Broad Street Run 10M Race Recap

Lots of fun stuff happened this weekend. Let’s dive right in, shall we?.

Friday night, I went home and headed over to my sister and her boyfriend’s softball game. They are in an adult slow-pitch league, which is full of former athletes and people just looking to have a good time. As a former softball enthusiast myself, I was a bit antsy watching from the sidelines, but they did GREAT and ended up winning. Kelly and Rick are quite the dynamic duo.

How cute is she?

Saturday morning I woke up groggy (this is not unusual), with the BEST surprise ever waiting on the kitchen counter. Papa Wyman picked up bagels from my oh so beloved Bagel Hole. These are the most amazing bagels. Anywhere. I'm not kidding. Drive to Princeton Junction now and try one. Or three.

Yes, that's Mark Harmon's face on a mug.

In the afternoon I went to north Jersey with my parents, where we hit up a rummage sale and got a few “vintage” items (what is the official protocol in calling something vintage? I think this term is used very loosely at rummage sales. Just because something is used does not make it vintage). And as a perfect Saturday afternoon in the Wyman house usually goes, we got a yummy lunch after and ran a few errands. I stocked up on all the TLC I could get.

Jillian invited us to stay at her parents' house the night before the race, so Lauren and I carpooled as she lives a stones’ throw away in Princeton. An amazing dinner was awaiting us, with plenty of carb-loading staples that included pasta & meatballs, garlic bread and lots of cookies. We all went to bed quite full.

Sunday was a typical race morning – a much too early alarm, race day jitters – but it also included a runner’s dream of a breakfast spread, courtesy of Jillian’s family.

Mmm PB and Vita Coco.

In hindsight, we probably should have left a little earlier. 40,000 people + one parking lot = hot mess. We waited about 40 minutes to get off the exit and into the only open parking lot at the finish line, and then had to take the subway up to the start... which took another 20 minutes. The race started at 8:30AM – so it’s a good thing that there were so many dang people, because we were able to hop into a corral that didn’t start the race until 9:00AM. And then we finally began running.

We are awesome.

This was my first race with my brand new GARMIN! (R.I.P. pink timex – you were kind to me). I was so excited to run in a new place, with so many other runners around me. I hit the first two miles at about an 8:15 pace, and then told myself to reel it in. My race day goal was to run at an 8:45 pace, and my stretch goal was an 8:30 pace. I was feeling really strong, so I let the wave of runners sweep me up with them.

Mad peeps.

I hit mile 3 at about an 8:25 pace and tried to keep it up. Though this is pretty uncharacteristic of most races I run, the miles seemed to fly by. Before I knew it, I was at mile 5, and was hitting each mile around an 8:30 pace. And I was feeling great.

I took this while running
Not sure if that kid is judging me,
or just admiring my skillz

There was a fair amount of bobbing and weaving around other runners that I think contributed to the fatigue that hit me around mile 6. I don’t think their corrals were in the least bit scientific, and should have been staggered a bit more. But between my Vanilla-flavored Clif Shot and signs that said “Your Pace or Mine?” along the way, I was able to keep going.

Before I knew it, mile 8 arrived, and my fatigue seemed less intense since I knew I had only two miles to go. More and more spectators lined the sidewalks as we neared the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and I felt my energy level continue to go up. I hit mile 9 at an 8:25 pace, and began to move my legs a bit faster. The end was in site, and I booked it as fast as I could across the finish.

Final Garmin Time: 1:24:05 !

I tried to do the math in my head, and realized that I beat my stretch goal by almost a minute. AWESOME.




Lauren Running Wild - can you please keep blogging?

For all the parking and crowd woes the race had, the swag bag at the end was done well. We were greeted with medals, Gatorade, water, soft pretzels, and a bag full of fruit, granola bars, and other yummy treats.

After the race, and after we finally got out of the parking lot, Lauren and I BBQ hopped around Philly. We stopped by her sister's friend's place first, where I have never been so happy to take a shower and not use a porta potty. Two of my high school friends were also hosting a party at their apartment, and I'm not one to turn down a cold beer after a sweaty run. It was definitely a race worth celebrating.

Lauren and I finally hit the road back to Princeton, feeling like we had lived 3 days in one. Pretty awesome race, with lots of good friends.

Goodbye for now Philly, I'll see you in November!