I ran the Broad Street 10 Miler on Sunday morning. Nice and early 8 am start. My friend Jamie was visiting and he was kind enough to run with me. The total clock time if you look me up on the results: 70 minutes. The total time I actually spent running: 66 min. So what happened for those 4 minutes in between? Well…
BATHROOM PROBS!
Yes, unfortunately I had to stop to use the bathroom, really a Portapody. Twice, if you can believe it. Sounds about as fun as it was. 4 minutes of using a wet bathroom when you want to be running is rough, confusing, and oddly funny. I found myself laughing at my situation a couple of times while sitting on the toilet.
What caused this debacle? My silly morning choices, of course. Now, unless you have a rock solid stomach (as Jamie does), be careful what you do before racing…
GET IT ALL OUT BEFORE THE RACE
Broad Street has over 40,000 runners. This creates issues for bathroom lines. This also creates issues for getting to the start line on-time. We got off the subway at around 7:45 after a 45 minute ride and found ourselves trying to get up to the first corral. I still had to go so we ran to the nearest side street as the bathroom lines were incredibly long. I found myself having to pee between two cars as other guys were doing the same thing, but I kind of had to poop as well. I thought the feeling might pass, but this was my biggest mistake. Should have dropped the shorts then and there to get it all out. Get everything out or you may regret it later on…
MAKE SMART EATING AND DRINKING CHOICES, WITH PLENTY OF TIME
8 am is an early start time, but that’s no excuse for not getting up really early to properly prepare the body. I did not end up eating breakfast until close to 6, and I did not drink my coffee until around 6:20-6:30. This may work for some, but for me this was too close to the actual race time. I think I ate the right amount-a bagel and banana-just too close to the start time of a longer race. I definitely should have had the coffee at least 2 hours plus before racing time.
You live and you learn. I take solace knowing that running 6:30 pace felt pretty comfortable up until the bathroom stops, which happened within a mile of each other.
I’ve actually been running quite a solid amount, averaging over 30 miles a week during the past 12 weeks, so I feel I’m working my way into shape. The training I’m doing really emphasizes aerobic development, so I need to be patient and consistent. I do think if I remain healthy and continue this training, next year’s Broad Street result will have a much faster time attached to my name.
Gotta enjoy the process and keep the ball rolling, as the Tinman Elite like to say. I’ve got a road mile and a road 5k coming up at the end of this month, some shorter stuff which I’m more used to, then the Media 5 Miler and possibly a track mile at Germantown Academy at the end of June. Getting excited for some racing! Thankful to be running.
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