I was freezing at the start. I really wished I had worn pants! But, too late to worry about that! We started off slow since it was so congested through the narrow streets of Philly. I guess if you are trying to get a BQ, you would need to start up much further in the pack. It was fine because we were worried about starting out too fast. It took a while to warm up due to the chill. The rain stayed away for the most part. We had freezing, drizzling rain and wind on and off throughout the race. Philadelphia streets had lots of spectators who were awesome....loud and enthusiastic. The race really should not be described as flat and fast....it has several hills. Fortunately, I was prepared for the hills in the first half, since I ran the half-marathon last year. The hill at Memorial Hall went quite well. It was far easier than the hills from last weekend 10 miler at South Mountain! We ran all the hills. That felt great! The second half of the race went very well. The surprise was the turn off Kelly Drive for Lemon Hill. That went well, also. The run through Manayunk was great. The people on the street were fabulous. There were offers of beer (Manayunk Brewery) and brownies (Le Bus). Great enthusiasm. I felt re-energized at the turnaround (20 miles). We ran for a little while with a short guy with red hair and a red bushy beard. He was very entertaining. He kept telling the people who were still heading down to the turnaround to forget about the brownies and get excited about the turnaround. Fred and I really picked up the pace for the last 3 miles. My left foot, right hamstring and back were really giving me some trouble at this point. I didn't want to stop for the foot cream because I thought I could just gut it out. My hamstring was extremely tight and my lower back felt sore. It is really true that the last 6 miles are all mental. I kept switching from feeling terrific and energized versus wanting to stop and lie down! I just kept telling myself that I was sooo close and could make it the last 30 min, then 15 min, then 5 min, then to the 26 mile marker, then to the finish. That last 0.2 really does suck! (someone held a sign that said that....so true!). I couldn't see the finish from the 26 mile marker, so it made it even tougher to get there! My watch said it was 27.05 miles, which made the end that much more difficult, since I believed it should be over! At the end, Fred and I celebrated! I felt great, then immediately started getting stiff, since it was so cold. Overall, a great race! WOOHOO!!

I felt great! I am very happy with my race. I improved my time by 41 minutes! A new PR!

We had to walk about a mile to the car. It was FREEZING!!! I felt very stiff by the time we got to the car. The drive home was also tough. Lots of traffic. My left foot hurt and it had to stay on the clutch for most of the ride!


Early congestion through the city prevented us from being able to stick to our pre-planned 10:30 pace. We were averaging closer to an 11:00 pace for the first 5-6 miles. Then we were able to get into the groove of a 10:30 pace. Kicked it out for the last 3 miles.


Philly did a fabulous job with this race. They really took the feedback from last year and made positive changes. There were lots of water stations. Plenty of food at the end. The volunteers were wonderful. Great organization. Terrific race. Even the weather held up until we finished. (Thanks to the Man above!) The full rain started as soon as we got to the car! How about that for timing?!!!