Rock 'n Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon 2017

It's kind of nostalgic that the first race I run after more than two years due to injury, would be the Rock 'n Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon. My first half marathon I ever ran was this race. And aside from the last 2 years, I have run it every year since then. I completed the race, which I was very happy about. However, I did not train enough and suffered for it.

Overview

The race venue had three races; 5k, 10k, and half marathon. The 5k and 10k were both held on Saturday. There was a 30-minute difference between start times, so you could technically have done both, back-to-back. The half marathon was held on Sunday as usual. I did not participate in either Saturday race, so I'll just talk about the Expo and Sunday.



The Expo

The race expo was at the Philadelphia Convention Center as usual. And per typical Rock 'n Roll fashion, they had a great selection of vendors. This is an important thing to me, even if I don't buy anything. I really like seeing trending running gear and attire. I also use this opportunity to get additional discounts to sign up for upcoming races. Plus I just feel it makes the whole experience that much more well-rounded and enjoyable.

Some of my favorite vendors there were Jaybird and Garmin. I was a bit disappointed from Philadelphia Runner, as I was hoping to score some discounted On Running shoes. Oh well, maybe next time. I got to try out the upcoming Jaybird earbuds, the Jaybird Run, which were AWESOME! I will definitely be choosing these, once they are released in October, over than Apple wireless earbuds.

Other than this, the expo was typical and I score a lot of really cool samples and tried some awesome food.

The Race

The weather was a mixed bag depending on the person. For me, the temperature couldn't have been more ideal. However, the humidity was 80% and the dew point was around 70%. Therefore, it made it near impossible for my body to cool properly during the race. Thankfully the sun didn't pop out until the last mile of the race. Anyway, setup was good as always; plenty Port-o-potties, convenient location for gear check, easy entry into corrals. Some people complained about the port-o-potty lines back to the gear check. However, the grass was really wet and already fairly muddy, so I felt it was very thoughtful of the race coordinator to keep everyone from being covered in mud before the race.

There were tons of people as always, and the corrals were packed. They did a really good job at the staggered start, which is definitely an improvement from the last time I ran this race. Not only that, but for the first time in memory, I didn't experience pushy runners at all. Everyone was in a good mood and very courteous. This was very refreshing and helped keep me motivated as the race started.

The course had a few up and downhills. Nothing too crazy, which for someone who actually trained, would have made this a very fast course. I didn't train much, so all it did was tire me out more, haha. The route was really nice, with only one slight out-and-back, which kept the scenery constantly changing. Plus I love the Philly scenery for the races held here. Plus there was a good amount of bands along the way playing pretty good music.

My Race

I started off at what I felt to be a slow pace. I did this because I didn't want to spend the first couple miles trying to sprint around people. This strategy worked to my advantage, since I felt pretty good until mile 8. However, as I hit mile 8, my legs started to tire quickly. By mile 9 I was struggling. Once I hit 10 however, I was cycling through some of my motivational music, and was able to get myself moving. I still had trouble though because my longest run leading up this was 10 miles, but aside from that one run, I had only done one 8-miler, and then a couple 7's and 6's. Overall I didn't have a great base to handle the latter miles. I still pushed out a small kick at the end to finish as strong as I could.

The Finish Line

Even though I finished later than I wanted to, the finish line was very well organized. There was plenty of water, Gatorade, chocolate milk, and snacks. This was refreshing because so many times races will run out of hydration and snacks for the later finishers. There was free beer (1 per registered race participants over 21) and live music. I didn't stay to enjoy the bands playing, but I definitely got my snacks and drinks. I was bummed there were no food trucks, but that's alright, because I was so dead afterwards I just wanted to get home.

Final Thoughts

Overall a very fun race and I am so excited to officially be back to racing. I will be making sure I am properly trained for my Disney Dopey challenge in January. Hopefully my recovery doesn't take too long from this race, but I'll be tossing in some swimming to help promote quicker healing. Hope anyone else who raced had a great time!

Half Marathon Training - Week 2

I started off the week well, but I think my body is far from being used to this level of fitness activity. So, starting Thursday, I had to take 2 days off. I was hit with some severe allergy issues which were causing my chest to constantly hurt and be short of breath, even after taking allergy medication. I really didn't like missing a run and 2 strength sessions, but I am pretty sure I am better for it right now. On a good note, I have these two training weeks under my belt now, plus the prior weeks of running, so I now have a good idea on paces for training. They aren't the paces I want, but all that matters is I have baselines now so I can start tracking my progress more accurately as well as making planning a lot easier.

Swimming
I didn't have time for swim sessions, but plan to resume swimming during Week 3.

Cycling
I didn't have time for cycling sessions, but plan to get a long ride in during Week 3.

Running
I got 4 out of 5 runs completed. Fortunately, I only missed an easy run day. I just wish I could have done some other sort of cross training in its place; but my allergies prevented me from doing anything at all. I was finally alright to run again Saturday, which went really well. However, my Sunday long run was not as great. Although I completed my 6 mile long run, my hips and lower back were excessively tight, even despite my efforts to stretch earlier before the run. My last 2 miles were really tough since my left hip was in pain. The final mile I was concerned I might have to walk since I was struggling to keep good running form. Fortunately I was able to keep proper form and finished out the run. My hip is still a little tight and sore, but nothing is injured and I feel great otherwise.

Strength
I only got one of my three strength sessions in this week. As I already noted, wasn't feeling well. I will be extra vigilant not to miss my strength during Week 3, as I need to keep building muscle and work on keeping my muscles loose to prevent any running injuries.

Nutrition
I didn't bother logging anything this week and my nutrition was healthy, but portion sizes out of control again. After my long run Sunday and feeling bloated and weighed down, I am getting my act together and starting logging and watching my calories in going forward.

Final Thoughts
I hit a new long distance record since I have been back from injuries. Aside from muscle tightness and the resulting hip pain, I am feeling great and will be adding additional stretching to the mix. I look forward to some hard training and a 5k time trial this upcoming weekend. It will be a time trial since I was too cheap to pay an entry fee for a 5k race.

Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon - Race Review

I am going to try and be unbiased here, as I just hit a new PR on this race and feel like a million bucks. That aside, this is the 2nd time I have done the race, which is also the 2nd time that the formerly named Philadelphia Distance Run has been under new ownership with Rock 'n' Roll. So, this was the 2nd time I have participated in the Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon. The race was just as enjoyable as last year.

Parking & Pre-Race

Parking is always a pain, so I recommend getting to the race at least 1-1.5 hours ahead of time, unless you have someone dropping you off. Or, if you are hardcore, you can just jog or bike over. The port-a-potty lines are always an adventure, but moved along pretty well this year. From what I noticed, it seemed like they had a considerable amount more than last year. They also have a VIP port-a-potty area, which you can either purchase a pass or if you got $150 or more of merchandise from any of the sponsors, such as Brooks, then you got a free pass. My wife and I qualified for the free pass, and stupid me, I forgot them...so we used the regular port-a-potties. Not a problem, they were well stocked this year with toilet paper.

Pre-Race in the Corrals

Getting into the corrals was a lot easier this year. There wasn't any security to see which corral you were entering, so technically it was first-come-first-serve despite what corral you should have been in. This was only moderately annoying because there were a lot of walkers and slow runners who went in the early corrals, which made running around people more of a challenge. I was a lot slower last year and in corral 18, instead of corral 5 this year, so I didn't really have to worry about this issue then. Still, it wasn't a really big deal.

Everything felt very organized and it didn't feel chaotic at all; just a lot of excited energy from the runners as you would expect. The weather was perfect! A nice chill in the morning and cool at the end of the race. Although it did feel a lot warmer after the race with the sun out in full blast. Fortunately, this race usually falls on a gorgeous days every year, so I expected good weather.

And We're Off!

It took about 5 minutes for Corral 5 to get to the starting line after the horn was blown. However, corral 17 for example, took 30 minutes to get to the starting line. This was because the later corrals had multiple corrals together. The first part of the race through the city in regards to the roads was a lot better this year. There had been road work last year and tons of uneven road and potholes to avoid. However, there were a ton of ignorant spectators and locals who felt they could just cross the race coarse and runner's were the ones who had to go around them. This is the first race where I saw this situation as bad. The Pittsburgh Half in May had some people like this, but nowhere near as bad. I have to admit that when I saw a 250+lb clydesdale runner take out some kid walking across the street with this headphones on, I got a nice laugh and only hoped that the runner was not hurt...the kid cursed at the runner...while the other runners cursed at the kid to get off the race course.

The Course

You can see the course map on the Rock 'n' Roll Philly page if you want to see the full details and elevation map. Overall, this is a very flat course. However, it ends on an uphill, which sucks. Not only that, but the last couple miles are in almost full sun, which combined with the uphill makes this a very challenging end-course. But, the rest of the course is fine. The only hard turns are in the first few miles through the city. Once you are get out of the city and onto Kelly Drive, it opens up for the rest of the race. There is a slight turn at Falls Bridge, but the road is very open and you make more of a gradual wide turn than a sharp turn. And then it's West River drive to the finish at the Art Museum. Overall, a scenic and very enjoyable race.

One thing I love about Rock 'n' Roll events is that you get music all throughout the course. This year was awesome. No country music (I don't like country, sorry)...but lots of jazz, a drummer, and other groups. Plus, there were they occasional speakers setup playing some decent tunes. Annoyingly the race starts with Eye of the Tiger...which is a song I would prefer to hear towards then end of the race when I need that last bit of motivation to speed up and complete the race. Oh well, they'll figure it out one of these years.

Finish Line Goodies

I think a lot of people complained about the finish line food and drink last year, because there was a LOT more this year. I am angry that Philly races don't seem to give out Philly Soft Pretzels anymore. I know it's not cheap...but seriously, this is a Philly race...I want a Philly Pretzel...and I don't want to pay for it. Sorry, I guess I am spoiled by the past. But, it's expected, as races have grown so large. The race this year was sold at 22,500 people. The race-day overall count was 25,209. Not sure how that works out. Anyway, they had lots of versions of chocolate milk (wish they had chocolate almond milk since I don't like dairy before or after a race), lots of Gatorade, water, Herr's products, bananas, bagels, and more. It was a good spread...I just wish I had a bag to put it all in. My arms were full of stuff.

Right after the finish line you got your race completion medal (in my picture below) and got a finish line photo.

The After Party

The beer garden is impossible to find just like last year. Very annoying and not clearly marked to be spotted over the crowds. Gotta love a free beer after a race though. They also had a "Merch" area. Why Merchandise is being called Merch now is beyond me, since Merch sounds like something you need to see a doctor about;

Me: Hey, did you know I got merch from the race
Friend: Oh man, that sounds painful, you should get that looked at...I hope there is medicine for that

So, the main band to perform was Walk Off the Earth. Sorry, this type of music is not my taste. I either want old school AC/DC style rock, STP, Green Day, or some old or new school hip hop or dance music. Thankfully, for me anyway, there was no country music playing on the race course or anywhere else. I am not a fan of country music, sorry everyone. Anyway, I didn't stick around for the concert, but I read that people who do like that music thought the performance was good.

Overall, a fun and enjoyable race and I highly recommend it. Congratulations to all of the other runners who completed the race!

Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon - Expo Review

As with last year, Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon Expo was held at the Philadelphia Convention Center; one of my preferred locations for expos in Philly. Sometimes the races use the stadiums or other venues, and they are always too crowded and packed. Parking in the garage was $17.76, hah. However, if you just park a couple blocks away at a lot, you can get away with anywhere from $10-$12. This is what I did.

I was a little surprised security was so light, as last year there was a lot more. Also, there were a lot more vendors and giveaways last year. You can go this link to see the vendor list. Also, the speaker events were not as interesting and useful this year. You can see the list of speaker events at this link.

As usual, you walk in through the archway to the race bib pick-up area. The line for my corral had no wait, so I got my bib after showing photo idea and handing over my signed race waver. From here I picked up my tech shirt, then my swag bag. You can see the pictures below.

After this, we proceeded into the usual Brooks Zone. It's basically a very large area dedicated to Brooks, since they are a major sponsor. They had a fun zone called Brooks Run Happy Island. Below is a video of a guy riding a shoe; good times.

After you leave the Brooks area, you are off to the other booths. I stopped at all of them, got some free stuff and samples. Nothing really exciting for me this year as I pretty much have all of the running gear I need now. I did pick up some compression long sock; 2 normal pairs and 1 reflective. With the weather starting to get cooler, they will be helpful since my outside runs will start being in complete dark for AM or PM runs, as the days are getting shorter. Other than that, my wife got a pair of compression socks as well, a free visor, GU's, and some other running items. We both got medal hangers and I got another magnetic bumper sticker from Gone for a Run, one of our favorite vendors for non-running running items. Last time we got bib binders and some other magnetic bumper stickers.

Despite there being a good amount of vendors, it was a lot less than last year, and a lot less packed. Last year the whole hall was filled with vendors and there was a lot of food and handouts. This year there was no food, a large amount of the hall was empty, and most vendors were stingy with handouts.

However, still a good time and I highly recommend going to the expos so you can at least get discount vouchers or fill out surveys to get free gear...it all comes in handy. Plus, a lot of vendors will offer high discounts at the expo; not as many discounts this year, but still some plenty of them. It also gives you a chance to try out gear so you can consider it for your next race or training.

Half Marathon Training Plan - Speed Training

So, I take no credit for the overall plan I am going to follow. Runner's World gets all of the credit, it was page 89 from an issue I can't even remember at this point. They know what they are talking about. So, last year for the Philly Half Marathon I started off around 8:15 per mile, which is exactly where I wanted to be THEN. However, not knowing that I needed orthotics at the time, my knees exploded and I collapsed 3 times during the race, barely having the energy to finish, but I did. But who cares, that was last year. It is now this year and the race is 12 weeks out. So, here is my plan, and for anyone who wants to get other training plans more geared to them, head over to Runner's World and get them; they are a pretty good price for the results you get.

I am not posting cooldowns between intervals, as this is supposed to be more of a summary, not a blow-by-blow. I was going to be even more general, but figured that wouldn't be as helpful.

The training plan I am following is a 9 week plan, with Week 9 as the taper week. For anyone who is not familiar with "taper", it basically is the winding down of your training so you are in peak shape for your race. Tapering should always be done the week leading up to your race. Training up until race day will only get you injured...I am proof of that.

Also, as I said, the race is 12 weeks out, and I have a 9 week training schedule. For training plans, I would usually just repeat week 6 and/or 7 depending on how many weeks I needed to fill in. However, I am doing an advanced training plan which is extremely tough...especially for me. Therefore I am taking then next two weeks to ease into the training.

Current Week - Week 1 (6/27-6/30)

Monday and Tuesday I took off. Wednesday I did a 5k run to start breaking in my new running shoes. Only a few days left this week, so the plan is fairly simple, especially since I am coming off a triathlon last weekend. I did a ridiculous Spin Fusion class today (Thursday), and am completely exhausted so that will be all for today. Friday I will doing a 4 mile run to continue breaking in my new running shoes. Saturday I am hoping to bike hills for about two hours, but if the weather is bad, then I'll probably do a 6-8 mile treadmill run at 1.0 incline (old shoes). Sunday I am shooting for an 8-10 mile run (old shoes).

Week 2 (7/1-7/7)

This is another build-up week. So Monday I'll probably swim and do core strength training. Tuesday I'll try to get to the track to get some 800m intervals in(new shoes). Weather report still looks bad, so worse case is I'll be running inside a lot. Wednesday will be some sort of paced 4+ mile run and hopefully some leg strength training. Thursday I am definitely doing the spin class again if it's offered. If not, I'll probably do some 400m and 800m intervals at the track. Friday will be more intervals or spin class if it isn't on Thursday, and Saturday and Sunday will be the same as Week 1, except longer distance.

Week 3 (7/8-7/14)

This is the final build-up week. I will at this point be using my new shoes for all of my runs. Monday will be swimming and leg strength training again. Tuesday will be 400m and 800m intervals, Wednesday 4+ miles hills, Thursday more intervals, Friday 4+ miles hills or swim and leg strength, Saturday will be an hour bike followed by 8-10 mile run, and then Sunday will be a 12 mile run.

Week 4 (Technically Week 1 of training plan) (7/15-7/21)

Monday	Rest
Tuesday	Intervals 4x1600,5x200
Wednesday	4 miles
Thursday	Intervals 3 miles Pace,2x800,4x100
Friday	4 miles
Saturday	6 miles, 4x100 Sprints
Sunday	13 miles

Week 5 (7/22-7/28)

Monday	Rest
Tuesday	Intervals 4x1600,5x200
Wednesday	4 miles
Thursday	Intervals 3 miles Pace,2x800,4x100
Friday	4 miles
Saturday	6 miles, 4x100 Sprints
Sunday	14 miles, final 15 min at race pace

Week 6 (7/29-8/4)

Monday	Rest
Tuesday	Intervals 2x(400,1200,2000)
Wednesday	4 miles, 6x100m sprints
Thursday	4 miles - Pace
Friday	Rest
Saturday	5k Race
Sunday	10 miles

Week 7 (8/5-8/11)

Monday	Rest
Tuesday	Intervals 3x2400
Wednesday	4 miles
Thursday	Intervals 6 miles, 3 min @ faster than race pace then 1 min jog alternate
Friday	3 miles Easy
Saturday	6 miles, 6x100 Sprints
Sunday	15 miles, miles 5-8 at race pace

Week 8 (8/12-8/18)

Monday	Rest
Tuesday	Intervals 2x(400,1200,2400)
Wednesday	4 miles
Thursday	Intervals 6 miles, 3 min @ faster than race pace then 1 min jog alternate
Friday	3 miles Easy
Saturday	6 miles, 6x100 Sprints
Sunday	16 miles, miles 5-10 10k pace 1 min, light jog 1 min alternate

Week 9 (8/19-8/25)

Monday	Rest
Tuesday	Intervals 4x1200,6x200
Wednesday	4 miles
Thursday	Intervals 2x(400,800,400)
Friday	Rest
Saturday	10k Race
Sunday	12 miles

Week 10 (8/26-9/1)

Monday	Rest
Tuesday	Intervals 2x(400,1200,3200)
Wednesday	3 miles - Pace
Thursday	6 miles - Pace
Friday	Rest
Saturday	6 miles, 6x100 Sprints
Sunday	17 miles, miles 5-10 at race pace

Week 11 (9/2-9/8)

Monday	Rest
Tuesday	Intervals 2x1600,6x200,2x1200
Wednesday	3 miles - Pace
Thursday	7 miles - Pace
Friday	Rest
Saturday	6 miles, 6x100 Sprints
Sunday	10 miles

Week 12 - TAPER (9/9-9/15)

Monday	Rest
Tuesday	Intervals 6x400
Wednesday	3 miles - Pace
Thursday	Intervals 2x400,2x200
Friday	Rest
Saturday	3 miles Easy
Sunday	RACE DAY!!!!!!