(Disclosure: As a member of the Rock’n’Blog team, I received a free race entry and VIP upgrade. As always, all opinions are mine!)
On Sunday, I ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon – my 10th half marathon!
I’ve been trying to figure out what to say about this race. As you all know, this was my first half marathon after a two year hiatus. This was not a goal race – just a re-introduction to the distance. But, you know I like to keep it real here, so I’ll be honest, this was not the triumphant return I had secretly hoped for. No…I did not have a goal time, but I had wanted (and expected) to run this much faster than I did.
So settle in while I share the good, bad…and downright u-g-l-y of Sunday’s race.
Janelle & I pre-race
The Good….
Blogger meet-ups! Once I arrived at the race, I made a beeline for the VIP tent to meet up with Janelle from Run with No Regrets. It was so nice to finally meet – she’s as nice as she seems from her blog! We got to chat for a bit and soon Kathryn from Dancing to Running joined us. We made our way to the top of the “Rocky steps” to meet up for a “We Run Social” photo, where I finally got to meet Dani from Weight Off My Shoulders. I feel like I’ve known Dani for years – we couldn’t believe we just were finally meeting! It was fun to hangout with everybody and it helped me keep my mind off my nerves.
VIP Upgrade! While I didn’t take full advantage of the full VIP food spread, it was definitely nice to have food and drinks to readily available. And, porta potties with no lines? Enough said!
Race atmosphere! I love the RnR vibe and this race did not disappoint! I enjoyed the bands and cheer squads along the route, and even had one band’s guitarist come down off the stage to briefly rock out with me 🙂
The Bad…
While the VIP area was a nice perk, it would have been nice to have a way for non-running family to join at a reduced rate. My husband J couldn’t enter without us purchasing a full price package at the expo – the main reason I skipped returning to the VIP area post-race.
My fueling – I woke up with no appetite and as a result my pre-race fueling was sparse. I forced myself to choke down a banana, but could only manage a bite or two of my GU waffle. The wait in the corrals was long and by the time I was approaching the start my stomach started to growl…not good.
The Ugly…
The humidity was soul-sucking and proved to be my complete undoing. Despite having run in the soupy muck for most of the summer, I could not find my rhythm. I felt ok through the first 5 miles but could feel a headache forming by mile 6. By mile 7, I had stopped at a med tent for Tylenol, and by mile 9 I had a front row seat on the struggle bus. Despite my best efforts to stay hydrated and down Clif blocs (with extra salt), the humidity took its toll. I reminded myself that this was more of a training run than a race for me, but it was hard to not feel defeated. Time to shift my focus – I high-fived every kid along the course, encouraged other runners and started run/walk intervals.
Around mile 9, I was so grateful to come across fellow Rock’n’Blogger Nellie from Brooklyn Active Mama. We had run into each other just before the start and it was great to see her. She was so positive and we kept each other company for a couple of miles. My other saving grace was my amazing husband, who had rented one of those city bikes and was biking all over the course! At last the finish was in sight and I was done.
So #10 is done and training for Rock ‘n’ Roll Brooklyn continues!
