Race Report - Rock-n-Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon

The Rock-n-Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon is a race that has been on the race calendar for more than 20 years. Originally this race was known as the Philadelphia Distance Run, and is traditionally run the final weekend of September. For 2015, however, race organizers were forced to change the date because of an out-of-town visitor ... the Pope. And apparently his holiness' schedule is not very flexible. With the craziness that is a visit from the Pope the race couldn't happen as usual and a new date of October 31 was agreed upon by the powers that be.

Other than the race date, nothing changed. The race course is one that I have run more times than I remember and is one that I really, really like. The race starts and ends at Eakins Circle which is right in front of the iconic Philadelphia Art Museum. The first three miles (which has changed over the years) tour you around center city, including a loop around city hall. After an out-and-back on Spring Garden Street that gets you to about mile 4 1/2 you take a loop around the Schuylkill River, heading out on Kelly Drive and returning on MLK Drive. The finish is right in front of the Art Museum.

I signed up for this with Cassie and The Mayor as my last race of the season. With 2015 being about racing more, shorter events, I thought it would be a great way to end my season. When I plotted out my season one goal was to run an open half marathon at 1:30:00 or better. With a knee injury in 2014 it had been a while since I ran that fast so the motivation was there.

As I got closer to race day I knew the big goal would be unattainable. Unfortunately sometimes stupid happens. After climbing Pike's Peak over Labor Day weekend I raced a 10k in Colorado on Labor Day, then proceeded to run the first leg of the Via Marathon relay for a team The Queen had put together six days later. I could have cruised the 10k but ... just had to race that sucker.

Which turned out to be a stupid decision.

The next day my left calf ached, forcing me to shut it down for the next five days then taking it easy for the next few weeks. I raced the Runner's World 10k on October 17, gutting out a 41:59 on low miles and zero intensity. Fast (for me) but no way fast enough to expect a sub-1:30.

New plan - 1:32:xx.

With the race being held on a Saturday I drove down on Friday morning to pick up my race packets for me and The Mayor. After a quick loop around the expo, which I thought was just OK, I was back at my office for a late lunch. I had no traffic issues which made the trip less stressful than it might normally be.

On Saturday me and The Mayor left my house at 5:30 am for the drive to center city Philadelphia. Things went smooth with a quick stop at Dunkin' Donuts for some eats and no problem finding parking in my favorite race day neighborhood. Our timing turned out to be perfect as I entered Corral #1 about 30 seconds before the start of the race.

My game plan was simple - go out comfortably hard for the first few miles without looking at my speed. If I feel good at mile two, continue to push. If I feel too much on the edge, pull back a notch. Whatever happened, race by feel and not by the pace on the Garmin.

After the gun went off it took me about 20 seconds before crossing the start line. Even though I had a no look at my Garmin policy I happened to be directly behind the 1:30 pacing group, which included 40+ athletes. With a few turns at the beginning of the race this caused some congestion, but also told me just how fast we were running. Just before the two mile mark I had started to slowly fall back from the pacers, knowing that a 6:50ish pace would not be sustainable for 13.1 miles.

As I looped through town at a slightly slower pace I felt good. Good enough to decide that I would run smartly on the edge and see what happens. In practical terms, it meant I would work to stay faster than a 7:00/mi pace for as long as I could, then hang on to the finish. My thought was that I could sustain to mile 10 or 11, before sucking it up for the final few miles.

Once out onto Kelly Drive I felt darn good. Running totally by feel the miles were clicking off at a 6:50 pace, amazingly right on target for a 1:30 through mile 7. Mile 8 and 9 were slower (7:01 and 7:05), but that was a conscious decision to kick it back a bit. I still felt good, but this section is on a slight incline, including the Falls Bridge.

Just after crossing the bridge you pass the 9 mile mark on MLK Drive, which is where I picked it up again. At this point I just kept thinking about one mile at a time. I also started to recognize a number of people who went out with the 1:30 pacers who were coming back at me. Mile 10 was a 6:58 and Mile 11 clocked in at 6:55.

With just 1.1 miles to go the pace became harder to maintain. The legs were moving, but hurting. Picking the pace up would no longer be an option. At the 20k mark I felt like toast, but continued to move forward at a solid pace. I became very aware of the people around me, hoping to not get passed by anyone. I almost succeeded, but did get taken on the final stretch by a young woman who still had an extra gear, which I certainly didn't have.

After crossing the line I stopped my watch with an unofficial time of 1:31:38 and a big smile on my face. Success!!!! I thought I could race a 1:32 and I did. Just as important, I raced it smart. As for Cassie and The Mayor, they both ran well.

Technology can be good or it can be bad. When I first started to race we had a $20 Timex and assumed that the mile markers were set correctly. Over time I have become too tied to the Garmin, using it as a pacing guide on race day. In my experience this is not a great situation as it can cause you to go too hard on a day you aren't 100% (because if I think I can run a 6:50 pace well damn it, I'm gonna run that pace no matter what) or hold back on days you feel great. I have worked this year to regain that feel for my run and become more aware of my body while racing. Over the 13.1 miles I only glanced at my Garmin a handful of times. Those looks were earlier in the race and more about having an idea of how close my perceived exertion level was to what the data had to say.

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon