Philly Marathon Recap

Let’s start here: A few weeks back I wrote a post titled “Running Is Hard”  & last week, SoulCycle posted a blog I wrote about my experience running marathons titled “Sam Scaffidi’s Marathon Motivation”. If you haven’t yet read them, put them on your list of things to do…it’s Monday and it’s a short work week, you need some distraction to get you through until Thanksgiving.

Yesterday, I ran the Philadelphia Marathon! My third full marathon, my second marathon this year and my first marathon in a big city. Of the 3 marathons I’ve completed, this was by far the most exhilarating. From start to finish there were crowds along the course cheering on the runners, offering beer & snacks, water & gatorade and some really creative signs; it made for a seriously enjoyable run! My face ACTUALLY hurts from smiling so much!

I don’t love running alone, especially not for 26.2 miles, so I somehow convinced Jenna Arndt to run this, our third marathon together, with me! We both teach indoor cycling and she also teaches at Crunch Fitness, leaving us with very little energy or time to train for the marathon together. Jenna ran 2 long runs, reaching 16ish miles as her longest run and I ran one 13.1 mile run a month before the race and held onto that with every ounce of my being as my “training”. I certainly wouldn’t say we were unprepared due to the nature of our jobs, but we definitely did not train like marathoners do.

Going into the race, our only goal was to finish the race and enjoy the run. Both of which we did! The course is soooo flat with the exception of one “hill” which in comparison to Pike’s Peak, was a breeze! For the first 8 miles or so, the course takes us through the city, down Arch Street, South Street and Chestnut Street; running through the city, lined with fans and crowded with runners was awesome…it made it easy to keep going, that and the fact that this was all before the 10 mile mark. Then we make our way out and across the Schuylkill River where we ran the last 13 miles out to Manayunk and back to the start. 13 miles out and back can be pretty daunting, but by the time we reached mile 13, some of the elite runners were already on their way to the finish line…that was certainly inspiring!

I never hit a wall yesterday. I never thought “maybe I should stop” or “how am I going to finish this?” and that is an accomplishment in itself…to just trust and know that no matter the circumstances I was going to finish the race; that’s not always the case when asking our bodies to complete such a demanding task and I’m so thankful I didn’t have the extra work of fighting my own thoughts.

Running to the finish line through the crowds of people, music blaring, and family, friends and strangers alike cheering us to the end is unlike any other experience && I will absolutely run another marathon, no time soon though and definitely with a little more training under my feet! Until then…