My much delayed Philly Report

[Stella]

Reading Brendan's Vegas report gave me the inspiration I needed to get my Philly RR done, so thanks to Brendan for pulling me out from the darkside.

As many of you know, I had my challenges in my training for Philadelphia, and while I had been hoping for a PB, due to my recent ankle injury, I had scaled my goal down to completing under 3:45, my BQ time. It was with this goal in mind that I packed my bags, loaded up my Mini and headed down to the city of brotherly love.

Usually I like to stay within walking distance of the start line, but I had left my accommodation arrangements to what some would consider, the last minute, and had to settle for a B&B in the historic sector, just over 4km from the start. It looked farther on the map, but in the end, it ended up being a short city bus ride and walk, which I ended up using as my warm-up. Perfect.

Saturday was the Sports Expo. I had thought Philadelphia was a bigger marathon than it was, and hadn't been prepared for how small the expo was. There were some of the token booths, Asics, New Balance, Cliffbar etc, but the majority of them were advertisements for other marathons. Ottawa NC was there, but noone was manning the booth. I took that personally! The highlight of the expo for me was the Starbucks booth handing out free samples of lattes....now if only there had been a Stella booth.

Although, when asked the question "So what time are you aiming for" I had been answering that I would be happy with anything under 3:45, in the back of my mind I was still secretly hoping for a PB. The Cliff bar pace team was going to have a 3:20 runner, so I picked up my pace bracelet, and got all the necessary details I needed to hook up with the group the next morning. I'm nothing if not hopeful and optimistic.

I spent the remainder of the day, doing some window shopping, resting, hydrating and eating Philly pretzels. I decided this year to change up my pre-race routine and opted to run in the shoes I had been training in, and eat Pasta Bolognese for dinner. I stuck to my glass of red though, but that's because I'm very weak when it comes to red wine.

Start time was 08:30. I woke up at 06:00, ate a banana and drank a grande Starbuck's latte. I don't know where my head was, but it was after 07:00 before I realized I hadn't been drinking any water. I grabbed a bottle from the room, downed 2 Tylenol 8hrs and headed to the bus station.

The start was much the same as at any marathon. Lots of runners, long lines for the washrooms, hustling and bustling. Idle chitchat...I spent the majority of my time in line for a port-a-pottie, so took advantage of that time to do my stretching. Maybe it was the Tylenol 8hr kicking in, but I felt completely relaxed. This was just going to be another long run. No big deal.

With 5 minutes to the start, I weaved my way through the crowd and sidled up to the 3:20 pace guy. They played the National anthem, gave the wheelchair athletes a headstart, and then blew the horn. This was it. We were off. There was no turning back now.

Overall the course if flat, with a couple of rolling hills around the halfway point. It winds it's way through one of Philly's beautiful parks and then along the Schuylkill river, where if you're feeling up to it, you can gaze upon the beautiful boat houses.

Although I don't remember the details of the course, I do remember running through the Financial district where the road was incredibly bumpy and I worried that I might twist my ankle. I spent most of that time looking down. I also remember seeing my Cliffshot pacer take his first cliff shot, and I had a surge of panic that I didn't have any. Where had they said they would be handing them out? Mile 15, Mile 17? I couldn't remember. As it turns out, I saw one by chance at mile 22. I grabbed it, and spent the next 3 or 4 minutes trying to open it, only to be absolutely sickened by the flavour. Noted to myself, next marathon, I'm bringing my own Carboom!

At the 1/2 way point I felt great and started to pick up the pace, only to be called back by the pace guy warning to watch my pace, and be careful of kicking too soon. Good point. There will be lots of time for kicking, no need to be cocky now. I did end up picking it up at the 19 mile mark, more so to get ahead of this annoying guy who was whistling to his Border collie the whole time. I came pretty close to belting him and usually I'm quite passive! With 2 miles to go, I happened upon 2 women, and for the first time in the marathon, my competitive streak kicked in. We battled it back and forth for a mile and a half, and with 800m to go, I found myself behind them. I remember talking to myself, saying Heather, why do you succumb so easily? Suck it up. There will be plenty of time for resting later. So I did. I put the pain in my hamstring and ankle out of mind. Luckily, my lungs still felt good, so I fixed my form, pumped my arms and ran hard. I passed those 2 girls along with a few other people (men, that didn't matter so much to me) and at the base of the famous Art museum where Rocky Balboa ran up the stairs in his training, I crossed that finish mat with my arms in the air in triumph and a big fat smile on my face. Truly the highlight of my running career.

Numbers:

Chiptime: 3:17:32 (PB!)
Official: 3:18:06
Overall: 602/5934
Gender: 67/2087
Division: 13/344


How did I celebrate? With a Stella and an authentic Philly Steak & Cheese of course!

Thanks for reading.

Heather

[dgrant1]

Fantastic!

[ChrisL]

Congratulations Heather,

Amazing time. Great report and PB to boot.

[RA.]

wow! that's quite the race and report! and you are super fast! i am so glad you are on our CTRR team! congratulations on such a great race all around!

[Madame Bourette]

Wow, you rock!

PB and BQ. A perfect race!

[HCcD]

Congratulations, Heather ... You were smokin' in Philly ....

[Stephan]

Awsome!!!! I can't wait to be as quick as you!! Well done!!


Stephan

[Robbie-T]

Wow!!

[Marvin Martian]

Incredible race, and a great report! Wow, going from just being happy with anything under 3:45 to pulling off a 3:17 is amazing! I am in awe.

[Nicholas]

Great race, Heather. Those PBs are often the easiest races because they feel so smooth. Well, as smooth as it can get in a 42K race. It's clear you can still feel that tingle and rush even after all the post-marathon trauma. Congrats on a well-earned and well-deserved PB. Looking good to kick some hills in Cape Breton......

[MoeMan]

Thanx for the great read, I enjoyed it with my morning coffee & bagel.

.

[Bebette]

Thanks for taking the time to share, especially with the tough times you and your family are going through right now.

Congratulations for a super race in the circumstances. It is easy (and somewhat silly) to say it now, but maybe your ankle injury was a blessing as it forced you your mind away from stressing about the PB and more about just enjoying the race.

Are you planning to run Boston? We need to boost the female representaion among maniacs.

[Ironboy]

Amazing story Heather.

The picture I have of that smiley friendly hottie sitting across from me at the Lonestar doesn't jive with this speed demon you just described.

You are truly amazing Heather.

Jacc

[RunDiva]

Outstanding job!!!You are a real speedster!

Congratulations.

Lisa

[runlikeagirl]

great report and wow, amazing time!

[MINITEE]

Fab report Heather and a great race too. I can only hope to ever be as speedy as you.

Well worth the wait to read, and I hope that things are still progressing well with your sister.

Tracy

[jes]

Great job Stella

[dgrant]

I'd be willing to bet that is one of the 100 fastest marathon times for a Canadian woman this year.

Congrats again Heather!

[da]

Congrats Heather! That’s a smokin’ time!

[q]

Truely amazing time Heather, really. Great RR too. Congrats, you should be very proud.

Can't wait to see you in action in the highlands!

[Scott]

WOW, Heather. You kicked that course. Great time, great report.

Scott

[Stella]

Are you planning to run Boston? We need to boost the female representaion among maniacs.

Considering I've registered for the Charlottesville, VA already which is April 15th, I can be pretty sure I am not planning to run Boston in 2006...although I may regret it in April...there's just something about Boston.

You can bet however, that I will run Charlottesville, sporting my maniac shirt with pride. You are truly a beautiful group of people, and a great inspiration. Thanks so much for all your kind words of support and encouragement!

H.

[QuickChick]

Congratulations Stella! You've had a tough time training and you ran an incredible race. I am in awe of your speed! Way to go.

[SusanD]

WOW. Now that's spectacular. Congratulations!

[Jo-Jo]

All I can say is : WOW....You Rocked Baby!!

The race report was worth waiting for...and considering your family situation at this time...very kind of you to post this...because as you know Race Reports are very motivating for us...especially as we head into cold winter weather training.

You are An Awesome Athlete!!