Well, the delay is because I cant seem to catch up on anything this week.After the Marathon extravaganza and the subsequent doctor visit and blood work.. I was given the A-OK… to continue my training and to race last Sunday at the Philadelphia Distance Run (13.1 miles).
Although I was excited about racing I was a bit annoyed that I actually had to drive into Philly the day before to pick up my race packet.. nothing like driving down Route 76 and back TWICE in the same weekend.. sure people do it every day to go to work.. but do you see what they look like?.. wild hair.. crazed look in their eyes..??.... yeah.. no thank you..
So after fighting traffic and rolling into center city.. I locate the first convenient parking lot …which by the way is quite a few blocks from where I needed to be.. but at least I am parked.. whew.. DONE..
The nice parking man pointed to this really, really tiny parking spot smack between two vehicles.. I look over and squint my eyes.. hmmm.. he does see the size of my truck?.. right???
I pull in and park.. "No no..no"...(his arms waving around like an air traffic controller)… "You must turn (as he jesters and spins his fingers in mid air circles).. it around.." indicating that I must BACK the truck into the little itty bity parking spot…
I hop out of truck.. and walk over to him.. "There aint NO WAY I am going to be able to back up that big ole truck in that little tiny parking spot without taking out both those vehicles.." (me pointing to the little tiny space…)..I mean I am good at maneuvering the truck but I ain't that good!
He said.. no problem… takes my keys, and whips the truck around and in the spot..like it was nothing… wow.. fairly impressive.. of course there was no way he was getting outta the truck without nailing the guy’s vehicle next to it..yeah..
So I ask him the way to the convention center.. he points down a street and off I go.. .the city is a bit overwhelming… just A LOT going on … and after a healthy walk through what I believe was China Town.. I arrived at the convention center and found myself amongst hordes of other runners… A RUNNING MECCA…
They have a good racket going.. I spent over an hour at the expo buying all kinds of “useful” running stuff.. With my arms full and a hole burned in my pocket… I skipped back to my vehicle… and back onto the highway of hell… amazing how fast the weekend actually goes when you have one little race to run............
Race Day
I am one for getting to races early.. to get a good parking spot and to stay relaxed... so up at 4:30am.. arriving in Philly around 6:20 am.. DONE... now after circling up and down one way streets I finally settled on a parking lot at 21st and Market .. and low and behold I run into our friend Steve.. it was comforting to have a familiar face to walk through the city with.
The morning was cold (the temperature at the bank stated 48 degrees) and I made mention to Steve that, "THANK GOD I don’t have to get in the water".. meaning thank God I don’t have to do a triathlon and swim in this cold weather!..... count your blessing when you can!!!...
The morning was absolutely perfect for running… after another healthy walk to the starting line, we waited with hordes of other runners on the steps of the art museum and watched the sunrise… I found myself really thankful.. Thankful that I was able to run.. thankful that I had friends and thankful that I could enjoy this beautiful morning.
I rubbed shoulders with a few of the Kenyan elite runners and I instantly wished that Joe would have come. He didn’t want any part of the city thing.. and well I dont blame him but he has just got to do this next year.. it was soo much fun!
The race itself went well. They started us in waves which is always nice … I was in corral 5 as I had projected a finish time of 1:48.... Either I was really confident in my training or QUITE delusional…that would be a two minute best time for me if that happened...
It helped a lot knowing that Joe and mom were at home “watching” the race on their computers.... They couldn’t physically see me run but they could refresh their computers and see when I passed the 5K, 10K, and 10 mile markers…by the electronic timing chip I was wearing... knowing they were doing that gave me incentive to run strong to each marker...
Unbeknownst to me.. Joe was watching and SCREAMING at the computer for me not to slow down.. I wish I COULD HAVE SEEN THAT….
The course was great, really flat.. and the goal was to pick up my pace if I felt strong with three miles to go.. although I felt strong I just didnt want to risk blowing up and waited until I hit the 12 mile marker to "pick it up".. boy amazing how well you can run knowing you "ONLY" have a mile and some left... I started my sprint with a quarter mile left and got bunched up on the hairpin turn and almost had to do the WWF smackdown on them.....I got myself outta the traffic jam... running wide.. and then came in to the finish… I was pleased to cross at 1.48.04..
Within 4 seconds of my predicted finish time.. shame they don’t give out awards for that! ..I was 94 out of 807 women in my age group… not too shabby for an ole lady..
Now to get out of philly....which would have been ok, IF I had walked the correct way down 21st street ... … sigh.. now some rest and then some fun ..
Race Specs: http://wmastripolitoboston.blogspot.com/2009/09/september-20-2009.html
