Race information
- What? Philadelphia Marathon
- When? November 18, 2018
- How far? 26.2 miles
- Where? Philadelphia, WA
- Website: https://philadelphiamarathon.com/
- Strava activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/1972316022/
- **See Strava for pictures
- Finish time: 3:56:03
Goals
| Goal | Description | Completed? |
|---|---|---|
| A | Sub 4 hours | Yes |
| B | 3:50 | No |
| C | 3:45 | No |
| D | Run a smart race | Yes |
Splits
| Mile | Time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 9:13 |
| 2 | 8:31 |
| 3 | 8:31 |
| 4 | 9:50 |
| 5 | 8:32 |
| 6 | 8:49 |
| 7 | 8:07 |
| 8 | 8:23 |
| 9 | 8:26 |
| 10 | 8:41 |
| 11 | 8:36 |
| 12 | 8:39 |
| 13 | 8:36 |
| 14 | 8:41 |
| 15 | 8:42 |
| 16 | 8:52 |
| 17 | 8:42 |
| 18 | 8:57 |
| 19 | 8:52 |
| 20 | 9:01 |
| 21 | 8:55 |
| 22 | 9:08 |
| 23 | 9:19 |
| 24 | 9:26 |
| 25 | 9:44 |
| 26 | 9:42 |
Training
For training, my girlfriend bought coaching sessions with the coach from my running club. Needless to say, he had run Philadelphia numerous times and gave me a sharp plan to follow. He identified my major weakness as a lack of speedwork last year so that was the big target zone to work on.
He had a pretty straight forward long run cycle of 120 min EZ, 135 w/ 2x20 min@tempo, 150 w/ 3-4 EZ and then progress to MP for the remainder, followed by 10 mi EZ. Work to nail speed work and just make the other runs easy.
I hit some of those, I missed some of those...blame the weather (heat/humidity/etc). The last three weeks though, I nailed things from speed workouts to long runs and daily mileage (I was glad to figure out how to pace myself finally)
Race Strategy
Simple plan...ride the 4-hour pacer for the first 6/7 miles then drop to 8:40-8:45/mi through Mile 14. Miles 14-20 break into chunks of 3x2 mi (8:40/mi) make the turn in Manayunk and Miles 20-26.2 break into chunks 3x2 mile (8:35-8:40/mi). Didn’t pull it off as I wanted but still hit my A goal regardless
Pre-race
Drove up Saturday afternoon, found our AirBnB, went to Eastern State for an hour or so. Ate dinner, went to bed early, got up 445 dressed ate standard oatmeal, half bagel, a banana about 2 hours before. Headed to start zone, dropped my bag ate Honey Stinger waffle and finished 20 ounces of Tailwind. Had to make two pre-race porta stops and honestly, there are not enough porta-potties at the start...lines are crazy long. I know this sounds cut and dry but it’s really the less interesting part so I’m keeping it shorter than it was
Miles [1] to [7]
Miles 1 and 2 just seemed to breeze by, I had been warned about GPS in the city and just tried to monitor the race clocks for control and keep things under control letting people pass me and just trusting myself. Mile 3 through 4 took us down Christopher Columbus Blvd and this wasn’t a physically hard stretch just mentally challenging because we’d turned so many times already that a long straightaway just felt somehow hard (it wasn’t though). I was fast here but still behind the pacer. Around the end of Mile 4, I had to make a pit stop again. This was probably for the best as I do think it helped me find a little control when I started back up.
Shortly into Mile 5, I would catch the pace group and tailed the back end as we went onto Chestnut Street and this stretch. Crowd support along this street was absolutely crazy...so many people lining both sides just cheering and screaming really just you’re sort of sardine-packed at this point but you really get that energy. Mile 6.5 was meet point number #1 with my girlfriend who had brought her bike and rode from the start to here and passed me a bottle of Tailwind and took my running jacket (arm sleeves and singlet from there on). After the pass, I found a little hole and got by the pacer and began the short ascent over the bridge and into hill #1.
Miles [8] to [14]
Looking back I was too fast getting here but I felt good so I continued to ride what I had and tried to slow down some though the splits show otherwise. Miles 8 and 9 take me through University City and saw some college students but really just tried to smartly embrace the hill and not overexert. Saw some wicked cool giant puppet type things right before crossing the bridge over the train tracks into the zoo. The back half of Mile 9 was past the zoo….I could smell animals. Mile 10 took us down and around Lansdowne Dr and then back up, again embrace the hill not to hard not to fast. We hit South Concourse and I dropped in step with two guys who were running their first marathon and at an 8:45/mi pace so I stayed with them through about Mile 12. I would see them both later around Mile 18/22 (one of them had fallen back and the other guy passed me...should’ve found out their names).
First bottle of Tailwind was gone about Mile 11 so I sucked down a gel grabbed some water at water stop here until the next drop point with girlfriend. Back to the race report/story, Miles 10-13 just sort of clicked by, taking water at water stops trying to remain in control. I passed through the half point at 1:55 and my first thoughts were 3:50 feels possible.
Somewhere around Mile 13 was where I used a little /r/running friends motivation/spirit (/u/cpharoah and /u/curfudgeon and that kid I taught in 2006 and 2007 and that guy who said you have a great finishing kick can went under 4 you can too!) Thanks all, you were with me in spirit and it powered me through this stretch.
And this stretch was just hard not because it was along the river but it just kind of kept going even though it wasn’t that long. As I entered Mile 13-14, we would pass by the famous Art Museum and Rocky Steps. This was meet point #2 with my girlfriend, right in front of the museum, was very few people right near the bleacher stands which made the pass really easy. Took my Tailwind and was off around the circle onto Kelly Drive. Heard my running coach right around Mile 14 cheer me on and that was tremendously motivating.
Miles [14] to [18]
Kelly Drive, where this marathon tests your mental strength. I had trained a bunch of out and back runs for this very purpose. Around Mile 15 was where I broke down a year before at Marine Corps Marathon, it’s been a weight I’ve carried for over a year. I told myself this will be different, you are stronger you are better you know what to do and I pressed on.
This was all about those 3x2 mile chunks; 14-16 miles felt good. Miles 16-18 were a bit tough but I had a Tailwind pass with my girlfriend around Mile 18 for bottle #3. We were super lucky here as she had literally she arrived as I got to the meet point.
Miles [18] to [21]
I’ve singled these miles out because they were probably physically and mentally the toughest parts of the race for me. My splits get slower later but this here is where I felt I was fading and fought hard. The crowds in Manayunk were amazing and so that was big in helping me through this stretch but there be hills here too and that was tough.
I made the turn at Mile 19.5 and that felt so good. I passed Mile 20 right around 3 hours and knew that I had an hour to run a 10K. Still so much cheering and that guy who yelled at us all at the last hill out of Manayunk and home free.
I used the memories of those 800s, 1000s, tempo workouts, etc. to push on and beat back the negative demons.
Miles [21] to [26.2]
After Mile 20, I’m just back into 3x2 mile chunks and trying to get to Mile 22 and drop point #4. I was tired, I hurt, and I was struggling. I saw my girlfriend tossed her my Buff, took my running hat and my bottle of Tailwind and pressed for the finish. I just kept willing myself to fight off the urge to walk. I would make it to Mile 24 where I would succumb to walking for about 100 steps and that helped my legs open back up. Mile 25, saw another short walk as would Mile 26 and then push push push. Somewhere passing the 40K marker, I saw the time did the math and just told myself that I knew what needed to be done and that I could do so and not to give up and keep on.
The Finish
I crossed the finish line...fist pump, hands raised triumphantly and then my hands fell to my head and face in sheer joy. I crossed the finish line stopped my watch and just felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.
Post-race
Received my jingly Liberty Bell medal and heat blanket then mindlessly went through the food/water lines for food and water. A pretzel, apple juice, banana, water, more water...I was just sort of mindlessly carrying this stuff to find a place to sit and breath.
Went to bag check got my things found my phone and my girlfriend was as excited as I was. We finally found each other behind the giant horse statue fountain and had the biggest hug of happiness and many many thanks to her going the distance for this race all over the course with Tailwind.
My running coach called me and congratulated me and he was super proud of my effort and asked my previous race time and this was a 27 minute PR for me! He was enormously proud of my effort and I was so grateful for his wisdom and strong belief in my abilities.
What's next?
Well for one, I have announced my retirement from the distance though /u/sloworfast says I have to wait two weeks and someone on Strava said they retired 5 times. Of course, /u/WhiterShade0fPale told me to enjoy my ultra career.
Also, big shoutout to /u/whitershade0fpale because of his Marine Corps Marathon race last year where his significant other passed him fuel and hydration that’s what gave me the idea to have my girlfriend pass things to me and it worked really well.
I’m excited to stop paying for my Strava subscription after almost two years. I am excited to take some time off for a while to recover and then get back to running but for fun. This training cycle sucked lots of the fun out of running so it will be nice to just go out and run for the sheer joy of running for a while.
From a training perspective, I’ll be looking for a fast half probably Fall 2019 to try and go after a 1:50 (as I hit a 1:51 personal best on a training run during the training cycle)
My girlfriend is going to train for a sprint tri in May 2019 so I’ll be supporting her efforts in that as we progress into the first part of the year and I may do a sprint or Olympic tri if I can find one.
I feel I can finally get that marathon tattoo and I have a better feeling what I want now.
Many thanks go out to the /r/running community and all the people here who are so supportive. The strength and energy of this community really helped me through tough stretches in this race.
This post was generated using the new race reportr, a tool built by /u/BBQLays for making organized, easy-to-read, and beautiful race reports.
Submitted November 19, 2018 at 07:17PM by marximumrunner https://ift.tt/2DwrjgL
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