Race Recap: Philadelphia Half Marathon

Philadelphia Half Marathon
November 17, 2013

State: Pennsylvania (repeat)
Lifetime Half: #41

Can we just discuss that I can't believe I didn't point out that Wine & Dine was my #40 half overall.  40.  Halves.  I can't believe I've run that many halves in only 7.5 years.  Whoa.

Anyway, back to the task at hand - let's recap the Philly Half.

This is my 4 time running Philly - I've done the marathon twice and the half twice.  We headed down to Philly on Saturday.  After dropping our stuff of at Megan's and picked her and Chloe (her daughter) up, we headed to the expo.

The number/shirt pickup was held all the way in the back of the room.  Super annoying to get too.  Once we got there, it was relatively quick to pick up our numbers and shirts.  I have to say, I really like the shirt this year.  It was a great color (it's a sky blue, my phone made it a weird color) and the saying is perfect.

The expo was pretty small, smaller then I remember from last year.  I picked up some gu's and added to my Sweaty Band collection and then that was it.  Not too much to see.

After the expo, we had an early dinner and spent some time relaxing before an early night of sleep.  Which was good because the alarm went off really early.  I barely remember eating breakfast.  I didn't know what to wear.  It was November 18, but it was unseasonably warm.  I ended up going with a shirt and tank.  In November.  Weird weather folks.

Megan's place is very close to the start, less than a 10 minute walk.  It was an easy way to get to the race start.  We ended over there not too early to avoid standing around.  Since we were also so close, I didn't check any baggage which made going through the security very easy.

Since we were there right at the start, we headed straight to the corrals.  They were nicely spaced and not too crowded.  The start was relatively quick and went smoothly.

I was running this race as a training run, so not too concerned with the pace.  The first couple of miles loop around downtown.  We headed to the water first and ran along that for a little, before headed back to center city.  The course goes right past Independence Hall, which I've always loved.

After Center City, we headed towards the universities (UPenn and Drexel).  Along the way there, I saw Megan and got a nice boost from her and Chloe.  They were so cute to come out!

The next section of the course is the only part with hills.  They are small relatively speaking, but the one heading into Fairmont Park always kills me.  Following a brief little jaunt through Fairmont Park, we did a brief out and back along the water before heading back to the art museum for the finish.  Always glad to see that!

As I said, I was running this as my long run, so I wasn't too concerned with my time.  But my pace was pretty solid throughout the whole time.  I felt much better then I did at Wine and Dine only 1 week before.  I felt like I was putting in less effort, but my pace was faster.  So, that's good, right?

Not loving the medal (I just don't feel like it's that special for a half), but maybe that's just me?

Results
Official: 13.1 mi, 2:03:51, 9:26 pace
Garmin: 13.25 mi, 2:03:55, 9:21 pace