As I type on the delayed Amtrak train back home to Providence, all I can think of is this non-running quote:
"Looks like someone took the slow train in from Philly" -Angela from The Office, referring to, uhm, women of the night
Pre:
Jess and I arrived to Philadelphia a day early (Friday) via train to get acclimated to our surroundings, especially after the nightmare that was Miami. Before the rest of the gang arrived, we sight saw (if that is grammatically correct) and snapped pics of the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Rocky foot prints/steps, and let's not forget the black medieval/Dungeons and Dragons/LARP protestors in front of the Expo where I quickly developed a one-day addiction to honey mustard and onion pretzel pieces.
Where was I when the Great Depression part two happened aka Twinkies and Hostess' demise?
In a Philadelphia hotel room eating pretzel pieces, watching Alton Brown on 20/20 talk about cheeseburgers.
Anyways, what I did not foresee was that all the walking around in this (vastly underrated) city days before would leave me a bit sore the morning of the race. Not to mention visibly embarrassed on the 48 bus when Jess sang the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song.
Saturday, I got to meet up with ex-resident/kickball teammate Brian and family down in Fairmount (home of the Eastern State Penitentiary, Al Capone's one time residence) despite the insane traffic and GPS issues leading him to the 'hood. Most inspirational quote? Brady, Brian's 16 month old, saying "Tang".
On to the next hotel at the hustling and bustling Sheraton to meet up Knapp, Sri, and Sean before dinner at Il Pittore for post cards and jacket gender mix-ups. As great as it was, I will say I couldn't really enjoy dinner with that looming 26.2 staring at me. On the way back after dinner we picked up predictably stale Dunkin Donut bagels and trash bags (what? and at a convenience store with different types of fancy cheeses) for the morning. What was pretty clutch was watching the Rocky I montage before sleep (because of course Rocky I would be on TV in Philly, commercial-free the night before). Slept on and off, got around 5 hours of sleep and woke up roughly every hour and a half.
Race:
Sore but wide awake at 6, we donned Mugatu's Derelict campaign trash bags (only runners would see this as sane) the morning of as we looked like pre-packaged humans or (stupid work) light-protected chemo. Since it was 36 outside, other runners had on trash bags but were definitely from an older generation; trash bags aren't in the latest issue of Runner's World (not sure who I just insulted here).
I rocked the Cox black long sleeve underneath and the team shirt since the one race I ran this year and didn't PR was with a non-team shirt. The rest of the ensemble featured my light Nike gloves that I flip-flopped during the race, shorts, and ASICS 2160. Gambled on no chafing and won (but somehow, a bit sensitive in the (TMI) nips).
I will have to admit that I was pretty nervous before this race thanks to a multitude of excuses (Miami's implosion a mere nine months ago, bachelor party the weekend before, swiss cheese'ed 2nd half of training, oh it IS a marathon). The thing is, if I were to fall short again, it's not like a written exam (nerd) where even if you fail, you can be done with it and nobody would be the wiser. It is pretty obvious if I walk the last 10k like Miami (especially with my pretty much mandatory race report), except this time it would be sans KOB to lament with.
Jess and I headed to the back towards our colored corrals (great organization, Philly) and I jumped out of the corral at the last second (Serra style) to use the portapotty without my usual TP utility belt and made it back in time for the beginning. Bart Yasso made a cameo appearance at the starting line where I tried to get a high five from him but his back was turned as I hit the start button on my Garmin.
Wiser runners that we are now, I let the race come to me, taking what the race gave me and sat at 10 minute pace for a while instead of shooting gaps and finally hit mile 6.5 (quarter done) feeling fine while pacing with a backwards-capped Cowboys runner (albeit easier to wear since Philly is an even worse run team at the moment-ba ZING). To remind me more of home, saw a Luke's Locker shirt and a Rhode Runner shirt.
No matter what, the inevitable human wall would appear as two bulky runners would somehow always be two abreast as I had to swerve or blow through them. Picked up "the point" move from backwards-capped runner as he'd point at open spots to let runners know where he was going before passing.
The course to this point showed roughly a .19 mile difference in mile marker to GPS watch. This would be payback for the previous two 5ks. I also thought my left shoe was going to pop off at any moment but never went to re-tie it.
Thanks to scouting the elevation map, we knew mile 7 and 9 were the only hills on the course. Hills? That elevation map has jokes. The inevitable downhills were my chance to let go and let gravity whittle my pace back down and keep me within distance of 4:00. Around mile 9, I heard some Go! Team song with actual cheerleaders and then around mile 10, foraged and pocketed some Raspberry Gu's (which proved fortunate) since I only brought 2 honey stingers for each hour, leaving me just shy on calories if I was to avoid 'The Wall' we all knew was very real. This was also around the spot of the nice huge building with pillars that Sean mentioned; this was the one spot we DIDN'T walk to on our walking tourism tour de force.
I hit 13.1 at 2:02 roughly with the emcee shouting about the elites finishing to the right of us as we took a left. I came in slower at the halfway point than Miami but felt a million times greater. I didn't think, man, I should have stopped here. Mainly, I kept telling myself I was just getting warmed up and kept telling myself it's just like a long training run. The elites passing us from mile 13-16 gave me hope as we cheered them on. I just kept chugging away, telling myself "4:30, 4:30" to relax myself and not blow up.
It was strange since I remembered during Miami, I had gotten pissed at seeing runners heading towards the finish line as I started. Whatever mentally happened in Miami, it seemed to never come up in Philly.
Between miles16 and18, I pushed the pace to see if I could keep the 4 dream alive and on the table. It was here I gambled and gnawed on some of that Raz Gu. This is where we crossed a tiny bridge reminiscent of the Dallas half bridge that shook due to the amount of human traffic pounding away at the concrete. There was a "Hey Ya!" cover at mile 17 which helped me to loosen up the arms and fingers via the "Hey Ya!" dance that everyone has to automatically do upon hearing Andre 3000. (Gangnam style before Gangnam Style).
At mile 19 (I think?), Manayunk main street was where there was beer and a ton of crowd support.
I kept plugging away, keeping myself within sub 4 goal while not having unleashed anything too motivational. It was at mile 19/20 that I knew I had a real shot at this and finally opened up a mental can of (excuse my 1990s white trash French) whoop ass as I channelled the training run on East Bay I had with Angela where we went 19 at 8:49 pace. I knew I could do this. I was at mile 20 and knew this is where the race starts.
Between 20-26.2, I felt great and knew I had two 5k's left to hammer out as the mental games started. Hello, negative splits, it's nice to finally meet you after 3 years of racing. I was looking up from that little village at mile 20 and that's where I pushed the pace to roughly 8:30 and passed cheering people, runners, future wall victims and wall-bound walkers.
I used to want to walk at the end of these long races whenever I saw a walker since mentally I knew it was now OK to give up because others had but today would be fateful as I had enough in the gas tank and never hit the wall as my brain never let the thought of stopping in to my docket as an option. I think I have finally crossed over in to the insane runner category.
I checked myself around mile 22 and I felt like my form was relatively good.
The 4:00 pace group (with the same balloon-covered sign as Dallas' half that I ran) was in sight towards the end of the first 5k and I edged pass them on the left side. At some point, I thought the comeback story to 4 was almost done but I would have to finish this off for this story to write itself.
Along the way I garnered quite a few "Go Aaron!" cheers thanks to the bib and that proved helpful along with high fives being given. The crowd support was amazing and definitely a boost. This must be what home court advantage feels like.
At mile 25, my left groin tightened up and my right foot went numb and I knew that I had to hobble it in after passing the 4:00 pacer and didn't look back.
I saw the girl who was ahead of me in the beginning wearing a Victor Cruz jersey who kept getting "Giants!", "Cruuuuuuz!", and (stupidly (or sarcastically?) ) "Shockey!" shout outs and knew that I could not stomach that salsa celebration (since my gag reflex showed up around mile 24).
Didn't stop. Skipped the last 2 water stations knowing I could muster up a finishing kick.
Gagging was still a very real issue but the last half mile proved to be all adrenaline (accounted for as I sprinted to get to my adrenaline deadline) as I kicked up some dust for Miss Cruz with a chute made of cheering humans.
3:56:17
Got a high five from the mayor of Philly, got my aluminum foil-like blanket that I secretly have always coveted for what it signifies and my finisher's medal. I swam upstream through the huge, sweaty caloric-challenged crowd, bypassing free food for a nice ice-cold shower and a chance to lay down.
Post:
My iPod died on the walk back. I wanted to not bring it? Thanks Knapp for telling the insane me on Saturday to pocket it in case.
No Wall, but no runner's high.
I wasn't as dehydrated this time since I didn't excrete concentrated apple juice from my body. I laid up in the hotel for 5 hours until a Philly-famous Pat's cheesesteak was walked and hand delivered to me after a long wait in line. Ran up the steps again post-Marathon, took some more tourist pictures on our way to celebrate at the Knapp (and less importantly, Zagat) approved, hidden treasure (literally) that is Morimoto's.
Back of my left knee is a bit sore and my left groin but I feel great otherwise. Walking downstairs to the bathroom at Morimoto's proved to be the hardest thing that day.
Great job by Knapp again, picking two stellar restaurants and a race that could not have gone any better; perfect weather and flat, made obvious by the great times.
Future:
5k in December. Will it be a showdown between Pat, Knapp, and Tang? I am waiting until the last price hike (12/1) before throwing my hat in to the ring. I originally planned on a month hiatus but after the great finish and lack of immobility (sooo in English, I'm mobile), I may chop the layover down to 2 weeks. Next year's races will be very entertaining to say the least.
Notes:
We saw 2 people trip and eat it on Friday, thinking that was an omen for the race.
Wawa (convenience store in the Mid-Atlantic) needs to go national.
Seen during the race: A spartan from '300', Ivan Drago, panda, giraffe, 2 ghostbusters, a juggler
A conservative first half allowed me to gamble on the second half:
first half of the race: ~2:02
second half of the race: ~1:54
last 10k: 8:25/mile pace
2012 Triple crown implications were dashed as Knapp broke the half marathon times, jumping two spots and making me re-organize a majority of the times. Thanks, Knapp, for being the fastest half marathoner this year (and all-time for non-Pat Henderson named runners).
Let's not forget Jess smashing her old PR by 15+ minutes.
I "smashed" mine by 40+ minutes...
Team's been on a tear, keep the mo going.
Speaking of teams, Plano Senior High School alum finishes 2nd in the marathon. PSHS alumni representing.
What a small world we live in.
Best signs:
If marathons were easy, they'd be called your mom.
If you were Paul Ryan, you would have been here an hour ago. (early (mile 5 or 6?) in the race)
SWF seeks man with stamina Call Me!
Smile if you pooped your pants
Keep Going! Don't Stop! (That's what she said)
Here's my bib number, so call me maybe
Worst parade ever
Less than 0.17% of Americans finished a marathon in 2012
huge cardboard cutouts of heads of (I'm assuming) runners
A picture of Gob with a sign that read "Family love Lisa"
Definitely heard Gangnam Style at some point, I think towards the very end.
The further along we go, the less amped up we have to be; it has just become a part of us. I didn't even make a playlist for the race; instead just going by what I have currently. No running videos (minus the Rocky montage).
Philadelphia is underrated; I never knew there were so many photogenic parts to this city. I guess the sports fans give it a bad rap. The crowd support was phenomenal, it was decently organized, it was a flat course. Great trip all around.
If I retire early, I'd love to go around the country and run races/review the city for a week.
Lessons learned:
-sleep two nights before is more important than the night before (since I am too nervous to sleep soundly)
-rendezvous points suck; just go back to the hotel ASAP
Good work Tang!
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