Rock-n-Roll Series Philly 1/2 Marathon

Rock-n-Roll Series Philly 1/2 Marathon

Part 2 - The Race

And so I was ready for the race.  I entered corral #11 rather than #17 like I was supposed to.  I figured, well, if I get run over at least I'll be closer to the front of the pack.  Ha ha.  There was a nice lady near me doing her first half marathon, too.  It was a blast standing there waiting for our corral to begin.  Lots of music and the announcers getting everyone pumped up.  On a side note, they presented 2 runners (that had run this race in the past) who they were now retiring their bib numbers as they had passed on during the September 11th event of the twin towers terrorist attacks.  A moment of silence was held.  Pretty amazing and emotional to think no one will use those bib #s ever again.

As I awaited my corral to start, I just thought to myself - I'm not even nervous now.  I'm just so excited to do this.  I was ready to have fun.  The starting line was upon me, and the announcer was ready.  Then I was off!  Soon, I saw my hubby and Steph standing and cheering on the sidelines.  They weren't expecting me at this corral, as I had moved up.  But I knew this was the best bet for me to get a good start. 

Seriously, the first 5-6 miles were a breeze.  If you would have asked me a year ago that I would ever say such a thing, I would have laughed.  Now, I know I've trained well.  At mile 2, I got a slight side-stitch (which was my greatest fear, as getting them usually makes me walk).  But I was able to breathe through it, and it was gone in a minute.  The way the course was set up, the first 4-5 miles routed us through the historical parts of the city.  It was great.  The buildings were tall and created shade along the streets.  We also ran through Chinatown, and the smells of food in the morning were enticing.  Yum!  It's amazing the things you notice while running.  It was nice to see so many people cheering all the runners on.  Also, since this is the Rock-n-Roll series, there were several bands set up along the entire course.  This was a great distraction for me while running.

Upon the 5k mark, I heard several runners around me yelling to one another "see you at the end" "talk to you later".  I realized that they were friends running what they could together and then decided to split for the remainder of the run.  For a moment I thought, man, I wish I was running with someone, too.  But it was also nice to do this run by myself.  It's been a long time training and doing all this on my own.  I felt pretty proud that I chose to do this and to stick to it all by myself.

I decided that my refuel plan was to begin refueling at 5 miles.  I did this and at every 2 miles after.  This seemed to work for me.  However, once I reached 7-8 miles, I felt myself become tired.  And I must say, I was not winded.  I was not breathing hard.  I was not in pain.  I was just tired.  My legs told me "you want to stop running".  But I didn't.  I pushed on.  I thought, just keep running.  All the while, I saw many runners stop and walk.  I saw people run off into the bushes/trees to pee.  I began hearing people around me sniff and spit and all the other sounds runners make.  During this time, we were routed along Benjamin Franklin Parkway, a scenic and park-like setting.  Very peaceful.  I realized how quiet it was around me, even with runners everywhere.  You could tell people were focusing in on getting through the hard part.

I also saw some interesting runners and spectators at this time.  People running in tu-tus.  Runners running barefoot.  Runners with crazy stances and running gaits.  A saw a man in what seriously looked like a pair of women's Payless strappy-sandals.  I saw kids cheering on family members.  Kids with outstretched hands for runners to slap them five.  There was the cutest little boy who couldn't have been much older than 2 years old standing on the side holding a bear balloon and a sign that said "Go Auntie Kimmy".  Too adorable.  There were coaches cheering on teams.  There were cheer groups from local schools cheering on everyone.  It was just so amazing to be part of something so huge.

I also realized what a head game running is.  At mile marker 10, I thought, man...I got this.  Only 3 miles left, when 2 miles prior I was dying.  At mile 9-10 the course turned back to the start/finish line.  I was now running into the sun.  Note to self:  Purchase running sunglasses!  The crowds appeared larger and larger when getting closer to the finish.  Adrenaline kicked in, and I forgot about how tired I was.  At mile 13, I saw my hubs and Steph.  They took photos, and at 2:08:28, I finished the race.  I was super excited, as I put my estimated finish time as 2:20:00.  My first goal - to run it all with no walking, and I DID IT!  My second goal - to run it under my estimated finish time, and I DID IT, TOO!  What an awesome first half marathon.

Check out the Professional Photos.  And Results.  And Course Simulation.

I will add more photos ASAP.