Who was a part of the Philadelphia Marathon this weekend? This girl was!!! Spoiler alert: I PR'd and BQ'd on the course. I'm excited to tell you about it. And yes, its another long one so we better get started:
PACKET PICKUP:
Tom and I drove to Philly on Friday afternoon for packet pickup. We got there at about 2:30 and had no problems finding a parking garage close by. We walked around the expo for a while then headed home. I bought myself a pair of arm warmers because race day was going to be chilly and windy so I figured arm warmers would be good to have. I also bought a nice looking jacket with the 2015 Philadelphia Marathon logo on it. It was a nice expo as far as expos go. We left the expo around 3:30 and got stuck in traffic going home. I guess it's to be expected on a Friday afternoon.
RACE DAY MORNING:
We could have stayed in a hotel but I really didn't feel like spending $300+ dollars on a hotel room. I got up at 2:30 and had a cup of coffee, ate a bowl of oatmeal at 4:00 am and left the house at 4:15 am. We arrived in Philadelphia with plenty of time to park and make our way over to the start corrals. We pre-paid for parking using Parking Panda and reserved a parking spot at lot on North Broad Street and Spring Gardens Road. The parking lot was about one mile away from the start corrals, but it was even further from the finish line.
START CORRALS:
We were walking to the start corrals and I immediately noticed that the temperature in Philly was colder than it was at home and there was a biting wind. It was at this point that I started second guessing my decision to wear shorts and tank top (even with the arm warmers).
Before I knew it, long lines were forming at the porta-potties and some people were taking FOEVER in there. Once I got into the corral I put my race belt on and shoved 8 packets of Salted Caramel GU into it. I decided to use the water and Gatorade provided on the course. My playlist was ready with old and new music. I felt good, I felt ready. Even though I didn't train as much for this marathon I had no injures to complain about. My left Achilles hurt me once during training and I immediately stopped and let it rest for a few days. It never bothered me again. I guess there's something to be said for avoiding overtraining.Someone tapped my shoulder and I turned around to a gentleman who said I had good taste in music. I looked down at my playlist and noticed the first song was Bruce Springsteen's Jungle Land. We talked about Bruce for a while and finally the announcer informed us that the race was about to being. The horn blew and the runners took off.
START TO 10K:
Just like in the Louisiana Marathon, I lined myself up with the 3:45 pace team. My plan was to run the first 15 miles at an 8:45 pace. If I felt good after mile 15, I would stop looking at my watch and just go as hard as I could for as long as I could. Maybe I would even catch up with the pace team. That was my goal.
The first 10K of the Philadelphia Marathon is awesome! You pass the Franklin Institute and the Friendship Arches. At mile 5 you pass Independence Hall the Liberty Bell. Then you run on Chestnut Street. The crowd support here is simply amazing and fun! There are "cheer" sections set up throughout the course and those folks really cheer you on. You continue down Chestnut Street and finally hit the 10k timing mat. I felt my phone vibrate and I was curious to see my split time. 53:06 (8:33 per mile pace). I threw the brakes on because I didn't want to run so fast and burn myself out early on. Meanwhile, the 3:45 pace team had left the building. They were nowhere to be seen.
10K to MILE 13.1:
Here is where you begin to encounter a few overpasses and a couple of hills. I was told that it was a flat course and for the most part it was. The first 10K was definitely flat and fast. The next few miles would take a bit more focus. We crossed over the Schuylkill River and came to University City. There were frat houses and college students cheering the runners on. The college students looked like a fun group of partiers to hang out with. We made a right and ran towards the Philadelphia Zoo. I remember going around a fountain and coming to mile marker 9. Mile 9 was where we met our biggest hill. It was a long grade going up, up, up. I didn't know we would encounter such a long climb. But any runner will tell you "its just a hill, get over it". I was so happy to reach the top.
At mile 10 we were close to the Please Touch Museum. I recognized being here for the Philly Tri-Rock Triathlon in June. There was a really big hill that we had to run down. I tried putting the breaks on because I didn't want to hurt my legs running downhill so fast, but it was really difficult to slow down. After making it to the bottom we turned and followed the Schuylkill River for a while. There was a great cheer section set up here with a DJ and young people dressed up in costumes and dancing. I'm going to show my age but the DJ was playing a song called 'Babe We're Gonna Love Tonight' by Lime. I couldn't believe that these young people knew the words to this 80's disco song and were dancing and having so much fun. If I wasn't trying for a BQ I would have danced with them. My friend Heather told me later that she stopped and danced with them. I'm still jealous of her!
We ran along the river for a couple of miles and began our approach to the half way point. The half marathoners stay to the right while the full marathoners stayed to the left. We ran up a little hill and said goodbye to the half marathoners who were heading for the finish line. Meanwhile, my race is about to being. I crossed the 13.1 timing mat and got another update. My halfway split was 1:53:10 and I was running an 8:38 pace. That seemed a bit more reasonable to me.
MILE 13.1 to MILE 18:
So now the half marathoners are gone and all that's left are the crazy full marathoners. There was decent crowd support between miles 13 and 14 but then it got very quiet. Mile 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 are a bit on the boring side. You're just running along the Schuylkill River and there isn't much to see or think about here. A nasty wind would kick up off the river every now and then, blowing leaving all over us. I felt a chill go through me every time the wind blew. Several times I had to put my head down because I could feel myself running into a head wind. The wind made me feel cold but I didn't feel like wrestling with my jacket to put on and then take it off later, when I got hot again.
After mile 17 we made a left and crossed over a small bridge. On the other side we turned left and ran down a slight hill. This was where I FINALLY saw the 3:45 pace team...and they weren't THAT far ahead. They were within striking distance if I paced myself correctly. For entertainment purposes I decided to pick my pace up a bit and see if I could start catching up to them. There was a turn around at the bottom of the hill and we ran back up the hill and over the small bridge again. Yet again, we were following the Schuylkill River and heading for the 30k timing mat. This was around mile 18. A water and Gatorade station was set up on the 30k timing mat. I thought that was kind of weird because people were crossing the timing mat and then going back for a cup of water or Gatorade. They could have moved the water station down tiny bit. My 30k split was 2:40:13 and now I was averaging 8:36 per mile.
MILE 18 TO THE FINISH LINE:
This is where shit gets real. If I was going to mentally crack anywhere in this race, this was it. Mile 19 into 20 wasn't bad because we went into a small town and the last turn-around was between miles 19 and 20. There was good crowd support here and again, I was able to use the turn-around to see just how far away I was from the 3:45 pace team. I was slowly getting closer to them. There was a slight grade going up on mile 20 so I took it slow. I'm really not sure how I entertained myself mentally between miles 18 to 22 but somehow I managed. My toe hurt on my right foot and it felt like I had a big blister on it. I put it out of my head and figured I'll deal with it later. At mile 22 I could clearly see the pace team up ahead. I turned my music off and kept an eye on them. I told myself "go hunt them down". Somehow I picked my pace up a little bit more and got closer and closer.
Somehow I made it to mile 25 and I was so close to the pace team. I was ready for this race to be over! The last mile of the marathon has a lot of wonderful spectators. People were shouting out to me to "just keep going" and "you're running a sub 4 hour marathon" and "you've got this" and of course the infamous "you're almost there". I looked at them and tried to thank them for their encouragement. Spectators close to my age seemed the most impressed. I could hear the announcers voice and I got my first glimpse of the finish line clock in the distance. The crowd was cheering and I just keep following that stupid 3:45 pace sign. They crossed the finish line and I was right behind. My phone buzzed and I looked down to see my finish time: 3:44:20 with an average pace of 8:33! I did it!!!!!! I PR'd and BQ'd in one shot. I secured my spot for the 2017 Boston Marathon!
The Philadelphia Marathon medal is probably one of the nicest medals I've ever earned. It has the Liberty Bell in the center and the bell really does jingle. All you heard around Philadelphia were bells jingling and runners groaning. It was a delightful sound. People on the streets smiled and congratulated us. You could feel the Brotherly Love.
SUMMARY:
The first half of the course is amazing and if you're into half marathons I think its a "must do". You pass a lot of landmarks that make Philadelphia fantastic (the Franklin Institute, the Liberty Bell, Love Park, the Friendship Arches, City Hall). And if you're into entertainment while you run, there's plenty of it. Put this one on your list.From 13.1 to the finish, it gets quiet. I felt like I was running a completely different race. I'm ok with that, but I can see how it might get into someone's head. The second half is harder to work through mentally although on a positive note, its pretty flat. There are 2 slight grades going up (one after mile 17 and the other grade is after the turnaround at mile 19).
There were a decent amount of water stations set up and they handed out water and Gatorade at every station. Gatorade was first, water next. There were also 2 Carb Boom Energy Gel stations on the course. I came prepared with my own gels so I didn't use those, plus I wanted to take a gel every 30 minutes.
Somewhere around miles 16-17 I wanted to stop for a moment. I knew stopping that early on would spell disaster for me. Somehow my desire to catch up with the 3:45 pace group was the only thing motivating me. I don't know but it seems to be a method that works for me. Maybe someday I'll make it my goal to catch and pass them. Now I'm being a jerk.
The only thing that sucked was the walk back to the car. The exit from the finish line is far and I was really, really spent after the race. I had nothing left in the tank. Tom didn't bring my jacket with him (I thought he would) and it was really cold and windy walking to the car. Luckily I kept my throw away jacket. Plus we got a bit lost. I was about to lose it when we finally reached the parking lot. I told Tom that next time we're taking a cab.
So there it is; my 2015 Philadelphia Marathon review. And as the slogan says "Run Fast, Run Far, Run Philly". And don't forget to enjoy a cheesesteak or two. You've earned it!
MARATHON SPLIT TIMES:
10K - 53:06 (8:33 pace)
1/2 Marathon - 1:53:10 (8:38 pace)
30K - 2:40:13 (8:36 pace)
Finish Time - 3:44:20 (8:33 pace)
FUEL AND HYDRATION:
3 hrs before the race started I consumed a bowl of oatmeal and a buttered English muffin
I sipped water on way to race (didn't drink too much water)
1 hr before race start I consumed 1 packet of GU
45 minutes into the race started I consumed my first packet of GU. I consumed 1 packet of GU every 30 minutes throughout the course
I drank water after each gel packet and consumed Gatorade at many of the water stations. I didn't have a schedule for water and Gatorade stops. I just drank as I felt necessary.
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