Phildelphia Half Marathon

Preview of the weekend:
1. In September, I was denied then let into the half marathon downgrading from the Marathon - just a sign of what was to come
2. Staying on the Temple campus - What? Who planned that?
3. Incorrect information on getting to the race site by public transportation at the Race Expo
4. Not being allowed late checkout even though we were running
5. Being gouged $15 for parking when the signs and race website said it would be $8
6. No coral for Kelly
7. Bad planning on porta potties on course and my need to use one
8. Pain, pain, and more pain
9. Where's the results tent
10. GPS wasn't helpful

Went to Philly for the weekend. The trip started well on Friday. The song "Empire State of Mind" was on the radio lots of time (an omen to stay in NY, we heard it about 10 times during the entire trip). Not too many problems getting out of NY and into PA but once we got to Philly, we had major issues finding the hotel. We were staying at the Conwell Inn but didn't know that it was actually on the Temple University campus and the street that it is on isn't open to traffic. The GPS was going crazy with directions and "recalculating". We finally found parking and the hotel, checked into a beautiful room and worried that with all of those college kids around it may be loud at night. Actually, we didnt' have any problems with noise the entire time we were there. We went to a bar/pizza place that was on campus. We got a couple of slices of pizza (buffalo chicken pizza was yummy) and then got the Sam Adams Winter Lager. I thought this was funny because it was a college bar and, unless things have changed a lot since I was in college, when do college kids drink Sam Adams, Guiness, or Blue Moon as their beverage of choice? The night was great in our room - two big beds with lots of pillows and an almost perfect sleeping temperature.



We woke up at around 8 am the next morning and I looked on-line to see if I could find what we wanted to do during the day and find the public transportation information since we don't like to drive and park in big cities. It is unusual for me to not have a plan of action before we leave for a place but I didn't plan at all for this trip other than to book a hotel and register for the race. So, we tried to go to Saxby's for breakfast but all they had was really expensive coffee and no breakfast foods so we ventured to the Reading Terminal Market for breakfast. By the way, I want that here. That was a great experience. A fantastic muffin and a great cup of coffee was a perfect way to start the day. We headed off to the Convention Center for the Expo. It was easy to get all of our stuff but there weren't enough retailers for shoe sales and I was looking for a new pair of running shoes. We asked if we could use public transportation to get to the race site because there wasn't enough information on the race website but we were told that we wouldn't get there in time if we took public transport as they weren't running that early. We toured the liberty bell, went to the Campos for lunch (they were rated as one of the best Philly Cheesesteaks in Philly) and had a fantastic Philly Cheesesteak. We toured the water front and then headed back to the hotel for a nap. During the time we were walking around, my legs were really bothering me. I had horrible runs this week with some weird muscle pain all week long and it was bothering me while walking today (not a good sign). The nap was fantastic and needed. After napping, we asked about getting a late checkout time so we could race and shower and were told that they really couldn't but would be able to give us until 1pm at the latest - the woman at the desk was not helpful with the subway information as well, it was like pulling teeth. We headed to South Street to eat dinner at Jon's Bar and Grill, home of Larry Fines. I ordered a cheeseburger and fries with a Sam Adams Cherry Wheat beer. It was the best burger I have ever had. The beer was great too. The people watching there was even better. On our way back to the subway, we found Phileo Yogurt. It was fantastic - even better than tangy sweet in DC. We got back to Temple in time to see the Temple v. Siena game. What an exciting game. Weird though, during a break in the 1st half, they loaded packaged hot dogs into an air gun and shot them into the stands. Weird! They flew!!! This was the most excited crowd I have ever seen at a basketball game so it was a lot of fun. Siena lost in the last minutes of the game but it was a great game. We then went back to our hotel, got all of our stuff together for the next morning, found on the race website the parking areas that were cheap (between $6 to $10) and then went to sleep.

I was up nice and early 4:45 am on race day. We were out of the room by 5:20 am. We got in the car and headed to our 1st parking area. They were charging $15 so we went to another lot (getting lost on the way and me, driving, getting really frustrated). This lot told us to just park so we did. It was on the race webpage as $8 and the signs said that if you were in the lot on weekends it was a flat rate of $8. We took off toward the race site, about 6 blocks. Funny though, as we were walking, we saw a city bus delivering racers to the race site (remember we were told it wasn't running early enough at the expo) and we found out that the subway had opened at 5:00 am. Great! We found porta potties easily - I did not have a successful trip to the potty. We found our baggage check area and put our clothes in a bag. Joe went off to his race corral and I checked our bag. I went to find my orange corral and couldn't find it. I asked a volunteer and she told me it was back further but then a group of us were all the way at the end of the corrals and there was no orange or purple corral. Weird. So, we just jumped in when the groups moved up. We heard the 3 groups ahead of us take off and then we were on the way (~18 min after the first group - not too bad). So, we were off. My goals for this day had started as: A) In June, PR in the marathon B) In September, do well in the half-marathon C) 2 weeks ago, be comfortable in the half marathon D) today, finish the half marathon in less than 3 hrs and go home. Within the first mile, I was in pain. At mile 2 we passed a Starbucks and I debated stopping, getting a coffee and waiting for Joe to come back. But I pushed on. I missed most of the sights except the LOVE sign and the Philadelphia Zoo balloon because I was trying to focus on the race not on the pain. At mile 5 or 6, my intestines felt like they were going to explode so I stopped and sat in a line at the porta potties. Another thing with this race, there were not enough porta potties open on the course so the lines were ridiculous. That mile was a 16 min mile with the bathroom stop. Now, I had to get back going again. It took 2 miles and then finally I felt like I was doing ok, not great, not even good, but ok. So, then I thought I had 4 miles left (funny how long runs make your math skills horrible) and then realized as I approached mile 8 that I had 5 miles to go. I tried to convince myself that anyone could run 5 miles (not really a successful sell). But, I was picking up speed and in less pain at this point. By mile 11, I was finally in a groove. So, the finish was nice because it was over but also because Joe was on the corner and gave me the thumbs up that he had qualified for the NYC marathon for next year. In the end, I ran a 2 hr 36 min 53 sec 13.1 mile race - NOT GOOD but I finished and I was able to laugh about it sucking. Joe keeps telling me I accomplished plan D and should be happy with that. I think this was one of my slowest half marathons ever. At least Joe accomplished his goal. I did get a good Philly Pretzel in the finishing area so I guess that is exciting.

We were looking to leave but Joe wanted to see how he did in his age group and to see if he would qualify as an elite in next years race. But we couldn't find the results tent. We asked volunteers who brought out a map of where the tents should have been but it wasn't where it was supposed to be. After 5 calls to other volunteers, no one knew where this tent was so we left. We went to leave the parking lot and were told that it was a $15 parking fee - WHAT?? The sign says $8 and the website said $8!!! We were livid! Plus, our GPS wasn't helping us get back to the street that we needed - it just said go to Broad Street (well how the f*$% do we get there).

Back to the hotel, check out before noon. Legs are sore. Subway to the Reading Market again to eat a fantastic Cranberry Turkey sandwhich and get coffee then back to the car and headed out. Ride home was pretty painless. I am thankful to be home! The highlight of the trip was traveling with Joe and we had fantastic food the entire time. BUT... There were so many low points that I don't know that I would want to do it again. No running for me until Thursday - hopefully it will be fairly painless. Yoga on Wednesday with Melinda. Turkey Trot on Thursday with Grace.