A Weekend Field-Trip to Philadelphia

This weekend was a bit of a mess. On Friday after work I left for Philly to visit one of my grad school friends who recently moved there. Unfortunately for me, this weekend was also my final long run of the training cycle for New York which meant I had a 20+ miler to do. Because I'm a super big believer in training on the course as much as possible I decided I would head back to NYC on Saturday night and do my final long run Sunday morning. This made for a very compressed visit!

After we got in on Friday (I road the train down with another grad school friend), my two friends and I went to Royal Tavern, a local bar/restaurant with lots of vegan food. I had really tasty vegan sloppy joe and way too many fries. Then it was off to Bob and Barbara's, a Philly institution, for some live jazz. Finally, to end the night on a sweet note, we visited the Franklin Fountain, an old-school-style ice cream parlor, for a pumpkin ice cream sundae. Basically, it was an evening of efficient fueling for my impending long run.

The next morning I set off for what I intended to be a short 5 or 6 miles. Of course, not really knowing Philly, I let myself wander. I ran north on Broad Street up to Temple University (I love running through schools), before heading west to Fairmount Park. After almost getting lost on the Boxers' Trail I made my way to the Schuylkill River Trail. Shortly before I turned off the trail to return to my friend's house, I ran into my runner friend Rebecca--the girl I helped pace in her 100 miler. Talk about a small world! It was a great run but I ended up with 11.7 miles...a little more than my planned 5!

After showering and grabbing a delicious cup of joe at Bodhi Coffee it was time for some serious brunch. The place my friend picked, Rex 1516, was excellent! I got a tofu scramble with veggie sausage and a pint of Philly Brewing Co's Newbold IPA. It was plenty of food after my run! Our next stop was UPenn's Franklin Field where we (sadly but not surprisingly) watched Columbia fall to the Quakers. Unfortunately, after a wonderful afternoon/evening at Monk's Cafe, Nodding Head Brewery, and the Dandelion, it was time to catch my train back to New York.

I had a great time and definitely hope to be back in Philly soon! As for my long run on Sunday morning, it went really well but I'll talk about that in tomorrow's post.

You Snooze, You Lose (on Race Registration)

Earlier this winter I was contemplating running the Broad Street 10 Miler in Philadelphia. I've always wanted to do a race in the City of Brotherly Love but the Philly Marathon comes too soon after the other fall races and I refuse to do the Distance Classic now that it's been taken over by the evil Competitor Group.* I knew the Broad Street Run was popular but I didn't know just how popular until February 15 when it sold out in 5 hours!

As time goes on, it seems like all large races are hitting their caps earlier and earlier. Boston is probably the prime example: the 2009 race sold out on January 26; the 2010 race sold out on November 13; and the 2011 race sold out in 8 hours and 3 minutes! As a result, BAA (the group that puts on the race) completely reconfigured registration. Similarly, while the 2011 Chicago Marathon sold out in 31 days, the 2012 edition filled up in just 6 days.

Quite a few well-known races have now switched to lottery systems to handle the increased demand. The New York City Marathon is probably the most famous example, but plenty of other big races like DC's Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, New Hampshire's Mt Washington Road Race, Atlanta's Peach Tree Road Race, and the Houston Marathon use similar systems.

When you get shut out of these races because they've filled up to fast or you don't get picked in the lottery, just use it as an excuse to find a smaller local race. I know I've talked about NYCRuns before. With their comprehensive local race calendar, you can usually find a comparable alternative race. You can also search Active.com, or check with your local running store. The other bonus about smaller races is that they are usually less expensive.

In the end, it's probably good for me that Broad Street sold out so quickly. It's only three weeks after Boston and I know I won't have recovered fully. I'll just post-pone my return to racing and save a few bucks on transportation costs too.

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*Okay, calling them evil may be an exaggeration, but just like I won't shop at Walmart, I won't run a Competitor race.