Cowbells and Bagpipes

I just wrote an entire novel about the race and stupid blogger crapped out on me. Like I have all the time in the world. . .

Here's a recap though I'm sure it won't be as good as the original:(

Years ago when we lived in the city we stumbled across the Philly Distance Run. We were amazed at all the runners, music, fans, and I distinctly remember someone throwing up not so far from us. Tom turned to me and said someday he wanted to run it. . .

As Saturday wore on I grew increasingly nervous. Not so much for the race but more what to expect. I don't like the unknown. I find it unsettling. But Tom went over the drill about a million times: where the course went, our strategy, where it's hard, where it's easier. I was set.

Sunday was chilly and I wished it was warmer--until we started. I met up with Alexis and off we went to the sounds of U2's "It's A Beautiful Day." Love that song. There were race people in the corral handing out packets of salt to runners. This seemed vaguely British Navy circa WWII so I politely declined. Within a few minutes my hands were no longer numb and I was sweating.

The pack was tight going into Old City. Where we saw holes, we filled them but didn't push the pace too hard. We were around the 9's for the first mile or so. I don't remember a ton from Old City except that it was cool to see Independence Hall but not so cool to smell horse poo.

Coming out of downtown and heading for the Drive saw our fastest mile (8:02) I guess inspired by all the screaming fans. I was excited to be hitting the Drive knowing the first leg was over. That joy quickly dissipated though. The Drive has a pitch to it that totally irritated my foot. It wasn't bad but enough for me to try and push it out of my head. Here's where the work began and our conversation became noticeably lighter. It was hot and not a lot of shade.

I was dying for the Falls Bridge for a number of reasons. I was bored on West River: trees, river, more trees. It's quiet--no fans really. I remember it being very quiet. And then we hit the Bridge and the race came back to life. Two Eagles fans with giant hands to smack greeted us, along with a chorus of cowbells, and a bagpiper. It buoyed my spirits.

I know Kelly Drive well. I've driven it for years. I knew we still had more work to do. Around mile 9 my ankle began to scream. It scared me and I told Alexis I wanted to ease up some so I ran behind her for some. Then I decided to walk through a water station to see if that helped and it did. But I had lost Alexis.

Mile 10 and onward were hard. I kept telling myself it's just a 5K but a 5K is a long way to go after running 10 miles. It was hard to watch the other runners struggling. I passed quite a few people, witnessed partners yelling not to stop, and saw people stop abruptly in front of me. I tried not to get sucked into their dramas and put my head down to push on.

When we finally got close to the finish I heard Tom screaming and waving his cowbell like a possessed farmer. Next to him was his brother screaming too. I tried to pick it up because I wanted to be done. But it also occurred to me that Tom had a huge smile on his face and I knew he had gotten his time. I wanted mine.

I ran it in for 1:55:07. I had predicted 1:58 so I'm really thrilled for my first half. A special thanks to Alexis who really was a wonderful running companion! What's next chica?

Here are my top ten favorite moments from the race:

1) Intense Eagles' fan singing the fight song on West River Drive--ever so softly-to herself. Alexis and I exchanged "the look" but concurred everyone needs their special place to go to.

2) Odd, shirtless man who seemed to be shimmying his shorts off in front of us. Again, we exchanged "the look." It made us laugh.

3) Very cool Big Band on the Parkway--nice upbeat tempo.

4) Eagles Pep band-always love them!

5) Bagpiper guy. He seemed to be their on his own and was really enjoying playing for everyone.

6) Falls Bridge--loved the crowd along here.

7) The parents who stopped on the sidelines to hug their kids, kiss their spouse, and get back to work. Loved seeing that.

8) The woman screaming at me on Kelly Drive not to give up-the end was so near. She was looking right at me and I felt obliged to pick it up.

9) My husband and Dan screaming like lunatics for me. I later learned they were trying to look up my splits on Dan's iphone to see if I would get my time. Now that's love;)

10) The fans coming into the finish. I was so excited I was pumping my arms in the air and fans were reaching to high five me. I didn't even know them and they were screaming for me. Jen. Not a Kenyan or a rock star. Me. Now that's Philly cool for you.

Here are the splits:
9:15, 8:44, 8:27, 8:02 (whoopsee-heading for the Drive--I guess we were excited), 8:43, 8:33, 8:48, 8:31, 8:46, 8:26, 8:36, 8:40, 8:53

Special thanks to Runner Jen's husband Matt who took these pics.

Here I am up front--ha, ha, ha!


My husband is so hot. Really, he's drenched;) Ask Tom how well he did on Sunday . . . And then feed him something. Nice quads dude!Here's the team before the run. Tom is all the way to the left and I'm on the end. Heather is in pigtails in the middle, and I'm on the end in pink. Alexis is the silly one with her eyes closed.