Broad (running down the) Street

As smart of a race as I ran last weekend... this weekend, I was kind of a dumbass. It all worked out in the end, but it didn't feel good. For some reason, this past Friday seemed like a really great day to do some serious weight training. I don't know why. Yes, of course, I knew it was two days before Broad Street, but that didn't stop me from doing squats, lunges, and lots of upper body work. Somehow it seemed like a good idea at the time. Saturday I woke up so very sore and so very sorry, knowing that this wouldn't go away by Sunday... and I was right.

Weather was great, overcast and cool... no significant wind. Just like last weekend. Of course it was a zoo... as usual. With 22,000+ registrants, how could it not be? The first mile was the usual zig zag-ing through the throng of runners. I knew I went out fast - first mile was something like 8:04. Silly for me to be running the first mile that fast. I knew I should slow down and I tried, but miles 2, 3, and 4 came in around 8:14. You might be tempted to think that I was feeling good, putting in splits like that. When, in truth, I wasn't feeling so good and I knew I'd be in trouble down the road. Since I was so sore from lifting, my body and my legs felt tired, pretty much from the get go. But I knew that the tired and sore feelings were more about my Friday weight-lifting-fest - so I didn't feel like I could trust the messages I was receiving from my body.

By the time I made it around City Hall, I was definitely hurting. I saw my friend, Ron, spectating in the crowd right before mile 6, so that helped. It's always nice to see someone you know cheering you on. By the time I hit mile seven, the momentum was gone and I was toast. Shortly past the mile 7 marker, I stopped and walked for a short bit. I knew the last three miles were going to be really long, and they were. I kept trying to tell myself that I had less than 5k to go, but that didn't make it any easier. I walked a second time during mile eight, but still somehow managed to do it in under 9 minutes.

By the time I got to the 8 mile marker, I knew I had just two more miles to go. Unfortunately, these are the two most uninteresting miles of the course and seem to drag on forever. I just wanted to be done. I don't know what pace those last two miles were - certainly slower than my first few, but probably around 8:30 or less.

Funny thing is... for as crappy as I felt and given the fact that I walked here and there during those last three miles... I was surprised to find that I beat my time from last year. Not by much, but by about a half minute. The Broad Street web-site was down at the time of this posting, but by my watch, I ran it in 1:23:15

Update
Chip Time 1:23:14 - which is the exact time I ran it in in 2006
7th Place in the Rebecca Division (out of 66)