Philadelphia Marathon Race Report

(Liberty Bell)

What a weekend it was traveling to Philadelphia to compete in the marathon!  This was my first trip to the "City of Brotherly Love" since I was a child.  I went down with my family on the Friday before Sunday's race.  When traveling for a weekend marathon, I like to try and be there a couple days early so I can relax and not be stressed out before the race.  I went to sleep shortly after arriving at the hotel to get a full night of rest.  The next day, Saturday, would be a very important day in terms of diet and conserving energy for Sunday.  I met up with my best friend from home who goes to school nearby and we explored Philly.  I watched my family and friend eat cheesesteaks at the famous Gino's and Pat's Cheesesteaks (I had a salad).  We then picked up my race number, I would be starting in the first corral (maroon colored) the next day.  The expo was great!  It had plenty of the big-time vendors and was easy to navigate through.  This was an easy process.  We then went to see the Liberty Bell.  It was great to be in a very historic area, and see parts of Independence Hall.  After seeing the historical side of the city, we went to get a look at the area right around the Art Museum.  This is right where the start line for the marathon is and also the Rocky Steps.  My friend and I raced up the steps and were rewarded with an awesome view of the city.  I knew I would have to go back up those steps following the race the next day.  After climbing the steps, it was time for dinner.  We had a reservation at Ralph's, the oldest family owned Italian restaurant in the United States.  The food was amazing.  I ate plenty of pasta and was fueled for the next day.  Then, I went back to the hotel.  I laid out my gear for the next day and went to sleep knowing that it was time to run.

I woke up on raceday (at 4:30 am!- race was at 7), well rested, and ate my usual pre-race breakfast of a bagel and a banana.  I drank a little gatorade and a lot of water (I stop taking fluids 1.5 hours from the start of any race).  My dad and I left the hotel right around 5:30 to get me over to the start line.  The weather was absolutely perfect for a mid-November marathon.  It was in the upper 30s and approaching low to mid 40s throughout the race.  I represented my club by wearing my Rhode Runner singlet and shorts.  I also chose to wear gloves and arm warmers too so that I would be comfortable running.  Now, it was just minutes from the start of my 4th marathon.  Alberto Salazar said it best, "I had as many doubts as anyone else.  Standing on the starting line, we're all cowards."  I knew that I had put in the work, had gone through a small taper period, and was fit to run a great race.  Before the gun goes off, however, every single scenario plays through your head.  You see yourself running the race of your life and you see yourself not being able to finish the race.  The marathon is a tough distance and you need to stay level-headed to conquer it.  I took deep breaths and focused on what I was about to do.  It was so quick, the gun fired, and we were off!

(on top of the Rocky Steps)

This was beyond the coolest start to any race I have taken part in.  We ran down a main street, lined with thousands of screaming supporters, that had flags of every country in the world going down both sides.  The marathon and half marathon started together and I got caught up in the excitement of the race.  My plan was to go out conservatively, start around 6:40 pace and work down to 6:30 and then start dropping miles under that mark.  I was having too much fun at the beginning of the race.  I hit the first mile in 6:20, way too fast for someone trying to run 2:50 not 2:45!  I then told myself to relax and tried to back off a bit, I still had 25.2 miles to go!  When I reached the mile 2 marker, my watch said 7:03.  At this point I freaked out!  I did not travel to Philly to run another 3:0x marathon.  I immediately began to speed up and then reached mile three in 5:26.  The problem here is that I did not run a 7:03 mile or a 5:26 mile.  The second mile mark was placed too far away so I thought I had been running a lot slower than I was.  I ran 12:30 for miles 2 and 3 combined (6:15 pace).  I probably ran about a 6:30 mile for the second mile but then sped up to 6:00 pace when I thought I had been over 7:00.  This does not make for an easy marathon when you go out much faster then planned.  I then settled back into my target pace and began to rattle off some miles just under 6:30 pace through 8 miles.  I hit the 10k in 39:27 (6:21 pace).  The crowd was excellent during the early miles.  There were people lining the streets during these miles and giving encouragement to the runners.  The Drexel students were out partying and cheering on the runners too!  At this point in the race I climbed up a few pretty significant hills when we entered Fairmount Park for the first time.  I split a couple miles in the 6:40s because of the natural incline.  I then ran 6:25 for mile 11, 6:34 for mile 12 and 6:34 for mile 13.  I went through halfway in 1:25:02 (6:30 pace).  I was right on my goal time for halfway.  I, however, was beginning to fade instead of picking up speed. 

(Rocky statue- signature medal biting)

I wanted to go through the half in a position to negative split the race.  I had gone out too fast and was about to pay the price over the next 13 miles.  I began to split miles in the 6:40s and 6:50s until mile 20.  I had fallen off pace and was hurting all over.  I was physically drained and knew I would be in an intense battle with myself all the way to the finish.  I was angry with the way I had failed to execute my pre-race plan.  I needed a boost, something to pick me up and carry me to the finish.  At mile 20, I got it in the Manayunk neighborhood.  It was here that I started to fully enjoy the marathon.  The course gets a little thin in terms of crowd support once you leave the downtown area and enter miles 13-18.  Once I entered Manayunk, I felt like a part of the community.  I had entered into a giant block party, complete with some great bands that picked me up.  There was a table of people handing out beer to the runners.  This made me laugh.  Everyone was just out to have a good time and it was great to be a part of it and have this community cheering the runners on.  I found my second wind for the last 10k of the race.  I clicked off miles in the 6:40s, which was a little faster then what I was struggling to maintain earlier on in the second half.  My body ached all over but I told myself there was no way I would give in.  I pushed over the final miles.  I saw a sign at around 24 miles that said: "26.2 miles because 26.3 would be crazy."  I laughed some more at this sign and fully agree, 26.3 miles would be insane!  When I reached the final mile of the race, I entered back into the Downtown area.  The crowds were again huge and this gave me even more motivation.  One nice thing about the race was that our bibs were personalized with our first names.  I heard a lot of "Go David's" throughout the 26.2 mile journey.  It was uplifting every time a person I did not know was giving me words of encouragement.  The running community is great!  When I got to the final .2 mile stretch I was urging my body to just make it to the line.  I was a few minutes off my goal but I still was about to reach a big PR.  I gave it everything I had and managed to "sprint" to the line, whatever that means after 26 miles (6:30 pace for the last .2).  I felt blessed to make it across another finish line.  The support from my family and friends means everything to me.  I want to make everyone, including myself, proud of what I am able to do when I challenge myself daily through running.  After finishing the race, I received a medal and found my dad right away and gave him a hug.  I managed to walk over to where he was and then we did what any sensible people would do: we ran up the Rocky Steps.  We celebrated this new achievement in style!

The Philadelphia Marathon was a great race! The organization was superb and I would recommend to any marathoner to add this race to the bucket list.  This past weekend could not have gone any better!  I ran 2:54:02, good for 238th out of over 11,500 marathoners.  We're doing it!  I know I was off my goal time by a few minutes but I am proud with how I was able to persevere and finish after going out too fast.  Philly left me with, if possible, even more motivation for the future.  I ran my first sub-3 hour marathon and am in no way done or satisfied yet.  The slogan for the Philadelphia Marathon race weekend was to "redefine possible."  I am looking forward to Boston and at my next opportunity to redefine possible.  2013 is going to be a year of revenge for me.  I am going to train harder than even before and go after a new PR in the marathon.  I think that with a full 20 weeks of training from now until Patriot's Day I can go close to 2:40.  Even though we are approaching winter, it is not the time to take time off and keep warm indoors.  It is time to stay hungry and on the prowl.

Run Happy,
David

Splits: 6:20, 7:03 (long), 5:26 (short), 6:26, 6:27, 6:28, 13:05 (7+8), 6:40, 6:47, 6:25, 6:34, 6:34, 6:29, 6:44, 6:49, 6:53, 6:54, 6:54, 7:00, 6:42, 6:44, 6:50, 6:49, 6:47, 6:43, 1:18 (.2 miles- 6:30 pace)

10k- 39:27 (6:21 pace)
half- 1:25:02 (6:30 pace)
30k- 2:02:41 (6:35 pace)
20 miles- 2:12:08 (6:36 pace)
last 10k- 41:53 (6:44 pace)

Finish: 26.2 miles- 2:54:02 (6:38 pace)
238th of 11,635
31/391 M20-24

Pre-Marathon Thoughts

It's just two days until I go after my next marathon: Philadelphia.  I am excited to measure where my training has gotten me to and really see what I am capable of in this upcoming race.  I have been logging the miles and putting in the workouts.  I have already hit my Boston Qualifying mark of 3:05 this past September and am registered for the Spring.  This race is all about improving on my 3:03 PR and seeing how far I can bring it down.  In my build-up for Philly, I ran the Hartford Half Marathon in mid-October.  I did not know what to expect with this race.  My recovery period had gone well after the Lehigh Valley Marathon and I had some confidence after gaining a BQ time.  I ran the most consistent half marathon of my life.  My last 5k was my best 5k.  I finished in 1:20:38 (6:09 pace).  This changed the goal for Philly and my mindset going in.  I started doing my workouts faster and focused in on my pace during my long runs.  My new goal became a low 2:50 marathon.  I would like to get as close to this mark as I can and try to break it.  Philadelphia provides me with an opportunity to do this.  I believe that if the weather is good, on the fast and flat course, this is a real possibility.

My training has gone well since Hartford.  I had a small hamstring injury that affected me the week after the race but has since healed.  I had a few good workouts where I looked for consistency running faster than marathon pace.  The last week of October I put in two quality workouts.  I ran a 10 x Freeman Hill workout in Providence.  I progressed through each repeat, getting faster as I went.  I then ran a 6 mile tempo at 6:00 pace on the East Bay Bike Path just two days later.  That week concluded with my longest run in the build-up: a 22 miler.  I was up in southern New Hampshire on October 28th so I went down to Lowell, MA to do this run on the Bay State Marathon course.  This is where I ran my first marathon and I thought it might be good to turn back to my roots for this run.  I ran conservatively during the first of two 10.2 mile loops and split 1:12:35 (7:06 pace).  I then gradually picked up the pace during the second half.  I finished the second loop in 1:07:55 (6:39 pace).  My last 5 miles were in 32:14 (6:27 pace) which is just under marathon pace where I wanted to be.  I then did a quick cool-down to get to 22 for the day.  I totaled 98.5 miles for the week of 10/22 to 10/28.  The following week was just as productive, as I reached 92.5 miles.  I did a mid-week track workout of 6 x 1 mile.  My splits were: 6:00, 6:01, 5:52, 5:56, 5:56, 5:52.  I again sought to keep a steady pace during the workout and try and make it feel as comfortable as possible.  My other workout for the week was 10 x 2:00 hard, 2:00 rest.  I felt strong during this workout and pushed the tempo portions.  I then ran a little over 18 miles on Sunday, November 4th.  My goal was to run 6:30 pace for the last 5 miles.  I, instead, averaged 6:30 pace for the entire run.  I started in the 6:40 range and worked down from there.  It felt comfortable and I had plenty left at the end of the run, hitting splits of 6:15, 6:08 and 5:51 for my last 3 miles.  Awesome!  I probably should have taken this run easier, but what a confidence builder!  I can hold this kind of pace this weekend.  Last week, I brought my mileage down to 76 and I started to feel fresh legs as I began to cut back.  My big workout for the week was 3 x 2 miles.  I ran the repeats in 11:57, 12:05 and 12:05.  It was on a very windy day at the Brown Stadium track.  My weekend long run was 14.5 miles and I kept the pace consistent, averaging 6:52 pace.  Taper week has been fun!  I am looking to be around 70-75 miles, including the marathon.  I did a 5 mile tempo in 30:00 on Tuesday to keep the legs fresh. 

While I have highlighted my workouts and long runs in this post, I want to stress the importance of easy running.  All of my other days, with my mileage goals in the 90 range, include several days where I run twice but keep the pace easy.  Examples include 10/6 mile doubles.  I stay around 7:00 a mile and really give my body a chance to recover between workouts.  My marathon plan is about creating cumulative fatigue.  I have been tired, very tired in this build-up.  I have not, however, been broken or pushed too far.  I have played things close to this line and maybe even touched it.  The goal is to use the long runs to simulate the later stages of the marathon.  Because I have been able to put in quality long runs, often holding marathon pace at points during them, I am confident that I can put together a good race.  I am ready for Philly and am looking to "race" the marathon.  My goal is to break 2:50 or go as close to it as possible.  I have done the work.  I have put in the time.  I have put all of my efforts into training.  This weekend is an opportunity that I am looking to take.  It is time to see my hard work pay off.  Good luck to everyone out there this weekend!  Go out and get after it!

Run Happy,
David