Last weekend I ran the Philly 10k. I’ve never run the Philly 10k before. I’ve always wanted to but the race sells out quickly and you have to sign up months in advance. The Philadephia running community is great and together with the Broad Street 10 miler, RnR Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia and Full marathon, we have plenty of great races.
This year most of my coworkers decided to run so it made it more exciting.
Coming back after my trip to Colorado has been difficult. I’m struggling with adjusting back to the time zone and I’ve been tired most of the time. The Philly 10k starts at 7:30 am so it’s an early wake up.
When my alarm went off at 5:30, I mumbled ugh what am I doing. I was excited to do the Philly 10k but my body felt stiff and I was tired.
I got to center city around 6:30, warmed up for about a mile and then headed to the start. I chatted with my coworkers and by the time I knew it, we were off. The Philly 10k is one of the few races that runs in South Philly. If you are looking for a unique and fun course in Philadelphia, the Philly 10k is a good option. Plus it gives a competitive 6.2 mile tour of the South Philly.
One of my coworkers and I decided we were going to try and run together. We probably started a little further back and we were boxed in most of the first mile. We ran a 6:37 which I was pleased with.
Around mile 2, the race started to spread out and I found some space. Throughout the entire race, I never had a lot of space but I had more as the Philly 10k progressed.
I knew I would not be able to run 6:30s for the entire race. Around mile 3, my coworker motioned to go with her and I didn’t have the leg speed.
I hit the halfway right at 21 minutes. I hoped I would be able to maintain and run around 42 minutes.
During the second half of the Philly 10k, I just put my head down and went. We went down long straight roads. There were several parts that we were running into the headwind. I tried to tuck in behind people but couldn’t really get my groove. I hit the fourth mile in 6:50 and told myself 15 minutes to go.
The next mile was just a countdown to the finish. I ran a 6:58 fifth mile and there wasn’t much of note. I thought for sure my last mile would be over 7 but I seemed to have motivation knowing the race was almost done.
We went through a few more turns and all of a sudden I hit mile 6 in 6:50. I just powered to the finish line and crossed in 42:15 chip time.
I think it’s the most amount of time between chip and gun time (nearly 30 seconds). Next time I’ll start a little further up.
Overall Thoughts:
I’m happy with my efforts at the Philly 10k. I didn’t feel great after taking most of the week off and adjusting back from vacation.
Questions for you:
What is your favorite race distance?
Have you been to Philadelphia before?