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Philadelphia Marathon - Half - RunHalf Marathon


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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
United States
42F / 6C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 36m 49s
Overall Rank = 261/4333
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 19/227
Pre-race routine:

Up @4am and had a glass of OJ, a banana, Clif bar and some coffee. Drove downtown with my sister (who ran the full) and walked over to the start/finish area.
Event warmup:

Ran easy for about 10' and then did 4-5 30" strides. Began to make my way forward towards the line with about 5' to start. Unfortunately, the start was held up for 10-15' so my warm-up probably didn't help much.
Run
  • 1h 36m 49s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 23s  min/mile
Comments:

Had moved myself fairly far forward at the start, so it wasn't too bad getting by people who had seeded themselves poorly--but still a little zig-zagging over the first mile. After that I settled into what I thought was a comfortable pace, but was a bit faster than planned. After walking a few paces at a drink station in mile 4 to get some Gatorade down, I re-started at closer to my 7:00 pace.

But by mile 6 it was starting to feel tougher to hold. Walked a few paces at another drink station in mile 7 and knew it was going to be a tough second half. The first hill was in mile 8. It didn't go too badly, but it took a lot out of me. When I hit the next one in mile 10, I apparently really slowed down. After that, I tried to just run steady the rest of the way. Didn't really have the desire (or the energy) to push the pace over the last mile or 2. In fact, I slowed towards the finish and more or less coasted my way in.
What would you do differently?:

Maybe push a little harder in the second half. It was hard to get myself to "hurt" when I was well off my pace from earlier this year. Wouldn't have been much faster, but might have been good to build some racing "toughness".
Post race
Warm down:

Walked through the finish area and food tent, grabbed my checked bag and changed into some drier clothes before looking for my parents and then waiting for my sister to finish the marathon.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I had a pretty good idea that 7:00 pace wasn't going to happen today. I probably should have ran ~7:15s and I might have been able to hold that pace steady for the whole race.

Not enough tempo/pace or speed work to try to run close to 7s for me.

Event comments:

The Philly Marathon has gotten MUCH bigger since I ran it just 2 years ago. I think I liked it a little smaller. Still, it's fun to run in Philly and I'll probably do it again someday.




Last updated: 2007-09-05 12:00 AM
Running
01:36:49 | 13.1 miles | 07m 23s  min/mile
Age Group: 19/227
Overall: 261/4333
Performance: Average
(1) 7:08, (2) 6:51, (3) 6:52, (4) 7:10, (5) 7:02, (6) 7:11, (7) 7:22, (8) 7:39, (9) 7:23, (10) 8:20, (11) 7:29, (12) 7:38, (13.1) 8:44
Course: Half of the Philly Marathon course, running through downtown, along the river and finishing in front of the Art Museaum steps. Flat for first 7 miles, with a couple of modest hills in the next few. Then back to flat for most of last couple miles (though there is a slight incline towards the finish).
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %~2.5%
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2007-11-19 9:09 AM

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Not a Coach
11473
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Media, PA
Subject: Philadelphia Marathon - Half


2007-11-19 10:35 AM
in reply to: #1060267

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Veteran
269
1001002525
Media, PA
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon - Half
Nice work out there John. I didn't spot you out on Chestnut and also couldnt find ya around the finish area.  Still a decent time considering how congested the course was this year.
2007-11-19 10:58 AM
in reply to: #1060267

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Extreme Veteran
387
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Pennsylvania
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon - Half
Top 10% of your age group is pretty impressive considering your less than stellar finish. It seems like in a lot of your races you start our quicker than you want. You are in good shape to run a BQ in the near future I would imagine too.
2007-11-19 12:59 PM
in reply to: #1060267

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Pro
4292
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Evanston,
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon - Half

Great Job JohnnyKay!!!  Miles 8-10 smacked me down too... but DANG, your "slow" is FAST! 

2007-11-19 1:11 PM
in reply to: #1060658

Champion
6539
5000100050025
South Jersey
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon - Half

Nice work yesterday. Sorry you didn't hit your goal pace, but you still had a great race and learned something. Many people would love to have times like that !

I'm glad you enjoyed the run and managed to stay dry.

How did Christina make out?

Take care !!

 

2007-11-19 1:12 PM
in reply to: #1060267

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Expert
623
500100
Wye Mills, MD
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon - Half
Nice race, JK. Nothin wrong with a buck-36 and top 8% AG in a B (or was that a C) race.


2007-11-19 1:30 PM
in reply to: #1060685

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Not a Coach
11473
5000500010001001001001002525
Media, PA
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon - Half
LaurenSU02 - 2007-11-19 1:11 PM

How did Christina make out?

She managed a 3:37 despite some stomach issues that forced her to stop at least 4 times along the way and training impacted the past month by low iron (diagnosed about a week or two ago).  When she was actually running, she was at or below 3:30 pace I think.  She's getting faster.  She'll push me for sure when she's "on".

2007-11-19 2:21 PM
in reply to: #1060267

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Expert
1166
10001002525
Northern VA
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon - Half
Nice race! A 7:20something pace with little speed or tempo work seems great!
2007-11-19 4:32 PM
in reply to: #1060267

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Extreme Veteran
366
1001001002525
"the wave", iowa
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon - Half

nice race!  a 1:36 is nothing to scoff at,  now you have all winter to build a base and attack it again in the spring!

i blame the delayed start.

2007-11-19 8:11 PM
in reply to: #1060267

Subject: ...
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2007-11-19 8:20 PM
in reply to: #1060267

Cycling Guru
15134
50005000500010025
Fulton, MD
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon - Half

Sounds like a mentally tough day for you.  With the full year you've had this year, it is understandable that the motivation may not be as high as it was earlier.

Still, that's a great time by any standards, especially considering the amount of training you've put yourself through this year!

Time for a nice holiday break and re-building/solidifying that base for next year.



2007-11-20 10:14 PM
in reply to: #1060267

Master
1686
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Royersford, PA
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon - Half
Nice job Johnny!! Top 10% AG finish in a big time race is pretty darn good, especially on a tough day. I don't exactly have alot of fond memories of those hills either (from 2005). See you around next year.
2007-11-29 5:17 PM
in reply to: #1060267

Expert
986
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Michiana
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon - Half

Sounds like a run race.  Despite not being your best effort, you finished very well.  Enjoy the "off-season."

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