Philadelphia Marathon 2024 – Race Recap – A Very Special Day

December 10, 2024ianesenior Leave a comment

The Philadelphia Marathon is such a special event for me. As well as being considered my ‘local’ marathon (I live about 40 minutes from the start line) it was my very first marathon back in 2011. This year’s event was a deferred entry from 2023 so it was very important to me to get back here after the events of last year and having to defer this race through necessity, not choice.

This would also be a special marathon for me as it would be my 10th Philadelphia Marathon and would be my 30th full marathon overall. Looking back to when I started running in 2010 I would never have dreamed of such a thing. I remember when I registered for the 2011 Philadelphia Marathon shaking as I hit submit. I was so nervous. I did not know if I would be able to do the marathon. I’m sure I was a bag of nerves and I remember that special feeling of crossing my first marathon finish line. As a wonderful surprise that day, my father-in-law had brought my eldest son (then just about 5 years old) to meet me at the finish line. It has always been one of my favorite memories and indeed one of my favorite photographs that I keep framed on my desk.

My first marathon finish and my biggest supporter

For some reason this year I started to get really nervous before the event. It wasn’t due to my running fitness, having just completed the Atlantic City Marathon just a month before. This would be the first marathon since 2021 when I would be running a marathon without the company of my wife, but this was not the reason either. Neither was it my current pace…I’m a long way from my fastest times but I was not out there looking for a personal best this time. It was just that it was the number 10 and 30. In my head I had a lot riding on this. I saw this as my real comeback from 2023 and I put pressure on myself and started worrying what would happen if for some reason I didn’t finish. The 10th Philly and 30th marathon seemed so big in my mind. My wife noticed my nervousness in the days leading up to the race and she kept encouraging me and reminding me that I could do this.

The weekend of the race I travelled down to the expo with my youngest son. I had been to the expo many times and believe me when I tell you I have plenty Philadelphia Marathon gear to wear so I was just intending to go in, pick up my bib, take a picture or two and then leave. I was also hoping that I may bump into a few running friends also running that weekend. Usually I head down on the Friday when lots of the half marathon and 8K runners are there to also pick up their race packets. It seemed quieter on Saturday with mostly just the marathoners in attendance.

The expo was very similar to prior years. It was smaller than it had been in the past but I think that is more common these days unless it’s a major world marathon. It was well run. I had my details saved on my phone, the marathon app and communication from the race had made sure I would be prepared, and picked up my bib and my race shirt very quickly.

Expo set up as in previous years. Bib pick up on the side and vendors set up in the main part of the hall.

This year’s race shirt showing all the landmarks we see

After the shirt pick up I wandered into the race merchandise store. My son kept throwing himself in front of anything that had the word ‘Finisher’ on it…remember, he was there with me in Mont-Tremblant, and generally discouraged me from buying any more race gear. It’s as if my wife had given him instructions. I did look at a couple of things but the prices seemed so much higher than in previous years.

I quickly walked up and down the aisles of the expo to see if there was anything interesting or unique to look at. I did stop and buy a fun ‘Run Philly’ shirt with a Rocky Balboa logo on it from Charm City Running. I had purchased a shirt from them at the Atlantic City Marathon and the shirt was really soft and good quality. Overall, we were in and out of the expo within 45 minutes and headed home for a relaxing afternoon, an early family dinner and then off to see ‘Wicked’ at the local theater before heading home for an early night…at least for me. More to come on that front.

‘Flat Ian’ ready for the next morning’s adventure

My movie snack was my usual pre-race cookie

After the movie (and putting up with plenty of people in the movie the singing along…my wife included) I tucked in for an earlyish night. I knew I wouldn’t get that much sleep but wanted to get as much as possible. My alarm went off at 4am and I grabbed myself coffee and breakfast and got ready to head out the door. The weather, while cold, was not freezing so I felt good going with a couple of layers and a pair of shorts. I’ve run in colder for sure.

As I headed out the door I discovered a good luck sign left by my boys by the front door. That made me smile as I left and I sent everyone a thank you text that they would see when they woke up. The ride down was easy and I was able to park in my usual parking spot for the race, a couple of blocks away from the athlete’s village area. The City closes the roads in the area around 6am so best to be there early.

Early arrival in my ‘regular’ marathon parking garage (the time stamp for the photograph reads 5:51am)

Luckily I made it to the race early. Usually when I get to the starting area it is a quick check through security and then it’s that nervous energy waiting around for the race to start. Today was different. As I walked towards the starting area everyone was wearing long pants and tights and I was there in shorts. I started chatting to another runner also in shorts and we joked that everyone knew something we didn’t plan for. As we approached the security we were met with exceedingly long lines. It took close to 30 minutes to get through security. Wow. That has never happened to me before. It’s funny, as I think, other than the New York City Marathon, I have never had to go through security at another race. Just Philadelphia. I don’t usually give it much thought but it was unusually long this year.

Heading to security and the start line area

Lots of long lines for bathrooms once inside the start village

It felt a little rushed once I got through security. Now I had only 30 minutes to make a quick bathroom stop, check my bag (always a mess in Philadelphia) and get to my starting corral. There were some really long lines for the restrooms so I decided I would forgo them and just went to check my bag. Fortunately on my way to bag check there was a row of restrooms behind another set where no one was waiting so that was great. I then headed to check my bag. I was in line for the bag check beyond 7am. So were many others. Crazy. We heard the national anthem and we were still nowhere near the front of the line. I think there was an announcement that there would be a small delay due to backup at security and there was going to be a 5 minute break between corrals to space everyone out. I was in corral D so I had a little extra time to get in place. Ultimately I got into the corral that I thought was corral D but apparently was corral E with many late corral D participants. The race was set to start at 7am and I did not cross the start line until 7:31am.

The lines for bag check before the race as start time was nearing

Finally made it to almost the correct corral

One of my favorite views as the day started

We were cheered off the start line by Bill Rodgers and Bart Yasso

And with the count down complete and the horn signaling the start we were off. It wasn’t too cold at the start so I did not need my usual disposable trash bag layer. The run was on and I headed down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to start mile one. I’m definitely slower than before my accident and I need to get back to better fitness. I have broken 4 hours twice at this race but today I would be happy to just finish….preferably under 5 hours!!! I was using a run/walk ratio of 2 minutes/30 seconds and I intended to stick to it. People look at you very strangely if you start walking in the first mile but I just used it to catch my breath and keep an eye on my heart rate. That was my plan and today I was going to stick with it. Plus walking and drinking at each water station and with a gel at every 5 miles.

I had not run this race since 2021 and I know there were a few changes to the course so I was looking forward to what the day would bring. The crowd support from the beginning was great. This is a great race for anyone taking part.

I sometimes, but rarely, purchase race pictures, but this year was a special race for me and the photos were fantastic (it also helped that it was Black Friday sales the following week!!). Below I am sharing a few of the professional photos with a couple of little surprises mixed in.

What a great shot with the Benjamin Franklin Bridge as a backdrop

This does look I’m leading the pack (I wasn’t) but it is a cool shot

Clearly happy to be taking part. My nerves seemed to have disappeared.

As I ran back into Center City Philadelphia from Old City, and as usual people are reading my bib and shouting my name, when all of a sudden I hear a familiar voice…a familiar loud voice…and I looked around and to my complete surprise I see my wife in the crowd yelling my name. I had no idea she was planning to come down and cheer…what’s more, and the even bigger surprise, was that both my boys were behind her also screaming for me. I was absolutely shocked and I navigated across the stream of runners to see them all and give them big hugs. Apparently my eldest son had made the suggestion to come down and cheer me on and they had been up late the evening before making signs for me when I had gone to bed for the night. That is why there was a sign by the front door on my way out the house that morning.

I will add that the next mile after my surprise cheering squad appearance was probably my fastest of the day. I was on such a high. This has never happened to me in all of my marathons and I was delighted. You can see by the next few pictures that I look so happy.

The changes made to the course from what I can remember from the last time I ran the race were between miles 12 and 15. Once getting to Fairmount Park past the Philadelphia Zoo, we spend some time running past the Please Touch Museum, by the back of the Mann Center, and past the Japanese Gardens and back up towards the Please Touch Museum. In previous years, you would then go down the hill to MLK Boulevard and back towards the Philadelphia Museum of Art, then around the front of the Rocky Steps to Kelly Drive for the out and back to Manayunk. This year (remember I missed 2022 and 2023), we headed past the Please Touch Museum, but instead of heading down to MLK Boulevard, we headed across the Schuylkill River and up towards the other side of Fairmount Park and took a 3 mile loop around the reservoir before joining Kelly Drive a little further up around mile 15. From there it was the out and back to Manyunk.

There was surprisingly a lot of support on the other side of the park as we rounded the reservoir which was great and really lifted my spirits. The time we spend in Fairmount park from mile 8 to mile 15 is probably the hilliest part of the marathon and around mile 15 I was overtaken by the 4:30 hour pace group. Oh well, my goal today was to finish and for me the time did not really take precedence over finishing.

As we entered Kelly Drive for the out and back to Manyunk the wind picked up a bit and it was the first time I started to feel a little colder, more cool than cold, but the wind was a factor. Added to that, the road to Manyunk just feels long when you hit mile 15. Nevertheless I kept my pace, noticing all the people around me and keeping it going as we all moved towards the turnaround. By the time I hit Manyunk around mile 19 I was beginning to tire a bit, but I knew the turnaround was close and the crowds in Manyunk are always a great pick me up. My feeling as we leave Manyunk around mile 21 is that we really are heading home towards the finish. I have done plenty of 5 mile training runs and I just settled in and took the last 5 miles knowing I could finish. I always get a smile on my face running back to the Art Museum when I pass the Sunoco gas station on the left side of the road in East Falls as I know the miles are counting down and we are nearing the finish. I’ve done the race 9 times before so I am familiar with some of the landmarks (even the not so glamorous ones). Again, the crowd support was great for as far out on the course we were.

Looking focused on Kelly Drive as we neared the finish line

From here it is just a matter of counting down the miles. 3 miles to go. 2 miles to go. You could hear the crowd cheering as you make your way closer to the finish line. My time at this point didn’t matter. I was going to make it.

Down the home stretch. The last mile and the crowd cheering us all to the finish.

You can see my expression as I crossed the finish line. I was so happy that I had completed this. I looked upwards to the sky to say thank you. Of all the events I have taken a part in since my recovery from the Ironman, this truly had been the one I thought of the most as it was such an important milestone for me. I was truly thankful for finishing today. I was still partially on a high from seeing my family and I did not expect to see them again as I knew my son had plans at 1pm and there was no way he could be in two places at once.

There it is. my 10th Philadelphia Marathon medal

I saw Bart Yasso handing out medals at the finish line and grabbed a selfie

Once I received my medal I bumped into Bart Yasso and we had a quick photo together. All of a sudden I hear my name being yelled from over the fence. I turned around and my wife and boys were there again. They had spent the morning in the city and were waiting for me at the finish line. While they could not get to the finish line proper, my two sons are taller than my wife and they saw me cross the finish line.

I was so shocked to see my family again. So thankful.

My boys patiently waiting me outside of the security fence.

My family was still outside of the security line but we could see each other and they told me where to meet them, so I grabbed my gear bag (pick up was way quicker than drop off) and headed over to the Washington Monument in Eakins Oval to see them.

Finally back with everyone to celebrate. I couldn’t be happier.

My son and I reenacted our finish line photo from 2011, my first marathon

My wife picked up a special cookie for me from the Reading Terminal Market while they were in the city.

They had taken the train down to see me so they had to find me as I was their ride home. It was a fun journey. I could not get over how surprised I was to see them. I was close to tears every time thinking about it. What an amazing gift. I was so grateful. My wife has been my guardian angel over this last year and my kids were so supportive. I was blown away by the cheering on the course.

Celebrating a marathon finish at our usual post race place, the Pop Shop in Collingswood, NJ. If you look at the size of everyone’s desserts you would be surprised by who actually ran the marathon. They deserved it.

What an amazing day. I thought my highlight would be completing today’s Philadelphia Marathon, but my true highlight was my family surprising me on the course and at the finish line. So blessed and emotional from today’s experience.

Next up…my wife and I are running the London Marathon in April 2025!!!

Thank you for reading

Don’t call it a comeback…it’s business as usual

May 11, 2024ianesenior Leave a comment

It has been a while since my last (somewhat dramatic) post…That was back in mid-October 2023 and we are now almost mid-May 2024. Lots of positive change and plenty to be happy about.

The challenge of my recovery from the bike crash was something I approached the same way how I prepare for a marathon or a triathlon. I know what needs to be done and I set myself to the task. In fact, I probably was more diligent with my recovery than any other race I have ever taken part in. Primarily as I wanted to get back to normal as soon as possible. Whatever was required, I made sure I stuck to it. I was doing my required rehab exercises up to three hours every day. I could feel I was getting stronger and looking forward to the future with a renewed and fresh outlook. The best part was when I saw the surgeon in mid-November. He was astonished about my progress.

My appointment with him was to determine if I needed the surgery on my clavicle which would have set me back another few weeks of recovery. Earlier that week I had to meet with the physiotherapist for a final report. The physiotherapist was really happy with my progress. Everything he set me to do I achieved if not a bit more. He put me through all the same tests we had performed from our first meeting six weeks earlier and declared that had he not known what and where my injury was he would not have known I had one. I was very hopeful when meeting the surgeon later that week. He declared that what I had achieved was amazing and based upon the x-ray and the tests his aide put me through there was no need for the follow up surgery. He even said he wouldn’t stop me if I wanted to ‘drop and give him 20 pushups’. That didn’t happen. He told me I had no restrictions and just try not to do anything really dangerous for a few months!!! I was elated. I came home and celebrated…by going for my first run in three months. Even if it was only around the neighborhood it was a victory.

I had told my wife earlier during my recovery that my ultimate goal was to make it to the start line of our annual Thanksgiving 5 miler race. She was really happy I was able to meet my goal…not so happy when I told her I had secretly signed up before I got approval from the doctor…but we made it to the start line together as a team. She was amazing through this whole experience and I can never thank her enough.

The day came for the Thanksgiving race. While it was cold, the sun was shining. We ran the whole race together at a comfortable pace and I started to get emotional as I knew I was going to complete the distance. I think it was my longest run since the accident. Needless to say I was overjoyed and humbled to cross the finish line with her that day. Thanksgiving for sure!!!

I spent the next couple of months getting back to fitness, running a little longer distances and keeping up with the arm exercises that they gave me at the physiotherapist’s office. I actually track my arm strengthening exercises now with the goal of doing them at least 5 days a week. I was never this diligent on other types of exercises other than running, biking and swimming, but it’s never too late to try new things…especially when they have a positive impact.

Over the holiday break we went out as a family for dinner. We had found a new restaurant near us we had never tried. On this particular night as we ended the dinner they brought over fortune cookies. My fortune made everyone at the table laugh…proving that they are completely over my accident for sure!!! Here is my fortune:

Great things indeed! Thank you Ironman Mont-Tremblant

As we had postponed all our fall races from 2023 as I recovered, my wife and I decided to look for a spring race not too far away which neither of us had done before. I suggested the Coastal Delaware Half Marathon down in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. It was near(ish) and would be a nice opportunity to see the shore for the first time this year. It was scheduled for mid-April and allowed us to get some outdoor running time in after the cold winter months.

Enjoying some early Spring weather on the Pennypack Trail

The course map for the half marathon race

Due to work, we could not get down early the day before to pick up our race packets, but the race allowed us to sign up for early race day morning packet pick up which was easy to do. As it was the off season at Rehoboth Beach there was plenty of street parking near the start line. Once we had our race numbers pinned on we had a short walk to the boardwalk where the race started and ended. It was a glorious sunny morning and not too cold so we did not need to check a bag.

Today’s goal. Just to get out and enjoy.

At the bandstand just by the starting line

Ready to race. A clear sky and looking forward to the run.

There were a number of different distance races going on at the same time but all were staggered so there was never any major congestion of runners running the different distances. Indeed, all the races were very well sign posted with different colored mile markers and direction arrows to match the color of the race bib runners were signed up for.

We started out on the boardwalk but were quickly off and running through the neighborhoods around town. The roads were easy to run on and the volunteers very helpful in providing the right directions to the runners. After 3 miles or so we entered the Gordons Pond and Cape Henlopen State Park for approximately six miles of the race. It was amazing. One of the prettiest and relaxing runs we have had in a long time. It was an absolute joy to be running in great weather with great views. There were plenty of volunteers in the park to keep us in the right direction and manage the water stations. The landscape was amazing.

Beautiful views from a beautiful place to run

Imagine this full of runners in single file. Lovely.

This was a relaxing part of the race. A nice flat area. Runners in both directions.

We were running at a comfortable pace pretty consistently the whole race. The terrain was mostly flat as we were running along the coastline and the temperatures were perfect. It was such a relaxing run. We were both smiling the whole way.

As we left the state park we only had a few miles to get back to the boardwalk and the finish line. The crowds on the way back in were really supportive and there were plenty of cheers as we ran up to the finish line. As we crossed the finish line we were give a beautiful medal and all runners received a really cool trucker hat with the race logo. There was an after party provided by Grotto Pizza one of the main sponsors. It was held in their restaurant courtyard and all runners were welcomed in for pizza, pasta, salad and drinks. There was even some race gear from the expo that we had not had a chance to attend. My wife found a cool race jacket that really suited her. I’ve never finished a race and be treated so nicely. For real. The pizza was great and we both plan for a return visit to the area. Maybe the marathon next time?

Great crowd support as we ran to the finish line

And that’s how you cross a finish line!!!

The medals were styled like a stain glass window and you can see the bridge we ran over represented on the medal. Really cool.

We stopped for ice cream and my wife found a couple of boutiques to visit before we left town.
I am wearing my newly earned race hat.

This was my first ‘big’ race since the Ironman and it was an amazing day. The race organization and communication was first class and I would highly recommend this race for anyone near the area. Or even if you want to travel to run. Well worth looking into.

A week later, and somewhat last minute, my wife and I decided to sign up for the Bookin’ for Lookin’ Foundation 10k. This is a local charity race benefitting the Bucks County Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired. It started and finished at Council Rock High School (where my wife went as a student) and runs through Tyler State Park which is about 20 minutes away from where we live. It was a little chillier than our previous race a week earlier in Rehoboth Beach and I may have been a little underdressed, but nevertheless it was a fun race for a great cause. I had not run in Tyler for a long time due to my accident and this race was a reminder of how hilly it is to run there. Still, we put up a decent time and as planned ran the whole race together. We were however glad to get back to the car and head for a hot cup of coffee.

People were more dressed up than we were. I’m in a t-shirt with arm sleeves.
Still, there’s always one guy in a tank top…although they are usually at the front!!!

The finish line is on the high school running track

Despite the hills we were happy with our run.

Our next event together was the 2024 Broad Street Run. This again was a last minute decision to sign up for the lottery when it opened. Both of us have run this race a few times before but we have never run the race together as there was always a reason why we could not both do it together. Maybe now that our boys are more independent and don’t necessarily have to be everywhere at the same time allowed us this chance. My first Broad Street run was in 2011 and at that time this was my goal race. The longest run I ever thought I would ever do if I was able to keep running…how things changed over the next few years.

My wife was not able to attend the expo with me so I headed down solo this time. It was a fairly small expo considering the size of the race (about 40,000 people) and I was in and out quickly, although I did get a chance to stop by a booth my friend Scott and his wife were manning to catch up with them. The hardest part of this expo was the logistics. It was being held the same weekend as a FanCon and I had to negotiate through people all dressed up and painted head to toe representing their favorite fantasy character or superhero. I will say there was some impressive efforts there.

All ready to go. All we have to do is run this thing.

The biggest challenge for the Broad Street Run is for all the runners to get to the start line on time. The race is a point to point 10 mile run. This year the start time was brought forward to 7:30am. This required us to get up a little earlier than prior years, drive down the sports stadium area and take a subway from the stadiums up to the starting line…with thousands of other runners. The subway station was crowded and we were the at the first station so as long as we could get on the subway car we would make it to the start.

We just missed a train but were first in line for the next one to pull up. My wife was very lucky to find a single seat by the door and was able to sit almost in her own private space while I was standing making new friends very close up for the whole journey. It’s funny when the train pulls into a station already full and more people try to cram on when there is clearly very little opportunity to add more people…yet, they do.

We got to the start line around 7:20am and there was no way we could make it down to our starting corral. There were just too many people in the way. We found a gap in the barriers and jumped in to the nearest corral we could which was close to our corral. The race had already started by the time we got into the corral and the first three or four corrals had crossed the start line before we had the opportunity to get moving.

Arrived at Olney Station – closest to the start line

Made it to start line. Wearing our best rainy day gear.

The weather the week leading up to the race was glorious and warmer than seasonal temperatures. However, the day before the race this all changed and it was raining lightly when we arrived at the start. Luckily we were prepared for this and ready to go. While it was a little wet, the rain for the most part held off for the whole race.

As we ran down Broad Street we were on the look out for my wife’s cousin who attends Temple University. We found him easily and he was waiting for us with a water bottles for each of us. That was very welcome. Despite the weather the crowds came out and the support along the course was amazing.

Great to have our own cheering section on the course

My wife and I settled into a nice comfortable pace and really enjoyed our morning. It was funny to see my wife high fiving everyone as she passed the crowds…that’s usually my job but she was clearly having a fun time. It’s a net downhill race so that definitely helps!!!

Just about halfway with City Hall in the background

We made it past the stadiums where we had parked at around mile nine and then continued down to the Philadelphia Navy Yard and the finish line. The crowds were out in full force along the last mile and we were happy to make it into the Navy Yard for the last quarter mile to the finish line. My wife had her name called out as we approached the finish line and we crossed hand in hand together.

As the race is so big the organizers rush you through the finish chute towards the field at the side of the finish area where there was after race food and water. It was not until we had gone through the refreshment tent that we received our medals. This year there were thermal blankets available for runners after the race. I had never seen them provide these before for the runners. It was very welcome as we had to walk back about a mile to the car. One thing that they didn’t have which is quintessentially Philadelphia is soft pretzels. After 10 miles that would have been fun. Oh well, maybe next time.

We were lucky, as soon as we got into our car and headed out of the stadium parking lot the rain finally came…and hard. We finished just in time to get the best of the day. It was a great time running this race again, this time with my wife. Not sure I’m one of those people who will sign up every year for this race but the chance to run with my wife and run fairly local with great crowds was fantastic.

Now we are setting our focus on the races we had to postpone after my accident last year. Up next is the Atlantic City Marathon in October which we will be running together. Next up is the Princeton Half Marathon in November. My wife has run this in the past and I have signed up before but had to skip to race chase her in the New York City Marathon. This will be my first time running this race. A little later in November is the Philadelphia Marathon. My favorite as it was my very first marathon. This year will be my 10th Philadelphia Marathon and it will also be my 30th (official) marathon overall. We already have a 2025 race booked…more details on that later.

Don’t call it a comeback…it’s business as usual.

Thank you for reading.

I’m Still Standing…

November 6, 2022ianesenior 3 Comments

Hello…it’s been a long time. Can it really be over three years since my last post? To borrow from Elton John, “I’m Still Standing”. I’m here, I’ve just been a little absent for a while. I have a few exciting updates so I need to do a big omnibus ‘catch up’ post. Strap yourselves in, there is a lot to cover and I’ll try to do this quickly.

My last post on the 2019 New Jersey State Triathlon was published way back in September 2019 (and even that one was a bit late for a race recap). It is over three years later now and while the world turned upside down I was already a little behind in my race recaps and posts before everything shut down in March 2020. I guess that’s life. Now while I had plenty of ‘downtime’ due to race cancellations, life just got in the way. Focusing on family and work is more important than my ramblings on personal race experiences but people have reached out to see if I still exist and although there has been a gap I have indeed had some great race experiences since I last posted. WordPress knows I exist as my renewal notice for the blog/blog hosting just came up. Let’s get my money’s worth.

The only way I can really do this (and memory permitting) I’ll give a quick recap on where I left off up to the present and share a very exciting event coming up in November 2022 which is sure to be a once in a lifetime event for me.

So, having left you in July 2019 with a (late) race recap of the New Jersey State Triathlon, my calendar was as follows:

September 2019 – Bucks County Alternative Half Marathon

This was a do no harm race the week before the Ironman 70.3 Atlantic City. Actually, I had forgotten I had signed up for the race and I think the only reason I had signed up was that there was a ‘Star Trek’ theme. The race was easy and uneventful and I was happy with my result. I finished with a time of 2:01:21.

It helps when you have race gear to match the theme of a race. — It helps when you have running gear to match the theme of the race.

September 2019 – Ironman 70.3 Atlantic City

This was a big race for me. It was my goal race for the year and a chance to make good from my last half iron distance triathlon (remember, the one I ended up in the emergency room!!). It was a good race for me, while I did not break my goal time I still finished in 7:04:49 which still made me happy. It was hot by the time I made it to the run and I struggled in the heat but I was not disappointed in my swim nor the bike (even though it rained and I was terrified cycling up the AC Expressway).

First win….didn’t drown or get eaten by a shark.

Gritting my teeth on the bike. Either through fear or determination.

You cannot lose me in a crowd wearing this outfit but it still got me to the finish line.

November 2019 – Philadelphia Marathon

Pretty good day out on the course despite the cold, wind and rain. Not breaking any records but this was my 8th Philadelphia Marathon and I finished in 4:10:20 which I think is my 4th fastest of the 8 (to date) times that I have run in Philly. I always love this race as it was my first and I consider it my local run. I would do it every year if I could and hope to run this as long as I am able. In this race I received my medal from my friend Robyn who was volunteering at the finish who we both realized was standing next to Des Linden, the winner of the 2018 Boston Marathon and a two time US Olympic marathoner. Cool.

In early March my family and I ran a (very cold) local 4 mile ‘Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup’ race along the Delaware Canal. Little did I know that would be my only ‘official’ race of 2020…

The hot soup was a blessing after this near freezing race. We do look happy though.

AND THEN COVID…

March 2020 – Love Run Philadelphia Half Marathon – Cancelled

April 2020 – Rutgers Unite Half Marathon – Cancelled and race has not returned

May 2020 – Broad Street Run – Cancelled

May 2020 – Vermont City Marathon – Cancelled and Deferred (twice) to 2021….however

Although the race was cancelled, I continued to train (hey, I was working from home and had no commuting so had extra hours each day). While the race was still cancelled I decided to run the distance as a virtual race, so on the Sunday in May when the race would have originally taken place I headed to Warminster Community Park and ran multiple 2.33 mile loops. Around 14 miles in I was joined by my wife who ran the remaining distance with me. A local race director (RunBucks) saw my post on Facebook and rode up on his bike and cycled alongside us for the last 8 miles. As I crossed an imaginary finish line after 26.2 miles he pulled out a (none dated) race medal and awarded it to me. Awesome. So great to have such a dedicated running community here in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. A fun day to make up for a cancelled race.

With RunBucks race director Pat McCloskey

June 2020 – Rev3 Williamsburg Sprint and 70.3 Triathlon – Cancelled and Deferred to 2021

July 2020 – New Jersey State Triathlon – Postponed and Deferred to 2021 but ultimately, I did not participate in the event due to conflict (actually a great week away in Miami)

September 2020 – Ironman 70.3 Atlantic City – Postponed and Deferred to 2021

November 2020 – Philadelphia Marathon – Cancelled and Deferred to 2021

May 2021 – Dirty German Endurance Fest 50K

I had often thought about doing this race as my first ultra and first trail race but it always coincided with something like the Broad Street Run or was not really compatible with a training plan. This year, as there was nothing else I had planned and I had been running regularly, I decided a couple of weeks before the race to sign up. I had never run trail races before, did not have trail running shoes and then the weather was an absolute washout the day before leading into the race. I bought myself a couple of pairs of good trail running socks (one spare to keep in my bag in case I needed to switch half way as it was a two loop course), lathered my feet with Vaseline to keep them fairly waterproof (in addition to the rain and mud there were four stream crossings) and turned up with a positive attitude. I didn’t set any records that day (other than my first official 50K so a natural PR) but made a good showing. It was very muddy and hilly and at times I was running because of both gravity and worry that if I stopped, the wet mud would just take my feet from under me, but I had a great time. I finished in 7:07:09 and found muscles in my legs that I never knew existed before. Trail running is a completely different experience and there is a lot of balance involved compared to running on asphalt. The great thing about this race is that it was in Pennypack Park which is only about 30 minutes from my house. It’s an enormous park right in the north east of suburban Philadelphia, but you would never know it was there. It was so much fun. Oh, and muddy.

You had no choice but to get wet. The first of many crossings.

Not many options. Needless to say, the shoes did not make it back into the house when I got home.

June 2021 – Rev3 Williamsburg Sprint and 70.3 Triathlon

Finally…the redemption race. Returning to the scene of the crime. My goal was to stay on the bike and finish with no trips to the emergency room. Besides, my wife decided she wasn’t going to drive me there so I was on my own for this one. I decided to do both the sprint and half distance races again this year. Yes, stupid is as stupid does. I never learn. While the Sprint course was pretty much the same, the half distance bike course was different…and much hillier than last time. I did however stay on the bike the whole time so that’s a win. It was such a hot weekend. The water was so warm it was like soup, not wetsuit recommended. Saturday’s Sprint triathlon was fine. It was really an effort to just keep loose and get the nerves out. I finished the sprint in a time of 1:43:52 which was quicker than 2017 but then I found out after the race distance was a little shorter by just over a mile or so. Sunday, the day of the half distance, was why I was really there.

I had two great swims both days (it helped that there was a strong current for sure). The bike course for the half, as I said earlier, was a lot more hilly than the last time I raced. There were a couple of times when people were walking their bikes up the hill (me included). It was relatively flat in 2017…which I still managed to fall off. Anyway, by the time I made it to the run it was about 99 degrees in the shade which made it a long plodding half marathon. I finished in 7:29:42. Not my best and was about as long as it took to drive home in the horrendous traffic. At least I survived unscathed. Not many official race pictures but just evidence that I finished both races with a smile on my face.

Finishing the sprint on Saturday. Smiling.

Finishing the half iron distance on Sunday. Not so smiley.

I got two medals for my efforts this year. There was no challenge as in previous years so no third medal this time.

September 2021 – Ironman 70.3 Atlantic City

This was my attempt to beat my 2019 time. I didn’t but I still had fun. The swim was interesting this year. The tide was so low that people just got up and walked…in the middle of the bay. I was swimming and there was so much silt you could not see where you were going. You would feel the bottom of the bay with every stroke. Weird. The bike was uneventful (thankfully) and as nerve racking as it had been the previous year along the AC Expressway. The run was impacted again by the heat. It got to me bad this year and my time reflected that. I finished in 7:22:00. I can do better than that but still, I’m always glad to finish a race. This year, the finish line was on the beach which made for a unique and fun way to run into the finish line as I finished my fifth 70.3 distance triathlon.

No picture of me swimming this year but another great picture of me looking uncomfortable on the bike.

Such a cool finish line. Not easy to run on sand on tired legs but I don’t look like I’m unhappy about it.

Always nice to add another medal to the collection. This was my fifth 70.3 distance triathlon.

November 2021 – Philadelphia Marathon

You know me by now. Guess what…there was a challenge for this race weekend. The ‘Liberty Bell Challenge’. If you completed the half marathon on Saturday and the full marathon on Sunday you get another medal. Having done this type of challenge a number of times before (4 times at Disney and the inaugural ‘Rocky Challenge’ during the 2016 Philadelphia Marathon weekend) my wife just sighed and rolled her eyes as I told her I would be running both. This race had been postponed in 2020 and it would be the first marathon we were together as a couple since the 2019 Los Angeles Marathon.

Saturday’s race was smooth and uneventful. I ran the half in 2:05:26. The goal was to enjoy myself, finish without any injury and not beat myself up too much for the next days marathon. Mission accomplished. On Sunday my wife and I ran the full marathon together. This was my 9th Philadelphia Marathon and my wife’s 3rd. It was the first time she had run the altered course which takes a more scenic route through Fairmount Park and eliminates the horrible out and back near my 16-17 which I always hated. The day was fun and we supported each other well. We finished in 4:45:17 which is consistent with the two other times we have run this together.

At the finish line I received my second and third medal of the weekend. Another highlight is that we met Meg Keflezighi at the finish line. He is an Olympic Silver medalist at the 2004 games and finished 4th at the 2012 games. In all he has been an USA Olympian four times, three as a marathon runner. He has won the 2009 New York City Marathon and won the 2014 Boston Marathon (the year after the bombing). He’s an amazing person. This was really cool.

With my first medal after Saturday’s Half Marathon

With my Bride and Joy at the finish line. My second medal of the weekend.

With my challenge medal….they just keep getting bigger

Meeting Meb Keflezighi at the finish line.

May 2022 – Vermont City Marathon

After multiple deferrals (the race directors had tried to move the race to October each of the years) we finally got to run the Vermont Marathon. The course had been modified to limit the amount of volunteers that were needed to support the race (still just post COVID) so the route was a two lap 13.1 mile course. We took our youngest with us that weekend as the eldest (now a high schooler) had commitments with the high school marching band. He plays the bass drum…the big one!!! It also happened to be Memorial Weekend so we made a long weekend out of it.

We stayed in the race partner hotel so we didn’t have to leave to get to the expo…which was a good thing as the rains came down heavy that day although it did clear up later and it was an absolutely beautiful crystal clear blue sky for the rest of our time there. We did some touristy things with our youngest (I recommend a trip to the Vermont Teddy Bear factory) which was fun. He created a new buddy for himself and named it ‘Vermonty Python’. I’m proud he recognizes his heritage!!!

Race day was beautiful, running along Lake Champlain. The neighborhoods we ran through were amazing. Many of the residents were out cheering and spectating. Some provided refreshment stations. It was a hot day and they had freeze pops at one of the aid stations. It was great fun. We finished in 4:53:20. Did I mention it was hilly. People go to Vermont to ski.

The highlight of the trip (and kind of how I roped everyone in to the idea) was a trip up to the Ben & Jerry Factory after the race. Treats were had by all. We finished our night with a trip to the Von Trapp Family Brewery (yes, THAT Von Trapp Family).

I would highly recommend this race. The place is beautiful.

(Finally) Finishers of the Vermont City Marathon.

The beauty that is Vermont and Lake Champlain. Wonderful weekend weather. Perfect for a nice 26.2 run.

Let’s be honest…the only reason some people decided to make the trip.

So now the big reveal and the reason I have to catch up in an omnibus post. As I write this post my wife and I are three days away from heading to Athens, Greece to run the ‘Athens Authentic Marathon‘. It runs from ‘Marathon’ to ‘Athens’, celebrating the historic run of Pheidippides after the Battle of Marathon which inspired the modern day race. The race itself finishes in the original modern day Olympics stadium from 1896. The ‘Panathenaic’ Stadium. We are so looking forward to this trip and I cannot wait to share the details when we get back.

It’s nice to be back and thank you for your patience.

2019 Broad Street Run – Race recap

September 6, 2019ianesenior Leave a comment

This May I ran the 2019 Broad Street ~~Swim~~ Run. It’s 40th year. My third and the the first time since 2012 (pre this blog).

I had gained entry for this race without the need to go through the Broad Street Run lottery process as I had signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon. As the race organizers are now in charge of both races, if you register for the Marathon (or the Half) you are allotted a place in the race if you register before the lottery. I don’t think I would have entered if this had not been the case. This is the biggest race in Philadelphia and is very much an achievable distance for many people who do not want to run a half or a full marathon. With over 40,000 runners filling into a very narrow street it tends to get crowded. Very quickly.

The weekend forecast called for rain. Not just rain, but lots of rain. In fact, the local TV weather man was on TV showing people how to duct tape their shoes to keep their feet dry during the race. 😦 Hmmm….and I was already looking forward to this weekend so much!!!

I wasn’t able to get to the expo due to a family commitment and a friend who was also running grabbed my race packet and bib for me so I had to do nothing more than show up on the Sunday morning of the race and get to the starting line. With 40,000 people picking up bibs the expo would be jammed. The last time I ran this we were in line wrapped around the building waiting to go in. As this was the 40th anniversary of the race, the race shirt was a nice tech material. Typically they give out a cotton shirt and you have to pay a fee if you want a tech shirt. Surprising for a race of this size. A nice surprise was that my race corral was further up front than I had been placed in prior years so I would be off earlier. I used my 2017 Bucks County 10 Miler as my proof of time (1:22). That was my 10 mile PR so that helped propel me forward.

Having run a marathon in the rain and having done long training runs in the rain I wasn’t planning to duct tape my shoes but I would use my usual rain guard of putting vaseline generously over my feet and between my shoes. At worst I would have ruined a pair of socks but at best I would have blister protection for the run. I packed a poncho to wear before the race to keep me dry and I packed second poncho for after the race in my race belt. I was ready for the weather.

The race is a point to point race. You park at the sports complex nearby the finish line (which is about a quarter mile away at the Philadelphia Navy Yard) and take the subway up to the start line in Olney 10 miles away. The ride is free for runners wearing their bib in the morning.

It’s pretty much a straight run and mostly down hill

When I arrived at the sports stadium in the morning the rain and wind was pretty hard and steady. I wasn’t late but there were no parking spaces close to the subway entrance so I would have to stay as dry as possible just getting to the start line. I still had to make the journey to the start so I donned the first of my ponchos and headed to the subway station. People were out to make a buck and were selling rain ponchos in the parking lot for $5 a piece. I saw a few people shelling out money. I was happy with my $1 poncho from CVS (that I had a stash of for emergencies like this).

Arriving with plenty of supplies

Ready to make the dash to the subway station

I got to the subway a little damp and climbed aboard the first train that pulled in. It was just before 7am. It was an Express train to the start line. It was jam packed and already steamy with damp runners. Standing room only and then they added more people. The race start was 8am. I had about an hour to get to the start line and I was on the Express train. I figured I was going to make good time. Well, if this was an Express train I would hate to see how slow the Local train went. As I was getting out the subway I heard the National Anthem and I was still behind the back of the last corral. I made a hurried dash up front to my corral through the hoards of people without any opportunity to find a bathroom pre-race. Eek!!!

The rain was already steady and pooling on the sides of the road. It was going to be steady for most of the morning. We had to suck it up. My friend who had grabbed my race packet had bailed. I’m sure they were not the only one. So as my corral moved forward towards the start line I wished those around me good luck, ripped off the poncho and waited to get going.

It’s not a steep downhill but its a net downhill with a fast start. With such large groups of runners the first mile or two you are dodging in and out trying to find position relative to your pace. People who arrived late and were coming in from another subway station were jumping into earlier corrals which jammed things up a bit. Also…it was not the warmest day so this added to the overall fun LOL!!! By about mile 2 I needed to find a restroom but none were to be seen…I had to leave the course for a couple of minutes to get myself sorted out. Once back I joined the throng of runners and headed down towards Center City Philadelphia.

Between mile 5 and 6 (running by Temple University and City Hall) the rain really started to come down heavier. As you round City Hall the 6 lanes of runners compact into 3 lanes until reaching the other side. The sides of the road were beginning to pool heavily with rain water so if you took an inside line or were positioned on the left you pretty much were running through water until it opened up further down Broad Street. I’m glad I was very liberal with the use of vaseline on my feet. I was stuck on the inside 😦

Once you get past City Hall you are over halfway. Only another 4 miles to go. Broad Street always has great crowds and even in this weather people were out in force to cheer on the runners. That really helped as conditions were not the most fun. I was keeping a fairly consistent pace running between 8:30 and 8:45 minute miles through mile 8. However, I began to slow to 9 minute miles as we approached the last stretch.

As you enter the Navy Yard there is a sign overhead letting you know that you have another quarter mile to go. I dug in hoping to get under 1:30 hours and put in a sub 9 minute mile. I clocked 1:30:09. Oh well. Given the weather conditions and my physical conditioning (I’m a long way from my PR shape) I was happy with my time.

Finally finished but not quite out of the rain yet

Once through the finish line I grabbed my medal and my food bag and immediately pulled on the fresh poncho that I had been carrying with me through the race. BEST DECISION EVER. I saw everyone around me start to shiver as they cooled down after the race. It was windy and rainy and I was already wet but the poncho stopped me feeling any worse. It was too wet to start eating my food or taking any pictures (okay…I took a picture) but my focus was on getting back to my car, turning on the heat and getting out of my wet clothes. It was just under a half mile back to the sports stadium and I probably got my feet more wet than during the race as I walked back to the car. I had managed to miss any severe puddling during the run, not so lucky on my walk back.

Once dry(ish) in the car and in some dry clothes I sat back, enjoyed my post race refreshments and warmed up with my car heater on for a few minutes before heading home for a hot shower. Glad it was over. Glad I ran well. I am signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon in 2019 and probably will sign up again in 2020 but I may skip the free entry for Broad Street Run next go around.

Even my medal needed a towel to dry off

2018 Philadelphia Marathon – race recap

April 8, 2019ianesenior Leave a comment

Let’s pretend I own a time machine and I can take you back to last November (which is a sneaky way of saying I am late posting this recap). Okay, now that you have suspended disbelief for a while I will take you back to late fall where my wife and I ran the 2018 Philadelphia Marathon together. I like to do this race every year as (1) it was my very first marathon and will always be special and (2) it is essentially my local marathon, I can drive there in the morning and be home by noon(ish). I have run this every year since I started ‘marathoning’ and only missed one year (2014) as we were on vacation for Thanksgiving. This would be my 8th Philadelphia Marathon and only the second time that I have run this together with my wife. We last ran this together in 2013.

In addition to running with my Wife again this year a new challenge for me was that this was only two weeks after running the 2018 New York City Marathon which is the shortest time I have ever had between marathons. I was a little nervous and hoping I would be able to manage the distance and support my wife the whole way. Although a little apprehensive going in, I’m always excited when this race comes around. I have many good memories from this race.

Before the race was the expo. This year was located as usual at the Philadelphia Convention Center. I made the trek to the expo the day before the race to pick up our race packets and to also pick up our pre-ordered merchandise. This year was an anniversary year, the 25th anniversary of this version of the marathon, and I was hoping that they would be making extra effort for all the runners. In 2013 when my wife and I ran together it was the 20th anniversary race and they awarded us with a special gold (colored) version of the race medal.

Arriving at the expo

Arriving at the expo

Arriving at the expo

As I picked up my bib, one of the volunteers noted my New York City Marathon race shirt and said something to the effect that they didn’t know if they would be able to run two marathons so close together…at this point, neither did I. It would make for an interesting weekend.

I headed in to get our bibs and as this was the first year of the new ‘Philadelphia Challenge’ I headed to grab the special fleece that my wife earned for running the ‘Broad Street Run‘ back in May and the Philadelphia Marathon this weekend. I picked up a fleece that showed 36.2 miles for the Philadelphia Challenge.

The merchandise area was set up as it had been for the last couple of years. I took a quick look knowing that I had already spent my race weekend budget on pre-orders. I saw a couple of jackets similar to the one I had pre-ordered but in different colors and slightly different logos. As I tried them on I suddenly realized that the sizing seemed a little off from what I was expecting. The size large that I had ordered (while trying these jackets on) was huge. I would be swimming in the jacket. I looked around in vain to see if there were other sizes of the jacket I ordered but no 😦 . I told a member of the event staff my pre-order details and also asked if there were any medium jackets back behind the merchandise and not on display. They came back with my order and said there were no other sizes. As this was the Saturday before the race they were pretty much sold out. I checked the bag to make sure I got what I ordered and lo and behold, I had ordered a large jacket but there was a medium in the bag!!! Wow! It fit great. Day made 🙂 .

After passing through the merchandise section I headed out into the main hall. As I mentioned earlier this was an anniversary race and so they had on display all the t-shirts, bibs and medals from each respective year through 2017. These were pretty cool to see.

My first marathon finisher medal – 2011

I headed through the exhibitor section of the expo. Having been to many of these I was used to seeing a number of the vendors and didn’t spend too much time. I did make one purchase of racedots to try out for the weekend. FYI, the magnets are really strong and (spoiler alert) they worked well for the race. I did see a funny t-shirt for any spectator that made me chuckle.

I also stopped by the CGI Racing booth to ‘spin the wheel’ and win a prize. My wife had asked me to stop by and see if I could pick up a coupon for a race discount for ‘The Love Run‘ in March as she wanted to run again in 2019. I did one better…I spun the wheel and won her a 50% discount for the race. I picked up a discount coupon for the ‘Rutgers UNITE Half Marathon‘ in April which I planned to run and hadn’t run since 2016.

After the expo I headed home to get ready for the race and set out my gear before an early dinner and an early night. I was going with the understated look this year as you can see.

Race day arrived and after an early morning wake up and drive to the City we were primed and ready for the race. The temperature for the day looked great for running, a little cool to start but in the mid 50s for the most part of the day while we would be running.

Arriving at the race

We were soon in the starting corral and ready to go. A chilly start but we hoped it would feel comfortable soon as we set out running.

I got many cheers of ‘Go Brexit’ which was not what I was going for. My wife thought it was funny though.

We started out running an even pace in the mid-9’s for the first few miles. The pace was agreeable and we took in the clear morning and crowd support. All was going well. We had headed down through Center City to Columbus Boulevard and then through Queen’s Village and South Street and then back up Chestnut Street.

As we headed up past 30th Street Station and onwards towards the Drexel University campus (around mile 8) my wife took a fall. Completely face planted. Her first fear was that she was going to be trampled by the runners behind her but myself and another runner were quick to pick her up and I made sure she was okay. I think she was a little stunned for a moment so we walked a little to make sure she felt okay and was calm. She had fallen on her knee but nothing of major consequence that we noted at the time. Later after the race there was a little grazing to the knee but no major injury, just a little shaken up.

The fall had stopped our momentum a little (and understandably so). We took it easy as we set off again hoping that there were no ill effects. After the Drexel Campus there are the two biggest hills on the course. The one leading up to the Philadelphia Zoo and then the one leading up to Memorial Hall. These are the only two significant hills you have on the course. Our pace dropped as we hit these hills but we were still in the low 10s for the most part through Fairmount Park and then up Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard as we made it to the halfway point just before the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It was a really beautiful day. One of the best things about running this race are the views as you run alongside the river.

As we rounded the Art Museum (mile 14ish) and headed out along Kelly Drive towards Manayunk, my wife started to struggle a little. Not from the fall (her knee wasn’t bothering her) but she sometimes gets hip and IT band pain during long runs. It doesn’t happen in every marathon but we had just done the hilliest parts of the course and I think it was beginning to catch up with her. It was also warming up so that may have added to the stresses. We had already run 14 miles and that is no mean feat in itself. Our pace slowed as we started to take some walk breaks and we were now running miles in the 11 minutes per mile range but at least we had forward momentum and were making our way along the course.

The crowds are thinner from the point at which we leave the City through the park and up Kelly Drive which sometimes makes that stretch seem longer than it is. We finally reached Manayunk (miles 19 through 21) and this is where the crowds pick back up. We were welcomed by residents handing out oranges, beer and other goodies. The crowds were thick and loud as we reached the end of the main street and hit the turnaround. Once you get to that point around mile 21 you know you are going to make it home…although it does seem more than 5 miles to you at this stage. We were doing well, taking walk breaks as needed.

On the road back from Manayunk it is just a matter of keeping focus and committing to getting to the finish. People are dragging at this stage. We just kept focusing on form and moving along and not trying to think of any negative thoughts. At one point a local running club was offering some relief for runners during the last few miles. My wife stopped at one of these stations and had a lady massage her IT band with a running stick (like a rolling-pin being pressed into the muscles). It brought tears to her eyes. Not sure if it was pain or relief but she wanted to hug the lady and thank her. Relief I guess as she wasn’t complaining.

As we hit mile 25 and rounded the corner we could see the Art Museum in the distance and knew we were almost home. As we approached mile 26 the crowd was deep and loud and we saw people we knew out there cheering us on. Any moments of discomfort or pain were behind us now as we sprinted toward the finish line to cross with an official time of 4:42:56. Not our fastest but it was quicker than my wife’s last Philadelphia Marathon. She had made it through the discomfort of the back half of the course and overcome a little fright from her fall earlier in the race. I was really proud of her. I had finished my second marathon in the space of two weeks so I was thrilled.

We passed the finish line and went to collect our medals. Our friend Robyn was at the finish line as a volunteer passing out the medals and it was such a nice surprise to see her and receive our medals from her.

Always great to finish another marathon and as you can see we pretty happy.

As usual, we didn’t hang around too long. Always somewhere to be. In this case it was a birthday brunch for one of my wife’s friends so we dashed to the finish line to pick up our car and head to our sister and brother in law’s house for a quick shower. As we were dashing to the car we bumped into another friend who was out there cheering people on.

Always fun to have cheer leaders out there

Done and headed for brunch

We walked into the brunch (although we Uber-ed to the restaurant) wearing our medals. We had earned our food and it tasted really great. Our medals were replicas of the Liberty Bell and we had the sounds of ringing in our ears all day as we wore our medals.

No surprises here. I’ve already signed up for the 2019 race.

November 2017 – Month in review

December 29, 2017ianesenior Leave a comment

November 2017 – Garmin Connect

This month the focus for me was preparing for the Philadelphia Marathon on November 19. I had just come off one of my biggest months of training in October. With the way the calendar fell I had three 50 mile weeks. The taper was most welcome. Together with the post marathon recovery which took longer than usual this was one of the smaller mileage months for me.

I still managed to churn out 127 miles (26.2 of which was the Philadelphia Marathon).

The weekend after the Philadelphia Marathon was Thanksgiving so I had a little extra time in the mornings to work out. It’s nice to be running in daylight at this time of year. It doesn’t happen much.

My wife and I had a good showing at the annual Bucks County Road Runners Thanksgiving 5 miler. This was our second fastest time for this event which we have run dating back to 2010. It was a cold morning but the sun was out and we made the most of the fine conditions to put the pedal down. I was more than pleased that I was feeling normal the morning of the race as I was feeling sore longer than normal after the marathon. Also…this race had pie!!!

Nice sunny day for our run around the park

Some solid splits for this run

They had pie

With that being done it was back to training for the upcoming Walt Disney World Goofy Challenge. This would be my first ‘Philly to Goofy’ (*) training cycle since 2014. I started doing the weekend back to back runs with doubling the distance of the Saturday runs on the Sunday. Only 7 weeks between Philly and Disney this time around.

My big ‘Black Friday’ purchase this year was to register both my wife and myself for the 2018 Philadelphia Marathon. That sets up quite a busy year for me in 2018 if you add to that the Delaware Marathon that I signed up for at the expo a week earlier.

2018 is looking like this for me now:

January – Walt Disney World Goofy Challenge

April – Delaware Marathon

July – New Jersey State Triathlon – Olympic Distance

November – New York City Marathon

November – Philadelphia Marathon

Thank you for reading.

(*) This is where the blog’s name comes from. Running the Philadelphia Marathon and then running the Goofy Challenge a few weeks later – Philly to Goofy – Philly2Goofy 🙂

2017 Philadelphia Marathon – Race recap

December 29, 2017ianesenior Leave a comment

On Sunday 19^th November I participated in my sixth Philadelphia Marathon. I have come quite a way since my very first marathon also in Philadelphia in 2011. This race would take my total number of marathons to 19 setting the stage for number 20 in January at Walt Disney World. Trying not to get ahead of myself though, I’d like to focus on my experience for this race.

Last year the running of the Philadelphia Marathon transferred hands from the City of Philadelphia to the race team that hosts the Broad Street Run. They made some changes to the weekend, some welcomed and some less so. One of the changes was to split the half and the full races into separate days and different courses. They also created a challenge event for those that participated in both races, the ‘Rocky Challenge’. If you follow my recap from last year you can read how that unfolded.

This year the race organizers announced the challenge (rebranded the ‘Liberty Bell Challenge’) at the time of registration. Seeing as I will be running a 39.3 mile event at Walt Disney World in January I decided that I would focus on just the marathon this time around. I do occasionally need to get some sleep.

As always, I was getting excited prior to race day as I followed my friends running the Chicago Marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon and the New York City Marathon in the weeks leading up to Philly. I was just waiting for it to be my turn. Soon enough though the weekend rolled around.

I visited the expo on Friday evening. It was again held at the Philadelphia Convention Center in Center City. Packet pickup was fairly straight forward. I was only doing the marathon this year but it looked like they were pretty organized for the challenge runners unlike last year when no one seemed to know what I was talking about.

Arriving at the Convention Center

Expo time

Once I picked up my race bib and shirt I went back to a table I had passed on my way to packet pick up to do a quick meet and greet with Bill Rodgers who was signing copies of his new book. I asked him to sign my bib as I had met him previously but didn’t think to ask him for his signature. I hoped that having a four time Boston Marathon and four time New York City Marathon winner and former Olympian sign my bib would automatically make me run faster…

Bib pick was well organized

Bib pickup was fairly easy

Once I had finished meeting Bill (he’s a talker 🙂 ) I headed over to the expo and to the race merchandise area. As per prior year it was well stocked and divided up into men’s and women’s sections. I made my purchase of a puffer vest that I had looked at the prior year and passed on and also a new beanie. I was happy with my purchases but even happier about the bag that they provided for my new gear. Okay, maybe I get too excited by race expos but I thought that if they are going to take the time to provide logo bags then they might enhance the running experience on the day. We shall see.

Meeting Bill Rodgers

Fingers crossed this brings me good luck

At the expo they had the Lexus pace car on display. It was covered with the names of all the runners. This was not an alphabetical list so after a few minutes of looking for my name I gave up. I’m sure it was somewhere on there. Why would it not be alphabetical????

Seriously…not alphabetical?

I didn’t make any major purchases at the expo…unless you count registering for another marathon. Yup, I’m now registered for the 2018 Delaware Marathon in late April. I had my eye on this as I can drive there on the day and I was looking for a spring race. They were offering a discount so I went for it. Looks like another winter training plan for me. With no other merchandise jumping out at me and no other needs or accessories that were required I headed home for an early night and hopefully a restful weekend.

Something different

My next race…after my next race

What was planned to be a restful day came to a grinding halt early Saturday afternoon. While I was driving the family to the car dealership so my wife could do some test drives, I had a major cramp in my left calf. It came from nowhere and was extremely painful. I couldn’t walk for a good amount of time and I was seriously concerned. I reached out to my runner friends for advice and they all told me to hydrate. I started pounding water for the next couple of hours to which came the next bit of advice…don’t drink just water, electrolytes…you need electrolytes. So at this point I was heading home and started taking salt tabs every 30 minutes or so as I tried to massage out my calf. Then I was told to take an Epsom salt bath which I did and followed that up with a hot shower. Next up, icy hot applied to the area and then a calf sleeve. Desperate….you betcha!!!!

Well, with nothing more that I could do I headed to bed. Hoping that the rain that had been coming down all afternoon would give way to some better weather (spoiler alert – it didn’t) and that I would get a good night’s sleep so that I would wake up rested, relaxed and hopefully with a seemingly normal feeling calf muscle.

All set and ready for the next day

….so at 3am when my neighbors were still partying I sat up in bed and decided then and there that I was buying my eldest a full drum kit when he needed it…

My alarm went off around 4am. I started to get ready, very bleary eyed, listening to the wind and rain outside the window and feeling my calf muscle still sore and tight. I guess my goal time was out for the day.

I headed downtown hoping to get to my regular parking lot before they started blocking off the roads and was able to make good time. It was still raining while I was driving down and also as I walked to the race staging area holding onto my rain poncho and praying it didn’t fly away. Thankfully as the morning started to break the rain stopped. There was still a very strong wind and it was cold but at least the rain had stopped. That was something.

Heading to the race start and clinging onto my poncho so it wouldn’t fly away

Unfortunately due to the amount of rain which had been falling steadily since Saturday afternoon the ground was saturated. It was pooled with water and muddy in many areas. I met up with a colleague who was also running and we headed to bag check together. In past years (each of the 5 previous times I have run this race) bag check is in Eakin’s Oval itself on the paved area. This year they had moved it off to the side of Eakins Oval. While the trucks were on the street you could only access this by walking across the grass…which happened to be almost ankle deep with wet mud in places. Another annoying aspect of the bag check was that it wasn’t sorted by bib number nor alphabetically, it was a first come first served process. Everyone went to the first truck they saw which was out of the way of the soggy ground. This became a mad crowd surge as people started hearing the National Anthem being sung. We had only a few minutes to get to our corrals before our waves went off and people were still queueing up to check their bags. Crazy. What a mess. I ended up with a tag from truck 2 and my bag was put on truck 3. I’d have to hope that they sorted the bags out before I got back at the end of the race.

A grey morning start at the corral

The race had already started before I made it to my corral but my corral had not yet been released. It was a mad dash but I made it. Talk about an adrenaline rush. It was crazy. Although the rain had cleared it was still cloudy. The temperatures were in the high 40s but with winds of 25mph+ and gusting well above that the temperatures felt much colder.

Once my corral was released and we were underway I kept up with the pack of runners around me. I had set my goal time to sub 3:50 hours and a secondary goal of 4:00 hours. This meant running a pace in the mid 8:30 minutes/mile. As we were running down towards Delaware Avenue (around mile 2) a gust of wind blew as we passed by a gap in the buildings and everyone moved sideways. Wow. It was strong. I was able to maintain a pace between 8:25-8:30 minutes/mile for the first 7 miles or so despite the headwind but as I ran towards Chestnut Street around the old city I felt my calf tweak again and I knew at that time I would have to back off or at least do something different.

I had not been doing any run/walk intervals during races since running the Mohwak Hudson Marathon back in 2016. With the sudden jolt to my left calf I decided to minimize any pain/damage and go back to my old intervals. My Garmin watch still had alerts as I had never turned them off so I just settled into a 4:00/0:30 minutes/mile run/walk ratio so that I could keep my momentum going. This slowed my pace a little but not considerably so I was able to keep moving at a decent pace. My sub 3:50 may be out of reach but I felt good for a sub 4:00 hour (or close to it).

Running up Chestnut Street towards Drexel University was like a 2 mile wind tunnel. All around me people were losing hats/visors. I tightened my hat on my head and just pushed into the wind waiting for a break when we turned the corner up towards Fairmount Park. The wind was pretty brutal.

The sun was out though so it was still an enjoyable run. The crowds were out to cheer despite the cold and the wind. That is one of the best things about the Philadelphia Marathon. The crowd support for the first 10 miles is great. It thins out a lot in Fairmount Park until you get back to the Art Museum around mile 14 and then thins again until you hit Manyunk. Still, the crowds are one factor in this race that keeps me coming back again and again.

The run through Fairmount Park was fine (once you get beyond the big hill up to Memorial Hall) and I’m glad we get to spend more time in the park so that we can avoid the old out and back that used to be around mile 17. This however prevents you from hitting the half way mark at the Art Museum as used to be the case when the Half and Full marathon was run on the same day. We hit the Art Museum around mile 14 since they changed the course and I was there just in time to see the race leaders making their way up the finish line. Yup, they were 12 full miles ahead of me…and running in singlets in this weather.

The slog…sorry, run…up to Manyunk along Kelly Drive is scenic but into wind is just tough. Very tough. There is no shelter from the wind the whole time you are running. The course is fairly flat but it felt like you were running up hill all the way as the wind was just relentless. Some of my friends behind me took pictures next to trees that had been snapped in the wind. Yes, I’m not exaggerating that the wind was strong.

At least when we entered Manyunk we were sheltered from the wind by the buildings. This also made it much warmer for those miles. The run through Manyunk is an out and back from mile 19 to 21. There is a slight uphill but with a break from the wind this didn’t seem too bad. I was slowing a little though. My pace had fallen off while running miles 14 to 19 into the head wind. I was probably not looking to make my 4:00 backup goal. My goal was to finish and do so with a smile.

So, thinking that if you are running into wind you would have it on your back on the way in would make sense…neh, all of a sudden you get a cross wind on the way back from mile 21 to 26 (insert face palm emoji here…) The run back was steady. I was just looking to finish at this point. My legs were aching more than usual for a marathon. I can really describe conditions as though you were running uphill the whole way because the wind was honestly that strong on the day.

I made it to the finish line in 4:08. Not my best time but again not my worst. I was very relieved to finish this one. As I was running the finisher chute there was a runner receiving emergency medical treatment just in front of the finish line. I saw someone go down just after they crossed the finish line. It was not an easy day. Still, marathon number 19 was in the books.

Another marathon finish in the books

Marathon #19 complete

I stopped for a large cup of hot coffee on my way home. I’d earned that for sure. Usually I’m pretty much up and about the afternoon of a marathon but I was cooked. I needed to rest up. I reviewed my running data and looked at my charts. Holy moly that was an effort today. My time in the highest heart rate zone was insane. 2:31 hours out of the 4:08 was almost at maximum effort. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said it was not an easy day.

24 ounces of pure gold

A little too much time in the high red zone

Interestingly enough, it took me a few extra days to recover from this race. I’m usually sore a day or two after a marathon but I was really struggling even by day 3. I finally was able to run properly just in time for our Thanksgiving Day run on the Thursday post race.

I told my wife I may be taking a break from Philly after this year, after all, I’m running the 2018 New York City Marathon next November. That was until Black Friday when I signed both my wife and myself up for what will be the 25^th anniversary running of the Philadelphia Marathon. I’m a sucker for a special medal.

So, until next year…

Catching up…at 88 miles per hour!!!

November 10, 2017ianesenior 3 Comments

This is going to be a quick and rapid catch up as I can only use the ‘Wayback Machine’ for a short time.

With all the training that I was doing for my July half iron distance triathlon I let the blog updates sit on the back burner for a while. Something about the 3am wake ups and two a day work outs that finished around 9pm made me avoid logging on late at night. Strap in tight…this is going to be a very quick update.

June

Garmin Connect – June 2017

This was by far the biggest month of training for my half iron distance triathlon. I logged 398 miles (107 running/279 cycling/12 swimming).

Back in early June I ran in the Freedom Mortgage 5K. I was right in the middle of my triathlon training so I was feeling fit. Given that I had run this event well last year I was looking forward to returning. Also, this is the event that my wife was the race director for. As was the case last year I came down with the boys and my father in law. The race course was certified this year (it was long last year). I ran hard and ended up running the exact time as my previous 5K PR (from back in 2012). I was really pleased. I placed 1st in my age group and 15th overall. I earned my donuts that day.

My finish time for the 5K

We made it a family affair again this year.

At the end of the month my wife finally convinced me to participate in The Color Run. I have been hesitant to participate in these races although my wife has run the past few years. I only agreed to do this as we were going to run as a family. At the end of the day it was a fun time and my kids had a blast…until we got home and we had to scrub them clean in the shower.

Running through the Phillies stadium during The Color Run

In the midst of it all…

I guess this says it all

June was a really intense training month for the triathlon and I was more than happy to start my taper at the end of the month.

July

Garmin Connect – July 2017

The above calendar tells quite a story. In the end I logged 157 miles for the month (32 running/121 cycling/4 swimming).

July was my big event month. I had been training hard for the Rev3 Williamsburg triathlon and was looking forward to having the whole family down with me in Williamsburg for the weekend. As you can read here, the race didn’t really turn out as planned but it definitely was a memorable experience.

The rest of the month was pretty much me being sidelined. I ended up having to cancel my race entry to this year’s New Jersey State Triathlon. I had to rest my body as best I could. I tried running late in the month but I was a little too ambitious. I had to dial it back. However, I found a good compromise by using a sling and slowing my pace down…. a lot!!!

How I felt getting started again

End of July sling running

August

Garmin Connect – August 2017

Albeit very slowly, I logged 143 miles this month. Running only. It will be a while before I’m back in the pool and I’m staying away from the bike for now.

My actual training plan for this year’s Philadelphia Marathon began in the last week of July. By August I was just getting into the early stages of the plan and struggling a bit with pace. I would still be wearing my sling and by the end of each run I would be hot and tired due to the heat and humidity. I still gutted it out though. We had our family vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC during the third week of August. I was up early to beat the heat every day (not that you could really escape it) and despite my lack of pace I was able to pretty much stay on my training plan. By the end of the month I was running without the sling. Taking it easy still but getting back to form.

Free winging it

September

Garmin Connect – September 2017

This month I logged 182 miles of running.

September primarily consisted of buckling down to marathon training. I had chosen Hal Higdon’s Intermediate II training plan which is slightly higher mileage than the Intermediate I which I have mostly used. I thought following all the triathlon training I would be in a better position to do the higher intensity training. I hadn’t planned on my accident back in July and so hadn’t gone back to update my annual training plan. I figured I could do a couple of extra miles here or there. My mid-week runs are higher than on the Intermediate I plan and coming up in October I will be doing three 20 mile runs vs two which would be my usual training for a marathon. September therefore had pretty high mileage.

It was a very warm month with no break in the weather that one would expect for early fall so my pace was slower than would normally be.

During the month my wife and I participated in the Philadelphia Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon. This year however we didn’t immediately sign up for the 2018 race so we shall see if this will be on our plan for next year.

October

Garmin Connect – October 2017

This was the big month of training as I get ready for the 2017 Philadelphia Marathon. I logged 203 miles of running.

I spent a lot of time on my feet running around. This month included the three 20 mile runs I mentioned earlier with three 50 mile weeks out of the month. I didn’t have much time to sit back and relax but all in all I was glad to get through the month uninjured and ready for the taper.

One change that occurred this month was that I finally changed out of my regular shoe after 6 years in the same type (Brooks Adrenalines – I’d worn models GTS 11 through GTS 17). I had been struggling a while in this shoe and the last two iterations (the GTS 16 and 17) just didn’t have the same fit and feel. However it takes a leap of faith sometimes to try something new.

I read a review about the updated Saucony Omni 16 and decided to give it a go. I took them out on a 5 mile run and they felt fine. I was already experiencing difficulty in the Brooks shoe and to some extent my feet were feeling some pain points at the end of runs. On the day of my second 20 miler of the month I had run about a half mile before I had to turn around and go home. There was pain on the top of my foot from the Brooks overlays. I took a risk and ran in the Saucony’s after only wearing them for 5 miles the day before. They came through the challenge as did I. The shoe profile is slightly different (there is a lower drop in the Saucony vs the Brooks) but the stability was there when I needed it. Needless to say I return the two unopened boxes of Brooks and replaced them with the Saucony’s. Fingers crossed this is the right move for me. So far so good. I ran the rest of the month in them including the third and final 20 miler.

Thanks for sticking with me on this. Time to hand the Wayback Machine to its real owners and get…

December 2016 – Month and Year in review

January 5, 2017ianesenior Leave a comment

December is over and another year has been completed. 2016 was a year of accomplishments that I never thought possible and was very rewarding.

Looking briefly at my December stats I completed 143 miles. I also managed to finally get back on the bike (albeit indoors on the trainer) and managed to make it into the pool a couple of times. It’s back to work over the winter. Hopefully this will pay off in the summer, however there is still the March marathon that my wife and I are training for. It’s going to be a long winter of training but all for a good reason.

Nike+ Summary – December

You will notice from the Garmin data below that I have the ‘scale’ symbol from December 1st. I bought the Garmin Index Smart Scale on Black Friday…I’m already regretting that one!!! I’m hoping that this winter training pays off before I have to squeeze into that triathlon spandex in the springtime.

Garmin Connect – December 2016

So, my total mileage for the year ended up as 2,388 miles made up of:

1,597 miles – Running

753 miles – Cycling

38 miles – Swimming

Overall it was a lot of fun. Lots of good work with some good results, so lets recap 2016.

January – March

With no runDisney races for the first time in recent years the winter months were spent training for the spring marathon and avoiding the cold and the snow. With the treadmill we bought at the end of 2015 I was lucky not to miss too many days of training. I even became a regular at the pool towards the end of February. My wife and I did run the Eanie-Meanie-Minie-Moe Half Marathon with our local running club (Bucks County Road Runners) as part of their Winter Series. Lots of fun…lots of hills…but on the plus side, lots of food at the finish.

Running the ‘Eenie-Meanie-Minie-Moe’ Half Marathon

My wife and I also took part in the Philadelphia Phillies Charities 5K. This was my first time running this event although my wife has run it every year. It was a lot of fun. I don’t run too many 5Ks and this was over too quick. Still we had a fun time down at the stadium.

And finished with a fun photo opp.

At the end of March I was invited onto the Let’s Run Disney podcast to talk about my ‘Goofy In A Day‘ experience back in 2015 where I ran 39.3 miles in one day to raise money for ‘Give Kids The World Village’.

April

At the last-minute I decided to register for and run in the Rutgers Half Marathon in New Brunswick, NJ. I had run this race in 2015 and enjoyed it. It was a good warm up to race season. I wasn’t expecting too much and managed to end up running a new half marathon PR. A good days work and definitely a confidence builder going into the season. I was invited after this race to join my friend John on his ‘Runner of a Certain Age’ podcast for a race recap.

On my way to a new Half Marathon PR at the Rutgers UNITE Half Marathon.

May

At the beginning of May was the New Jersey Marathon. I had run this back in 2013 and 2014 and this is still my current marathon PR. This time I was running with my wife and we met up with my friend Elvin who ran with us for the first 19 miles. It rained from the minute we started the race until the end. It was a truly soaking run but we had fun and we made the best of it.

Outside the ‘Stone Pony’ in Asbury Park, NJ (Springsteen Country)

A few days after the marathon, I got up early one morning and while getting my biking cleats on I managed to strain my sacroiliac joint. Ouch. Big ouch. I was laid out flat for two days unable to sit up. After three trips to the chiropractor in two days and lots of time laying on a heat pad I was finally up and moving again. After 9 days off (yeah…I know not a lot) I was running again. My wife was the race director for her company’s 5K (which was more like a 5.5K) and we all (me, both boys and my father in law) were taking part. I didn’t want to show myself up so I put the hammer down and ended up 3rd in my age group and 10th overall.

Good enough for 3rd place in my age group.

The boys had a great time running the 1 mile fun run. My wife (and her company) did an awesome job.

Proud parent moment. The Heir and the Spare running the 1 Mile Fun Run

Priceless. Crossing the finish line

Following the New Jersey Marathon I was in full triathlon training mode. I was training for my first Half Iron distance in July. My training went from a max of 7 hours a week (when training for a marathon) to between 12-16 hours a week at the peak of triathlon training.

June

During the peak of my triathlon training I had to take a business trip to London. I was unable to bike and swim during the 10 days overseas but I did get the opportunity to enjoy the great English summer and I got a lot of running time (and sightseeing through London) in the early hours of each day. My hotel was in Central London and I was able to cover lots of ground on foot. It was great. I was also fortunate to spend time with my Sister and her family and with my Parents. It was a great trip and a productive work trip.

Finishing my time in London with a final run over Tower Bridge. Maybe one day I will be able to get back for the London Marathon.

July

This was the big month. This was what I had been training for all winter long. My first Half Iron distance triathlon. I participated in the HITS Hudson Valley Triathlon up in Kingston, NY. It was my first attempt at a 70.3 mile swim, bike, run event. I had a great experience made all the better with meeting up with my friend Bob (also doing the Half Iron distance) and having my wife’s Aunt and her family meet me at the finish line. I was on a high for days after the event despite my exhaustion. It was great.

I did it!!! My first 70.3 (Half Iron Distance) traithlon

With my friend Bob at the finish line

Later in the month and with temperatures in the 90’s I took part in the New Jersey State Traithlon at the Olympic distance. This was the site of my first triathlon attempt which was washed out by a lightning storm in 2015 with only the swim and bike legs completed. This year I was able to complete the race despite the intense heat and had a lot of fun. I’m already signed up for this event again in 2017.

2016 New Jersey State Triathlon

At the end of July I was invited onto the Team Shenanigans podcast to talk about transitioning from marathon running to triathlon training and racing. That was a lot of fun (and thankfully heavily edited).

August

With my focus back on marathon training I set about the summer months getting my long runs in for my October marathon. While I may have sounded like winter training is hard (it is) the summer training for a marathon really beats you up. It is the heat and the humidity that really stresses the body. It is easier to run in the cold with layers to keep you warm but its hard to run in the heat as you are already minimally dressed and it is hard to cool down. We took our vacation with the boys this year in Myrtle Beach, SC and the heat and humidity were intense. I stopped on my long runs to refill my water pack which is something I never need to do at home.

Family vacation time

While on vacation both boys ran a 5K with us to earn their own virtual runDisney medals. We were very proud of them and they want to do this again in 2017.

With their Mickey Shorts medals

September

At the start of the month I was invited back (as a last minute stand in) to my friend John’s ‘Runner of a Certain Age’ podcast to talk about the Rock ‘n’ Roll Race Series.

This was the peak of marathon training for me with the upcoming marathon at the beginning of October. Thankfully the weather was still great for most of the month. Cooler but not too cool. I had two races this month, the Hightstown Triathlon (my last triathlon of the season) and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon (my 6th consecutive time running this race).

The triathlon was lots of fun. I was confident going into this as this was the shortest of my races this year and it was great to be joined by a couple of my work colleagues. I ran the Half Marathon with my wife. It was a tough race as it was only 48 hours after my last 20 mile training run but we powered through and made a respectable time.

2016 Hightstown Triathlon

2016 Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon

October

The first week of October was the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon. This was to be my goal PR race that I had trained for. Despite the scenery (the Adirondacks in the fall is breathtakingly beautiful) my time goal was not meant to be. I faded during the last 7 miles of the race and ended up running just over 4 hours. Not what I had planned but still respectable. I wasn’t disappointed. I did the best I could on the day but it just wasn’t my day. Still, we had a great weekend meeting up with family in Albany and my wife ran a great half marathon.

Although I missed my goal time I always celebrate a marathon finish

November

This was a busy but fun month. It started out with me ‘race chasing’ my wife as she ran (and earned a new PR) in the TCS New York City Marathon. She had won her place in the lottery and I did all I could to support her over the weekend. It was a great time and I was so proud of her. I had a lot of fun running and taking the subway all across the city. I managed to see my wife four times during the race and the weather was perfect.

The Great Race Chase

My wife and her NYC Marathon finisher medal

The week before Thanksgiving is the time for the Philadelphia Marathon. This year I was running in the inaugural ‘Rocky Challenge’ which involved me running the Philadelphia Half Marathon on the Saturday and the Philadelphia Marathon on the Sunday for a total of 39.3 miles. It was lots of fun. I wasn’t putting too much pressure on myself other than to just finish each race. I was totally thrilled to run each race under my target times and for the weekend I ran a sub 2 hour half marathon and a sub 4 hour full marathon. This was despite a significant change in the weather between the two days. I was really pleased with my performance and this capped off my racing year on a high.

A good weekends work. A sub 2 hour Half Marathon and a sub 4 hour Full Marathon

We finished the year with our usual Thanksgiving Day 5 mile Turkey Trot which our local running club puts on. My wife and I ran together with a fairly decent time (I think near one of our fastest times).

Always great to cross a finish line together

In Summary

2016 was a fun and rewarding year. I completed 3 marathons and 4 half marathons. I completed 3 triathlons, a Half Iron distance, Olympic distance and Sprint distance. I earned a new half marathon PR. I ran in London (and Atlanta and Arizona) and also participated in 4 podcasts. What fun!!!

I cannot wait to see what 2017 brings.

On my calendar (so far):

March – Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Marathon (with my wife)

July – Rev3 Williamsburg Sprint and 70.3 Triathlons (another two-day challenge)

July – New Jersey State Triathlon (Olympic Distance)

September – Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon (with my wife)

I’m hoping to get through the New York City Marathon lottery this year (my 3rd attempt) and I’ll probably run the Philadelphia Full Marathon again in November.

Thank you for reading.

November 2016 – Month in review

December 30, 2016ianesenior Leave a comment

Another late ‘Month in review’ post but technically getting in under the wire.

November was a busy month with 150 miles in training and racing. Not my biggest month for distance but one of the busiest for activities. With all the running, I did still return to the pool for the first time at the end of the month for my first swim since September. I’ve been focusing on my marathon training since my last triathlon so it felt good to finally get back in the water.

November 2016 – Nike+ Summary

The month started off with the New York City Marathon. While I was not running myself (hoping to eventually make that lottery) I was there to cheer on my wife as she ran earning a new PR that day. It was my first time ‘race chasing’ and spectating a marathon and it was truly a thrill. The excitement for waiting for and watching my wife run her race and to cheer on friends and complete strangers was such a great experience. I cannot wait to experience this race for myself one day.

My wife and her NYC Marathon finisher medal

The weekend before Thanksgiving is the Philadelphia Marathon. This year was the inaugural ‘Rocky Challenge’. While I have mixed feelings about how the weekend was organized I was proud of my performance in running both races, the Half Marathon and the Full Marathon back to back, in under 2 hours and 4 hours respectively. They were two of my best performances at those distances this year.

A good weekends work. A sub 2 hour Half Marathon and a sub 4 hour Full Marathon

On Thanksgiving Day itself is the annual Bucks County Road Runners Thanksgiving 5 Miler. This was my first race way back in 2010 when I started running. My wife and I ran together the whole race and this was our second fastest time we have run the race. It was a nice start to a long weekend of family time and was a great way to finish the month.

Pre-race at the Thanksgiving Day run

Always great to cross a finish line together

A nice way to earn our Thanksgiving dinner treats

November marked the end of my race season but after a week of recovery I jumped straight into week 4 of my marathon training plan for the 2017 Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Marathon next March. Oh well, at least I finished the race season upright and healthy so that is something that I really want to give thanks for.

Thank you for reading.

philly2goofy

…and all the miles in between

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