This is me nearing the finish line at the Philadelphia half marathon on Sunday September 17, 2006.
The race itself was pretty good. The Allentown was better in that there was less herding (I totally felt like cattle during the start, and sweating cattle at the end of this one), and Allentown had pace setters, and the water stations was a bit more logical and evenly distributed. Philly also didn't offer gel-packs at the midpoint station, but the food was located right at the finish line, which is a better arrangement than Allentown where the food was located about a quarter of a mile UPHILL on an insane grade from the finish line.
The start time for the Elite Runners (a whole bunch was from Kenya) was at 7:45 AM. The Elites had their own isolated area to warm up, which was blocked off from the rest of the record breaking crowd of 13,045 runners. When you saw them warm up, they actually looked like an elite breed of runners. They had virtually no body fat on them, their form looked tight, effortless, and a little weird - somewhat antelope-like. I wish I could have taken some pictures of them, but I only had a little bit of time to be herded into my corral, and I got lost on the way - the line into the corrals was somewhat merged with the lines for the Johnny-on-the-Spot-s.
I was pretty pleased with my performance, even though I was nowhere close to my target range (8:30 – 9:00 minutes per mile) or my goal time (anything sub 2:00:00). I finished in 2:06:03 and my overall average pace was 9:34 minutes per mile. My pace for the first 5 k (3.1 miles) was exactly 10 minutes per mile, and decreased to 9:49 by the 10 K mark, and 9:42 by the 10 mile mark. I felt great after the run, I didn’t even notice any inclines (although I had been warned about them and I overheard a few runners complain about it later), and I was able to do the mile walk back to the hotel for a shower. This is probably because I kept my heart rate in check - I stayed in the higher end of the aerobic zone (between 75% and 85% of my maximum) for the entire race, until the last 2 minutes when I decided to sprint for the finish.
The gear that carried me across the finish includes the following:
Garmin Forerunner 305 .. aka Patrick
It was a present ... Cost Unknown
Best running buddy EVER. He tells your heart rate, average speed and distance covered. Patrick kept me on track by helping me budget my exertion level. After the race, I downloaded all the data collected from him, and I was able to produce the chart from above. The GPS feature also provides a map information of the course.
Ironman Triathlon Sunglasses
Target $19.99
The shatter-proof, polarized, anti-fog, anti-slip, UVA/UVB protected $20 sunglasses from Target were a GREAT idea for city running. Not only does it reduce facial tension (every little bit of relaxation helps when you're putting yourself under physical stress), but it also minimizes the impact of city blindness. Coming out from the shadows of a tall building into direct sunlight makes you lose of few seconds of clear vision, which can be really bad when there's concrete sidewalks and landscaped medians on the road. One guy COMPLETELY wiped out because of it ... and took a few purple pansies with him.
Under Armour Shirt
Dick's Sporting Goods $38
There was a little chafing around the neck, but it performed well in wicking the sweat away.
Nike Tempo Track Shorts
Dick's Sporting Goods $28
I have 5 pairs of these things. Built in briefs are wedgy proof, and they do they're best in staying dry, or in my case, they disperse the sweat evenly through out.
Asics Gel Kayano VII
Princeton Running Company $135
Love them. Great for those of us who overpronate mildly and looking for a well cushioned ride.
Toshikazu Kayano and Asics Project Team - Cheers to you! What you created is simply brilliant.
Wigwam Socks
Forgot to pay for them at the Expo
Best socks ever. No blisters, no toe wedgies, and offered additional cushioning. I'm totally stocking up the next time I see these suckers around ... and I fully intend on paying for them.
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