The day really started the night before, as I attempted to get to bed by ten (but ended up not really falling asleep until eleven). For six hours and nineteen minutes, I had a pretty decent sleep, with the only concern being the overall hours. My Deep sleep, Light sleep, and REM (dreaming) all were within normal, healthy ranges. The number of tosses and turns were low relative to my usual habits to all culminate in a sleep score of 80%. I normally have a low to mid 90’s sleep score most days, but the need to wake up early Sunday meant that hour the evening before when I could not fall asleep was the difference:

We were out the door within the hour of waking up and headed to the subway stop in Center City. The walk itself was nice, and the weather was chilly but comfortable. The subway was packed as it raced to the Olney stop on North Broad Street. When we got to ground level, we could not locate our team’s tent (Back on My Feet), so we made our way to the designated corral. The race was to start at 8:30, but we understood that it would take another thirty to forty minutes for our corral to start. There were long lines at the restrooms near us and we ended up learning these lines would not diminish over the various stations along the course. We had brought some cereal bars but no technology, unlike almost everyone who had earphones ready to go. As an aside, the race organizers explicitly prohibit the use of earphones during the race, but this rule does not appear to be enforced. As a regular cyclist on Kelly Drive, I can say that I am firmly against the use of earphones, as it makes people completely isolated from their surroundings, causing crashes and all kinds of traffic that would not occur if people shared the path. But I digress… 

On to the run: We started at 9:06 AM, at which point the clouds broke for some shining sun. The first mile was a mix of slow jogging, plenty of fellow runner dogging  and finding our form. We hit the first mile in ten minutes, which was a speed I had felt comfortable I could maintain the whole course. Our second mile was in nine and a half minutes, at which point we intentionally slowed. The halfway point is at Spring Garden, not City Hall (as one would expect), so before long we had completed five miles. North Broad was very lively and fun, as we made it through diverse neighborhoods and Temple’s campus. Center City was beautiful, easily the highlight of the sights and sounds. South Broad, between Center City and South Street, was home to the most creative signs, such as “I bet it sounded like a good idea three months ago” and “Race now, cheesesteaks later”. The true South Philly experience included no parked cars in the middle of Broad Street! It was such a welcome change.By the time we were near the sports complex, the crowds thickened. The extra motivation helped us cross the finish line smiling and content with our results. Below is what my Basis fitness tracker record:

*Unfortunately, for whatever reason, my Basis did not record heart rate (it usually does) at all during the run until the very end

As you can see above, skin temperature and perspiration rose in tandem, as the day warmed and the run progressed. The average number of steps fluctuated in coordination with various mile markers. Essentially my running partner would slow the pace after each mile marker. Her personal style is to do interval running, in opposed to my consistent pace training. It frustrated my ankles, for sure, but we made it work. For the day, I had burned 3,660 calories, logged over thirty four thousand steps, and completed my first run, the Broad Street Run.

In the end, we succeeded at finishing the run and doing so under two hours. It’s a good start to the running season, and I will continue my fitness efforts over the next several months by using this success as a motivator keep it going! Also, yes, we did have a cheesesteak post race. Also, I slept much better the following (last) night: