Philly Half Marathon

Wow, I can't remember the last real race report I've done. It has been so long (TOO long) since I had anything to write about.



My going in PR for the half was 1:25:05. Based on how Chicago training has been going, I thought I would be real close to that either just making it or just missing it. I talked with Dave on the way up to the race and he counseled doing a relaxed start over 6:30 pace and then working it down from there.



Event-wise, I thought the RnR Philly Half was fantastic. Well organized, nice wide and flat course which was suitably fast. Clocks at every mile, tons of water stations, lots of bands on the course (some decent, others at least trying hard), well controlled and spaced corral system, lots of food post-race.....a big THUMBS UP to this race. Having near ideal weather sure helped. Mid 50s and a little windy. I'll take that any time after what I've run in for the last 3 months. I was actually a little chilly warming up.



Logistics wise, I've never had an easier race. One of my law school buddies lives 1/4 mile from the start line so I stayed with his family and it was so easy to deal with pre and post race stuff. Pre-race, I could warm up by jogging part of the course and then head back to his house to change clothes and hit a real bathroom. No need for gear check since cool-down just took me right back to Dan's house. That alone makes me want to do this event and maybe the Philly Marathon (same start/finish area) in the future.



I'll post the splits below but what was strange was that I never felt all that great in the race but never bad or even close to a meltdown at all either. My legs felt ready to run that pace all day and I had a ton left at the end. On the other hand, my marathon training weary legs sure didn't feel like running any faster. So I could have gone longer today but I kind of felt like I found the point of how fast my legs want to go. But I'll take it. Here's how it went down splits wise:



1. 6:38 (hey, there's Kenny Baldo! He's rolling smoothly - I'll wait for him at the end)

2. 6:36 (ok, not jogging but not at all hard either....time to see if sub 6:30 is there...)

3. 6:24 (cool)

4. 6:22 (hit the 5K in here and calculated how many seconds I was behind 6:30 pace and was happy)

5. 6:22 (there was a little downhill in here if I'm remembering correctly)

6. 6:29 (and a little uphill right here as we headed out along the river and past all the crew boat houses)

7. 6:24 (by the 10K mats, I was exactly where I wanted to be and only thought "don't screw this up")



Interuption...somewhere in here we passed maybe 6 unmanned tables LOADED with GUs. There must have been 1,000 Roctane GUs just sitting there for people to grab as they went by. Had I been running with a backpack...



8. 6:23 (miles 8-9 were the hardest on me mentally - we were still heading away from Philly and I felt fine...)

9 6:30 (...but maybe had the slightest doubts just in my head and was being conservative until we turned around)

10. 6:21 (now I feel fine both mentally and physically...hey, a 10 mile PR! 1:04 something)

11. 6:26 (can I mash the last 5K? Hmm, guess not. But I can stay right at this pace no prob....deceptive because I was passing people like crazy - some uphill in here)

12. 6:25 (here's where I'm thinking "I hope I've done the math for my goal right on this.... 12 times 6.5 is....hmmm")

13. 6:26 (you can hear the finish and the bands a good ways out and see the Rocky steps Art Musuem)

last 0.1 (more 6:25 pace! No flying finish....just more of the same in an uphill final 0.1)



That was it. Final chip time was 1:24:32 (6:26 pace). A PR by 33 seconds. A very good race for me - maybe my best although like I said, I never really felt explosively good out there. But I've had that feeling in races which ended as train wrecks or even DNFs so I'll take a "good not great" feeling in race if I can exceed my goals like that. Got to see Kenny B power through the finish and met his Dad post race. Then met up with my buddy Dan and his 2 kids and we missed seeing his wife finish but saw her right afterwards in the meet up spot. Only bummer was that Dave and Schuey and Lisa ultimately did not make the trip East as planned. I'm very pleased with the result and now I'm going to pour it on for one more big week of mileage and then it is taper time for Chicago and an attempt at going under 3:00 on October 9. Schuey and I talked yesterday and today and the big man is going to pace me in Chicago which is HUGE and ups my chances of success quite a bit.



On my way out of Philly to head home, of course I had to stop at Pat's King of Steaks for a "whiz wit". Pat's > Gino's > all others.

Nice easy PR, Chris. Now take the cruise to Chicago for sub 3!

Nice. So can't wait to see it all come together in Chicago.

Nice job, Chris, congrats on the PR. Your splits look really good, no let up, a good sign for three weeks from now.

Congratulations, Chris. Loved the mile by mile commentary...your speed is mind boggling to me...I can't imagine hitting those speeds...never! Sub 3:00...oh, yeah.

Nice picture of all that whiz on your steak!
Great race - you certainly sound ready - and with the Bull to pace you, its a lock.

That is awesome, Chris. Performances like that give me chills - a)your splits are excellent and show that you were basically on cruise-control and b)I see how hard you have worked and the improvements being made. Good motivation for me to keep it up and maybe one day I can join you!!!! Great race and look out Chicago.

Or, based on your recent luck, look out Schuey

OH MAN!! Chris finally figured out how to not go out too fast in a race....the apocolypse has started!



No really, congrats on a very well executed race and PR! You deserve it man. I am very impressed and with Schuey as your sherpa Chicago sub-3 is a lock.

You killed it as you felt exactly as you should at this point in training! Congrats on the awesome raace, Chris! Well deserved.

Total destruction of that course Chris! Thanks for the mile by mile comments. With Schuey pacing you, you are going to have a great Chicago race!! And damn, it's time for me to figure out a way to get my speed back down in that area code. I'm missing out on too much fun!!

Nicely done, Chris! Congrats on the PR!

Nice PR Chris...It looks like there was some good running today by the 365ers. And of course you have to go with "wiz wit"

Nice job Chris. I was happy to see you notched a PR when I checked your time this morning. You really seemed to run a controlled race and have set yourself up for a great PR in October. I'll be eager to check your results that morning too.

Of course if you eat too many cheese steaks like the one in the picture, you might be shooting for sub-4:00.

Awesome race Chris--congrats on the PR! And good luck at Chicago!

Way to go Chris. This really sets you up nicely for that sub 3. I see that you've got Schuey on your side for Chicago and that will surely help you break that barrier. Have a great peak week and taper!

Excellent job on the PR, Chris. That is great that you will have Schuey pacing you in Chicago.

Way to go, Chris! Congrats on that PR. Can't wait to see you go sub-3 in Chicago!

Nice job Chris. Congrats on the PR when you didn't feel it 100%. Everybody is having some good races pre-marathon.

Whoo hoo! Fantastic race!!! Congrats on the PR!! I loved your mile-by-mile commentary!!!

Just a perfect race in all respects. Well-planned and well-executed. You make running a PR on non-tapered legs sound so easy. It isn't, and your fitness has never been better.

Congrats Chris. Now focus on getting some zip back in those legs over the next three weeks. Looking forward to what you do at Chicago!

Nice PR Chris...enjoy the result, not how you felt!

Chris,

I thought the same thing with the Roctane Gu's. If I had pockets I would nabbed a few at 2.50 each maybe I would have made back my $125 for entry.

You did marvelous my friend and once again thanks for waiting for me that was so nice of you glad I did not make you wait long. And thanks for the water a real Mench! (yiddish for integrity honor or gentleman)

By the way your report puts mine to shame so detailed. Do you videotape your races or do some type of commentary while running. lol

Nice PR Chris. I hope you do run in the future and I can see you in Philly again. Had to DNS what would have been my 25th "Distance Run". Maybe I see you there next year and with the Chicago crowd as well. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for the corporate feel to the current event, it still is a great course and race in my hometown.