Philadelphia Marathon 2013 race recap

The 2013 Philadelphia Marathon for me was a race that just went right. It was a very pleasant experience all around and one of those running moments where you feel a true sense of accomplishment. My fond memories of if are probably why I am doing it again this year.

Since this was a year ago, I will try and remember the race the best I can.

Training:

I actually struggled a bit in the training for Philly so was a bit surprised by how well it went. Philly was the first time I used a training plan (I use the Smart Coach from Runners World) that was pretty high mileage (for me). When training for my first marathon I ran on average about 30 miles a week and topped out at about 40. In Philly and every race since I have ran about 40-45 miles a week and topped out at 55.

As I learned during training for Philly, I get this weird situation when running that much that’s not an injury but feels like it. My right ankle tends to get really tight, and if I don’t massage or roll it out before I run it hurts badly. However if I do roll it out, it feels fine.

I didn’t know that yet when training for Philly so skipped at least one long training running because of my ankle. I also ran into trouble because about halfway through training I dropped a dresser drawer on my toe and bruised it pretty badly. It wasn’t broken but hurt for about a week.

These mishaps led me to consider dropping down to the half, but then I started to feel better, discovered I could just roll out my ankle tightness and decided to go for it.

Pre-race:

I actually had a minor mishap a few days before the race that was again due to my own clumsiness. I was walking while texting and slammed my knee pretty hard into a bench. Yep, embarrassing. It hurt pretty bad to the point where even the day before I felt like I couldn’t really walk on it. I of course was freaking out but it felt fine on race day which was a huge relief.

The day before the race my roommate, who ran the half, and I took a Bolt Bus to Philly and went to the expo. I didn’t really explore the expo too much because we had our host for the weekend waiting on us, but it was your typical big race expo. Seemed good but again, I didn’t really explore.

I got treated to a nice Italian meal and went to bed semi-early.

The marathon:

My roommate and I got to the race about an hour before the start. The first positive of the day was that it was relatively warm at the start and ended up being a perfect day with a high of about 65 degrees. This lucky because it was before I had really experienced winter running and did not have a lot of the gear (gloves, hat etc.) I now have. I was able to wear a long sleeve and shorts which was great.

The race is pretty huge, and the start can be a little overwhelming. This was my first time in a corral and it took me a little bit of time to find mine because there were so many they were spread out over a pretty big space. The one big complaint I have about the start is that the lines for the bathrooms were INSANE. We got to the race with a good amount of time and even then the lines were so long at every single bathroom area that we were worried we would miss the start.

I have since read this is a problem every year, so I’m not sure if it is something they can fix or is impossible to fix because of the lack of space and huge number of people.

I’m not sure what year this is from, but gives you a good idea of how big the start is

First half:

I was in a corral near the back, so it took probably about 20 minutes to make it to the start, but I didn’t really mind. I have read other recaps that complained about how congested the race was for the first 6 or so miles, and although it was really crowded I never felt like it affected my time.

During the race I was hyper-focused on two things: not going out too fast and not bonking. I tried my hardest to keep my initial pace about 9:50 for the first half of the race to avoid going out way too fast like I did in LA.

I also tried hard to get either water, Gatorade or food in every three miles.

I broke a cardinal rule during this race and brought one thing for fuel I had never tried before: Ritz crackers. However, I didn’t notice any negative consequences.

The first 9 miles of the race are pretty cool as they take you all through some main streets in Philly. I had never been there before so I enjoyed the mini tour. The course is very flat except for a decent size hill around mile 8. I had read about the hill prior to the race, and decided to use it as a reminder to myself to not go out too fast. So for the first part I told myself to save my energy for the hill and then on the hill I let myself tackle it at a moderate pace. The hill is really not that bad and was over before I knew it.

I was really excited when I reached the half marathon point about how good I felt. I was also keeping a pretty good pace for the first half (it ended up being 9:59/ per mile for the first half which was 2:10:56).

Second half:

At the half-marathon point the course takes you right next to the start, and you see the half runners head toward the cheering crowd. I can imagine if I felt like crap that I would be pretty mad or discouraged by this, but since I was feeling good I enjoyed seeing the crowd.

At this point the race turns into an out-and-back course, and as you head out you see the people finishing the loop coming back toward you. Again, I can imagine this can be mentally discouraging but I really liked seeing all the fast runners, especially the first-place woman. It was pretty inspiring.

One thing about this section is while you’re running out, it seems like you’re running on a slight downhill and the back part is a slight uphill. This worried me but when I headed back I really did not notice an uphill. I don’t know if it was an optical illusion or I was fooling myself, but just something to keep in mind.

During the out part I was pretty amazed by how good I felt. I started taking Gatorade at every aid station and also started taking the gels they offered.

At one point during the out section you have to do a small loop that deviates from the main course. When I was on that loop I remember looking on the other side and seeing the 4:30 pace group. This made me feel great, because it meant I was at least 5 minutes ahead of them and could majorly PR.

The course turns around in a town called Manyunk, which is full of a lot of fun cheerers that offer beer. I didn’t take any but it was fun.

For me, the last part of the race flew by. At this point I was hyper-focused on staying ahead of the 4:30 pace group and having a strong finish. Although my legs hurt and I did drop my pace, I never felt like I totally hit the wall.

The finish line at Philly is amazing. You run from what is a pretty quiet path just head-on into a cheering tunnel of people and you get to high-five the mayor at the end which is cool.

I finished in 4:21:24 or 9:58/ per mile.

Yay I am done

Not only did I feel much better during this race compared to LA, I also felt much less sore after. After LA I could barely walk for at least two days, but after Philly I was sore but mobile.

I attribute this primarily to running more miles during training. I cannot stress enough how vital I feel that is to my success both physically and mentally. I also think my obsession with drinking or eating something roughly every 5k helped.

I am really excited to run again this year!