Review: The Philadelphia Marathon

Marathon-ing is a funny sport. It's one of those things that cause intense pain while you are doing it, but inspire a lot of nostalgia once finished. This was my second marathon, so I had a little bit more experience than last time. The race itself was a lot nicer than I was expecting - the course was very nice and the weather was nearly perfect. It began in downtown Philly in front of the Art Museum and wove through the city proper before heading out towards the river and then up to Manayunk. The crowds were okay - they were kind of clumped together, while St. Louis was more spread out. I got a lot of "go Unionville!" cheers which was a bit odd. I had planned to wear my old Unionville t-shirt in the beginning while I was cold and then strip down to my nice spandex-y undershirt, but I never overheated and ended up keeping the shirt and gloves. I guess it makes sense that so many people would know Unionville - the team has gotten a lot better in recent years. The marathon is one of the major local running events, so I guess it makes sense that some of the more intense track families would be around.

There were some fun runners. One guy ran through the entire races juggling (or least the first seven miles - that was the last positive confirmation of him that I got). There was a guy in a Spiderman costume - which I don't quite understand. Superman would have made sense - but Spiderman? What? One guy ran the entire race carrying an American flag. Kind of strange, but more sensible than the spiderman guy. I would have expected more patriotism in New York or at one of the military marathons, but it's all good.

I ran well. It was a mixed victory. I took ten minutes off my previous time - 3h46m this time - but missed Boston by five minutes. It doesn't really bother me that much - Boston was at a bad time and would have been expensive, even if I could have stayed with a friend of a friend. The course was very well set up - the mile markers and water stations were like clockwork. I also appreciated the clocks at each mile station. I felt really good during the first fourteen miles - I was very steady at an 8 min/mile pace. I was rather proud of my pace - I could add eight minutes to my time as I passed a mile marker and show up at the next one at exactly the right time. I didn't really start to tire until mile eighteen. I tried eating one of those energy gel things - big mistake. I don't know how people eat those things - I wanted to pull over and spit until it was gone. The flavor was terrible and it was goopy - it coated the inside of my mouth and _lingered_. Good motivation to get to the next water station, but it doesn't inspire me to spend money on the terrible things. Two thumbs down for Clif Bar gels.

Miles eighteen to twenty were bad, physically and mentally. Physically, we were heading uphill into Manayunk. Mentally, it was an out-and-back, so I could see all the faster runners already heading back to the finish line. At mile twenty I had fifty minutes to finish the 10k and still make my goal. I did okay for a while, but my pace fell apart. Mile twenty-six was agony. My feet hurt, I didn't have any energy left. I think it took me fifteen minutes to finish the mile. I swear, the finish lines on marathons are deliberately curvy. You can't tell how much is left and it feels like you've been in the chute for twenty minutes by the time you make it there. Miles twenty-three to twenty-six are the repentant miles - "what was I _thinking_?" "oh god, I'll never do This again." "I wonder if someone would notice and report my limp body this far from an ambulance." "Yes, I'll take a Swedish fish, maybe I'll choke and end the pain. Thanks."

Philly failed in the post-race period. Their idea of post-race preparation was a tent with a huge line for massage, some tables, and a food table. The food is my biggest grip. They gave people a cup of chicken broth, a roll, and a banana. That's it. Oh wait, there were peanut chews. It was pathetic. Rolls? What, we couldn't find a bagel shop in fricking Philadelphia? No oranges? These are pretty basic post-race foods. The race fee should have covered these things. St. Louis (and most other marathons I've researched) provided a big spread. I wasn't pleased with that. Otherwise the race was very nice.

The recovery period has been a lot easier than last time too. My quads hurt for a couple of days, but by Wednesday I was essentially back to normal. The worst damage was to my poor toes. I am going to lose my big toenail on my left foot. I had Huge blisters on a couple of my small toes as well. Those were gone by Wednesday as well, at the moment only my big left toe still hurts. I'm already researching my next one. I've identified three possible marathons for the spring, and one for the summer. The summer one is the Grizzly marathon in Montana. I haven't worked out my schedule yet, but I would like to do it if I am around. The three spring ones are the Wilmington, DE marathon, the Cincinnati Marathon and the Burlington, VT Marathon. The Wilmington and Cincinnati races are on the same weekend - the last weekend before school lets out for the summer. I'm going to ask my roommates if leaving that weekend is a good idea. The Vermont marathon is the weekend after. It would be a long trip, but might be less stressful. I am leaning towards the Wilmington Marathon, but we'll see. It would have more meaning for me though - I was born in Delaware and sort of grew up there. Plus, I could stay at home instead of renting a motel room. The course looks a little boring, but well, it's in Wilmington. Anyone that heads to Wilmington for the amazing scenery and variation has been misinformed.

I'm going to take the rest of the week off and part of next week too. Then I'm probably switching to four days a week, especially if it gets very snowy. Anyway, I'm writing this on Friday afternoon. Once I get home I'll go ahead and post it to the blog, for now I should probably return to work before people come home and I get distracted.