Philly’s Better When You Sleep Over (20 Miler #4)

That, without the parentheses, was a marketing slogan a few years back. Last night Cindy and I took the trolley to Center City and stayed overnight at the Crowne Plaza hotel, cashing in on a certificate I had won in last year’s Parkway Run. We did it as a belated anniversary celebration.

This morning, after we finished our complementary breakfast (I limited myself to a bagel & cream cheese and OJ), I went out for a 20 miler and Cindy went to Toppers Spa for a pedicure. We agreed to meet 2 and a half hours later, when we were both scheduled for massages.

The loop was a variation of my primary 20-mile loop, adapted for my start today at 18^th and Market and going up to Manayunk, over to Cobbs Creek, down to Warrington Ave and back to Toppers on 19^th and Sansom. The run proved to have generous helpings of the essential components of a challenging long run: plodding into the maws of a whipping Kelly Drive headwind; slogging up the northern Belmont Ave. hills; and some close to marathon pace effort for the last eight or so miles.

For the first half of this run I tried not to think about what lie waiting for me after the run. However, as I got to Overbrook I started to doubt whether or not I’d make it to the spa on time and it became time to let images of supple fingers kneading sore muscles take over. Involuntarily I started picking up the pace (credit also perhaps to a GU taken ten minutes earlier) and high tailing over the rest of the loop. It was impossible to gauge pace along this stretch, and in many places the street crossings and rolling hills precluded a steady effort. However, I rounded the corner of 19^th and Walnut exactly 2 hours, 30 minutes and 58 seconds after I started. Not bad timing.

I won’t have time this evening to gmap it, but it would easily be a 20 mile effort.

Suffice to say that the massage was well worth putting the hammer down. I told the masseuse to just work the calves; if she got to the upper legs – great; and not to worry about anything beyond that. So now I have this feeling I can only compare to that after a teeth cleaning, where I have wonderfully fresh legs that I don’t want to sully with any further running. Ever.

PS – Here are results from yesterdays Adrenaline 5k. How many other 5k’s can a 16:25 time only get me 37th place?!