Last Sunday I ran the Philly Half Marathon, just like I do every year. I love Philly Marathon weekend. Yes, I’m biased but Philly does a damn good job of putting on a spectacular race. And the spectators aren’t half bad either! If you’re looking for a Fall half or full, seriously consider Philly (I ran the full in 2008 so I can attest to its greatness too). Flat, fun, and you can high-five Mayor Nutter at the finish line.
my collection of Philly race Ts, 2007 to 2014 (missing 2011 – donated because of size)
I spectated the 8K on Saturday and watched my 2 friends run their first 8K. They worked their asses off for months and were smiling the whole time.
8K finish line
so proud
Sunday was perfect race day weather and my goal was to run a solid effort (my standard goal for 2014). I need to add that if a solid effort didn’t include a 1:4x finish time, I’d be pissed. I saw Megan in my corral and chatted with her until the race started.
My loose race plan was to keep the first mile at 8:40, drop to 8:20, and then drop to (hopefully) 8:00. I’ve done speed work since the Philly RnR so I had some idea of what I was capable of.
Splits –
M1 – 8:13
M2 – 8:05
M3 – 8:04
M4 – 8:18
M5 – 8:15
M6 – 8:24
M7 – 7:41 (not sure about the accuracy of this one)
M8 – 8:23 (hill)
M9 – 8:21
M10 – 8:49 (hill)
M11 – 8:04
M12 – 8:08
M13 – 8:25
Finish – 1:49:01 (8:18 average pace)
The positives? I’m happy with my pacing. I had a loose plan to follow but, for the most part, I didn’t really pay attention to my watch. I wanted to hone in on HM effort and I think I did that pretty well. And miles 11 and 12 were strong (it helped that I went downhill after mile 10 – full disclosure there!).
The negatives? I can’t stop thinking that my now HM pace (8:18) was once my goal MP. Sigh.
I’m almost 11 months postpartum and I *should* be faster by now. It’s definitely not from lack of trying. I trained smart this year. It’s frustrating to not see more progress.
I’m sick of whining about 2014 and postpartum blah, blah, blah. Fiona will be 1 on January 9th (yikes!) and the “I just had a baby” excuse is no longer in play.
So I started something new (for me) yesterday. But that’s for another post… 🙂
Congrats on a great race! I know it’s frustrating for you to not see progress or be where you want to be, but the past year has been a big year for you and having a baby is a big adjustment in so many ways. I think it’s impressive that you’ve done as much as you’ve done! Regardless, there are always highs and lows in training/racing and maybe this is all setting the stage for 2025 to be a banner year 🙂
I’m curious what your new thing is….
You are amazing and thanks for sharing your success and struggles….while I do not train to the extent you do it took me 14 months to actually feel like I could run again somewhat like I used to – keep it up! & thanks for sharing
Great job! Philly is such an awesome race. I did the full this year and it was my first full in 2011. I would definitely go back again!
You did great and your speed will come back!
i know we’ve talked about this before. It’s so hard struggling to approach your previous bests for so long. Especially with stories of people PRing and BQing 5 mos PP. Running life can be so unfair! But like the previous person, I’ve just started besting my pre-pregnancy self in the since my son hit 13 months. Honestly, I think this experience will probably make you an even better coach. Some things you can’t understand without experiencing. Sure you can empathize but this suckage requires experience as much as that may be a bummer. My perspective has definitely changed. AND I’m much more grateful and appreciative of what my body can do and has been through. Still nursing at 14 months so that may have played a role, too. The human body is amazing in its variety.
yay! glad to hear you are back bloging and running and i’m soooooo jealous that you got to run philly… (it was my first full!) it is MUCH colder running for me now in michigan compared to philly, so i am interested to see how my training will go this winter as i am planning on a spring marathon…. i am seeing LOTS of long treadmill runs in my future….. can’t wait to hear what your new thing is….
I gear Philly is flat, but then friends of mine ran it this year and said especially the 2nd half in the full marathon is hilly. You did a great job though!