I haven't posted here in a while. I've been living, running, and getting myself prepared for the Marine Corps Marathon next month. I was excited about Philly give the positive the reviews I had from those who had run it before and the fact that is is flat. I was aiming to run 2:15 just under 2 minutes faster than my PR at RnR NOLA in February. I attended the expo early Saturday morning. The expo was pretty nice, I picked up some nice freebies, took pictures, and I didn't buy a thing!!!! I had a nice lunch in the city with some of my sole sisters. I developed a headache later in the day and made sure to continue hydrating and took some naproxen. I slept well and was up at 5:30 to get ready. I met up with the BGR! ladies for a pre-race photo in front of the Art Museum and a warm-up. I had forgotten my arm sleeves at home but luckily I purchase a 4-pack of black men's sock which I cut to make arm warmers. It was chilly in the morning but by the time my corral got to the start line I was warmed up and I tossed the sock in the trash. I had a pace band to try to keep myself on pace but I forgot that while using intervals on my Garmin 210 I would not be able to see the time elapsed but only distance. I felt good during the run keep at my 3:1 intervals. My initial plan was to stop the intervals at mile 11 and then give a hard effort for the last 2.1. The course was beautiful and scenic, congested at times, and flat. I was bothered by a couple of things though. As I passed the very first water station I saw that it was non-staffed and there were only cups but with no water. Many runners around me look horrified that there was no water. I had my 20 ounce amphipod in fuel belt so I was good. The water stations continued to be a mess throughout the course. By the last station I was running low so I decided to take one cup which was actually nice and cold. I didn't end up finishing in 2:15 but I am happy with my efforts but I stuck to a plan and my legs feel good during and after. The finish was congested and it was getting close to 11:00 am so I grabbed some items and headed back to my hotel to shower and checkout. I was of course hungry so I headed to Reading Terminal for a chicken cheesesteak and also pickup a delicious looking rocky road fudge cup. I inhaled my sandwich and later joined a couple of ladies at their post race meal and I had dessert. I started to get the bad news about what happened at the race for the back of the pack runners. They ran out of the event day medals and started giving out generic series medal to finishers. They ran out of chocolate milk, water, etc for these folks as well. Another finishers posted a picture of how the water was being served, scooped out of trash bag lined trash cans (and other runners not knowing had thrown their used cups in). Supposedly 1000 medals were stolen. That explanation really doesn't jive with me because the number of finishers was over 1000 less than registrants so there still should have been enough medals. Also, why did they have these "extra" medals on hand. Hearing the experience of the back of the packers, not to mention issues at past races makes me wary of running further RnR races. I am doing the Brookyn 10 K next month but it is likely that this may be my last. I had such a good time in New Orleans and I was hoping to run it again but the Competitor group really needs to get their act together
