Broad Street Run 2014

Sunday May 4, 2014 marked the 35th year for the Broad Street Run and the city of Philadelphia capped registration at 40,000 runners.  The race quickly sold out in previous years so a lottery system was implemented a couple of years ago.  Last year I didn't know anyone that didn't get selected in the lottery but this year I knew many people whom were not selected. 

 

As you know from reading my blog I'm training for Ironman Lake Placid.  That training does not include training to run fast and my coach had specific instructions I was to follow while running the Broad Street Run.  I also had open water swimming and a five hour bike ride the day before the Broad Street Run.  I wondered if my coach was making sure I'd be too tired to run fast of testing my ability to run fast after a big workout.  

The weather was perfect and the drive to the stadium uneventful.  I like to get to my races early and today was no exception.  I was on the subway at 6:30 AM and since the race didn't start until 8:30 AM I had lots of time to kill before the start of the race.  With 40,000 runners in the race you would think I'd run into more than one friend but year after year I run into the same friend.  Maybe it's because we run the same pace and are seeded in the same corral.  I always planned to run the race as fast as I could and once the gun sounded I took off running like everyone else.  I looked down at my watch and saw I was running a 6:30 pace, way too fast for me to sustain over a 10 mile race.  I slowed down and tried to run a 7:30 pace.  Around the 5 mile mark a guy running with the flag of the United States passed me.  I'm always amazed how well that guy runs given he is carrying a full size flag. 

Unfortunately I didn't run as fast as the previous year but I did finish higher in my age group thanks to ageing up this year.      

Photos from the 2014 Broad Street Run are available on Flickr