An amazing race!

Today I ran the Philly Half Marathon. Dave and I were up at 4:30 a.m. USAfit Philly members were set to meet at Rocky at 6a.m. and the race was set to start at 7 a.m. For the 4th race in a row, Dave found a free parking spot near the art museum. It's uncanny how he does that. A legal one too!

About a dozen or so phillyfit members gathered at the Rocky statue. We mingled and talked and took a group photo before several headed over to hit the bathrooms one more time. The rest of us chatted until the National Anthem started and then we made our way to the corrals. Most of us red group Phillyfit members (10 min/miles and slower) were in the orange corral.

Philadephia made a few changes this year and all but one (I think) was for the better. The corrals started in waves this year. There was at least 2 minutes before each corral start. This alleviated congestion considerably at the start of the race. My goal (see my entry yesterday in keepsmilingkeepmoving for confirmation) was 11 minute miles. I wasn't sure what the clock was when I took off so I looked for the time at mile 1 and starting adding 11 minutes between mile markers. I was pleased that I cleared less than that on all but 2 miles. Of course I wasn't keeping track of the seconds (too hard to do that math) so my estimates were just that; estimates.

Another improvement was more port-o-potties. I refuse to use them except in extreme circumstances and so far I have been spared. But I know this was a relief to a lot of runners. Every water stop had several either just before or just after. I was more aware of the water stops this race since I decided not to take my water belt with me. It's hard to dring out of a cup while running but nice not to have the weight of the water belt. As it was I only snorted water once and not badly enough to cause coughing or throat irritation; just enough though to be annoying.

The half marathoners and marathoners run the same race for the first 13 miles. And despite being billed as a flat course there are a fair number of hills. Only two of any steepness but still between miles 5 and 10 there are some ups and downs. Having run last year I was more prepared for them this year. I actually do well on hills and I really used the downhills to my advantage this time. Running tall and letting gravity to more of the work preserving my energy.

I had left DAve at the Rocky Statue. He grabbed some breakfast at a little store on 34th street and then caught up with me along Drexel's frat row. About the same place that he and Emma saw me last year. You may remember the picture of Emma in the frog hat. I saw him again after the finish.

I didn't carry water this year but I did carry my own GU. I took the first at mile 2.5 beacuse by that time it had been over 2 hours since breakfast. I took another somewhere between mile 6 and 7 and was good to go to the end from there. The race gave out GU at mile 8. I was really glad that I did not depend on that since it was Esspresso flavor which would have killed my stomache.

The course was changed up this year. As we came down out of Fairmount Park we made a left on Martin Luther King BLVD for about a quarter mile or so and then did a u-turn. This was another improvement in my book. This small out and back allowed us to see other runners. I liked it. Three more miles along MLK Boulevard and I would be done. Along this stretch is where I did my tuck and roll (Dave named it that) last year but no such mishap this year. I did not feel the need to stop and stretch this time.

As we approached the 13 mile marker the course split. Signs told us finish line to the right; mile 14 to the left. I rounded the curve and put on some speed and crossed the finish line with about 2:40 and seconds on the clock. I had no idea what my actual time was since I had not seen the start clock.

The only 'bad' change (I think) was the finish line. It was moved from in front of the Art Museum to a spot down the parkway. When you finished you kept walking a long way down to the water, food and medal tables. I suppose they thought this was better than the shoot they had last year which got backed up but it just didn't feel right. I did get water and my medal but missed the food table and they had soft pretzels!

I found Dave a few yards past the finish. We found a spot for him to get across the gate and headed to our van. I changed clothes (an interesting gymnastics routine on the floor of the van so as to not flash anyone!). We grabbed some tuna fish sandwhiches, bannanas and drinks I had packed that morning and headed over to Kelly Drive to cheer on the marathoners. I was of course looking for my Philly fit friends but we cheered everyone. WE had made two signs. "Keep Smiling / Keep Moving" and "Your Medal is Waiting for You". Several people told us they thought they were the best signs in the race.

Another improvement of the better was our names on our race bibs. It was so cool to hear your name called with encouragement from strangers. Dave and I made sure to call out as many names as we could as the marathoners passed us on their last mile. We stayed in that spot for about three hours and then headed back to the finish line to meet the philly fit marathoners who were still there.

When I arrived home I took a shower and went online to see my real time. I was flabbergasted to find that I had averaged 10:28 minute miles. I bested my 2008 Philly Distance Run by 8 minutes! I bested my 2009 Philly Distance Run by 10 minutes. I am still very unmodestly in awe of myself right now!

Now it's time for some rest tomorrow and then finish my training for the goofy challenge in January. I'm feeling very good about that right now. I'll post pictures to this blog later.

Thank you for reading.