Now that the legs have (mostly) healed , the duck is (mostly) digested, and the giant mound of dishes are (mostly) washed, I can sit down finally and write my Philly report.
We arrived in Philly on Saturday at about noon and checked into our lovely downtown hotel straight away. Then we head over to the expo to pick up my number and chip. We had some time to kill before the pasta buffet dinner, so we took a chilly walk so I could orientate myself for the next morning's route to the start line.
In spite of trying to get to bed early, I had bad nights of sleep on both Friday and Saturday. Sunday morning my alarm went off at 4:45am, and I woke to find Kyla lying right across my legs. I shook her off gently, sat up and immediately started chowing down on my peanut butter bagel and banana. It was tough going. I always gag on food when I'm nervous. But I know it was really important to eat a lot
then, and not leave it any later.
At 5am my cell phone rang and it was mum calling from Scotland to wish me good luck and tell me my wee brother's wife had given birth earlier that morning (12:30am GMT). That was such happy news and an excellent mental boost!
They say you're not meant to wear anything in a marathon that you have not practised wearing in training. Unfortunately with the temperatures so low, I was forced to wear an outfit I had never had occasion to try out. I was a afraid of chafing, so I made sure to smear myself thoroughly with Vaseline, then put some some all over my face for extra protection against the cold. On my lower half I donned my three-quarter length lycra shorts, under race ready short shorts, under a pair of throw away
tracky bottoms. On the upper half, it was a long sleeved technical shirt under my Hellgate vest under two throw away shirts, a jacket, scarf, two pairs of gloves with chemical hand warmers, ear muffs and a hat. From the moment I left my hotel room I felt like I'd overdone the layers somewhat, as I met other racers in the elevator who weren't dressed like Eskimos about to embark on a polar expedition.
In the end though, I wasn't sorry at all. I stayed toasty on the walk over there, and during the wait. Even after I'd shed most of the layers, and stood in my corral, it seemed everyone there was shivering uncontrollably but me. Maybe it helped me to be so short; buffered by a wall of tall men.The race started about ten minutes late, but I can forgive them that since I'd only left my hotel room 45 minutes prior. I'm used to leaving home three or four hours before marathon start time.
The marathoners started on the left side of the road, and the half marathoners on the right. We'd jogged about 500 yards when something very odd happened. We took a right turn, and all the marathoners were forced to jump over a low median right through a wall of spectators. It was incredibly weird. I really felt embarrassed for the the course planners, who knows what they were thinking with that one. Oh well, at least nobody (around me anyway) seemed to get hurt, and it gave us all a good giggle.
It wasn't until we were underway that I realized my legs were numb with the cold. It took a mile or two for them to properly defrost. I was really shocked to check my split at the one mile marker and see a '9:01.' I had to fight hard not to really let it affect my confidence. For lack of any better idea, I had decided to go out at an 8 pace and see how far I could take it. Believing I was just just one mile in, and already a whole minute behind threw me. As the next few mile markers passed and my splits were all over the place, it was clear something was wrong. After my 4th mile I happened to pass the only guy from my club running the half - Jay -, and he confirmed that that markers were all wrong. Then a few people with garmins around us called out that we had actually run about 4.25 miles at that point. That must have been right because I clocked a 6:30 split (haha) for the 5th mile.
It's hard for me not to be too judgemental about all these unprofessional aspects of the race organisation. At the risk of sounding like a compete marathon snob (oh who am I kidding? I
am), when all you've done is three world class marathons (NYC, Boston, Chicago) it's difficult to comprehend why a race can't start on time, why the miles can't have been measured accurately and why they forced the marathoners to hurdle medians. I heard that it's the
City that puts on the marathon, and not a running group, which they say, explains why a lot of it seems amateur.
Anyhoo, after the chaos of the first few miles, things seemed to settle down into normality. There were quite a few serious inclines and declines (particular around the 9 mile point), which made it difficult to maintain a consistent pace. I felt I had to make up time on the downhills that I'd lost on the uphills. I don't remember much after that until the midway point when the half marathoners split off from us. It was nice to be rid of the bulk of the crowd and focus on the business of marathoning.
I didn't have any friends on the course to support me (Matt and Kyla met me at the finish line), and the crowds were sparse for most of the course, but that wasn't an issue for me. If it had been my first ever marathon it would have been disappointing, but I don't need that now. The course itself (from what little I paid attention of it) was attractive and interesting. After the midway point we head out on the outbound part of the out-and-back loop. As I've felt in other races designed like this, I loved being able to watch the leaders pass me. I was a little shocked not to see a police car or cyclist alongside the lead woman, but am assuming one joined her nearer to the finish? Or do you have to be someone like Paula Radcliffe to get that honor?
As usual, my brain was incapable of doing mental arithmetic as I ran, and for the longest time I thought the turnaround was the 18 mile point. It was a hard slog to get to the real turnaround point (at 20), but incredibly uplifting to finally do it. Instead of looking at my actual splits, from about the 6 mile mark I was instead looking at the overall net time, and figuring out how far off an average pace of 8 minutes I was. Because of this, I didn't know until later that day, that I'd actually slowed down a lot - going from approximtely 7:50s to 8:20s. That wasn't my plan at all, and I'm a little bit bummed it turned out that way. But the overall 3:33 was not disappointing. Given my my long absence from running combined with my incredibly negative (PMS-fuelled?) attitude on the day, I'm fairly proud of myself.
The after affects have been minimal. My hamstrings and calves ached for a few days. I only hobbled sideways downstairs for one day. By Wednesday my legs felt fairly normal. I do, however, have one odd complaint. I seem to have done some nerve damage to the toe next to my smallest toe on my left foot. It feels alternately numb and 'tingly', and gets increasingly painful after walking for a while. I trust this is temporary, but I may have to see a doctor if it interferes with running. I haven't run yet, but I may manage a jog before this long weekend is over. I'm already feeling kinda fat and yucky from the combination of being sedentary and the usual Thanksgiving excesses.
I know I did a lot of 'plodding' in the training for this race, and very few 'quality' workouts. But I don't regret it. I think it was important to come back gently to distance running without risking injury. Frankly, I'm shocked and stunned that I got through it all without a hint of my old left knee pain, so I must have done something right. Nonetheless, I'm already planning how to incorporate some more intense workouts to the Nashville training schedule. Hell, maybe I'll even invest in a heart rate monitor. It may be time. And godamnit, I still really need to lose those extra 10+ pounds.
Like the majority of runners I'll bet, I do not yet feel like I have fulfilled my marathon potential. I look forward to doing something about that.
Sincere thanks to everyone who left such kind and supportive comments, messages, texts and emails. I very much appreciate every one of them. This long distance running lark would be too lonely a business without you all.
Summary of Philly Negative Points
The very strange median thing.
The water stations turned into ice rinks. They should have predicted this (from the weather forecast) and had salt/sand at the ready.
Corrals not strictly manned. I saw plenty people in mine who were meant to be much further back, and hence we were more squashed together than battery chickens.
The first few incorrectly placed mile markers.
The delayed start.
The official finish line photo background was unnecessarily jingoistic (American flag) which (combined
with the long queue) totally put me off getting it taken.
The medal is badly designed, such as the medallion can fall off the ribbon (which happened to me on the way home - luckily I found it again - in our car.)
Summary of Philly Positive PointsNumber pick up was incredibly easy - took 10 seconds, no lines.
Post race salty chicken soup an absolute delight.
Baggage drop off and pick up simple and easy
Super attractive medal and long sleeved technical t-shirt.
And lastly (this has nothing really to do with the marathon) - the famous Philly cheesesteak afterwards was a TREAT!
Vermont Covered Bridges Half Marathon I found myself flanked by two Batwomen. The initial entertainment factor was quickly replaced with irritation. That I couldn’t overtake these latex-clad femmes, wearing underwear over tights and bat ears, was an affront to my formally more competitive self. And don’t get me started on the capes which fluttered persistently in my face. For the best part of 13 miles I was privy to the recurring spectator reaction, like an iPod on repeat. First, the surprised snort of laughter, then the cheer “Go Batwomen, Go!” And finally, the interminably witty, “Why don’t you just fly to the finish line?” Yes, please do, and take your glossy polyisoprene with you!
