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| Viewing Page 1 of 1 (Total Posts: 11) |
| Author | Comment |
Steve G.
 May 6, 07 - 5:26 PM |
Broad Street LBRR - PR edition!
I did it! It's taken five years, but I finally PR'ed by 30 seconds! It's not the 1:05:00 that I was shooting for, but it's still a PR! And, more importantly I think, is that I ran the whole thing by myself. Kept some people I didn't know within sight and traded off places with a few others, but not really running together. On to the breakdown... I didn't see many Philly Runners at the start - saw Goat, Bike Mike, and Gary. Bike Mike said he was considering a 6:30 pace (just what I wanted) but he hadn't been training much lately, so he wasn't sure what he'd be able to do. Then, about 3 minutes before the start, Mike decided he needed a bathroom break. Oh well, I guess I'll see him out on the course. Shortly after the start, some woman tripped or otherwise fell somewhere off to my right (I was far left). Not sure what happened, but I imagine that it couldn't have been pretty with nearly 18,000 people around. (Short aside: As much as I don't like them, I think it's time to use start corrals based on a proven qualifying time. If they can do it for the Bolder Boulder 10K with over 40,000 people, then it can be done here.) Anyway, Mile 1 in 6:23. Perfect! Right where I want to be. Mile 2 in 6:20; I'm still staying far left and feeling pretty good. I finally see Mike just after Mile 2 and say hi. I thought we would stick together, but apparently I was wrong. (Sorry about that, Mike.) Mile 3 in 6:25 - got a few seconds in the bank to play with and just need to keep going. Mile 4 in 6:29 (actually a fraction under 6:30). Mile 5 in 6:30 even. I'm halfway home and on target, but starting to breathe a little heavy. This is what happens running solo - nothing to take my mind off any creeping fatigue. Mile 6 in 6:38. Damn! Starting to slip a little, but this isn't too bad. Mile 7 in 6:45. Ouch! Now I'm really starting to feel a little wiped. Mile 8 in 6:49. Oh, no, not again. This would be my typical racing performance of a good start followed by a rapid fade. But wait! My total time at Mile 8 is 52:24, meaning that if I can run the last two miles under 7:00, I have a shot at a PR! Holy crap! At this point, I'm fueled by pure will power: I'm going to put in whatever I've got left to hit that PR. Mile 9 in 6:40. I'm speeding up a little bit, but that's good. I now start obsessive checking my watch more frequently, but I really have no idea how much farther I've got to go until I hit the entrance to the Naval Yard. This is it, last quarter mile. I don't want to look at the watch. I push it as much as I can. I hit the line in 1:05:40 - a PR by 30 seconds! Mile 10 in 6:35. I whooped and pumped my fists, probably looking like a loon, but I don't care. And that announcer guy still doesn't call out my name. How many freakin' times do I have to do this race before that will happen?? Though maybe it's a good thing, since there's nothing really punny about my name (according to Victoria, he was a lousy announcer). |
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anglonymous
May 6th, 2007 - 5:42 PM |
Re: Broad Street LBRR - PR edition!
wat toooo go Steve. A gutsy run! Ever thought about starting off below your target pace, and then building towards the end? Just curious. |
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Seth
May 6th, 2007 - 8:13 PM |
Re: Broad Street LBRR - PR edition!
Nice race, Steve. Congrats on the PR! Congrats to everybody who ran this race. My race went well, but was not a PR. Actually, it was the slowest of my four BSR's, but I'm still happy with it. The morning started out with me driving into the city and parking at 23rd and Arch. Although this means getting on the subway at city hall and not having a seat, the drive is shorter and I didn't have to deal with the craziness of parking at the finish line. Walked over to the subway, with a bathroom break at the conveniently located Crowne Plaza hotel. Got on the subway and ran into Dave. Got to the start line and ran into another Dave, and Rach, Reese, Andy and tall Scott. They were hanging out in the 8-9 minute area, so I pretty much stayed there. The race started right on time and we were off. I quickly lost everybody, but that was sort of intentional, sorry guys, I am more comfortable racing alone these days. My goal was to stay below 8:30. I turned off the automatic splits on my watch because they aren't always accurate and I wanted the exact splits. Mile 1 was 8:59. Well, it's usually slow. Mile 2 was 8:19, about where I wanted to be. Mile 3 was 8:33, 4 was 8:19 and 5 was 8:30. I missed mile 6, I think that is right by City Hall, 6&7 were 17:13, a little on the slow side. 8 was 8:31, still a tad slow, and 9 was 8:21. My heart rate had stayed in the 155-60 range for most of the race, but went way up towards the end. I tried to finish fast, but it was hard to tell how fast I was going with so many people around. The race was noticeably more crowded this year, even with South Broad open to runners. I still think there are way too many water stops below City Hall and way too many parked cars and even cars with people in them, I mean, was the road open or closed? Whatever, I sprinted in as hard as I could at the end, the finish seemed farther down than I had remembered, but it probably always does. The final mile turned out to be 7:57 with a final time of 1:24:45, just under 8:30/mi. I wished I had pushed some of those 8:30+ miles a bit harder, I think I had it in me. Whatever, a beautiful day and a beautiful race. The weather was just about perfect. Don't know what was up with all those fire hydrants, totally unneeded on a cool day like today. Ran into Monika at the end, then headed over to the massive running club tailgate party in FDR park. Special thanks to Gary, who brought some food and a grill, and special thanks to Wissahickon Wanders for letting us use their grill when we couldn't get Gary's to work. Actually, it was just about hot enough by the time we had finished eating. Not too many Philly Runners there, don't know where everybody was, perhaps next year we can get more people tailgating. Congrats to all, I'll see you on the Loop. |
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Lindsay Lohan
May 7th, 2007 - 9:00 AM |
Re: Broad Street LBRR - PR edition!
Great job, Gelman! This has been a long time coming and is well-deserved. And the course is not measured by Lin-Mark this time! Seth, nice work, too. I have to say, though, I love those parked cars in the middle of the road. They make a great shield from the crosswinds. |
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John Dubs
May 7th, 2007 - 10:04 AM |
Re: Broad Street LBRR - PR edition!
Nice work guys. Congratulations on the PR Steve. |
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Porter
May 7th, 2007 - 11:52 AM |
Re: Broad Street LBRR - PR edition!
Great job to all the Philly Runners! I saw a few of you here and there along the way. I even saw my old friend Joe who used to run more back when I was a regular at the Saturday runs last year. Saw Kevin cheering from the sidelines a little more than halfway in. Got my own PR by one second (!!) and finished at 1:13:34. Feel great. It was a great day to run. |
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Steve G.
May 7th, 2007 - 11:04 PM |
Re: Broad Street LBRR - PR edition!
anglonymous - I've tried doing that, but for some reason I still can't accurately judge my pacing. Something to work on over the summer months. Plus, I've wondered about total energy expenditure: if I start out slower will I have enough left to speed up later in the race? I don't really know. Again, something to play with. Seth - Mile 6 is south of City Hall, somewhere south of Sansom (past the Union League). I forget exactly where it is. |
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Flying Dutchman
May 8th, 2007 - 5:20 PM |
Re: Broad Street LBRR - PR edition!
Below my LBRR: For one reason or another reason I never entered the Broadstreet run. Having done several editions of other local races like the PDR and Philly Marathon. This year is different. With my bib pinned to my chest I set out to complete the downhill extravaganza. Weather conditions seemed optimal. Well yes, especially if you count the hefty tailwind. My goal was to run 65 minutes which (I figured) would roughly translate into 63 given the downward trend of the course. Perhaps the tailwind would make this even more interesting. After getting some last minute instructions from a senior who ran the first and every broad street race, except two, I set out to complete the race. Not too many people cheering in the first 2 miles, but who wants to get up before 8:30 ... After mile 3 the crowd support turned up "philly style" and plenty of music and encourage ment came our way. My miles were pretty steady, just a tad above 6 minute miles. The title must give it away because this is likely one of my more boring race reports. I remember yelling at Kevin at Bainbridge who seemed vocal and engaged in the race but not enough to see recognize me behind my shades. And I remember the rocky song with 2 miles to go. At that stage a group of runners (including me) had been running together for a while and we were in for a pretty smooth stretch to the finish. Which was achieved at 61:03. I saw Rick, who changed careers and lives in Virginia now at the finish (I believe he finished in 60 flat) and of course a pack of sub 60 (ehh, minutes) Philly Runner studs (John, Steve & Ian). Raymond. |
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Lindsay Lohan
May 9th, 2007 - 8:44 AM |
Re: Broad Street LBRR - PR edition!
It was really good to see you out there running well, Dutch. Hope you'll catch up with us for some runs this summer. |
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goat
May 9th, 2007 - 9:28 AM |
Re: Broad Street LBRR - PR edition!
This is only my second broad street run, but I think I figured out what to do during the first one. Run south for 10 miles as fast as you can. With this complex strategy and my typical lack of confidence in my training/ability, I really had no idea how the race was going to turn out. The past two weeks, every mile I put in felt like 10 and my attempt at a “race pace” mile on Friday (~6:50 pace), turned into the hardest 7:45 mile I had ever run. Needless to say, my legs have not been in synch with my head. But with the beautiful weather and no hiccups on my way to the starting line, I felt at ease. As the race started, I knew that I needed to establish my goal pace early to prove to my legs that they could run that fast and just hope that the rest of me could hold on for all 10 miles. After weaving through the crowds a bit, I checked out my watch and saw an 8:05 with the first mile marker nowhere in sight. Hoping I missed the mile marker, I forged ahead at the same pace and finally saw the 2nd mile marker at around 13:15, well under my goal pace. I dialed back the pace to between 6:45 to 6:50 for the next 4 miles and things went smoothly. Miles 6-8 were increasingly slower to a slowest mile of 7:05 in mile 8. Two years ago I was able to pick the pace back up at this point, and the same thing happened this year. As I passed through the gates to the Navy Yard, I tried to kick with all I had for the last quarter mile… but for whatever reason, the kick was non-existent and I lumbered across the finish line in a chiptime of 68:15, a PR of about a minute and a half. I was happy with my race and it really excited me about what the future may hold for my running. My training has been consistent, but consistently relaxed, so this race gave me a lot of confidence about where my times can go if I put a little more into my training. I know I will never be an elite runner, but I also know that I should be able to cut a lot of time from all my current PRs… though the 4:45 marathon PR will have to wait until next year. |
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Bike Mike
May 9th, 2007 - 12:34 PM |
Re: Broad Street LBRR - PR edition!
Steve, awesome job. Wasnt feeling it, obviously. Slowed down and just enjoyed the run. |
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