Crazy how much things can change in a year. And how much they stay the same. I dropped almost 19 minutes off my Philadelphia Marathon time from last year, finishing in 2:57:52 but the manner in which I ran the course was eerily similar — I went out way too fast, setting a half-marathon P.R., then bonked late into the race. The only difference was that this year my first half was considerably faster and my bonk wasn’t nearly as bad.
I started off okay, staying relatively close to the planned 6:45 miles. I was a little quick, but really worked hard on staying as close to pace as possible. We went down through the city, along a highway, and then doubled back into downtown. That stretch (starting right after the mile 5 marker) was where I got into trouble. Our bibs had our first names printed on them, I was out on my own, the crowd was loud, and everyone was cheering for me. It just got inside my head. I kept trying to slow down, but it didn’t happen — for the next 10 miles, I was running closer to 6:30s than the target 6:45s. I got as far off as a 6:24.
I started to hurt bad around mile 16. I figured Antonio would be catching up to me soon and I was right. Running through a water station, I heard the volunteers cheering for him, and then he was next to me. He hung with me for a quarter mile or so, but I told him to run on since he was obviously feeling way better than I was. He went on to finish in 2:51:52! I slowed back down to 6:44 mile 16, then 6:39, and 6:59 the next two.
Seeing Helen and her friends cheering at mile 20 was a huge boost and carried me to a 6:47 mile, followed by a 6:52. But starting with 22, I just fell apart: 7:07, 7:13, 7:05, 6:46, 7:12 (and then a slightly speedier 0.2). I hit mile 23 at 2:35:00 and realized that I was within reach — even if I slowed to 8 minute miles, I would still break 3. It was a complete hell that I was going through at that point, but I fought through knowing how pissed I would be if I missed 3 hours.
So, final thoughts from the race: I’m thrilled with the time — I ran sub-3 like I wanted to. It was a good day. End of story. Right? Well… I just can’t help but wonder what would have happened if I had run a smarter race. My second half was almost 4 minutes slower than the first. Why do I keep doing this? When do I turn into a smart runner?
I guess there will be more opportunities, although it might be a while before I try to run this fast of a marathon again. My focus for next year is definitely going to be more about quantity and shifting to the longer races rather than worrying about speed. We’ll see. It’s a long way off…
p.s. The end of the course was as big a clusterfuck as we all feared it would be prior to the race. Somebody please fix that for next year. Ridiculous.
Wow, great time, congrats!!! Today was a perfect day for a PR!
The end was a shit show, wasn’t it? I wanted to punch some spectators to get them out of my way as I weaved through them to the food/water. By the time one of my friends finished, there was no water, pretzels, or food bags! Except for the 8 pound medal they placed around my neck, I felt like Philly was a little cheap all around.
Congratulations Robert, that’s fantastic. Sub 3 was your goal and you got it, so there’ll be more chances to try racing smarter, how lovely to know that even if you race stupidly you get a sub3. :-) Congrats to Antonio, you guys had an excellent day. Was fun meeting you both! Rest up now, you’ve been working hard lately.
I am blown away by your time–CONGRATULATIONS on breaking 3!! And who knows–maybe by focusing on volume and distance rather than speed over the next months, you will naturally condition your body to going out slower.
I hope you’ll join us on December 2nd after work for the tweet-up run? Yes?
Congrats on hitting your goal and running sub 3!!! Awesome.
It must have been fun to run a 6:24 mile in a marathon (and lived to tell the tale)! I really can’t even imagine.
19 minute drop? That is incredible!
What happened at the end? So curious…
They had the half marathon and marathon courses ending at the same point. So, when I came through, running on fumes, instead of being able to focus on the finish, I was having to dodge the 3-hour half marathon folks. They were walking, many of them linked arm to arm, and it was a nightmare trying to navigate around them. And I know it must have been even worse for the faster runners who came in alongside even bigger crowds of half-marathoners.
From LetsRun on the problems at the finish.
Wow, there’s a lot of other runners out there upset with the race. Not too surprising though… Like them, I am especially disappointed because this race has so much potential.
Saw your time. Thought it was great. While I like that immediately afterward you’re focusing on what you can improve on, a 4 minute positive split is nothing. And nothing you can’t improve on next time out.
For now, no hard running for 26.21875 days. You’ve got such a huge base that you’ll roll right into Boston prep. Let your body and mind have some down-time.
Amazing time! Congrats!
[...] broke 3 and was quite [...]
Congrats on breaking 3:00!! I’m so impressed. :)
Awesome Robert! Congrats! Whats next? or rather… whats next between now and Boston?
That is an awesome time. I know people say it, but even your slow miles are really speedy in big scheme of things. And my negative split was 16 minutes — not four like yours. But I understand the second guessing of what if…? Looking back at it though, it is hard to be disappointed, isn’t it? Good luck on the next goal!
killer time Robert! Whats next? or rather, whats next between now and Boston?
A couple short races, the Manhattan Half, NYC Half, and maybe this marathon up in Albany I heard about. Nothing too serious.
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