Michael Danko #241
West Chester, PAAge: 30 Gender: M
Well another marathon in in the books. Three weeks after NYC I decided to run Philly well it proved out to be a success.
The one thing I like about Philly being able to sleep in your own bed the night before.
4am wake-up get ready and out the door by 4:45am. I met my buddy and we drove down and parked the car and then headed to the start. We did a little warm up and then waited for the race to begin. The gun when off and we are off. I started out a bit quick and knew I needed to settle in at a slower pace. (I was running with my one buddy at this point.) As the first few miles went by I was able to settle may pace in around 6:48/6:49. Around mile 9 the 3 hour pace group caught up with me so I decided to run with them. This helped some of the boring miles go by on west river drive. Around mile 12 I had to stop and water the plants but I did not lose much time at all. Went through half way at 1:29:46. So I knew I was on a good pace. As we ran up lemon hill and Kelly drive this is where the training really comes into play since it is very quiet here and not much crowd support so it can be lonely and mentally challenging. As we neared the 20 mile mark in Manyaunk (My buddy had faded) the crowds picked up and make the race go by quick. Once we turned around we started heading back towards Kelly drive and towards the finish line. I was still with the pace group and was still on pace to break 3 hours. As the miles started passing 21, 22, 23 I knew I had to begin to push the pace in order to break 3 hours. Once I passed 24.5 I began to pick up the pace and make my move. As I passed in front of the art museum (the old finish line) the crowds were great. I made one last turn passed the 26 mile mark and I began to sprint and I cruise over the finish line in 2:59:23 a new PR. It was nice to run this race again. My first time running Philly since 2006.
Keys to successful race.
1. Proper diet the days leading up to the race
2. Proper Hydration leading up to the race
3. Good Night Sleep
4. Took Cliff Shots every 6 miles and Hammer E caps and Anti Fatigue
5. Strong will and determination.
6. Scene from Rocky 5 [after Rocky has been seemingly defeated] Yo, Tommy! I didn't hear no bell..(meaning one more round or 3 more miles)
Overall, I thought i was a nice race. There were some issues that I think they need to fix. Running the half and full at the same time and be hard since you have no idea who is running which race it also makes the first part of the course very much more crowded. The aid stations were nice but I did see some where they were not fully staffed and people were grabbing their own fluids. Also I did not see any aid stations for medical if someone had an issue. Another big issue was the finish. Since the finish was on the other side of Eakins Oval you have to run around it on your way back from Kelly Drive and as a result you have to weave you way though the slower runners coming through their first half and this can be dangerous. I think they need to address this issue next year I heard people talking about this before and after the race. One other thing was the finish. There were family members and all kinds of spectators in the area right after the finish this made it very crowded. Security is a big issue at most major marathons but it seemed to me that they were short staffed. I must say it was a nice race but if Philly wants to move up in the major marathon scene they need to address these issues.
Congrats to all those who ran today I got my BQ fro 2011. Now time to relax.
GO NOVA.
The one thing I like about Philly being able to sleep in your own bed the night before.
4am wake-up get ready and out the door by 4:45am. I met my buddy and we drove down and parked the car and then headed to the start. We did a little warm up and then waited for the race to begin. The gun when off and we are off. I started out a bit quick and knew I needed to settle in at a slower pace. (I was running with my one buddy at this point.) As the first few miles went by I was able to settle may pace in around 6:48/6:49. Around mile 9 the 3 hour pace group caught up with me so I decided to run with them. This helped some of the boring miles go by on west river drive. Around mile 12 I had to stop and water the plants but I did not lose much time at all. Went through half way at 1:29:46. So I knew I was on a good pace. As we ran up lemon hill and Kelly drive this is where the training really comes into play since it is very quiet here and not much crowd support so it can be lonely and mentally challenging. As we neared the 20 mile mark in Manyaunk (My buddy had faded) the crowds picked up and make the race go by quick. Once we turned around we started heading back towards Kelly drive and towards the finish line. I was still with the pace group and was still on pace to break 3 hours. As the miles started passing 21, 22, 23 I knew I had to begin to push the pace in order to break 3 hours. Once I passed 24.5 I began to pick up the pace and make my move. As I passed in front of the art museum (the old finish line) the crowds were great. I made one last turn passed the 26 mile mark and I began to sprint and I cruise over the finish line in 2:59:23 a new PR. It was nice to run this race again. My first time running Philly since 2006.
Keys to successful race.
1. Proper diet the days leading up to the race
2. Proper Hydration leading up to the race
3. Good Night Sleep
4. Took Cliff Shots every 6 miles and Hammer E caps and Anti Fatigue
5. Strong will and determination.
6. Scene from Rocky 5 [after Rocky has been seemingly defeated] Yo, Tommy! I didn't hear no bell..(meaning one more round or 3 more miles)
Overall, I thought i was a nice race. There were some issues that I think they need to fix. Running the half and full at the same time and be hard since you have no idea who is running which race it also makes the first part of the course very much more crowded. The aid stations were nice but I did see some where they were not fully staffed and people were grabbing their own fluids. Also I did not see any aid stations for medical if someone had an issue. Another big issue was the finish. Since the finish was on the other side of Eakins Oval you have to run around it on your way back from Kelly Drive and as a result you have to weave you way though the slower runners coming through their first half and this can be dangerous. I think they need to address this issue next year I heard people talking about this before and after the race. One other thing was the finish. There were family members and all kinds of spectators in the area right after the finish this made it very crowded. Security is a big issue at most major marathons but it seemed to me that they were short staffed. I must say it was a nice race but if Philly wants to move up in the major marathon scene they need to address these issues.
Congrats to all those who ran today I got my BQ fro 2011. Now time to relax.
GO NOVA.
1 comment:
You rock, great job Mike!!
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