Ben Franklin Bridge Challenge 10k
As if I haven't raced enough this season.
I've never run this race, which starts in Camden and goes over the Ben Franklin bridge into Philly and back over the bridge into Camden and then along the waterfront attractions. There is a generous enough prize purse for both open (5 deep) and masters (3 deep) runners to attract Africans and other elites, and it otherwise attracts a large crowd as well. I love running the Ben Franklin Bridge, and this race promised to be able to do it on the road instead of on the pedestrian walk. And I figured that if I ran out and back to Camden (6.5 miles one way) and ran the 10k, I can log enough miles (on the installment plan) to call it a long run (with a hard workout) to boot. And it was the second to last race on the Mid-Atlantic USATF circuit, and my being in a dogfight for first individual place, made it kinda necessary to run it.
Running out to Camden through Center City early on a Sunday morning was like having the whole downtown by myself. In absence of traffic I just ran down the middle of Lombard St. all the way to Sixth St. and then hung a left until I got to the bridge. Running over the bridge let me do a little reconnaissance as I approached the race staging area at Rutgers-Camden campus, and I made it to the registration desk with five minutes to spare before they closed.
The race start was like a poor man's NYC marathon start (which was also today), being by the toll plaza of a large suspension bridge. Supposedly 3,000+ people lined up. Aside from Kevin Matthews I saw no-one who was likely to give me competition in the, ahem, mature gentlemen's division. The start was slow due to the steady ascent to the crest of the bridge, and I was smart enough not to stay with the lead pack. They slowly broke away, there were two others running behind them, and there was me. At about a half mile I was joined by the two lead female runners, one of whom, Olympian and Villanova legend Carmen Hussar, I had dueled back in September at the Parkway Run. The other was a short, dark skinned woman who seemed to be hanging on for dear life. I was happy to have people to work with, and mile 1, at the bridge crest, was 5:40.
The three of us were still together as we turned around in front of Franklin Square and headed back up the bridge again to Camden. The two guys between us and lead pack were slowly coming back to us. Mile 2 (5:25) was at the crest again and on the downhill I lost my female companionship and started closing in on the guys ahead of me. Each race lately I've been more and more confident, and now I smelled blood. First guy, who had a blond mane and a Ohio Athletic Conference t-shirt, looked over his shoulder at me and spit at my feet as I overtook him. "Go ahead and spit, asshole, it won't stop my smoking you," was my thought as I blew by him. Guy number two, in a Haddonfield Running Company singlet, was about 20 meters ahead now. I reeled him in and we screamed downhill to the Camden end of the bridge, where mile 3 went by in 5:04. I felt great as we continued to work it together towards the Riverfront. We stayed together for mile 4 (5:14) and by the time we got to the battleship New Jersey he fell behind a little. I kept my mojo right on working and by the next time I got to look back, past the Aquarium and right on the river, my lead was widening. Mile 5 (5:22) gave me a cumulative time of 26:46 - 25 seconds faster than my pr time at the Radnor 5 Miler last week. By the next time I looked back the Haddonfield store guy was still fading, and the next guy ahead of me was unreachable, so I just bore down and concentrated on finishing strong. The last 1.2 miles went by in 6:28 (5:23 pace) and I crossed the finish line in 33:14.
After the race, when I finished hyperventilating but before my now predictable post-race GI problems, I went out to about the 6.1 mile mark and cheered on my peeps. Kevin Forde was the first one to come along, right behind two people (including the evil David James), and I yelled at him to hammer it. He must have known that it would be a long week living with my constantly reminding him of this, and so he actually downshifted and blew past them. KJ also responded to my exhortations with a final kick (he finished in a 38 something pr), as did Steve "Goat" DiBona who held off a challenge from 2 guys breathing down his neck. That was fun. Various other Phila AC and Philly Runners folks also had good races.
My finish was good enough for seventh place and first masters finisher. It was a pr by 69 seconds over my Brian's Run time last year. Second master's finisher was by another Villanova legend - Marcus O'Sullivan. While I certainly don't have the hubris to say I am the better runner, I do get a kick out of being able to say I beat him. Carmen ended up finishing first female, and I ran into Dan Hussar, a colleague of mine on the faculty at USP who is Carmen's father in law. I had never made the connection. My first place masters finish was good enough for a $500 payday. And by my calculations I should gain another point or two on David James to put me in the lead in the Grand Prix standings. Hot damn!
The run back home was over the bridge and straight down Race Street all the way to the Schuylkill, where I took the bike path and then crossed the river at Walnut Street and through Penn campus all the way home. It was hard to crank up again after the mental and physical race effort, but as the run home progressed I got stronger. Thus this morning was good from a long run perspective as well.
This has been an amazing season. I feel like I'm writing the same thing over and over again with every race report I write - centering around how I just shatter my previous efforts at whatever distance I happen to be racing. Its an amazing feeling. I hope I can ride it out through CIM.
And speaking of CIM, I booked plane reservations and am now fully committed to going. This prize money will definitely help towards that effort. And in the meantime, I've already been California dreaming way more than the legal limit.
19 miles today, one more hard week to go.
I've never run this race, which starts in Camden and goes over the Ben Franklin bridge into Philly and back over the bridge into Camden and then along the waterfront attractions. There is a generous enough prize purse for both open (5 deep) and masters (3 deep) runners to attract Africans and other elites, and it otherwise attracts a large crowd as well. I love running the Ben Franklin Bridge, and this race promised to be able to do it on the road instead of on the pedestrian walk. And I figured that if I ran out and back to Camden (6.5 miles one way) and ran the 10k, I can log enough miles (on the installment plan) to call it a long run (with a hard workout) to boot. And it was the second to last race on the Mid-Atlantic USATF circuit, and my being in a dogfight for first individual place, made it kinda necessary to run it.
Running out to Camden through Center City early on a Sunday morning was like having the whole downtown by myself. In absence of traffic I just ran down the middle of Lombard St. all the way to Sixth St. and then hung a left until I got to the bridge. Running over the bridge let me do a little reconnaissance as I approached the race staging area at Rutgers-Camden campus, and I made it to the registration desk with five minutes to spare before they closed.
The race start was like a poor man's NYC marathon start (which was also today), being by the toll plaza of a large suspension bridge. Supposedly 3,000+ people lined up. Aside from Kevin Matthews I saw no-one who was likely to give me competition in the, ahem, mature gentlemen's division. The start was slow due to the steady ascent to the crest of the bridge, and I was smart enough not to stay with the lead pack. They slowly broke away, there were two others running behind them, and there was me. At about a half mile I was joined by the two lead female runners, one of whom, Olympian and Villanova legend Carmen Hussar, I had dueled back in September at the Parkway Run. The other was a short, dark skinned woman who seemed to be hanging on for dear life. I was happy to have people to work with, and mile 1, at the bridge crest, was 5:40.
The three of us were still together as we turned around in front of Franklin Square and headed back up the bridge again to Camden. The two guys between us and lead pack were slowly coming back to us. Mile 2 (5:25) was at the crest again and on the downhill I lost my female companionship and started closing in on the guys ahead of me. Each race lately I've been more and more confident, and now I smelled blood. First guy, who had a blond mane and a Ohio Athletic Conference t-shirt, looked over his shoulder at me and spit at my feet as I overtook him. "Go ahead and spit, asshole, it won't stop my smoking you," was my thought as I blew by him. Guy number two, in a Haddonfield Running Company singlet, was about 20 meters ahead now. I reeled him in and we screamed downhill to the Camden end of the bridge, where mile 3 went by in 5:04. I felt great as we continued to work it together towards the Riverfront. We stayed together for mile 4 (5:14) and by the time we got to the battleship New Jersey he fell behind a little. I kept my mojo right on working and by the next time I got to look back, past the Aquarium and right on the river, my lead was widening. Mile 5 (5:22) gave me a cumulative time of 26:46 - 25 seconds faster than my pr time at the Radnor 5 Miler last week. By the next time I looked back the Haddonfield store guy was still fading, and the next guy ahead of me was unreachable, so I just bore down and concentrated on finishing strong. The last 1.2 miles went by in 6:28 (5:23 pace) and I crossed the finish line in 33:14.
After the race, when I finished hyperventilating but before my now predictable post-race GI problems, I went out to about the 6.1 mile mark and cheered on my peeps. Kevin Forde was the first one to come along, right behind two people (including the evil David James), and I yelled at him to hammer it. He must have known that it would be a long week living with my constantly reminding him of this, and so he actually downshifted and blew past them. KJ also responded to my exhortations with a final kick (he finished in a 38 something pr), as did Steve "Goat" DiBona who held off a challenge from 2 guys breathing down his neck. That was fun. Various other Phila AC and Philly Runners folks also had good races.
My finish was good enough for seventh place and first masters finisher. It was a pr by 69 seconds over my Brian's Run time last year. Second master's finisher was by another Villanova legend - Marcus O'Sullivan. While I certainly don't have the hubris to say I am the better runner, I do get a kick out of being able to say I beat him. Carmen ended up finishing first female, and I ran into Dan Hussar, a colleague of mine on the faculty at USP who is Carmen's father in law. I had never made the connection. My first place masters finish was good enough for a $500 payday. And by my calculations I should gain another point or two on David James to put me in the lead in the Grand Prix standings. Hot damn!
The run back home was over the bridge and straight down Race Street all the way to the Schuylkill, where I took the bike path and then crossed the river at Walnut Street and through Penn campus all the way home. It was hard to crank up again after the mental and physical race effort, but as the run home progressed I got stronger. Thus this morning was good from a long run perspective as well.
This has been an amazing season. I feel like I'm writing the same thing over and over again with every race report I write - centering around how I just shatter my previous efforts at whatever distance I happen to be racing. Its an amazing feeling. I hope I can ride it out through CIM.
And speaking of CIM, I booked plane reservations and am now fully committed to going. This prize money will definitely help towards that effort. And in the meantime, I've already been California dreaming way more than the legal limit.
19 miles today, one more hard week to go.
posted by seebo | 4:14 PM
1 Comments:
This is really getting boring, Seebo. I give you one more huge PR at CIM, then I request you return to writing about how hard and tedious running is, like the rest of us.
Congratulations. Again.
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