2010 Broad Street Run

A few days before the race I received an email from the Broad Street Run race organizers warning that a weather advisory was in effect for race day. Immediately I thought there was a thunderstorm or some degree of flash flooding that was imminent. But I continued to read and found out that it would be extreme heat that would slow runners up on Sunday. Extreme heat. Upwards of 90 degrees in early May. Yes this wasn't hoax. Unfortunately, it had been just as hot in the days prior to the race, so the low for the previous night hadn't even dipped below 70. I could tell easily that was the case when I woke up in the middle of the night in the sauna that I call a bedroom. Had to turn on the AC for the first time of the season.

Brigid and I woke up and got our gear ready before heading down with the rest of the masses to stadium area. With all my recent complaining about the race organization in the past few days, I have to say that I was pretty impressed with the overall race day scene. My heart almost dropped after we approached a mile long traffic back-up waiting to exit 76. But Brig suggested taking the next exit onto Packer and luckily there was not a single car in line to get off the highway. However, we did get a view of the cause of the back-up and it was the same as in years past: no traffic cop to direct the huge influx of cars into the area. A single lane, a long traffic light, and no opposing traffic is something that should definitely be taken care of. Still, we got to our parking spot relatively unscathed.

We hurried into the train station at approximately 7:30 AM and there wasn't a single person down there. The train was relatively full, but I remember the last few years that the station was as packed as the ending scene in Crocodile Dundee. The train ride was a quick 15 minutes and we were at the starting line by 7:50, plenty of time to get ready. That was until we saw the lines for the bathrooms. I'm not overestimating when I say there was probably 150 people in line. I've learned from previous years that it's best to deal with this before even getting to the race start.

Now on to the race. I've been dealing with a nagging ankle problem the past few months and it would be accurate to say that I really haven't run over 5 miles in that time, let alone any decent interval or tempo runs to build up my fitness. I was hoping that the CrossFit workouts I have been accumulating would at least give me a decent level of fitness to go out and hammer down a decent time. Not a PR, but something I could hang my hat on for future reference. CrossFit is a broad workout regime that aims to train all aspects of fitness in a very general, unspecified manner. By constantly varying workouts, they claim to prepare the body for numerous types of challenges. I've been tinkering with the workouts so as to focus mostly on my legs, hoping that this would prepare me somewhat for a longer distance foot race. I had no idea what to expect when I approached the line. I ran into John at the start and saw some other familiar faces in my corral. I think we were both unsure of our upcoming performance. He has a more miles racked up in the past few months than I did, but he has been following a similar CrossFit regimen also.

The gun went off precisely at 8:30 and we were off. I decided to stick to myself during the race, not wanting to be goaded into running the first few miles faster than I should. First mile came in at approximately 6:30, which was the average pace I held for last year and I felt OK. Second mile came in at 6:48 and I was quickly feeling my body's resistance. You can never be sure how the first few miles are going to stack up, because even though the race has a pretty significant net drop in elevation, there are some portions of the first few miles that have some minor uphill stretches. I put it out of my mind and continued on.

That was the best portion of the race for me. The mile splits continued to decline, first into the low 7:00 and then gradually making their way into the low 8:00 for the 8th and 9th miles. I was hoping to at least break 7:00/mile, but I knew this wouldn't be the case and soon found myself hoping for at least 7:30/mile. It's really amazing how you make compromises with your body during races like these, first demanding that you run a certain pace, then forgiving yourself and setting the bar a little lower, and a little lower, and a little lower...

I know I definitely pulled back a bit during the last 5 miles of the race. I knew if I wasn't going to finish anywhere near my time from last year, then I might as well pull back and not risk aggravating my foot. The heat made this an easy decision to make. I remember trying to consciously lower my heart rate from 185 down to at least 175 and could not make the transition, despite my lowering splits. Just goes to show the effect weather has on the body.

I finally finished in 1:15:27. Even though this was my slowest time to date, I wasn't that disappointed. I came in with low expectations and minimal running miles over the last several months. When I took a step back and realized how few miles I actually ran, it was surprising that I was able to hold onto this pace for a solid 10 miles. The Crossfit regimen may not provide you with the fitness necessary to be truly competitive in your field, but it definitely gives you a solid foundation to go out and perform well, regardless of the sport. Once I am back to 100%, I will start to incorporate more CrossFit Endurance workouts into my training plan. Hopefully this will provide me with the proper stimulus to set a new PR next year.

Rest Day

Almost rest...

4 X Max Pushups with full rest

43, 33 (only took about 5 minutes rest on this one), 46, 42

Tomorrow is the 10 mile Broad Street Run. I wish this run was supposed to benefit something, because then at least I could rationalize the clusterf*** that goes on prior to and during this race. They capped the race at 30,000 people this year, which is almost 7000-8000 more than last year. I thought last year was unbearable. 45 minute waits for bathrooms, weekend warriors who drastically over-estimate how fast they'll run, endless traffic jams, and a long, stressful journey up the Broad Street subway line. If I was allowed to piss on the street, I would consider this the closest resemblance to a cattle herding as humanly possible.

My aggravation really started this year with the drive down to Lincoln Financial Field: gear grinder #1. Charge me a couple extra bucks and mail the damn race bib to my house. What ever happened to finishers picking up their T-shirts AFTER they finish the race. I sat in an immovable, unavoidable traffic line while trying to park at the football stadium because everyone was fighting for the closest spot to the entrance. Only one aisle over, there was at least 100 empty spots, but people were more content to sit in their air conditioning then walk an extra hundred yards. Maybe I'm wrong and they are taking every effort to taper.

I soon realized why they want you to drive all the way down to the stadium. Upon picking up your race bib and T-shirt, you have to traverse the gauntlet of race sponsors. This is an adventure in and of itself. I had a few close calls with the skin chaffing cream guy and the massage stick girl, but I made it out all right. At least it was better than the Philly Distance Run expo, held at the Philadelphia Convention Center. They expect thousands of paying customers to drive into center city and find parking just to pick up their race essentials. What a crock.

Still, this race is becoming one of the most popular races in the country, mostly because of its face straight haul down Broad Street. The elevation is a net decline, which makes for some of the fastest 10 mile times out there, and tons of PRs if you can stick close to the front of the herd.

With all this being said, it's hard to miss this race. It really is a great chance to see the city during a Sunday morning run. Unfortunately, I haven't run more than 5 miles in almost 3 months and while my ankle feels good for now, I'm sure I would re-injure it if I pushed myself during the latter portion of this race. With all advice to the contrary, I'm sure that's just what I'll do.