Philly

Today: 4.5 miles
Week: 34.5 miles
Workout: Running with friends in the Philadelphia Marathon

I caught the Bolt Bus to Philly yesterday, with plans on cheering for some friends who were running the marathon. I was fortunate that Allyson and her friends had space for me at their hotel. It was so conveniently located, I left the hotel a couple of minutes before 7:00 a.m. (the start of the marathon), ran a few blocks, and was able to catch the leaders passing through the first mile. I saw Allyson but didn't see anyone else. I walked over to Mile 6, and saw the leaders pass through again. And again, I saw Allyson but didn't see anyone else I knew.

From Mile 6, I took a rather long walk to Mile 15. It was probably a little over a 2-mile walk. I waited for a few minutes and Abvi saw me. Good thing too because I would have missed him. I ran with him from Mile 15 to 16. He seemed to be doing great. Good enough to have a conversation anyway.

I headed back to Mile 15 to look for others, and Paul saw me. He was running with Steven, so I hopped ran with them for a mile or so. I turned around again and headed back towards Mile 15. Alanna called me on my cellphone, and said she ran with Allyson at Mile 8. I couldn't quite hear everything Alanna was saying but thought I heard her say that Allyson was in pain and might not finish the race. I was thinking that explained why I hadn't seen her yet. But it turns out, based on her finishing time, she may have been running faster than I anticipated. She may have been right behind me when I was running with Abvi or Paul, so that when I turned to head back from Mile 16 to Mile 15, I may have missed her.

Anyway, I crossed the street and waited at Mile 24. While I waited, I cheered and clapped for the marathoners. It's nice that they all had their names on their bibs. I wonder why the NYRR doesn't do that for the NYC Marathon. I was shocked when Allyson was the first person I saw. I couldn't figure it out. How could she have passed Abvi, who was on 3:30 marathon pace? I thought she was trying to do a 3:45-3:50 marathon! (It turns out that she was in the corrals with the faster runners.) She had to stop a couple of times, but when she was running, she seemed to be keeping up a decent pace.

At Mile 25, I turned around and head back towards Mile 24. Abvi came by, and he seemed like he was still on his goal pace. So I was surprised when he had to stop and walk a little. But it was only a for a few seconds, and he took off again, at what seemed like an 8:00/mile pace. Very impressive for someone who was fighting off obviously painful hamstring cramps.

At some point after Mile 25, Abvi had to stop again, and I was worried he wouldn't make his goal time. But he took off again. I made it to what I thought was the last hill before the finish. I spotted some friends in the crowd and so did Abvi. Those supporters and nearing the finish line must have given Abvi a boost because he took off. I wasn't able to see his finish. I decided to hop out of the race while I still had a chance and try to make my way back and see if I couldn't spot Paul and Steven. I decided I didn't have enough time to run back to Mile 25. So I just found a spot about 400 meters from the finish and managed to see Steven and Paul go by.

We were able to meet up with each other at the finish area. Everybody seemed very pleased with their results. I went back to the hotel to pack. It was about 1:00 p.m. when I left the hotel. I had 5 hours to kill before I caught the bus back to NYC. Fortunately, instead of waiting for hours, I was able to catch a ride with Alanna and Stu.

It was the quite the eventful running weekend. I'm in desperate need of sleep, but it will have to wait until Thanksgiving.