Phillies Charities 5k Recap

Leading up to race-day we knew it was going to be a cold one and oh yes, the weather people got this one right.  Race morning it was 37 degrees but felt like it was 26.  Ugh!  After a winter of cold I was really hoping this was going to be a beautiful day to run.  But alas, we layered up and headed out to Citizens Bank Park.

I had big PR dreams for this race.  I set my current PR (25:09 - 8:06/m) on Thanksgiving 2013 and I have been chasing it ever since.  I struggled with speed at the 5k distance in 2014.  For some reason, even though I was able to set some good PRs in distance races, I could not get anywhere close to my 5k PR.  When I finished the Kelly 5k a few weeks ago in 25:40 I set my eyes towards a PR at Phillies.  I was nervous about the cold keeping me from my PR but I shook off those doubts knowing I ran my current PR in COLDER conditions.

Before the race my running buddies and I found my mom and my brother-in-law.  We stood and chatted for a bit until we realized it was less than 10 minutes until go time and we should line up before the start line got too crowded.  Somehow by a stroke of luck we found 2 of our other running buddies and stood an chatted with them before we lined up.  This 5k asks runners to corral themselves and have signs up to help this process.  I always appreciate this in a 5k; even though not everyone is honest is significantly reduces crowding in my opinion.  Even though I was I was hoping to run around an 8:00/m pace but I decided to line up towards the front of the 9:00/m group.  This 5k groups the 6, 7, and 8 min milers all in the same group and that section seemed pretty darn crowded so I dropped back a bit. 

The national anthem was played at we were off.  The first mile felt pretty good but I could tell I was pushing it pretty hard.  A few of the times I checked my pace I saw I was running at a pace under an 8:00/m and I knew I had to back off because I wouldn't be able to maintain that.  This year, due to construction near the stadiums, there was a change to the course.  We first ran past Citizens Bank Park and out towards Broad Street.  We then entered FDR park.  This was a GREAT change minus the giant potholes.... if they keep this course they're going to need fix those, it was sketchy at times.  The majority of the course ended up going through the park with just the last .7 miles back on the road towards the stadium. 

I tried to run at a pace that was challenging but not so fast that I felt like I was dying.  Very specific right?  Mile 1, pretty good 8:30 pace.  Mile 2, even better 8:08 pace for that mile.  But it wasn't long after crossing the 2nd mile marker that I knew my PR was out of reach.  Never one to give up and hoping a miracle would happen I pushed on and finished strong.

Unofficial results (via my new Garmin): 3.16 miles at 8:11/m
Official results: 3.1 miles at 8:19/m

Overall, this race is well organized and has great swag.  T-shirt, medal, and 2-free tickets to a Phillies game during the On-Deck Series.  Plus, after the race you get to walk along the warning track on the field.  Pretty awesome.  The course change was much improved over previous years and it's very flat, great for PRs.  I'll definitely be back to run again next year.