Fri 20 Nov 2009
The Plan for Philly
Posted by Allan under running
[5] Comments
It’s Friday night. Andrew and I are in a hotel room and it’s less than 36 hours until the Philadelphia Marathon. I thought I’d take a few minutes to write down how I think this weekend will unfold and then I can go back and see what actually happened.
Tomorrow morning (Saturday), I’ll get up and run through my marathon gear to make sure that I have everything that I need for the race. Then I’ll head to the Expo and pick up my race packet as well as anything I might be missing. While I’m there, I may take some pictures or make a quick video for the benefit of people who haven’t seen a running expo before. I’ll also pick up some samples of stuff, look for some good deals, and check to see if Dean Karnazes is around. If he is, I’d like to say hi and thank him for inspiring me to take up running again. I’m really not expecting him to be there, but you never know!
Early in the afternoon, Andrew and I will meet up with Brandon Wood (from Brandon’s Marathon) and his friend Michael for a late lunch and discussion of running, triathlons, music, travel, plans for race day, and life in general.
I really want to take it easy tomorrow, so we’ll probably head back to the hotel after lunch and just relax in the hotel room. I’ll make sure I’m hydrated, do some stretching, set out my running gear (with the bib attached to my shirt), and then order a salad or something similarly light for dinner. Then TV/computer for a bit before heading to bed around 10 pm.
On Sunday, I’ll get up around 5:15 and shower, then get dressed, apply my PaceTat, assemble my gear, and head out to the front of the hotel (maybe around 5:45) to meet up with Brandon and walk to the starting area. Brandon and I are in the same corral, so we’ll head toward the front of it – maybe just in front of the 3:40 pace group. We’ll stretch a bit and talk to a few of the other runners. When the starting gun goes off, Brandon and I are going to run separate races and meet up at the finish line.
So to make it officially on the record, we are no longer planning to run together. I’ve been listening to his show and hearing how his pace has improved. Frankly, if we ran together, either Brandon would be running slower than he could or I would run so hard to keep up that I would burn out after the first half and have to slow down or even walk. Both of us want to have good runs on Sunday, so I think we’ve made the right choice. I’m not going to give precise time estimates, but I expect Brandon to finish around 3:30 and I’ll finish around 3:45.
After the race, we’ll meet up with Andrew and try some of the Action Wipes samples that the company sent to me. We’ll head back to the hotel for a shower and change of clothes – making sure to wear our medals. If we have time, we may do a short audio recording to capture our thoughts about the race before they fade. Then we’ll go to the Hard Rock Cafe at 2:30 to meet up with some of the other runners and listeners of our podcasts. A good time will be had by all. We’ll take some pictures and talk too much about the day’s run and what we’d like to do next.
After that’s it’s back to life as usual. We’ll probably leave with Brandon and say goodbye as he heads back to New York. We’ll be going to Atlantic City for a couple of days, where I’m sure I’ll be limping around, drinking Red Bull and vodkas, and eating at PF Chang’s [you can't beat their lettuce wraps] before heading back home for Thanksgiving and some Christmas shopping.
