It’s Sunday night, just hours after the marathon, and I’m finally sitting on the couch, drinking a beer, and waiting for delivery pizza. Also, avoiding packing for Florida which needs to get done sometime between now and tomorrow afternoon. I’m sort of wishing I took tomorrow off from work. Oh well, how can I complain about a one day work week?
So there is no way I can put together any sort of coherent recap yet, so I thought I would just check in with a few notes about the race. Partly because I may forget otherwise.
You guys are freaking amazing. All the comments before and after the race were awesome. Throughout the whole training cycle I felt so supported by everyone who followed along on my journey, and I definitely owe part of this race to you.
I ran a 3:46:33. This is about 15 minutes faster than my PR that I set in April at the Rock N Roll Raleigh Marathon.
I finally broke that 4 hour barrier that has been driving me crazy for some time now.
November 2011: 4:07
January 2013: 4:05
October 2013: 4:06
April 2014: 4:01
I also broke 3:50, which was goal I set for 2014.
I love the Philadelphia Marathon course. Not too many hills, good weather, great crowd support.
My body didn’t want to cooperate for some reason. The pace that felt so natural throughout my training just wasn’t coming to me during this race. However, it was pretty consistent with letting me run at a 8:30-8:45 pace so I just went with that.
Got to meet up with Michele after the race!
I have blisters/black toenails/blood blisters happening on my feet like I have never before experienced. Just in time to go to Florida. No picture here. You’re welcome.
I think that’s all I can say for now. I’m pretty exhausted and my brain isn’t working very well. Hopefully recap to come later this week!
What did you do this weekend?
What is the biggest PR you’ve set?
Ever feel like you were “stuck” and unable to get faster in a certain distance?
I’m also linking up with Erin for the Weekend Snapshots Link-up and Katie for Marvelous in my Monday!
A 15 minute PR is just insanely awesome – so proud and happy for you! Your feet will deal and recover, and you should celebrate your great race! 🙂
Thank you so much! Everything will recover and in the meantime its a reminder that my body took quite a beating and needs a break:)
My knees and hips feel completely trashed, more than usual, yet my quads are okay and I have no blisters to speak of which is unusual for me! I thought with some of the up/downhills my quads would be the worst but I guess my knees took all the impact. I think I wrote something yesterday about being unable to put together anything coherent! Great job on the PR! That’s really an amazing PR and just shows how you’ve worked so hard to improve your running this year. Have a great time in Florida!
I’m worried that if I don’t write this recap soon I will forget all the details of the race! I’m starting to feel less sore, but I really felt it in my hips and hamstrings. I know my immediate recovery wasn’t great (I didn’t eat anything right away and probably didn’t drink enough water) but hopefully as the week goes on I’ll start to feel more back to normal! Hoping the soreness reminds me to take a break from hard workouts for a bit!
Amazing PR! And especially since you felt “stuck” in your pace. Enjoy Florida!
Thanks!
Yay! I was waiting to see your finish and Michele’s – I kept checking instagram lol. So excited you ran a great race even if you felt your legs didn’t cooperate. You did amazing! I wonder what’s up with the toenails. Hmm. So annoying and uncomfortable but you worked so hard and ran a really strong race to PR like that! Have a great time in Florida.
Thanks! I am so confused about the toenail thing. I have worn those shoes a million times and never had that problem. The only thing I could think of was maybe I changed my form when things started hurting and my feet were landing differently. Who knows! It was frustrating that my legs didn’t cooperate but I was happy that I was able to hold that pace the whole time, and who knows what would have happened if I tried to run faster earlier on.
Congratulations, such an awesome PR! Gosh the post marathon emotions are always so wild – enjoy the ride 🙂 Even though you say your legs weren’t cooperating, it sounds like you listened to your body and had a good race. I love the Philly course, reading these recaps makes me want to do it again. Can’t wait for your full recap! Good luck getting out the door to Florida!
Thanks! I love Philly and Im pretty sure I will be back one day:)
Wow! Congrats on the awesome PR. I’m excited to read your full race recap. Have fun in Florida!
Thank you!
Congrats, this is so awesome! You not only PR’d you crushed it 🙂 Good to hear it wasn’t too cold because last weekend it was quite frigid in Philly and windy, I worried about the race this weekend. Have fun in Florida, you enjoy it!
Thank you! The weather was pretty close to perfect! We got really lucky after how it had been the week before.
I am so proud of you Lisa!! Breaking the 4 hour barrier is something is also will nerve forget. I tried to explain it once to
Someone (non runner) and they did not understand how insanely cool that was for me. So I get it!!! I loved getting your text updates yesterday, I felt like I was right there Cheering you on!! Have an amazing time in Florida!!
So glad you can relate to the 4 hour thing! Thanks so much for all of your support!! It was awesome to know I had people I had never even met cheering for me from miles away:)
Congrats!! What an amazing accomplishment 🙂
Thank you!
CONGRATULATIONS!
Frustrating that you legs weren’t working (I remember having similar thoughts during my marathon when my hip flexors kicked in), but hot damn, a race to be proud of for sure! Can’t wait to hear more about it!
Thank you!! I have no idea what it was but it felt like my hips were kind of locked up and just got gradually worse as the race went on. I knew that my piriformis would bother me at some point during the race, it was just a question of how far in I would make it, and that was ok until the second half of the race. But my left hip flexor wanted to be difficult and I felt like I just couldn’t get a smooth stride. But I think it all worked out for the best, because if I had gone out faster who knows if I would have been able to hold a consistent pace!
CONGRATS!!!! I couldn’t find athlete tracking on the Philly website, so I would check in on your insta every once in a while. Was so excited to see that you got a huge PR! Way to go, Lisa! You’re awesome!!! It’s so crazy how close your first four marathons were in time (especially the first three). I hope your recap includes tips for what you think worked better for you this time around! 🙂 Enjoy your trip to Florida!!! I just got back from a run and it was 78 degrees and 80% humidity which is prob just a little different than what you’re coming from! haha
Thanks!! I do want to do a post about what I felt like helped me for this race. And the weather in Florida is so much better than up north:)
Congrats on an awesome race Lisa!! I’m so happy for you! It stinks that your legs weren’t cooperating but that is still a killer time and PR. Have fun in Florida!
Thank you!!
Way to go girl! You trained hard and were consistent and you did it! Sooooo proud of you, but mostly you should be proud of yourself. Rest and relax and enjoy your well earned holiday. Can’t wait to hear your recap. Really enjoyed seeing the picture of you and Michele after the race.
Thank you!! Hopefully the recap will come one day this week…still trying to process it all:)
Wow! Awesome time and a HUGE pr- congrats!! I do know that feeling of knowing you have more in you… glad you could prove to yourself that sub 3:50 is possible and it sounds like you have an even stronger race waiting to bust out one of these days!
Thanks! And thats exactly how I feel. I am very grateful for such an improvement in my time but I know that there are faster times to come…if only my body would cooperate the way I would like it to:)
Huge PR, Lisa! Way to go! I’m really, really happy for you. All your dedication paid off. Now it’s time to kick back and enjoy some rest and indulgences. Congrats!
Thanks Amanda! It will definitely be a week to relax and recover, that’s for sure!
HUGE congratulations! You didn’t just PR, you smashed your previous time. That’s incredible, ride that high!
Thanks so much!:)
Awesome job!!! Congrats! I would love tips on training for my first race! My goal is sub 4:30 🙂
Thanks, and thats so awesome! When is your race? Is there anything specific you want to know about? I know for my first marathon my goal was just to finish and have fun. It can be overwhelming to put too much pressure into it the first time you do such a long distance!
YOU ARE AWESOME.
Thanks!:)
SO EXCITED FOR YOU! That is a huge PR and something to be really proud of. I can’t wait to read the whole recap 🙂
Thanks Sarah! Recap to come one of these days!:)
Yay! Congratulations! That’s a huge improvement! Your hard work payed off! 🙂 Enjoy your big achievement this week!
Thanks so much!
AMAZING!
I hope you make it through the work day–it’s like the final mile!!
Rest up. I look forward to reading more about your race!
Haha it was rough but I survived! Definitely resting up for the rest of this week:)
You smashed it my friend! Cannot wait to hear all about it! I set a 49 minute PR between my 1st and 2nd marathons. To be fair, my first was blazing hot and cancelled when I was at mile 22. The second was the almighty BQ.
Wow that is an amazing PR and to qualify for Boston in your second marathon is incredible!
Thank you!
Congrats on your huge PR! That is awesome! You had a great weather for it. What a cool medal.
Thanks! We really did luck out with the weather!
Lisa you are a CHAMP! I haven’t even attempted a marathon yet and I’m already dreading that 4 hour barrier ): I’m so freaking happy for you! Congrats!
Sorry I haven’t been commenting lately! I’ve been on a time crunch but I swear I read your posts lol
Thank you!! And no worries about commenting, I completely understand! There are just some weeks where we can’t do it all and blogging shouldn’t be stressful!
The 4 hour barrier felt good to pass! I think as long as there is improvement its a good feeling, but going for 4:xx to 3:xx feels great!
Congrats! That’s such an awesome PR!
Thank you!
Congratulations on an awesome race! 15 minutes is an amazing PR! I can’t wait to hear all about it!
Thank you!! And congrats to you as well! Can’t wait to hear about how your race went:)
15 minutes faster than your PR?! WHAT! You’re amazing!!
Thank you!!
AMAZING!!! A HUGE congrats!! My biggest PR was 12 minutes off of my half marathon time! Can’t wait to read your full recap! Safe travels to Florida!
Thank you!! Its such a good feeling to knock a huge chunk of time off a PR, right?!
Congrats on your huge PR. That is the best feeling!!
Thank you!!
Way to go on an AMAZING run!! Seriously I am in awe! Thanks so much for linking up!
Thank you!! I wish I had been better about taking pictures over the weekend but I always get so distracted when I am doing a race!
Congratulations on the huge PR and getting through that 4:00 mark! I hope you’re able to enjoy some well-deserved rest this week!
Thank you! I am definitely trying to rest up and it feels great!
I’ve been reading your journey for the past few weeks and just wanted to say congrats, that’s a great time 🙂
Corinne x
Thanks so much!:)
You. Are. Amazing. That time is incredible and that PR is huge!!! Congratulations, lady! I hope you have a wonderful time on your much deserved Florida trip. You’re so lucky to be leaving the snow behind!!
Thank you!! I couldn’t believe that there was a snow storm coming in. When I left on Monday it was like 70 degrees!! This weather lately is too crazy. Be safe in the snow and have a great Thanksgiving!
Wow, a 15 minute PR is incredible, congrats! I had a few friends run Philly this weekend and they all had a great experience! I’m so sorry about your feet, I hope they heal up quickly!! Have a very happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you! Philly is such a great race.This was my second time there and I have a feeling I will be back again!
Congrats! That is an amazing chunk of time to take off your PR. You should be so proud! Can’t wait to read all about it. Enjoy sunny Florida!
Thank you!