Today was a perfect day for a run in Philadelphia, cool and sunny in the early a.m. I just checked the official results and I finished with a chip time of 1:29:09, good for 148 out of 8,407. My GPS time was 1:28:48 since I had to go to the bathroom along the course and my GPS does auto pause when I am not running, so I clearly lost some chip time. Last year my time was 1:28:17, so I was a little slower this year.
Overall I was OK with my effort. I felt like I was running hard and smart. I am dissappointed that my time was not better. I woke up early (4:45am) to start eating and hydrating. I left my house by 5:15 a.m. and was in the parking lot near the race start by 5:45 a.m. I decided to stay near my car and the porta jon that was in th eparking lot, rather than deal with the crowds at the starting area. I headed for the start area by 6:30 a.m. so I could stretch and warm up.
I started in the 1st wave of runners and took the first few miles at an easy pace through the city's historical sites. I found myself near the 3 hour pacer and his pack for most of the run, so it was pretty easy to stay on pace. The hills leading out of center city into the college area around mile 6-7 are tough. I was staying just ahead of the 3hr pacer with his manly looking balloons. I knew the course and anticipated the college students in these areas. Nothing beats running in a morning race and having the students outside drinking beer and partying at 8am!
Running past the Philadelphia Zoo I knew there was 1 more killer hill, it is a hill used on the Philadelphia Triathlon bike course, so I knew some pain was coming. This last hill comes at 9-10 mile mark so it hits at a tough point for you legs. The hill crests and settles near Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park, so its a nice easy run followed by a steep downhill. Once I hit the bottom, I felt like I was fading some along the river, but I stayed with the 3 hr pacer group again. As I hit the final mile I knew a 1:28 or under was out of sight so I just wanted to finish strong and not get passed by anyone. That mini goal was accomplished along with staying under 1:30.
After the race I caught up with a guy who used to come to a gym I used to manage. We exchanged numbers so we can train together. He is a true runner, so I could benefit from training with him because he is a fast runner, I think he ran 1:25 today. Once I got home I took a nice recovery shower then polished off 2 big breakfast sandwiches with eggs and bacon, not the best recovery food, but I needed those. Took the kids to see the movie Megamind, so I able to sneak in some family time today as well.
Next up, get ready for the Disney Marathon in January.
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