Activity: The Marathon
Distance: 26.2 miles
Time: 4:24:05
Average: 10:04.5
Splits: 2:13:59 half marathon split
Weather: Overcast with some light drizzle, low 40s, winds 10-15mph

SUNDAY (RACE DAY!!!):

First off, because I'm a weather weenie, the NWS forecast for the day of the marathon was quite hilarious! Seriously though, Jon and I were a little bit nervous about the weather because we couldn't plan what to wear if we didn't know if it was going to rain. We both dressed for colder weather in case it did rain. Although I could have worn shorts and a lighter top, I was very happy in my UnderArmour.

I LOVED the Philly marathon course. It began and ended at the Art Museum (da da da, da da da!) and then headed east through Old Town Philly. We followed the Delaware River on Columbus for a little way before looping back toward downtown. Around this time, Jon and I took a pee break. I was very excited to run on South Street. As expected, it was a party :) My parents were positioned near the beginning of the marathon where they could walk over to about mile 6 to see us run by again. I was very thankful that they were there to cheer us on; it's a little adrenaline rush every time that you see someone you know! Plus they were able to drop us off very close to the start.

The next portion of the race continued to head west, crossing over the Schuylkill River, through the Drexel campus. We ran by a few frat houses, and there were a bunch of college students out to cheer us on. It was exciting. Some guy wearing a Giants jersey got booed by the frat boys. Jon and I bet over-under five on how many times we would hear the E-A-G-L-E-S cheer. We agreed that it would be over five if we ran near anyone with an Eagles jersey on, else it would be under.

At this point Jon was a little antsy to start running faster. I had to tell him to slow down. Basically, I was trying to think of this run as a 20 mile warm-up with a 10K run at the end, and there were still so many miles to run!

I hadn't memorized the route this time around, so I was constantly trying to figure out where we were. This was the one area of the race course that I wasn't familiar with, and there were a couple of hills. They didn't compare to the hill on Park Hills Ave though! We ended up taking our GU break a little later, between miles 9 and 10, than we'd planned because of water station locations. I was definitely ready for a sugar burst!

We passed mile 10 and got to run along the Schuylkill for a few miles. My parents were right around halfway, and my mom was able to get a picture after we flagged her down. I guess that my mom was easier to see in her orange poncho than we were amdist the pack of runners! That and we had an idea of where they'd be standing.

The last part of the race was an out-and-back along the east side of the Schuylkill. Often out-and-backs can be a little boring, but I enjoyed this part of the race very much because we were able to see the leading runners coming in! It was really quite motivating to see all of the runners coming back toward the start with smiles on their faces!

At the 20 mile turnaround in Manayunk, we were feeling pretty good. I was feeling better than I had during my 20 mile runs; this was how I was anticipating to feel in my first marathon, and it was awesome! Actually, I got a little bit too excited and almost wanted to sprint back to the finish. Jon thankfully kept me on pace: 6.2 miles is no short distance to sprint!

We maintained aa steady sub-10 minute pace for the last half of the race and actually had negative splits (minus the mile where we took another pee break)! Running the marathon with a partner was amazing and a much better experience than running alone with a sore tummy! I don't know if, when, or where I'll be running another marathon; however, I'd definitely recommend Philly to anyone that's looking for a well-organized race and would even consider running it again myself!

Thanks to my parents for coming out and supporting me and Jon! I love you!

Jon, you're the best.

mood: i almost took 30 minutes off of my previous time!
health: you know, of course my muscles and knees were sore, but i could walk the next day... no stress fractures!

Labels: race report