|
- HOME - WORKOUTS - RACES - IRONMAN - SPONSORS - |
|
|
|
| - FORUM - ADVICE - PEOPLE - PICTURES - INNER CIRCLE - |
Race Report
11/24 Philadelphia Marathon. Marathon, NY
A review of the Philly "Cheesesteak" Marathon! Let me start by saying I wish the marathon and the days leading up to it were half as good as the cheesesteak, cheesefries and coke, that Chuck, Julie and I had after the race... man that was good! And if you're ever in Philly do yourself a favor and go to Geno's off Wharton Street and just about all you need to say is, with or without onions and then pick your favorite cheese, either american, provalone or cheeze wiz and we all agreed cheeze wiz wasn't even really food so we went with provalone... wow that was good.
Oh yeah, the race. Personally I felt like crap for two days before the race from the taper and this was worse than I-Man taper, I felt like I was coming down with something the day before so I just kind of rested. Race day I felt better but for some stupid reason I hardly had any breakfast and I didn't bring any energy drink... next time I run a marathon I'm not going to run on a bagel and two cups of coffee! But my plan was to go run 8's as long as I could and end up with something better than a 3:45 which would be a PR but secretly, just between us, I thought I had a 3:30 in me (probably, right next to the bagel I had for breakfast). Anyway I saw Robbo at the starting line and that perked me up because he was wearing a cut-off "Australia" bike jersey and a garbage bag (but I was wondering why he was wearing his normal attire?). Then Chuck "The Man" Totero pulled up next to me at around mile 7, and that proved I went out too fast right there. But we had the the same plans so we hung together, and worked it together until mile 19 or so when I started to hit the wall and he kind of hurdled it! It was fun while it lasted as we were drafting each other, it was pretty windy, and afterwards we told Julie we were breaking wind for each other and she said, that must have stunk!
Anyway those last 6 miles of a marathon, as you probably know, are a battle and I started to see my time goal dwindle from 3:30 to 35 damn!, 40 oh no! And then it was "when is this mo-fo going to be over?"
I liked this race because it was a great way to end the season and it really prolongs the season too, right up to Thanksgiving, so now I can put on the feedbag! Also it was put on nicely, well done by good people... but oh yeah, don't let anyone tell you this race is flat! NOT FLAT! I'm unfortunately one of the same guys that thought the Madison bike course was in the Praire too! Also a big NOT!
Anyway, congrats to Chuck, Don and Robbo for great races in Philly, WTC rules and it was a really great season... Thanks to all for all the fun!
Philadelphia is a great qualifier for Boston or just a good base marathon for Ironman races
the following year. There is only 1 uphill section and 2 downhills. The out and back in
Fairmount enables you to know how far you are from the finish. The crowd on the turnaround
is great and being able to high five your fellow iron buddies heading in the other direction
is an added benefit. Lastly, you can always find some other runners trying to qualify for
Boston in your age group to work with. There are also some great Italian restaurants like
La Buca for Pasta Loading.
Copyright © 2002, Westchester Triathlon Club. All rights reserved.