| 2011 Philadelphia Marathon |
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 Observations from a Big City MarathonWith 25,000 registered runners, the Philadelphia Marathon was the first "big city" marathon I've run since the 1987 Los Angeles Marathon. While the longer races (43 marathons & 60 ultras so far) have been the focus of my long running career, I have always preferred smaller races where I am assured of an opportunity to run my best possible race... where I can warm up, make a final bathroom visit and then line up near the front a couple minutes before the start. And, when the gun goes off, run an optimal race from the start... able to run my own pace without having to dodge around masses of runners, cut the tangents on curves, take scheduled walks without interfering with passing runners, get a drink without chaos at the aid stations, etc. Despite my prejudices, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of my experience at Philadelphia.
Most significantly, you get a well-run race with 26.2 miles of roads closed to traffic, enforced by massive numbers of police. Assuming you finish, you also get a modest finisher's medal and a souvenir space blanket. I can only guess that the high fees are justified by the cost of the road closures and police overtime. Despite the high total cost (entry fees plus travel, hotel, meals, etc.), the race sold out, reportedly with entries from all 50 states and 40 nations! Corral Wave Start. The online entry dialog includes a field for expected finish time. I was reasonably honest and got assigned to the Orange Corral for marathoners expecting to run 4:30 to 5:00 and half marathoners expecting to run a similarly slow pace. Based on the assigned bib numbers, I would share the Orange Corral with 2200 marathoners and 1300 half marathons. With that many runners and starting from the next to last corral, I expected to lose lots of time at the start and spend many miles dodging other runners before things cleared out. Thirty minutes before the start, the Orange Corral began to fill. I picked out a spot about 50 feet from the front and settled in to wait. The elite runners started at 7:00am and about ten minutes later our corral started a sporadic migration toward the start approximately 300 yards away. We arrived at the start line at 7:20 and were held there another couple minutes, allowing time for the course to clear ahead of us. Our wave started at 7:23. It took me 10 seconds to cross the start line and, once over the line, I was able to run freely at my own pace... if anything, I got swept up in the flow and ran the first couple of miles faster than I planned.
The route went past various scenic and historical sites but you couldn't look at them in the first half of the race. Safely maneuvering in the school of runners required concentrating on the position of runners around you and watching for hazards on the streets, e.g., holes and cracks in the pavement, abandoned clothing, etc. The school of runners did complicate taking scheduled walk breaks; for the first seven miles it was best to jump out of the flow onto the sidewalk for planned walks. After that point, moving into the gutter was generally adequate to avoid impeding other runners. After the half marathoners turned off, the experience was similar to that of running the Rochester Marathon. The field stretched out into more of a long thin line and gaps opened between small groups of runners. It became possible to relax more and enjoy the scenery along the Schuylkill River.Two Die at the Finish A 21-year old male college student collapsed after finishing the half marathon in 1:58:10. His death was the first in the five-year history of the Philadelphia Half Marathon. A 40-year old man also collapsed about a quarter mile from the finish of the marathon. The older fatality was an experienced triathlete and runner who had completed the Lake Placid Ironman this summer in 10:11:04. His death was the first in the Philadelphia Marathon since 1997. Response time was not a factor in the deaths. Medical personnel got to each runner quickly. Each was immediately transported to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead. The deaths were attributed to apparent heart attacks. Heat was also not a factor in the deaths... official temperatures were a low of 49 and a high of 64. I was on the course for almost five hours and it was still comfortably cool at noon, long after the two deaths occurred. Proximity to the finish was possibly a factor. There is some evidence that sprinting the last mile may increase adrenaline and take a susceptible heart into an abnormal rhythm. Tips for Preventing Sudden Deaths In March, 2010 the International Marathon Medical Director's Association (IMMDA) approved an advisory document on sudden death and how to avoid it. Following are the IMMDA recommendations for reducing the risk of sudden death: (http://aimsworldrunning.org/articles/IMMDA_Sudden_death_and_how_to_avoid_it_3.20.10.pdf). •1. Participants should not only be sufficiently trained, but equally important, they should have a goal and corresponding race plan that is appropriate for that level of training and fitness. If not, do not attempt the distance. •2. Have a yearly physical examination being sure to discuss your exercise plans, goals and intensity at that visit. •3. Consume one baby aspirin (81mg) on the morning of a long run/walk of 10k or more if no medical contraindication. •4. Consume less than 200mg caffeine before and during a 10K or more. •5. Only drink a sports drink or its equivalent during a workout of 10k or more. •6. Drink for thirst. •7. Do not consume a NSAID (e.g., ibuprofen and related drugs.) during a run or walk of 10k or more. •8. Consume salt (if no medical contraindication) during a 10k or more. •9. During the last mile, maintain your pace or slow down; do not sprint the last part of the race unless you have practiced this in your training. Run/walk as you train. My Comments: Sudden death in apparently healthy athletes is a rare event with causes that are not well understood. The nine IMMDA recommendations take a shotgun approach... haphazardly addressing multiple possible contributors to multiple possible causes of sudden death. The recommendations are good in that they might help and they probably won't hurt. Less seriously, I hope you all take #9 to heart. I am very tired of spending the last miles of races gradually catching and passing younger runners only to have them sprint around me once the finish line is in sight. Best Time of Your Life The title above was the slogan for the Philadelphia Marathon. More realistically, my slogan for the event would be: It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. When I last wrote about my training and race plans, I was looking forward to the Rochester Marathon on September 18th. Five days before the race, I hurt my back moving boxes in the basement. The lower back pain abated over the next four days so I still had some hopes of running. The day before the race I went out for a short warm up to test my back. By mile two the back pain was back and I was a DNS (did not start) in the Rochester Marathon. I gave the back a week off and then started over with moderate cross training on the bike and short, easy runs. With some ups and downs, I gradually got back up to running every other day and doing 20+ miles on my better weeks. Knowing I would be grossly undertrained, I entered Philadelphia just before the marathon filled. That November 20th race would be my final chance to keep my streak of finishing at least one marathon or ultra each year since 1974 alive. My confidence going into the race seemed to be at an all-time low. Any one of several lingering over-use injuries could put me out. My training was grossly inadequate at less than 20 miles per week average in the eight weeks before the race with no speed training at all. I've always had a problem with my weight and on race day I was within a pound of my all time highest weight. I would be carrying more than 30 extra pounds around the course. Before the race, I was seriously thinking that I probably should have ended my marathon streak last year, going out on top with a Boston qualifying time in the 2010 Rochester Marathon. This year I was facing at worst a first DNF in the marathon and at best running a personal worst time.
Fortunately, these anxieties went away once the race started and I had a task to focus on. In short, I ran the marathon using all the tricks I've learned from 100+ marathons and ultras... running my own steady pace with frequent short walks (e.g., run 6 minutes, walk 1 minute), also walking some of the steeper hills, drinking enough, eating a single Shot Blok every other walk, running my fastest over the final miles by eliminating the walks and focusing on passing the next runner ahead. I awoke the next day with a very sore left knee... it hurt to straighten it completely and hurt putting weight on it. The symptoms felt just like the injury that ended my 2009 comeback. That 2009 injury was eventually diagnosed as synovitis (inflammation of the knee lining) and, perhaps because I didn't give it enough respect, took me away from running for two months. This time, with lots of icing and ibuprofen, the knee has gotten better quickly and I got back to cross training on the bike and doing some very short and easy test runs by early December. 2012 Plans
My plan for the rest of December is to ramp up the cross training while gradually getting back to doing easy 5-6 mile runs no more often than every other day. Then if all goes well, I will start a careful build up to do a short ultra (e.g., 6 hours or 50K) in the spring. Then, in July; I plan to do the Erie Canal Bike Tour ( http://www.ptny.org/canaltour/) which has long been on my bucket list. If the Bike Tour is also on your list, let me know. I'd love to have some GRTC companions on the eight day adventure. |
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A School of Runners