You know that race meme that says “I am never running another race … oh look, a nice medal”? Yes, that seems to be me. I get swept up in the fun or excitement of hanging out with my running friends. I had no intention of running Broad Street this year because May is probably one of the craziest months (next to October) with kid activities and commitments, but when the discussions started, I found myself agreeing to sign-up for the lottery as part of a team. Truth be told, I really like the Broad Street 10 Miler as I ran it once before (in 2012). The crowd support is amazing, and I had my fastest race ever. Let’s be honest, that’s the real reason I wasn’t jumping at the chance to run it again – I knew I hadn’t been training as much and am about 10 lbs heavier…. I didn’t want to tarnish my PR.
Since this was a relatively local race, and I had the chance to hang out with good friends, I caved – seriously I didn’t want to miss out on the fun (pre/post race).
We didn’t get up too early the morning of the race, but we probably should have left a tad bit earlier since we were staying in Delaware. It seems really crazy to stay further out, but I wasn’t one to buck tradition. We left our hotel about 6 AM – figuring we had plenty of time to make the 30 minute drive to South Philly. Honestly, I think we were just in denial about running due to the weather forecast (and rain when we walked outside the hotel).
We knew there wouldn’t be many photo ops during the race due to the forecast, so we had to be sure and get them ahead of time. Don’t let this picture fool you. we had supplies for the rain and cold weather. There is also something to be said about having a vehicle to get into after the race. It makes it easier to not check a bag. Jackey, Laura and I wore our raincoats we purchased originally for our DOPEY run in January.
We were hoping for some decent coffee to get us on our way, but it was pretty bad – so bad that neither Laura or I chose to drink it (imagine how bad that really was).
We were making great time on our drive (no traffic) until we saw the sign noting an accident ahead and 2 lanes were closed. I was fine since we still had plenty of time, but I am fairly certain this is when Laura started to get quiet. She likes to be at the start line VERY early. We navigated the lane closures but were stuck literally in a huge line of traffic waiting to exit the bridge (to get to the stadium parking). This is when Laura really started to freak out, and it was determined that next year, the extra expense of staying close to the stadium would be well worth it.
Finally parking, we made our way to the subway, and we were not alone – lots of runners still making their way. At least we make the express subway train vs. the every station stop train. The subway train was packed with runners. With the weather the way it was, it was actually a blessing that 
we weren’t standing and waiting in the rain. Although we had hoped to meet up with several other friends, that wasn’t in the proverbial ‘cards’ this morning. By the time we exited the subway, the race had already started. We made our way to ‘find’ our corral, but we were directed to the side. The green corral was filtering into start, and we just happened to land there. No stretching, no thinking – just start running. We still had our ponchos on, said our good-bye and good-luck to one another and started the race.
In hindsight, the ‘late to the start’ was one of the best things that could have happened. We didn’t have to wait in the pouring rain very long. Laura had requested my minivan key prior to the start since she is faster, and I zipped it in her back pocket for safe keeping. Jackey and I planned to run together since that is much of the fun – plus then I wouldn’t complain TOO much about the crazy rain.
We were quickly off to the start line. No time to think about what we were doing – just run. After the first mile, I had to ditch the poncho as it held in too much heat. I would have like to have my poncho later on, but there was nothing I could do about it – just keep running.
Despite the crappy weather, there was still pretty decent crowd support – just imagine how amazing it would have been without the rain. I made a point to say we were still smiling throughout. Since Jackey and I were running together, I started my interval timer, and reiterated our interval timing – when to walk and when to run. One of my favorite Jackey quotes from Broad Street was “I need a Type A person in my life to keep me moving”. Type A at your service!
I was so glad I had a running partner during this crazy weather race. It helped to not focus on the rain – despite the fact that I was soaked (and cold). I just chalked it up as ‘another crazy thing’ I have done.
We are over 1/2 done at this point, and look at these amazing smiles. Since it was pouring during much of the race, we didn’t have a lot of photo opportunities. We still enjoyed the race (and crowd support) despite less than stellar conditions. I remember thinking that I couldn’t get any more wet, and that was definitely true. Nothing was dry; it was like being in a pool or shower fully clothed – but we were still smiling.
As we approached the ‘home stretch’ we took the opportunity to get a few more photos. If our spectators took the time to make them AND stand out in the rain, the least we could do was acknowledge their efforts. With about a 1 1/2 miles to go, we went into ‘let’s finish this mode’. I think I might have even said to Jackey – “We are going to get you that PR!”
I had alerted others (as had Jackey) about the ‘fake’ finish line – meaning you aren’t done when they take your picture. You still have about a 1/2 a mile to run. This helps manage the perception of being done but not really. We were in the home stretch so I turned off the interval timer. We just needed to finish. Of course, I was keeping Jackey informed of where we were from a time perspective too – not too shabby for a crazy weather race!
We moved through the finish line to get our post race goody bag. Luckily we were able to also score an emergency blanket on our way. Being wet (and cold) is not a good combination.
There were lots of great volunteers who braved the weather to support the runners – such a well run race with lots of crowd support. We were finished and soon on our way to the warm van (courtesy of Laura and Robert).
It’s amazing how great you feel once you get in a warm car with a change of some of the wettest clothes with an awesome medal around your neck.
Broad Street – we’ll be back. Hopefully 2017 will bring better weather.
Oh, and even Laura and her pre-race anxiety had to admit that our late start and time spent in traffic was actually a blessing since we didn’t have to stand in the rain. Here’s the video recap she made for our YouTube Channel!
Thanks for reading and have a joyful day!
