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The 2013 Philadelphia Half Marathon

11/18/2013

8 Comments

 
Yesterday, I ran my first half marathon - the 2013 Philadelphia Half Marathon!  I got into this whole racing world in a weird order, having already run two full marathons, so while I'm "on a break" from full marathons, I decided to give the half marathon distance a try. Training for the half marathon distance gave me the opportunity to really focus on speed.  To prepare myself for the half marathon, I did a speed workout or a 30-minute training run three times each week, with a long run on the weekend.  The long run would range between 6 and 13.1 miles, depending on how I was feeling that week.  My training wasn't very structured, but I could tell I was getting faster, which was the end goal (since I already knew I was capable of running the distance).  I had a great training with two 13.1 runs below the goal time (1:55) I set for myself at the start of training. 
The 2013 Philadelphia Half Marathon
Heading into marathon week, I was feeling prepared and ready.  Then, on Thursday morning, my little pinky toe got caught on the suitcase I left out because I had gotten home late from a work trip the night before.  It was one of those moments where the pain was terrible, and you were just waiting for it to pass.  But it never did.  By then end of the day, my toe was swollen and sore.  Over the next few days, I was convinced the toe was broken - I iced it and buddy wrapped it, but I honestly didn't know if I would be able to run.  On Saturday, it felt slightly better, so  I decided just to go for it.  And it's a good thing I did!  By Sunday morning, the pain wasn't as bad (maybe it was a sprain and not a break afterall), and I was going to run this race!
The race itself was great - it was about 55 degrees (close to perfect running weather), and the energy was HUGE!  It was the 20th anniversary of the Philadelphia Marathon with 30,000 runners. Also, my husband was running the race with me (his first race since cross country team in high school), and although we didn't plan it, it was also the 13th anniversary of when we started dating!  The first words out of his mouth when the alarm went off at 4:15am were, "this seems like a bad idea," but I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate 13 years than with 13 miles!  We lined up at the start line, took in the scene, and before we knew it - we were high-fiving Mayor Nutter!  I was in the 2 hour corral, so I knew I was going to have to get my way to the front to maintain a pace somewhere around 8:35.  What I was unprepared for was how long this would take and how many people there actually were!  It was about 3 miles before I really could settle into my pace, and since I already felt "behind", I was going about 8:20 to catch up.  It felt good, so I went with it.  I was able to hold the pace on and off for a few miles, but then I got stuck behind a pacer group.
 
The 2013 Philadelphia Half Marathon
For the rest of the race, I just didn't feel like I could get up to pace.  I was weaving a lot, when I could, but I was also getting stuck behind people (which I embraced through the hills).  This really stressed to me the importance of starting in the correct corral.   In the end, I had a really great race - maybe I could have done a little better, but I felt great and there will always be more races.
I would love to see my miles splits, but my Nike+ app didn't upload my run - how rude!  I do have this nice official race time of 1:53:25 - I'll take it!  The highlight of the race was our personal cheering squad - Kerry and Jackie.  They are both runners themselves, but are new to spectating.  I think they did a great job - don't you think?  Kerry even pulled out my full nickname for the occasion!
The 2013 Philadelphia Half Marathon
The 2013 Philadelphia Half Marathon
The 2013 Philadelphia Half Marathon
The 2013 Philadelphia Half Marathon
The 2013 Philadelphia Half Marathon
The 2013 Philadelphia Half Marathon
The 2013 Philadelphia Half Marathon
My next race?  The Philly Love Run - a brand new spring half marathon in Philadelphia.  I'm looking forward to keeping up with my training and running with friends!

Where was your first half marathon?
8 Comments
Lilian
11/18/2013 04:44:36 am

Congratulations on completing such an awesome time at the Philly Half! I loved that race yesterday so much. The energy, people and course were just awesome. Despite the sore-ness, I was literally smiling the entire race. Anyway, you are my running and fitness inspiration and one day I will be like you and do some marathons. Also, I think it's so cute that you and Anthony ran together. For my first half marathon, I ran it with my fiance and it made the experience a lot more fun. Congratulations again track star! You're awesome Jillian.

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FitYaf link
11/18/2013 04:50:05 am

Thank you so much Lilian! You will get there, one step at a time! Don't hesitate to ask any questions - long distance running is best with a support system, for sure. You inspire me as well - look how far you've come already!

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Ali K. @ Hit the Ground Running link
11/18/2013 07:54:40 am

I broke my pinky toe the same way TWICE! Stupid suitcases. I'm glad you were able to run the half, and kill it, too! Nice work!

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FitYaf link
11/18/2013 08:05:27 am

Thanks! You'd think we'd learn, right? I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't even move the suitcase for a few days.

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Lorraine link
11/18/2013 12:09:08 pm

You are so fast! Congrats on a great half marathon! Glad your toe didn't give you trouble during the race!

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FitYaf link
11/18/2013 09:10:10 pm

Thank you so much Lorraine!

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Lauren link
11/19/2013 11:29:19 pm

Awesome! I ran the Philly half marathon too-it was a "keep running" race after running my first full last month. I'm doing the Philly Love run too! I love running in Philly and thought that the Philadelphia Marathon did a great job making it easy to get around post-race and had lots of spectators!

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FitYaf link
11/19/2013 11:52:19 pm

Lauren, congrats! Glad to hear you'll be coming back in March - I think it's going to be a great race too! Philly has a lot of <3

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    Jillian [FitYaf]

    fitness enthusiast.
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