Reflections on the Philly Half Marathon

Pro

1. It was my second half marathon!  Woohoo!  Very exciting to know I trained and completed two half marathons in one year!!

 2. This half marathon was in one of my favorite cities, Philadelphia.  I was so looking forward to running the streets and seeing all the cool sites. Philly has such a rich history and it was fabulous to see it while running.

3.  The first 9 miles flew by.  It was amazing.  I couldn't believe how quickly they went and how little effort it seemed to take.  I was shocked.  I was happy, but shocked.  Even the hills between miles 7 and 9 were fine.  I'm not a huge hill person, but they didn't seem impossible.

4. I PRed.  I ran basically the race time-wise I expected to run and PRed by 5 minutes.  I will say slight disappointment that my 10k estimated my finished to be 16 minutes faster than I actually ran, but eh.  It is what it is and I have a new PR.

5. The crowd support.  I'm not one for being excited about people cheering me on.  I run by myself in my training runs and crowds yelling for me usually turn me off, but the crowds in Philly were different.  They called my name, they cheered loudly, they had fun signs.  I even joked with some people and high-fived others.

Cons

1. The hill between miles 9 and 10.  Seriously.  The worst hill I've ever dealt with.  Worse than the hill between Mount Wolf and Manchester.  Without that hill this race would have been 100 times better!  And I would have had a better finish time!

2. The lack of directions at the start for the corrals.  It was chaotic and hard to find where I was supposed to line up.  Good thing I'm slow and I knew to just walk to the back.  The signs for the corrals were not as well marked as they could have been.

3. Lack of port-a-potties on the course itself.  The start and finish areas were packed with them, but once out on the course, it was hard to find.  I stopped about mile 5 to use one because I didn't know when the next one would be available.  Not good when you have 25,000 people running at the same time.

4. Post-finish line had several issues:

1. By the time I finished I was given a Marathon medal.  While sweet, I ran the half.  There should have been separate finish lines for the full and half so each race received the right medal.  And when I finished there were only three half medals left.  There were some pretty darn upset people I'm sure after me because there were more than 3 people on the course when I finished.
2. It was crowded with too many volunteers at the same spot - handing out water, handing out medals, directing traffic.  The water people should have been further along.  The congestion was incredible and I've never seen the like.  It was impossible to understand/see/know where to go.
3. With all the people handing out water, there were only two people handing out the blankets.  The ratio was a bit skewed.  It was almost impossible to get a blanket.
4. Food. Big fail.  I got in line, waited close to 5 minutes without getting close to the food, then got out of line because I felt sick.  The set up was completely wrong.  I just ran 13.1 miles (others ran 26.2) and we have to wait 10 or more minutes for a granola bar or banana?  Come on!  More areas where food is located, more space, and quicker lines.  
5. The photo station should be before the water, blankets, etc.  I got my photo taken and had to dump everything I had to get it shot.  
6. Overall, it seemed like once you crossed the finish line everything was just one big cluster you-know-what.  Too crowded, no organization, and too many people.

 Overall Impression

Overall, I really enjoyed the race.  I loved the first 9 miles and I think miles 11 through 13.1 would have been more enjoyable had there not been a 90 degree angle hill I had to go up from miles 9 to 10.  I felt as I ran through Old City, along Delaware Avenue, and up Chestnut Street that this really was an amazing race.  One I would recommend to anyone.  Now, I would recommend it, with the caveat that you have to do hill training.  They say this course is flat and for the most part it is, but miles 7 through 10 have elevation and that mile between 9 and 10 is just killer.

But, if you want to see the best of Philadelphia, go for it!  It's a wonderful way to see the city, get your run on, and have a fun Sunday morning.  

And as much as I am complaining about mile 9 to 10, I'm still happy I PRed.  I'm still happy I ran it.  I'm still happy I felt practically normal come Monday.  I obviously trained better this time around than last.  
 So thank you to everyone who organized and volunteered.  Thank you to the police, fire fighters, and EMTs at the race.  Thank you to all the friends and family who cheered not only their loved ones, but everyone who ran by them.  Thank you to all those who hung signs on the side of the road and those who carried them as they cheered.  And thank you to all my friends and family who believed I could run a half marathon even when I didn't!