It's been a little over a month since I've posted, so there's a decent amount to cover. Let's jump right in.
Delaware Distance Classic: The Delaware Distance Classic is a 15K race that traverses the riverfront of Wilmington, Delaware. It's mostly a flat course, so there is a potential to run some fast times. On this particular day, however, there was some pretty deceptive humidity afoot. The race starts and finishes outside of Frawley Stadium, home of the Delaware Blue Rocks.
"Come on in. We have Dogfish Head on tap."
A pack of four of us ran together for the first few miles. We hit the two mile mark in around 10:30, and it actually felt faster than the week before at the Dogfish Dash, when I hit the two mile mark in 10:10. I thought it just might not be my day. The legs were feeling heavy, probably due to both the training volume I had been maintaining and from the Dogfish Dash seven days prior. I backed off of the pace a little and let the other three get a little distance on me in hopes that they would wilt in the later miles. I was treated to no such opportunity. The first two guys ended up battling until the last half mile, when Graham, a runner from Baltimore, broke away from Darryl, who won last year's race. The third place runner, Joseph, another Bryn Mawr runner, got about 15 seconds ahead of me and then basically stayed there the entire race. There was one ambiguous turn that probably cost me three seconds, which would be more or less of no consequence except that I ended up finishing in 50:00.0. DAMMIT! Anyway, I ended up fourth and won my age group, so that's not so bad. Jeannine's parents live in Wilmington, and there was tax-free beer waiting at their house, so the remainder of the Sunday was delicious.
Run the Bridge: This is a 10K that begins on the Camden, New Jersey, side of the Ben Franklin Bridge, goes over the bridge to the Philly side (but not actually into Philly), goes back over the bridge, and then weaves through Camden, before ending up at Campbell Field, home of the Camden Riversharks.
It was just like this, except there were no baseball players and it was cold as balls.
It was around 35 degrees at start time and really windy. It was hard to determine what kind of pace I should run in the early miles because the first 5K, which was on the bridge, was basically, "giant uphill, giant downhill, repeat." It was actually pretty cool running on the bridge, it just wasn't conducive to finding a rhythm. When the race started, there was a pack of about 15 of us that took off on the uphill. Once we crested the first hill, there was a pack of around eight who then proceeded to really take off. I hung back because, well, those guys were hauling ass, and I didn't have much of a choice. I figured I might finish in the 31:00 to 31:30 range, and these guys were going much faster than that. Anyway, case in point for how hard it was to determine a good pace, I went through the one mile mark in around 5:25 and the two mile mark in well under 10:00. Once I got off the bridge and hit Camden for the last 5K, the wind immediately let me know that the remaining flat part of the race would still be not much fun. There were a few really long straightaways that were into the wind the whole way, and they made that whole 31:00-31:30 thing seem less probable. Over the last half mile or so, I heard the footsteps of the person behind me get louder, so I picked it up to hold him off and ended up doing so successfully, finishing two seconds ahead of him. I later found out that he was the same guy who finished immediately behind me in the Delaware Distance Classic. Anyway, I finished 12th overall in 32:25. I was not so much disappointed with the placing, especially since the top five guys broke 30 minutes. Maybe in a year or two for me, but not yet. This race drew runners from all up and down the east coast, many of whom run professionally. I did think I would run faster though. Coach Mike says I should be happy with my time as it fits into the context of preparing for my goal race (the Philadelphia Half Marathon on November 17th), so I'll go with that. I think my goal for next year is to be able to take off with that lead pack once we crest the first incline of the bridge.
Also running the race was my lab mate and friend Anna (who was too elusive to be photographed), and Jeannine's cousins Sandra and Tom. Jeannine and our dog, Dr. Peter Venkman, hung out immediately outside the stadium, kept each other warm, and were, as usual, incredibly patient and supportive.
Not pictured: Dr. Peter Venkman's dignity
Tom, Sandra, and Anna all hit their goal times and seemed to have a lot of fun. I think we are all planning on running it again next year.
Run the Bridge was also on the same day as the New York Marathon. This year, for the first time in 20 years, it was on national television. This was also coincidentally the first year that I have ever had DVR. This means I got to come home (after sleeping in my own bed the night before a race, mind you), crack a beer, overeat, and watch the New York Marathon on my own television on my own time. It made a nice epilogue to Run the Bridge, and both the men's and women's races ended up being very compelling. An interesting footnote: Graham, the first place finisher at the Delaware Distance Classic, appeared on national television running his final strides of the NYC Marathon. He wasn't mentioned by name or anything, but I recognized him largely thanks to his wearing the same bright orange singlet he wore during DDC.
Operation Chocolate Piranha Hurricane: Muahahahaha! This was the code name for my master scheme to propose to Jeannine. There was a short list of people who were in on it, many of whom have appeared on this blog before. Namely, my now battle-tested Blue Ridge Relay teammate, triathlete, and friend, Valerie; Uncle Mike, who found out about it during the pre-Dogfish Dash dinner while Jeannine was away from the table ("Fuckin' A right, man! Welcome to the family!"); and my Chief Accomplice, Meghan. Meghan actually went with me to buy the ring. Then we ate nachos at Moriarty's, when I was supposedly "working in the lab" on a Sunday. Subterfuge! Jeannine would later say of the subterfuge that occurred during the Dogfish Dash weekend, "I WAS RIDING IN A MINIVAN OF LIES!" Anyway, I popped the question on October 4th at the Victor Cafe. It's an incredible Italian place where all of the staff are opera singers, and every evening there is punctuated by periodic arias. It is both Jeannine's favorite place in Philly and the place where her grandparents got engaged. It's also where Uncle Mike and his wife, Aunt Vanessa, had their engagement party, I do believe. Then she said, "Yes," and there were cannolis.
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Suck it, Falls Church!
There were also a few bystanders who took pictures of the event and sent them to me, which was really nice.
Anyway, I'm now in what you might consider taper mode. The Philadelphia Half Marathon (and full Marathon as well, of course) is in eight days, so I have a couple of shorter, fast workouts between now and then, and then it's time to go.
I'll post next week after the race to say how it went. For those interested in running the Blue Ridge Marathon next year, I will be hosting a free entry giveaway on this blog in the very near future. So stay tuned... because free shit is cool.
Have Fun,
Jeff
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