12 miles in the water....

Well almost in the water. I'm pretty sure there was 100% humidity today. I got up at 5 am for breakfast, out the door at 6 to meet Phillyfit at Betzwood at 7. I forgot that this was closer than Oaks so I was there kind of early. That turned out to be a blessing since parking was at a premium.

Most of us from Phillyfit had not been together for two weeks. Labor Day was an unofficial run weekend and those that did meet up to run split between Kelly Drive and Oaks. I went to Kelly Drive were we did the loop on MLK to the Falls Bridge and down back Kelly Drive. I chose it because it is about 2/3 of the Philadlephia Distance Run. The last time we did it, I had a bad day and I didn't want my memory of that stretch to be yukky on race day (9/21). I did well and started to get excited about the race.

The next week (last weekend) we got hit with Tropical Storm Hanna which caused the run to be canceled on Saturday and a make up run was scheduled for Sunday at Valley Forge. Dave and I had lots to do on Sunday so I skipped the travel time to Valley Forge, started out at 7 and was home just before 10. I did 15 miles that day. The schedule called for 11 and 15 was supposed to be this week. However, somebody at Kelly Drive the week before suggested we might want to flip the 15 and 11 since the PDR was coming up on the 21st.

However, it turns out I was the only Dork to follow that suggestion. So when we met today there was a plan to combine a few routes to make 15 miles and avoid the out and back that a lot of folks said they were tired of. My mind was set on 11. 15 would have been hard with 11 on my mind, plus the humidity. I decided to stick to out and back twice on the River Trail which amounted to 12 but that was ok. I was soaked when I finished but I did finish and felt pretty good about it. I didn't have anyone from our group with me but there were plenty of people on the trail. So I got to meet new faces and even chatted wth a few.

After I got home and showered I headed out to meet Dave at the Lions Picnic site. My stomach was grumbling at me but I figured there'd be plenty of food there. Unfortunately it was almost an hour before I got to eat. Turn out was poor. I'm not sure if that was from lack of advertising or the weather. Those that were there had a good time, I think. There were enough Lions there that the break down was quick and Dave and I were both home by 5:30.

The Phillies won (although I slept through an inning and a half). The Mets lost. Penn State won. Not a bad day!

Media Five Mile Race

This is Dave and I on Veterans Square after the race.

I had two goals for this race. #1) To Finish. I managed that with minimal walking. I walked through several water stops and again on my way to the 8th Street hill the second time around. The hill was goal #2) Run up the hill both times. Dave sat at the top of the hill for motivation. It worked. :) I had two private goals as well. The first two were the only ones that really mattered. The second two were "it would also be nice if..." wishes. #1) Finish in less than one hour (done!) #2) Finish in 55 minutes or less (made it by 28 seconds!).

This is me coming up the hill the second time. The Media Five Miler is two 2.5 mile loops. The 8th Street hill comes up the first time between mile 1 and 2 and the second time between mile 3 and 4. I was muttering to myself at this point "Who's idea was this".

I was amazed at the number of people running and the number of spectators. The race caps at 1200 - or so they say - I know I saw at least one bib # over 1200 though so I'm not sure how that works. I expected a lot of spectators on State Street - and there were - but truly on every street at every corner there were lots and lots of people! This was very helpful in terms of motivation. They cheered, some played music, some held signs, and some put out spray from their hoses in case you wanted to cool off.

Phillyfit was very helpful to me for this race. I ran it because I coudn't run with the group today (6 miles) so I decided to do the 5 mile race instead. I have taken in lots of advice from Phillyfit. No one is shy about offering it and no question is every smirked at either. It's a truly supportive environment. If I heard it once I heard it a thousand times "Don't go out too fast" I think this went a long way toward the goal of finishing. If I had gone out too fast I no doubt would have run out of steam at the end. As it was I walked some as I said above, but I didn't let that bother me and even with the walking bits I made my secret goal of less than 55 minutes.

Toward the end.. during the last half mile.. I started to wonder if this was all I could do. Was the marathon an unrealistic goal. But a year ago I wouldn't have even thought about trying this and now I did it. So I'll stick with the plan and see how far I can go.

So now it's on to continue training and possible sign up for the Philadelphia Distance Run on September 21st. I think I'll decide about that by the end of the week.

Here are my official results from the Media Five Mile web page.

MEDIA 5 MILE RUN
Race Date:06-20-08
Bib Number 655
First Name Paula
Last Name Tansey
City Media
State PA
Zip 19063
Sex F
Age 48
Time 54:32
Pace 10:54.4
Place 1013
Gender Place 382/465
Age Group Place F45-49: 26/34
Masters Age PLP 49.5%

Lansdowne Memorial Day 5k race/walk

This is my niece Erin and I after finishing our first official 5k race/walk and boy, are we spoiled now! Prrrrrrrrrrrrrfect weather. I mean seriously folks you could not have asked for a better day! It was 75 degrees during the race, clear skies, sunny and breezy!

If you'd like to see our official race results click here. We finished at 105 and 202. Erin's placement and time require a footnote though as we were informed by an adult who was travelling with her that she did much more than 5k as she ran ahead and then back many times through out the course chatting up everyone about everything. Aunt Paula accomplished her goals which were (in order); not getting hurt, not getting passed by any walkers; and finishing!

Kudos to the Lansdowne Economic Development Corporation (of which my sister Chris is an active member) for a great experience. The course was well marked, with lots of cheer stations, plenty of water and great traffic stoppers! They even had someone standing at a pothole to make sure no one was tripped up by it! Now THAT's planning!

Thanks to Dave and Christine who cheered us on making it all worthwhile! :)