Rockenmama's 2007 Philadelphia Marathon report (Read 979 times)

Despite staying up a bit late, dh and I still managed to get up at 3:45 am. Since we had an hours drive we wanted to make sure to be out the door by 4:30. Managed to get out on time, but forgot a VERY IMPORTANT THING……… MY COFFEE  Needless to say I didn’t get my first cup of coffee until close to 4 pm. Anyway the drive down went nice and smooth and we managed to find parking pretty quickly. We noticed right off the bat that it looked like they had fixed a few problems that they had from last year. Baggage check was very easy to find, they had a lot of port a johns and even had signs to form a single line in front of each one (much different than before and it worked MUCH better) It as cold, but the wind hadn’t yet picked up (thankfully). Close to 15 minutes to start time, dh and I took layers off and got into the “sweet” outfits dh picked up (garbage bags lol). I was surprised at how well they did keeping us warm, though dh had a lot to do with it. I’m not sure whether he was trying to keep me warm, or himself cause he held me tight until just before they started the race. They had separate corrals for the marathoners and the half marathoners/8kers which was nice (or so it seemed). We started at 7 am, since there was less Half Marathoners they we’re moving much quicker then we did. Finally we started moving. I really don’t enjoy walking over the starting line, but that is basically what we did since it was packed. The separation from the half marathoners didn’t last long. Of course when we merged all the slower half marathoners we’re up with the faster pace marathoners (the road also got much more narrower) It was really hard to get any kind of set pace going. People we’re running on the sidewalks, on the railroad tracks, wherever they could find a place. We hit a construction spot around mile one which halted everyone for a few seconds. First water stop you had no choice but to walk through it (at least for the midpackers and backpackers) I don’t think it thinned out much until much further into the race and then it still wasn’t by a lot. One thing I noticed was that there really wasn’t much crowd support (except for a couple of spots) Can’t blame them for not wanting to be out in the weather we were having. Around mile 8 or so I decided it was time for some shot blocks. I reached into my pocket where I had carefully placed 2 packages (6 in each) of opened blocks (so I wouldn’t have to deal with that while running). To my utter surprise I found 2 individual blocks. Talk about shock. I panicked and had thoughts of WTF am I going to do. How can I run a marathon with 2 freaken bloks? I ate one and put the other in my pocket and made sure to zip it. After that I spent some time (yes I was desperate) checking out the ground while running to see if anyone had dropped unopened bloks or the kind of gels that I’ve used before. I had thought about stopping off at 7-eleven as we passed, but knew trying something new WOULD NOT be good. Course around mile 10 they we’re handing out cliff shot gu’s. I had never had one before, but figured it had to be the same as carb boom gels. WRONG WRONG WRONG!! Not only was it NASTY, but it had other effects that showed up a little later into the race. Between the crowded start and finding almost all my bloks gone my mental strength was about gone. Something I really needed but didn’t have the last 10k. I saw around my mile 21 and his mile 19, he didn’t look like he was having fun. Looks like he was battling some of the same issue’s as well as others. There we’re two stops (one on the way up and one on the way down) that were offering beer. Due to the weather factor I declined. I wanted something hot to drink since I’m pretty sure by that time I couldn’t feel my hands much (took jacket off a little after a mile and just had on shorts and my RA tank for the rest of the race) Stopped and walked a couple times in the last couple miles. First time I planned it, second time it just happened. Not sure why. I just found myself stopped. Can’t believe I stopped so close to the finish. I definitely was suffering mentally. I finally managed to HTFU and got back to running and finished the last .67 pretty strong. A girl that crossed a few minutes after I did collapsed and the medics rushed out to get her. When I was in the food tent another guy collapsed and the medics took him as well. Hope they are all right. I grabbed a cup of soup and headed to the bag pickup. I was shaking so freaken bad that I spilled almost all the soup all over myself. Talk about freaken cold! Since the wind was gusting from the North East we we’re getting the cold air that just chills you to the bone, NOT the kind of weather you want to have to be in after a marathon. Those Mylar blankets just weren’t cutting it with the wind. By the time I got changed and back to the food tent dh was just arriving. I went over, gave him a hug and kiss. Told him congrats and asked him if he was ok. His response was no but I don’t need medics. Poor guy had lots of muscle cramping during the last 10 or so miles of his race. One thing that was confirmed was I DO NOT like crowded races! Oh well such is life. I accomplished what I planned (3 races in 3 months) Can’t wait until next year! Won’t be doing Philly anytime soon. For anyone who read the whole thing OMG you really must be bored lol. I’ll post pictures later when I get some. Here is my Motion Based report http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4467455

Great perseverance through a hard last part of the marathon. That mental thing is really important and I could completely relate to not having your usual coffee and shot blocks. I also am not a fan of crowds in longer races. Anyway, way yo HTFU and your report was great.

Pam, you did three freakin marathons in three months and a PR after a PR after a PR. [insert standing ovation here]. Time to sign up for Marathon Maniacs! Woooooohooooooo!!!!!!!! You didn't just HTFU for the last .67 - you HTFU'd from the get go with the crowds, cold wind and losing your carbs. You HTFU'd during all of fall - training your butt off. Like Kirsten said, these bad races show us how good the good ones are. Your next one will be the one! You rock, girl! Thanks for writing the report!

You did awesome, Pam. 3 marathons in 3 months and rehabbing a bad ankle injury on top of that. Congrats on accomplishing the goals you set for yourself. Can't wait to see what you come up with next Nice report - read the whole thing - and no, I was not bored at the time

Grand Rapids was 2x bigger this year than last...I hope it doesn't grow any for next year. There was one short stretch early in that race where the crowd was so thick along a narrow section of path (just a few feet parallel to the street...not sure if they would DQ folks for running on that, instead) that I was jogging an 11 minute pace, I think. I don't know that I would ever want to run Chicago after this year's heatwave and knowing that I'd be trapped in a mass of people for so much of the race. Clif shots... I still think you did really well under the circumstances. It takes those horrific races to remind us how fantastic the good ones make us feel! k

Thanks Kirsten and you are so right! I definitely feel lucky that I was able to have such an awesome marathon experience like Steamtown. Race's like yesterday really make you cherish the good ones!

Way to go on your finish! I was out watching and cheering at this one, and boy was it a cold morning. I saw lots of people around the finish just shivering away. Almost gave my hat to one girl... I definitely noticed how crowded it was towards the beginning. I was cheering around mile 6 and at one point had to yell at a tv crew who thought it was a good idea to go into the street and try to interview runners as they went by. The guy was like "she just ignored me!" and "I can take rejection," being all snarky. I said "she was mad because you were standing in front of her when she is trying to run a marathon, duh!" He didn't like that too much. Anyways, I had a great time. Again, congrats!

THANK YOU Sean for being out there and dealing with the weather conditions to cheer all the runners on. I know everyone appreciated the few places where there we're spectators! Glad to hear you had a great time and thanks again!

Three races in three months! Wow! Congratulations on yet another marathon and on your PR today. You are not a fan of the crowded races and today reminded you of why you feel that way. So, what's next?

Thank you Michelle!! Yep, I was definetly reminded why. As for what's next. Well my next marathon is next May. Until then I'm going to keep running and probably do some 5k and 10k's and a couple half marathons. I'm cutting my longer runs down,but will probably keep up with the every day running until I start school in the Spring.

sounds like a challenging (to say the least) race! Congrats on the finish! I never take those cliff shots on the course...I always take gu with me. I stick them down the front of my jog top because I don't trust those pockets on my shorts and shirt, LOL.

Ya know I'm all for a challenging race, JUST not the kind of challenges I had to deal with yesterday. Give me a nice hilly course on a beautiful day with just a few hundred people! Ya know I never thought to put them down my top... DUH that would of been the perfect thing to do. I'll remember that next time. Thanks Jenn!!