2010 Philadelphia Broad Street 10 Miler

May 01, 2010

So today was my third running of the Philadephia Broad Street Run.  So got up at 4:30am this morning and downed a bowl of oatmeal.  Got myself packed and ready.  Since I was expecting hot and muggy weather I didn't think that sweats would be required.  I went outside to grab my sunglasses (don't do any runs without them) and lo and behold it was raining.  That was a surprise, so I grabbed some disposable ponchos that I keep on hand.  Sure enough, Susan, my running buddy, arrived at my house at 5:20a on the dot.  We hauled up to Philadelphia, and arrived at the parking lot at 5:50a.  Just a side note, it is really great to have someone that drives to these events.  Especially after the event, not sure how I could get my feet to respond to the accelerator and brake.

So we caught an early Septa train up to the starting event.  This is a 30-minute train ride, and the train is packed with early runners wanting to get situated before the big start.  So at 6:30a we are sitting on the field wondering why we are here this early.  Five visits to the johnny-on-the spot for Susan, and three for me, validated our early arrival.  I would have had additional visits but I found that men have an advantage and can use the "wall" to take care of themselves.

When we tried to leave the field at 8:15a and get out to Broad Street to get to our corral we found that we were blocked  by about 2,000 other runners.  The actual start for our corral was around 8:50a and we eventually merged onto the crowded street and got over the starting line.  This year they used a timing chip built into the bib which is more effective than the shoe version. 

So we got across the starting line, and started to jog, then stopped, restarted several time, until we finally broke into a consistent jog.  The weather had turned from wet and cloudy, to muggy and temperatures in the 80's.  We tried to stay to the left where there was more shade, but found most of the fire hydrants were spraying the crowds from the right.  After two miles I had a good gait and was feeling full of myself.  We were going at a 5k pace.  Too fast for me.  I was already developing brow sweat, and feeling heated.  I slowed down and took about a minute off my pace.

At the three mile mark, we hit the firs****er stop, and I grabbed gatorade by mistake, and my system felt horrible.  Mile 4 and 5 were brutal.  I told my buddy to head out and set her own pace, which is much faster than mine, and kept jogging but a reduced level.  The reason this event is so neat, is that the streets are lined from start to finish with people cheering you along the way.  At the five mile mark, I got adopted by five young women.  They asked if they could help pace me for a couple of miles, since I guess I must have looked pretty pitiful.  They talked about their parents, and how they wished they could get them out running.  They were a lot of fun and kept my mind off the run for the next thirty minutes.  I started downing a few sport beans every mile to stay energized.  When we got past City Hall at mile 6, I felt rejuvenated, and felt like I would could finish the race, and who cares about the time.  At mile 8, I said goodbye to my girls, and decided to pound out the next mile.  The last mile I decided to finish strong.  As I ran through the entrance to the Naval Yard, I almost collided with a group of people who didn't realize the finish line is another quarter mile within the Naval Yard,  I crossed the finish line, looked at my time.  Not great, but I did creep under two hours.  The heat took it's tole.  They were a lot people being carried away in ambulances.  Hopefully they will recover quickly after getting some fluids.  Amazingly enough they did not give out finisher medals this year.  So I can't even add in more bling to my collection. 

So I crawled back to Susan's car, and the legs were really pounding.  We spent about two hours getting out of Philadelphia, and back home.  Ice water is my best friend today!   Hopefully the weather will be a little cooler for our next event, a half-marathon in Delaware in two weeks.

Thanks for listening.  BTW, I did skip the Ginos.  Can't stand the site of liquid cheese.  In Delaware, the real home of the cheese steak, they only use authentic cheese.

0 Comments