Philadelphia Marathon

You know what they say about try, try, and try again. Well, on a crisp, cool day in Philadelphia last weekend, I finally got it right at the marathon. What a day!

The First Try: Marine Corps Marathon, 10/30/11


But the story really started 3 weeks earlier in Washington, D.C. When I finished the 2010 season at Ironman Western Australia and was thinking about 2012, I really wanted to give another try at a stand-alone marathon and the Marine Corps Marathon was the obvious choice. I had the experience of racing in the marathon there in 2006 and had raced in the Nation's Tri in 2009 over some of the same terrain. The course was familiar and it was convenient to stay with my sister, Lori, who lives in the D.C. area. And there's no better cheering section than Lori on race day.

Things got off track a bit when I sprained my left ankle at the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon in June and wasn't able to run for about 2 months. I wasn't deterred, but there would obviously be an abbreviated period of run training. Along with coach Justin, we settled on a plan that included a lot of running (by my standards), but spread out during the week. By the time of the Marine Corps Marathon, we'd done several weeks of about 35 miles, but the longest single run was about 13 miles or so.

Race day in D.C. brought cold temperatures (and snow the day before!) but bright sunshine. Perfect weather for the run. My plan was to stick with the 4:30 pace group, using a 9-minute run/1-minute walk pattern, and see if I could accelerate the pace later in the race. As it played out, running with/near the pace group went well, but by mile 4 I felt sick to my stomach,
by mile 9 I was pretty nauseated, and by mile 15 I had to stop because I felt so sick. I was a pretty pitiful sight. Within minutes of stopping I was shivering uncontrolably in the cold, my legs were pretty stiff, and I could just hobble along to meet up with my sister, head to the Metro, and make it home. A pretty sad day, really. I had higher hopes, for sure.


The Second Try: Philadelphia Marathon, 11/20/11

When we were talking after the D.C. race, Justin took me a bit by surprise when he suggested finding another marathon in the next 2-4 weeks and giving it another try. By the time we talked, I had already turned the page mentally....and was ready to get back to triathlon training to get ready for the March, 2012 Ironman New Zealand race. But I slept on the idea and it grew on me. I took a look at the upcoming marathon options and settled on giving it a go in Philadelphia, 3 weeks later.

Several things drew me to the Philadelphia race. First, I went to college at Penn, so Philadelphia was certainly familiar. I wasn't a runner in college, but whenever I've been to Philadelphia on business in recent years, I've done a bit of running....and had covered a good portion of the marathon course at some point. Second, I knew the weather would be cool (which is the ONLY way things would be OK). And third, Lori could take the train up from D.C. and cheer. The marathon was sold out and I gained entry through a charity spot offered by Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, a good cause.

We stayed downtown, near City Hall and made the walk up the Benjamin Franklin Parkway toward the Art Museum with 1000's of other runners and cheerers on race morning. Again, it was a sunny, cool day, with a bit of breeze. Perfect weather. Once again, I started with the 4:30 pace group and got off to a good start.

They call it the "Race Through History," and that's probably true. The course makes a big loop around Center City Philadelphia, including the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, before making 2 separate out-and-back loops on either side of the Schuylkill River before finishing in front of the Art Museum where the race began.

I followed a 9-minute run/1-minute walk pattern for almost the entire race, keeping right at ~10:00 per mile overall. This put me a little in front of the 4:30 pace group. Because of the crowd and the narrow downtown streets, I did much of the downtown portion of the race on the sidewalk where there was more room to run (and especially to walk for the walk breaks). In retrospect, I missed the 10 km timing mat because I was on the sidewalk. But I promise I was there! I saw Lori at the 6.5-mile mark, on 21st and Chestnut and then again at the 12.8-mile mark, just west of the Art Museum. I stopped each time for a snack item from Lori and told her at my 2nd meeting that I'd plan to slow down a bit for the 2nd half. I crossed the 13.1-mile mark in 2:09:30 and felt great.

I was able to keep at that same pace until just before mile 24...and sadly, had troubles with thigh cramping at that point. I chaned to a 2-minute run/1-minute walk pattern for the remainder of the race, promising myself that I wouldn't walk for more than a minute this close to the finish.

I was SO excited at the finish. Around the corner, up over the little hill, and down the Parkway to the finish. Big smile, some happy tears, and a bunch of high-5's with the kids along the finishing chute. And across the line in 4:30:11. Never happier at a race finish. Like I said, what a day!

Next up: Disney Half Marathon in January and Ironman New Zealand in March.