Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia 2018

Running the Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon

Disclaimer: I received free entry to Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Rock 'n' Roll Philly was a race that was years in the making, and maybe you followed along every week with my training updates. If not, you're in luck, over the next couple of weeks I'm hoping to assemble a full breakdown of my training and results so keep an eye out for that! Without diving into too much detail, I used Hal Higdon's Intermediate II training plan which incorporated a bit more speed work into my training. I also added some additional strength training as well after each run.

After my performance at Rock 'n' Roll Raleigh in April, I made the decision to really push myself for a new half marathon PR during this race. My mom has always rooted for me to break her PR of 1:36 (which she set at her FIRST half-marathon!) but I thought that might be a bit of a reach since my current PR was 1:45:45.

For Philly, I set my sites on breaking 1:40 and started crafting my training schedule. My goal would require me to shave close to 30 seconds off my pace-per-mile so I knew it would be a challenge, but I'd also never done much speed work in training. After settling on Hal Higdon's Intermediate II Training Plan, I was just excited to see how much of an impact the new plan would have.

Pre-Race

Twelve weeks later, the weekend had arrived and it was time to race. My wife and I drove down on Friday night from NY and opted to stay with family in Delaware for the weekend. On Saturday we were up early for breakfast and then on the road to head to the expo to pick up the race packet. Usually, I move through expos pretty quickly but for Philly, we took our time perusing a handful of the booths.

The first stop was the Brooks booth where we definitely spent the bulk of our time. I did all of my training in the Brooks Levitates and wore them for the race as well. As part of a promotional campaign I helped with for Rock 'n' Roll Seattle, Brooks was nice enough to upgrade me to the VIP package in Philly so it was great to touch base with Stevie, one of the brand reps at the expo. I also got my first look at the Levitate 2.0 which look INCREDIBLE and will likely be my next shoe purchase.

Walking through a few of the other booths we also stopped by Science in Sport who provided the on-course gels for the race. I'd never had their gels but thankfully they had plenty of flavors to sample at the expo, and I did decide to snag an orange gel at about the 6-mile mark on the course. I also met Diego, a fellow beer lover, at the booth who was sporting a water bottle with a Heady Topper sticker plastered across it. Of course, I had to grab a quick photo with him.

Post-expo, my family and I headed to a nearby craft beer bar, Strangelove's, and grabbed a late lunch while we waited to meet up with fellow BibRave Pros Joe and Dane. We all enjoyed a few brews as we talked about plans for the race, stories from past races, as well as a few goals for the future. We spend so much time interacting online I always enjoy being able to connect with BibRave Pros in person at the races we run.

Soon enough, it was time to head home and I introduced my family to one of my favorite guilty pleasure films Never Back Down. It's cheesy as hell but it's such a great pump-up movie. It was the best way to get motivated the night before the race!

The Race

Because we were staying in DE, we had a bit of a drive to get to Philly so we were up by five and on the road by 6 to head to the race. We'd reserved a parking garage the night before but unfortunately, as we reached the city, we quickly realized that they were closing all of the streets that would allow us to get to our spot. As time went by, traffic started to pick up, more streets started to close, and I began to panic a bit. Luckily my wife offered to take over driving so I could hop out and run to the starting line.

This is where my VIP package made a HUGE difference. With the VIP package, I got access to private gear check and private bathrooms which meant no waiting in line. Since I was getting to the starting area with only 20-minutes to spare, this was a godsend. I was in and out with enough time to squeeze in a quick warmup.

Did I mention Des Linden was warming up in the VIP area as well? Another added bonus and motivational boost pre-race. I strolled into the starting corral with about 2-minutes to spare before the first corral was off.

Miles 1-4

The pre-race jitters were in full swing waiting for my corral to begin but I turned on my playlist and tried to settle down and focus in the final remaining seconds. Crossing the starting line, I felt great, I found a comfortable pace and was enjoying the crowd support. My only fear was finding a pace that was fast enough to hit my PR but also maintainable for the entire race. Since the first 4 miles were run through downtown Philly, I did my best to stay relaxed and enjoy the sights.

Glancing at my watch, I was faster than my initial plan but I felt strong and didn't feel like I was exerting too much effort. Around mile 2, the 1:40 pacer whizzed by me, and over the next 2 miles, he was gaining a bit of a lead on me. I kept catching myself speeding up trying to catch him but looking at my watch, I was running much faster than I'd like to. It was a little stressful watching the pacer stretch his lead but I kept reminding myself to run my own race.

Miles 5-8

By mile 5 we were wrapping back around by the Philadelphia Art Museum which meant it was time to settle in for the long out-and-back along the Schuylkill River. Out-and-Backs are tough on me mentally but the nice part was that this portion of the course was very flat. It was around mile 5 that I also caught back up to the 1:40 pace group which certainly gave me a confidence boost.

Once I passed the group, I knew that as long as I stayed ahead, I'd hit my goal. I was hovering just over a 7:15 mile at this point which, again, was faster than I'd initially planned, but I was still feeling good. I was continually checking my breathing to make sure I wasn't overreaching. By mile 8, the pace was starting to feel more difficult but still manageable.

Miles 9-12

You hit the turnaround of the out-and-back at mile 9 which gave me an initial boost in motivation because I was finally headed back toward the finish line! Unfortunately, that motivation was short-lived as my mind kept wandering back to how much longer I had to go.

After turning around, we were headed directly into the sun, and it was hot. Memories of my first attempt at Rock 'n' Roll Philly were flooding my mind but I was doing my best to push through them.

I was ahead of my goal, and I had some wiggle room to work with if I needed to slow down but I tried to push those thoughts from my head. The closer I got to the finish, the hotter it got, and I noticed my posture starting to sag a bit as I hunched my shoulders and head to shield my eyes a bit from the sun. Every mile, I knew I was that much closer to the finish but it was a difficult push, that's for sure.

Mile 13

As soon as I crossed into mile 13, my stomach let me know just how much of a toll the heat was taking on me and I darted off-course and emptied my stomach onto the grass. Puking is never fun but I actually felt a lot better once it was over. I wasn't thrilled with the time it would add but I tried to pick it up again so I could finish strong, I was still well ahead of schedule.

Winding around the final turns, I kept thinking of some of my wife's last words to me before the race "remember to smile at the finish." There was no way that was going to happen. I was sporting an intense grimace as the finish line came into view and I mustered everything I could to pick up the pace. I was overjoyed for a split second as I crossed the finish line but then I immediately puked up whatever was left in my stomach.

The Finish

This was only the second time I've hurled at the finish line of a race and I have to commend the support team from Rock 'n' Roll who were quick to rush over with cold water to make sure I was alright.

A few minutes later I joined the flow of the rest of the finishers and wound my way through the chute grabbing anything I could carry. I snagged another Gatorade, some chocolate milk, and plenty of chips and pretzels. Halfway through the chute, I caught up with my family who were able to tell me my unofficial chip time, 1:38:17. The funniest part about that number is that the day before, as a joke, I randomly threw out 1:38:06 as my expected time.

As soon as I was through the chute, I headed back to the VIP tent to get a finisher's massage and it was phenomenal! It was only 10-minutes, but my hamstrings and IT bands were definitely thankful. After that, I grabbed my gear bag, got changed in one of the changing booths, and headed back out to meet my family. Of course on the way out, I passed Des Linden again as she was crushing pushups after her post-race run... She's an animal!

The Celebration

Then it was time to relax and celebrate the race. As is tradition, we first visited the Art Museum steps to run to the top, snagged a few photos at the top, and then visited the actual Rocky statue to take some more pictures. Our final stop was the finisher's party to grab an ice-cold Michelob Ultra and listen to our friend's band who happened to be headlining the race.

Looking Back

The official times have now been posted and they actually shaved another second off so my official new PR is 1:38:16, more than 7 minutes faster than my last PR. I smashed my goal to break 1:40:00 and gained a lot of confidence for future races. I've been checking Athlinks every day and can't wait to claim the new PR on my profile.

This race was a true representation of just how much of an impact a little speed work and strength training can have, not only in my PR but in how well I've felt post-race. I can walk normally which usually is not the case and the soreness in my legs is more like the pain you get after a tough workout. My IT-Bands, which are usually screaming after a tough race, haven't been an issue at all after Philly.

I've only recently started to view myself as a serious runner, especially after last year when I started to take training more seriously. With each race, I feel like I'm learning more about myself and my goals, and even after Philly, I feel like I have plenty more to improve. I'm thrilled with the results, don't get me wrong, but I'm even more excited about seeing how far I can go in the future.

Splits

5k
23:32
7:21/mi

10k
46:38
7:27/mi

10mi
1:14:29
7:23/mi

Finish
1:38:16
7:30/mi