Race Report: Philadelphia Marathon

PHILADELPHIA MARATHON

November 20, 2011

The idea of completing a marathon first entered my mind in late January of 2008.  Spirit of the Marathon was scheduled for a one-night only showing at our local theater and although I had only been run/walking for a little more than one month at that point in time, I felt absolutely compelled to see the movie. 

I recall feeling incredibly awkward while standing in the theater hallway. I was surrounded by people who I guessed were real runners... unlike my wannabe-self.  I eavesdropped on their conversations, wishing that I had something to contribute.  Alas, they were talking about their racing history (I had never raced), GPS watches (I was waiting for my first non-GPS "running" watch to arrive in the mail) and of course, the marathon (I was on week 7 of Couch to 5K).  Did I even belong at this movie?

The theater doors parted and we all entered.  I walked into the theater feeling like a wannabe... I exited feeling like a runner.  Walk/run, hobble, plod, jog, sprint, shuffle, float... it didn't really matter how I was getting from point A to point B, all that mattered was that I was getting there.  

I left the theater that evening with great personal respect for the marathon distance.  It was clear to me that night that someday I would complete a marathon, but I knew that it wasn't going to be anytime soon.  It's difficult for me to put into words exactly how I feel about the marathon.  Suffice it to say that for me, it sits up on a pedestal, high above any other endurance event that I have done or will ever do.  I wanted to train and race for it on my own terms, with a few years worth of running and endurance experience under my belt.  I wanted to give it the respect that I knew it demanded.  In the end, it was worth the wait.

Philadelphia 2011 was not supposed to be my first marathon.  I was actually scheduled to run my first one in February 2011 at 26.2 with Donna- The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer.  By early December 2010, I knew that this was going to be impossible for me to do... at least in the way that I wanted to do it.  I had not left enough time for base training between Beach 2 Battleship Half Iron and a 2.5 week trip to Colorado Springs in December (um, altitude baby) seriously put a dent in my ability to get in any long runs.  By the end of our Colorado trip, I had decided to opt out of 26.2 with Donna.  

When registration opened for Philadelphia 2011, it became my numero uno.  The race would take place on my 35th birthday in the city that I was born in!  Surely, fate had a hand in this, right?  

RACE PREP

Enjoying fall in NJ the day before
the marathon.  Legs up!

For nearly 8 months (April 1st through November 20th), the marathon was what I lived and breathed for.  I had a few triathlons on the calendar that I needed to get through first, but on May 17th, I declared myself to be in "Marathon Prep" mode.  I completed my last triathlon for the season in mid-July and then completely traded in my goggles and helmet for a pair of baby blue Nike Vomeros.

From mid-May through my final week of taper before the race, I ran 850.2 miles.  From August 1st through marathon race day, I ran 603 miles for an average of 37 miles per week over a 16 week period.  I had 7 weeks where I ran 40+ mile weeks, which includes one peak week of 50.9 miles.  I ran 4 long runs, each spaced two weeks apart:  17.5, 19, 20, 19.   I also had a mid-week "longish" run that ranged in distance from 10 to 11 miles.  Looking back, the fact that I averaged only 37 miles per week over a 16-week block would be considered very low mileage for marathon prep, but my biggest fear was not being able to reach the start line due to an injury, so I took the slow boat to China in terms of progressive overload.  I think the fact that I did as well as I did on relatively low mileage means that there is a lot of room for improvement for me at this distance.  Overall, I feel that I absolutely nailed my training for my first marathon and would not change a single thing about my approach.

EXPO, ETC...

Expo time!

I was not at all nervous about racing Philadelphia-- a fact that had me concerned the night before about whether or not I was being overconfident.  Sure, I had some excited butterflies swirling around, but I was not nervous about the distance itself.  I had nailed every single one of my long runs and well, I guess I just felt very prepared.  I felt that aiming for 4-hours (I really wanted sub-4) was completely achievable.  I just had to go out there and follow my race plan from mile 1.

We flew into Philly on Friday, November 18th, picked up the rental car and drove right to the expo for packet pick-up.  The expo sort of stunk.  Maybe it's just that after a while if you've been to one expo, you've been to them all.  Same vendors, same set-up, different zip code.

I take it all back... I was worried, but not about the race itself; rather, I was concerned about a few external factors.

Pinning on my bib!  Let's go!

#1 - Lovely Aunt Flo was due on the 18th and was turning me into a bloated, crampy, PMS of a mess!  I spent the 48-hours before the marathon worrying more about what in the world I would do if I got my period the day before the race, race morning, during the race, etc... than the fact that it was going to be unseasonably warm on race day.  Aunt Flo ended up arriving a full week late, leaving me only to deal with full-blown PMS on race morning.  As if carb loading doesn't bloat a person enough, right?

#2-  The weather.  Typical race-start temp for Philly is 37F.  Not this year.  This year, we started off at a balmy 50F.  It was 61F by the time I finished the race.  The poor Northern folks did not know what to do with themselves.   I don't say this often, but for once I was happy that I was from Florida.  I heard a lot of "it's too hot and humid," from folks all around me and while I would have loved for it to have been 10-15F cooler, not once did I find myself thinking, "heat or hot."  I nearly passed on the mylar blankie at the finish line, but I wanted it for a souvenir. 

PRE-RACE

Yum!

My choice of pre-race meal is either pancakes or french toast.  Pre-Philly, I chose french toast. Scott and I indulged in our feast around 4PM the evening before the race.  I had a few bites of scrapple too.  I know, I know... no grease before a race, but it was fresh scrapple.  I had to.

At 10 PM, after packing a portable "goody" bag to control Aunt Flo should she decide to join me on race day, I flopped into bed.  I slept for a whopping 3.5 hours and then was wide awake.  This is the first time ever that I have slept this lightly before a major race. Thank goodness I slept like a rock on Friday night.  I laid in bed and played around on Facebook until 4:30 AM, when the alarm clock signaled that it was time to get moving!  A little bit of eyeliner and waterproof mascara and I was ready to go!

MSL and I arrived in Philly right before 6AM.  We quickly slipped into a parking lot on Vine Street and then made our way towards the starting area.  It didn't take me long to realize that at 50F there was no need for arm warmers or even for any pre-race, tossable clothing.  So, before dropping our race bags off at the bag check-in, I stripped off all of my unnecessary layers, leaving on only a pair of thin gloves.  

Scrapple!  Double yum!

Next came the hunt for a port-a-john... of which the race was about 500 short!  I've been racing for 4 years now and tend to arrive at races very early.  Never have I been squeezed out of using a port-a-john... until this race.  The lines were at least 30 to 40 minutes long (they were unbelievable) and we had a 20 minutes to race start.  We walked all over the place trying to search for shorter lines, but there were none.  Everyone looked to be in a panic.  

This is where being a pee-all-over-yourself triathlete comes in handy!  There we were, standing right across the street from the majestic art museum and I was about to break the law and urinate in public.  I found a section of grass that was covered in leaves, sat on the ground, pulled my shorts aside, pretended that I was wild animal (they are free to pee wherever, right?)... and went.  Sweet relief.  MSL was a bit less tactful than I was, but I won't go into that.  Let's just say that he made our dog, Koby, very proud.

Proud and pumped after peeing in public, MSL and I made our way to the Green corral with a few minutes to spare.  Oh, I was so darn excited!  We hugged and kissed each other good luck.  He knew what a special moment this was for me and how patiently I had waited for it.  The half and full participants go off together at Philly and I feel so lucky to have been able to share those minutes before the race with MSL.

THE RACE

Race goal: Sub 4 hours (3:59:59 would do)

Race plan:  Go out easy and gradually warm up over the first mile or two, easing to ~9:05 pace.  Re-eval pace at the 10k mark; Re-eval pace at halfway mark; Re-eval pave at 20 mile mark.  Run by feel.  Finish strong.

MILE 1 through MILE 5 (aka, public service announcement: This is not a half marathon!)

The first 5 miles of this race is full of energy... just like any other race.  I reminded myself over and over again during the first 2 miles that this was a marathon, not a half marathon and that the better I kept things in check now, the stronger I would be at the end.  "Let it feel just this side of too easy, Sherry."  Apparently, I listened well.  Pace was slightly faster overall than I had planned for, but it still all felt incredibly easy.  I learned a lot about myself while training for this race and one thing was certain, I was not going out too fast.  I continued to run by feel.

9:02

8:54

8:48

9:01

8:55

Somewhere around mile 14. Smiling,
but getting ready to take that Tylenol.

MILE 6 through MILE 13 (aka, Philadelphia is an old, lopsided and slightly hilly city with heavily cambered roads that are not kind to my fragile, Florida legs).

This course presents runners with a few challenges.  Despite what some reviews say, this course is not flat.  Not even by Florida standards.  There are no insane hills like you would find in mountainous regions, but there are ski resorts just outside of Philly for a reason.  In addition, the old roads are heavily cambered and there are some very steep downhill sections.  My muscles can do hills fairly well (I run larger bridges here in Florida to train for this), but I think it's near impossible to train for heavily cambered roads unless you have heavily cambered roads to train on.  Maybe I can try flipping a treadmill on its side next time?

8:37 -  settling in now

8:26 -  relatively flat section with a little downhill blip right at the
            end of the mile. 

8:58 -  gradual climb for a full mile.

8:35

8:50 -  steepest incline of the race

8:54 -  this section is entirely downhill on a steeply pitched road.  I thought the tendons and

            ligaments of my ankles and lower legs were going to come off of the bone.  I debated on

            walking portions of this, but instead just slowed myself down as best as I could.  It was

            so steep that it was actually difficult to slow down.

8:51 -  my ankles were really hurting from the downhill section between mile 10 &

            11.  I longed to stop and stretch my legs, but my determined brain would not let me.

8:45 -  I hit the 13.1 mark at ~ 1:56.  Right before I hit the half, I thought about the fact that on

            this day, 35 years earlier, my mother and father made their way into City of Brotherly

            Love to welcome me into the world.  I thought of my beloved Grandfather who had

            passed on just a month earlier-- knowing how proud he would be of me. That was a very

            special and emotional moment of the race for me.

MILE 14 through MILE 17 (aka, it's time for my first ever painkiller during a race)

8:36

8:44 - My ankles were in so much pain that I feared that if I did not take some of the Tylenol that

           I had brought along to control a possible visit from Aunt Flo, that I was not going to be

           able to complete the race without walking.  I have never taken a painkiller during a race 

           before and I absolutely do not advocate it, but ya gotta do what ya gott a do.  I made the

           call, took a single pill and prayed for enough relief to get me through.

8:38

8:46

MILE 18 through MILE 20 (aka, sometimes you have to fall in order to fly)

9:01-  Oh my.  What is this.  I feel loopy and dizzy.  Is this the "wall?"  Can I still do a simple

           arithmetic problem?  Yes, but barely.  Ok, what do I need right now to make myself feel

           better?  Calories?  Salt?  Both?  Right then and there, I made the decision to

           ditch the nutrition plan that had worked so well for me for months (a combo of Honey

           Stinger chews, an occasional salt tab and water) and switched over to straight-up, 
           lemon-lime Gatorade combined with the Stinger Chews.  I took in as much of it as I could
           at each aid station.  Within a mile or two I felt SO much better. 

8:54

8:53 - Took an orange slice from a spectator in Manayunk.  Yum.  So sweet.  Attempted to toss

           the peel onto the side of the road and hit another spectator square in the face.  There is a

           reason why I don't play softball.  I hope he heard my apology, but just in case he is a 

           Philly Marathon blog stalker, I am soooo sorry!

MILE 21 though MILE 25 (aka, the fastest chunk of the day OR let's pass at least 200 people)

*I apologize for the formatting from this point on. Blogger fought me for more than an hour... and I guess Blogger won*

Somewhere near the end of mile 25... 
obviously feeling tense.

8:40 - With a steady supply of Gatorade       

           now flowing through my veins,  

           my pace picked up and I started

           flying by all of the carnage that

           was beginning to appear on the

           sides of the road.

8:44

8:35

8:28 - Law of Conservation of Energy 

          (ok, not really, but just go with it).  

           Seriously, there is nothing and I 

           mean nothing like passing

          people at the end of a race and

           sucking the sweet energy right 

           out of them. You then use this 

           energy for yourself.  Ok, 

           this sounds mean, right? 

          Seriously though, don't knock it 

          until you experience it for 

          yourself (and everyone will).  It's 

          delightful!  ** I can say this b/c I 

          have been on the other 

          the energy-sucking spectrum 

          a countless number of times**
8:39

MILE 26 through MILE 26.57 (aka, Heavily cambered roads lead to lopsided finisher's picture!  Waterproof mascara works! Hey, did I technically run an ultra?)

All crooked at the
finish line!

8:53 - Slightly uphill now.  Glycogen is running low.  Based on the fact
           that my pace had fallen off a bit from the previous couple of
           miles, I was pretty sure that I was going to have just

           enough fuel left in me to get across the finish line and not one
           step more. I was crying like a baby at this point. Very thankful for
           waterproof mascara.

8:26 pace (.57 miles) - I reached 26.2 miles at 3:51:xx an 8:46 average
            pace! {insert expletives of excitement} Chip time for 26.57 miles
            ends up being 3:53:09, an 8:53 average pace. 
Mission accomplished and then some.  I crossed the finish line with about 50 of my closest friends (my other 26,550 friends were either finished or still out on the course) and then waddled over to a volunteer who was handing out pretty space blankies. At this point I understood the meaning of the marathon zombie shuffle.  My goodness, my legs were moving fairly fast a minute ago; now they won't move at all!  I also noticed that I was crooked.  My lopsidedness was not just a product of shuffling my feet, I'm was literally crooked.  My right hip was jutting out and I was bent at the waist to compensate. Darn cambered roads.  I bought MSL a bright orange sweatshirt right before the race and instructed him to wear it while he was waiting for me.  It worked like a charm.  He stuck out like a sore thumb and I was able to find him relatively quickly.  There were a lot of hugs, kisses and tears.  I made it!  It was worth it! I want to do it again! So happy!

RACE STATS- CHIP TIME
26.2 miles in 3:53:09 (8:53 pace)

Splits:          Front 13.1 in 1:56.48
                    Back 13.1 in 1:56:21
                    How's that for even splits?


Place AG:  182/768 females aged 30-34 (top 23%) . Note: I turned 35 on the day of the race, so I have no idea why they kept me in with the 30-34 year olds.  If I had been put in the proper age group, I would have been138 out of 645 (top 21%) in females aged 35-39. See, age has its perks!  Place Gender:  861/4271 females (top 20%)

I'm a data girl and I'm just really thrilled with all of the numbers that I posted above.  I'm certainly not bragging; I'm not fast.  However, this probably represents about as good of a first marathon as any.  I often run negative splits in longer road races (rarely ever in shorter races b/c I go out too fast), but I still can't believe that I ran near even splits.  Even splits are like the gold standard.  So difficult to do.  This race may have been a once in a lifetime performance.

THE AFTERMATH

Best race ever!

MSL and I didn't waste any time getting back to the car.  We skipped the food line (the selection was pretty horrid anyway) and went straight for the salty broth.  I grabbed a few cups worth and then sipped on them while we walked (he walked; I waddled) back to the car.  My legs hurt so badly.  I've never felt felt this kind of pain.  I couldn't pinpont exactly what location hurt worst, just that everything really hurt.  I was extra concerned about my right foot and ankle, which I felt had taken the brunt of the cambered roads.  I did a lot of self-massage on my right foot on the way home only to get out of the car and find that the arch of my left foot was killing me.  What the heck?  

We celebrated my 35th birthday that evening with the family. I ate cake!  Two pieces of it!  My adorable nephews were told to take it easy on Aunt Sherry.  While I iced my seemingly broken ankles, my 5-year-old nephew gave me a neck and shoulder rub.  So sweet.

After making sure that I peed a few times (kidneys working- check), I took a couple of Tylenol and went to bed.  I full-on expected to not be able to walk on Monday morning, but this was not the case.  My upper legs (quads, hamstrings), really faired very well and while they were fatigued, I was not overly sore.  I had been told that I wouldn't be able to walk up and down any stairs, but I truly was a-ok.  What was not ok was my left arch.  It felt strained.  It hurt to walk.  I ended up purchasing a pair of orthopedic clogs to wear b/c they were the only thing that seemed to take the edge off of the pain.  At first I thought it was a plantar fascia issue, but the location was all wrong and I had no pain upon waking or any other symptoms typical of PF.

I took six full days off from all exercise after the marathon.  Aside from my foot, I feel like my body recovered pretty quickly after the race,  I massaged and iced my foot daily and while it felt better each day, I knew early on that it was going to be hanging around longer than I had hoped.  Seven days after the marathon, I attempted a very short, easy run that ended in arch pain.  I made an appt. with a podiatrist the following day and he diagnosed me with some flexor halicus longus tendonitis.  I took another week off from running.

Celebrating 35 years!

Tomorrow will be 3 weeks since the marathon.  I still get quite emotional just thinking about it.  My left foot is serviceable, but not perfect.  I can run on it and it tends to loosen up as I go along, but it's going to be a while before it's 100%.  It's not broken, so I'm not staying off it.  That's just the way it is.  I guess I'm stubborn.


WHAT'S NEXT?
Oh, this is a tough one and perhaps I'll just save it for another post.  I thought I would have a serious case of post-marathon blues and perhaps in some ways, I do.  I mean, I just completed my first marathon and it went really, really well.  Is it possible to duplicate this sort of effort... but do it faster?  I believe so.  I think I have a lot of room to grow at this distance and I'm really looking forward to the challenge.

THIS BLOG POST IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE TWO ATHLETES WHO PASSED AWAY AT THE 2011 PHILADELPHIA MARATHON:  CHRIS GLEASON & JEFFREY LEE.