to thin out enough to give everybody just enough space to do their thing.  So I started running comfortably a lot quicker than expected, probably within a minute after crossing the start.  The route did split around Logan Circle, no real incentive to go either direction.  It turned down Arch Street which sort of tightened up again a bit but never too bad.  The crowds were extraordinary.  I had never seen such crowds at any race I had done yet.  The Crescent City Classic is the only comparison for me and really those crowds were mainly in the Quarter and along Esplanade.  The crowd was fairly solid down Arch towards the Ben Franklin Bridge.

DJ at Mile 2

Mile 2: I realized early in the race that there was a 5:30 marathon pace group (2:45 half) and I was already well ahead of them, well ahead of my goal pace time.  I also caught up to the 5:00 (2:30 half) pace group really quickly and passed them as well.  This gave me a lot of motivation now to potentially finish in under 2:30 which would smash my goal an what I thought I was capable of especially for a first race.  I had my Garmin with me and started it a minute or so too soon, because I wasn’t sure what to expect at the start line itself (with the crowds), so it always beeped about a minute or two before the actual split point.  But I did notice that I was easily running a 10min/mi which was way faster than I was expected and I knew I wouldn’t maintain it.  But I felt so good, I just kept going.  I agree with what another group of women said later on, that the fact that we were always dodging people (slower runners) sort of made it easier to keep your pace quicker.  I had experienced this in some other races as well, but I always forget it during a race.  They had a DJ set up on Race Street (how ironic) who was playing music for the runners and we cheered him on as he cheered us on.  The Mile 2 point was basically at the Ben Franklin Bridge.

Ben Franklin Bridge

Mile 3: At this point we turned south down Columbus Blvd to head to South Philly and the crowd was very sparse here.  We also passed the first water stop and I bypassed it.  I knew I could go 10K without water easily, so I chose to do it.  It turned out not to bother me really.

Mile 4: Much of the same, down Columbus and then eventually back up Front Street.  There were many creative signs along the way, some with slogans I had seen before at other places but others quite original.  It was also around the Mile 4 split that we passed the group of young men who had a sign saying that every time we screamed Philadelphia/Philly, they had to drink.  So of course, being the fun corral we were, there were many people screaming ‘Philly’ and they were steadily drinking.  LOL.

South Street

Mile 5: We make the turn onto historic South Street at this point.  I wish I had visited more of this area while I was there.  The crowds also began to get thick again.  There were tons of signs, lots of screaming and cheering, and a lot of high-fiving.  I think I saw a guy with a mimosa jug here too, offering mimosas to runners.  See what all the elite runners miss.  You know those guys didn’t stop.  LOL.  They had another DJ here as well.

Mile 6: We’re onto Chestnut Street now, a main downtown street.  The crowds were really thick here.  There were a bunch of signs for power ups also.  Remember Nintendo and Super Mario?  Hit the block, touch the mushroom, instant Power Up.  Well, several people had signs illustrating that.  Some had Star Power, others Mushroom Power.  So after realizing what they were saying, and witnessing another runner touch one, I decided to try it.  I met a pretty young (twenties) girl with a sign saying “Touch for a Power Up” and she held it high and tight to her body, so the mushroom was practically over her chest.  So I passed by and touched along it as soft as I could so that I wasn’t groping her and she seemed to love it.  And wouldn’t you know, I instantly accelerated and passed another dozen runners.  LOL.

Drexel

Mile 7: The crowds start to loosen up again as we head over the Schuylkill River towards Drexel University or University City.  I’m still running though and actually ran my fastest mile at this point which was nearly right at a 10min/mi.  Looking back at my GPS and through that previous mile through the crowds, I ran my fastest period with multiple sprints at a 6min/mi.  Those power ups really did help.  But that push was starting to catch up with me.  There was some saying in Philly with this company called WaWa which I still don’t know who they are.  It’s just catchy to me because their slogan is ‘You gotta have a wawa’ and instantly I think of little kindergarteners trying to say ‘Water’.  I gotta have a wawa!

Gotta have a WaWa

Mile 8: We hit our first real hill here and I begin to slow up.  It’s a struggle to get up the little hill but I make it and continue down the descent on the other side where another percussion group was playing.  I hit my first water stop between 7 and 8 and instantly found myself wanting more.  I’m not sure if it’s from not drinking soon enough or drinking too soon.  I didn’t really need it at this point but was worried about not getting enough.  Next time I might try to avoid the water until I really do need it.

Mile 9: It’s a nice descent here leading up to the real hill.  At this point, I’m run/walking now but still keeping a pace around 12/mi.  I also witness many people heading to the bushes to pee.  The porta potty lines were certainly long at each stop throughout the race.  I was amazed at how many people were in line early in the race, but then again, on the wrong day and you’ve already been standing out there for 2-3 hours, anything can happen.  So by this mile, there was plenty of cover and people were certainly taking advantage of it.  This was also the only time where I felt like I might need to go.  I think it was seeing other people go that made me feel like I needed to.  But I held it and made it to the finish easily.

Mile 10: I hit the wall.  Perfectly timed for about where I was stopping my training runs.  It was also perfectly timed for Philly’s big ascent.  I could have done it if it were in the first mile like in Presidio back in April, but not now.  I walked most of it.  My time drops to below 13/mi now.  This was also the point where the 5:00 pace group caught up to me and passed me up.  I stayed within sight of them until about Mile 12 but I knew I wasn’t getting back in front of them.  My best was finished I had figured.

Percussion at the Touch Museum

Mile 11: There is sort of a reward once at the top though.  It’s flat and there’s a full service stop with everything, water, gatorade, and cliff power shots.  I take advantage of it.  I’ve always heard you don’t do anything new on race day.  Well the cliff shots were new.  I dreaded the worst.  I grabbed one and thought I heard the guy say ‘Mint’ which I hate mint.  But then I looked at it and it said “Mocha Chocolate” and I was thinking to myself JACKPOT!  I opened it and squeezed it into my mouth, delicious.  Kind of sticky though.  Thank goodness they had gatorade and water set up after that.  I got both to help wash it down and off my lips.  It didn’t really increase my time, but it kept me from getting worse.

Mile 12-13: The course goes slightly and slowly downhill back towards the river and along it towards the finish.  We also pass by the best cheer group of them all at this point.  This group is famous for their antics along the race course at this spot it seems.  I had read that they were university students but I don’t know for certain.  This year they did an 80s theme with all of them wearing serious retro gear and playing Dead of Alive’s You Spin Me Round.  One guy was dressed up as a baby.  Once again, high-fives everywhere and supposedly they offered beer too but I didn’t see it when I passed by them.  I saw the 5:00 pace group at this quick turn around but after I made the turn they were gone and there was little hope at catching them.  At this point I just wanted to stay ahead of the 5:30 group which turned out to be easy.  I ran fast down the hills which caused me to peeter out again along the straight and flat areas, so my overall pace really stayed about the same although I did gradually climb again towards the finish.   The finish was pretty exciting because the crowds were the largest here and event though we had just split from the full marathon group at around 12.6, it comes back together right before the finish and the elite marathoners were basically in the process of finishing when I came in, so the crowd noise was awesome.  The course is split though so the half marathoners finish on one side of the avenue while marathoners finished on the other side but it was still pretty exciting.

Finish

I still ended up finishing much quicker than I was expecting.  When I initially decided to do this, it was with the goal of just run/walking and finishing it.  So I was interested in races with limits around four hours.  Then as I began training, I instantly decided that I should be able to do 3:30, and after more training, 3:00 wasn’t out of the question.  My last training run confirmed that even.  So I showed up at this race with a goal of 3 hours, but obviously I’d take what I could get because I really didn’t know what would happen once I got out there.  Well, adrenaline surely took over and I ran my fastest 5K on my garmin (not my fastest ever).  I did run my fastest 10K ever by nearly 8 minutes (just over 1 hour).  And I passed under the finish with the clock around 3:08:00 but my chip time was 2:34:49 which completely smashed my goal and I was quite happy with it.  Sure, I wish I could have stayed in front of the 5:00/2:30 half pace group but I also didn’t want to overdo it and regret something.  Overall, I came out of this race not regretting anything.  I don’t really think I could have run it much better (minus the additional training that I need to do to push myself past ten miles).

Finisher Medal

As far as races go, I have a hard time not considering this to be the best race ever.  The city support for this is outstanding and the crowds really do make this race special.  Being from South Louisiana and running in the Crescent City Classic, I’ll certainly be partial to it and it’s fun atmosphere, but outside of that (since it’s only a 10K anyway), Philly is tops as far as fun, and I really do hope that I’m able to run it again sometime in the future.  For those of you looking to cross off Pennsylvania from your list, or if you’re just in the mood to travel to some place fun to run… one word, Philadelphia.  And don’t do the Rock N Roll.  Do the actual city marathon in November.  You will love it.  Guaranteed!

So now it’s on to decide the next state.  I’m sure it’ll be local/regional.  I’m thinking Mississippi, Alabama or Arkansas in early 2014.  I’ll announce it soon enough I’m sure.  Hope to see you guys there.

(I’ll add some more photos after I compress and crop them which should be soon.)

Race: Philadelphia Half Marathon

Date: November 18, 2013, 7AM

Place: Center City – Philadelphia, PA

Time: 2:34:49