Finally, a half PR at PDR

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Expectations
I've been chasing a half marathon PR for 16 months and a day. The original plan called for my third Philadelphia Distance Run to be a long run. The first year I was severely undertrained having only been running for 4 months, I fell in a pothole at mile 3, and finished crying, bloody, broken, and defeated in 2:58:15. Last year I learned why I should never eat Powerbars again at mile 10 and finished in 2:27:17. I was hellbent on not having this course kick my ass a third year in a row. I was determined to have a positive PDR memory for a change. After last week's hellalong duathlon, with next week's Great Race looming, and with the marathons as the ultimate goals, I made the painful decision to stick with the one made at the beginning of this coachfree season: to make this a training run rather than an all out race because it was scheduled to be a high mileage week. The greater good and all.

But when I woke up this morning to 51 degree weather with 36% humidity and 15mph winds, my plans changed. The previous 2 years had been extremely hot and humid, and I was not about to waste this precious gift. After a painful long run on Tuesday, I changed last week to a mid mileage week and took not one, but three, days off. Yesterday the train I rode into center city for packet pickup caught on fire (as the train conductor said, "Where there's smoke, there's fire, and let's just say we got a lotta smoke up in here") and we were delayed 2 hours reaching the city. I thought perhaps that will be the only drama of the race. Perhaps. So I restrategized: run with the doctor-mandated HRM, do not go above 85%, take it one mile at a time, and see how it goes. In the back of my mind I keep thinking I need a 10:35 pace or better to PR, but realize I can't exchange my health for it. I refuse to end up in the med tent. But my C race had become an A race.

The Race
Grabbed a throwaway turtleneck shirt (had to scramble; wasn't expecting to need one in mid September) and was out the door. Picked up breakfast at DD, gassed up the car, and left. Got downtown at 645 and scored free parking. The wind was pretty bad in the windtunnel known as center city Philadelphia. After a call from po-po last night that he wasn't coming, I was on my own. Until I saw The Colonel and the gang from my Jenkintown Running Company. Prerace we huddled by generators with each other for warmth and shuffled over to the portajohns when we needed to. We all think how much better the weather is than previous years, and how lucky we are that the original course is being run despite the Schuylkill River overflowing the night before. At 7:55am we lined up, and I shed my turtleneck. Damn, was it cold.

The BOOM goes off and we of course go nowhere. 9,000+ runners take a while to get going, even to the strains of Tom Petty's "Running Down a Dream" blasting through the speakers. Down Market Street we run, over to Penns Landing. Dead stop, as the crowd bottlenecks at the ramp. I jump over a railing and choose brick over concrete as my running surface, and manage to avoid most of the crowd by scampering up the walkway of the ramp. Around the ramp, a quick left onto Front Street and I see I'm at 10:30 for the first mile despite the slow start; not bad. Then the quick right to Walnut Street. I smile as I see so many familiar restaurants, shops, and Broad Street. I'm dodging people left and right, trying to find "my place", sometimes jumping on the sidewalk just to get past them all. Especially the ones who stink so badly I'm gagging.

We turn right onto 16th Street and hit mile 2 in 10:27, I believe (my watched stopped working just past mile 5 so I'm guessing but I know the first 5 were dead even, within 5 seconds of each other). Instead of calculating how this relates to my projected overall pace, I am trying something new: count how many seconds under goal pace I am. So now I'm at -13 seconds. Not huge, but could it grow bigger? I'd see ... I'm taking it mile at a time, after all. Heart rate holding steady between 85-88%.

One final left turn in center city proper onto the Parkway. I start to get psyched, for we will soon enter my Race Course. The first 4 miles of this race have a lot of crowd support, and we're turning and seeing new stuff so it's varied and interesting. Once we hit Eakins Oval by the Art Museum, however, the crowd thins and the only scenery is the water on your right and tons of trees. Little to no crowd support - you need to make yourself keep going. I knew that my long, slow runs of 3 to 4 1/2 hours had given me the mental toughness, and that my twice weekly 2, 2 1/2 hour runs with little to no liquids had prepared me to skip water stations or actually run through them. Mile 3 I picked up a few more seconds, same with mile 4. I think perhaps I should just go all out and build up a huge cushion of time, but then I remember Queens 2004 where that plan didn't work with me. Stick to the plan, Laur. Stick to the plan.

And now the fun begins.

We cross under the bridge and I smile for the cameras. We are now on My Course. I can't count how many times I've raced on this particular section of West River Drive. I've set and reset so many PRs here. I can tell you where the best spot to run is to avoid wind or lessen the camber. I can tell you where the shade is best, and where you can push it. I also knew the Kelly Drive back portion was mentally demoralizing for many, as it's not flat downhill but slightly rolling, often with no end in sight. I know this course like the back of my hand, and revel in that knowledge nearly up to mile 7 just past the Strawberry Mansion Bridge. I take water when I need it. Most of it ends up on me as I refuse to stop, but I am somewhat successful out of drinking on the run via Official Race Cup (a first for me). I've been overtaking people steadily for the past few miles, and this continues for the rest of the race. My times are holding really steady, and I've gotten to a cushion of -45 seconds or so. My watch, as I said, stopped at mile 5 but luckily I'd remembered my chip time was at least 5 minutes less than the official clock's gun time. Somehow this made it easier: as I approached a mile marker, I calculated what my pace should be, then figured how much under I was. Kept going.

I remembered a hill at the Falls Bridge right before mile 8, but this was no hill. Funny how a little time and a lot of experience changes your perspective. I now had a cushion of 1:16. The next mile I took a little easy, for it was wet and muddy from the river overflowing the night before. I saw no reason to trip, fall, and break my leg by slipping on the road or the paint on the road, so I held back a bit. Hit the mile 9 marker ahead by -48 seconds or so. By now I'm thinking definite PR, but I'm not celebrating yet. I've got 4.1 to go, and a lot can happen in that time. I did give myself a little w00t since I forgot how difficult mile 8 usually is for me, but here it was easy. Mile 10, still have a cushion. Mile 11, still have a cushion. Now I know I've got a PR unless I blow it. I decide to slowly start pushing it.

Bring on the pain! I can take it. The next 2.1 were a blur of watching my HR % closely, making sure my stride was wide but not too wide, and ensuring my breathing was even and not too forced. Mile 12 comes and we are getting closer, passing the Art Museum. The last 1.1 is a bit long: I run down the Parkway underneath all the international flags and around Panama I'm thinking of how tired and hungry I am. I keep going. We wrap around the circle and I can see the finish line. I pour it on and really start overtaking people. I worked it so hard for the last five blocks of this course, but no one was taking that PR from me. I've chased it so long, and at so many races. It was mine, and I was taking it. And that I did in signature Kid style, at a pace 16 seconds per mile faster than I'd wanted, with a negative split to boot. I realized my calculations were a bit off throughout the race, but to my benefit. I'd been going a lot faster than I'd thought, and just kept speeding up right until the very end.

Final stats: 2:15:27, 10:19 pace. 6,294/7,289 (beat 14%), and I placed top half of my age group. First half 1:08:27, 2nd half 1:07:00.

For those of you who follow elites, Khalid came in third on the course where he set the world record in 1997, Marla Runyan came in 4th woman/48th overall, and Jen Rhines was just a special guest, not a runner.

Final Thoughts
When I ran the Queens 2003 half, I PRd with a 2:18:52. I've reset all my PRs except the 10M since then numerous times. I run the half often (today was my 14th) so not breaking that PR had me thinking Queens was a fluke. I'd run it off of high mileage, as an A race. I missed it in Las Vegas this January by 4 minutes, but all other races I was off by at least 9. Today proves it was not a fluke. If I run smart, hard, and with a strategy I can do it and not feel so horribly pained in the process. I learned that the key to my long distance success is indeed high mileage. I've been pounding the pavement often with marathon training, and this helped immeasurably. My training methods are sometimes a bit unorthodox, but they are flexible, safe, and very carefully planned.

Every once in a while it all comes together. You're given the gift of good weather, a flat course, and a positive mental attitude. Today I added my marathon legs and the belief that this race was mine, and mine for the taking. By focusing on each mile as its own entity, I relieved myself of the great pressure I exert on me during races. By keeping my mind occupied and focused, I was better able to listen to my body and not ignore it (and ending up in the med tent). Today I showed I can race smart, hard, and organized. Today I showed what a fiercely competitive athlete and racer I can be. Today I got my much wanted half marathon PR in my town, on my course, at my PDR.

Up next: chasing a 10K PR at The Great Race in Pittsburgh next Sunday.