The 2013 Philadelphia Half Marathon

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. 

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.

 

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!

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?