Philly 26.2

It is a long story, a mighty fine story, but nevertheless a long story on how I got roped into running the Philadelphia Marathon to raise money for Autism. I'll just say, I'm a speech pathologist, I met the right people, I run marathons for fun, and the rest is history... but I won't stop the saga there. I have to tell the story of the day and the marathon, I will never forget.

Remember there is a rich back story to this all... but fast forward... through some kick ass training and beyond... the story unfolds. On 11/18/2017 I sat at Charlotte Douglas waiting on my friend Jennifer... so we could fly up to Philly for the weekend. We met, we hugged, we did all that excitement jazz that two girls do before girls weekend -- then we got on the plane.  The flight was uneventful, which is great, and we got two glasses of complimentary wine from the stewardess along the way to go with our complimentary pretzels.

When we arrived to Philly, we texted Sam, who happened to be hosting us for the weekend in his home.  Sam is the founder of Operation Jack. Operation Jack is a non-profit charity in honor of Jack Felsenfeld who was born in 2003 and has severe autism.  Jack happens to be Sam's son.  So we were so honored to be a part of this and get to meet Jack over the course of the weekend.  Along with all the other Felsenfelds, who happen to be the coolest cats around!

Saturday was basically filled with laughter and tons of travel.  We had to get to the expo for packet pickup in Philly and I think we drove around Philly for two hours looking for parking.  As expos generally are, Philly's was pretty great, we bought what we needed, got our bibs and shirts, took cute photos... etc... and I swear there were pretzels everywhere - this theme will continue by the way.   (We even bought a pretzel at the market!)

Saturday night went as I expected the night before a race. We ate a nice pasta dinner, laid out our "flat runners*", wound down with a glass of wine, and then jumped in the bed early  (*flat runner- your race outfit and bib laid out flat and ready to jump into).  I actually slept okay... but awoke at 3:53 am with a 4:00 am alarm ready to blare. Jennifer and I both got up and got ready.  We drank coffee, ate a bite of food, and tried to get mentally psyched. We met Sam downstairs at 5:00 am for our departure to the race.  At 5:00 am in Philly, it's cold y'all, and unfortunately it was raining... and even more unfortunate, it was windy.  Not little gusts, I'm talking 40 mph headwinds that never stopped.  Fortunately the rain did stop and the wind made for an adventure!

We drove several miles from Sam's home into the city. So we parked in this parking deck that Sam claimed was the best... it was.  (Along with listening to him tell us stories about the best Weggman's best Target... etc.) Then we had a mile long walk to stretch out our legs.  Marathons are interesting as you have to through security checks,wait in long lines to go to a porta-potty, listen to banter about running pace, and find your correct corral. And in our case.... we did this in the cold rain and wind.  The race started at 7:00 but my corral didn't get to the start line until 7:25 or so.  Sam started ahead of us (several corrals), but so is life! During the wait, I met some lovely gals who were from Philly. They represented the 610 Running Club.  We laughed, joked, and even hugged --- since the meeting, I've even been made an honorary 610 Runner! The rain did stop by this point!

The race started and I was so excited. We started near the Art Museum (Rocky steps) and ran through the town.  I saw so many historic things as the course runs past Independence Hall, the Betsy Ross House and the Liberty Bell. The course travels the streets of Old City on Penn’s Landing, parallel to the Delaware River, along the Schuylkill River and out to Manayunk as well.  I loved the sights, the sounds, and the atmosphere. I danced in China Town, told every Philly policeman "thank you!", cheered at the spectators, and gave at least 100 high fives. I giggled at the signs along the street saying things about chafing, running, and smiling.  I met people from all over the world and talked to people on the course about life in general.  The town of Manayunk, was my absolute favorite part of the course.  It takes some time to get there... but it is well deserved.  You enter Manayunk at about mile 21 of the course... and that's where the party begins. I have never been offered more beer, more shots of liquor, and given food in my life. I had a Reese's cup, a doughnut,  some pretzels, a couple of beers, and then finished it all off with a shot of Fireball Whisky! Then they turn you around for the finish.  I never hit a wall because I was having too much fun to realize how much I had run.  I did get slightly tired at mile 24 but I recovered quickly because miles 25-26.2 were so exciting! You could hear the end!

I sprinted to the finish.  I heard a girl say (about me) "give her a medal, did you see her come in?"  I said "yes! I need my little Liberty Bell now!" I grabbed a water and a soft pretzel.  I was also handed a bag of pretzels. (Shocker) I couldn't eat. I was zonked. I found Sam and we waited at the finish line for Jennifer. I knew she would finish behind me because I saw her in Manayunk at the turn around and she indicated she was injured. I wrapped my body tightly in my Mylar blanket... the wind was whipping still and it was getting cold. I found out later, I had PRed!

After the race, I hugged Jennifer... it was over. She was concerned about an injury that she had checked by the medical tent at mile 17.  She indicated it made the last 9 miles cumbersome and painful... but she got it done! She's a crazy runner chick too, if you didn't already know! So proud of her tenacity!

Then we had to find the car. After running 26.2 miles, plus tangents, and walking the city earlier that morning... the last thing you want is to walk some more.  But we did.  Then we traveled back to Sam's for the evening.  They celebrated with cheese steaks, I had something veggie, then we watched the Philadelphia Eagles stomp the Dallas Cowboys.   I fell asleep too early to report on how my Eagles really did, but I heard it was great.

The flight back was uneventful, I ate more freaking pretzels, and hugged Jennifer until next time... Then I ran down the sidewalk looking for my husband where I fell into his arms.

What I learned from this experience:
1) It's Philly not Philadelphia
2) People in Philly love the Eagles and nobody likes the Cowboys
3) Encouraging others and celebrating life is what it is all about
4) Pretzels get old after a while
AND
5) You can't put a price on a marathon  - it's an experience.

Marathon 6 is in the bag... I'm feeling pretty great.  In addition, I have gained some new friends, become an honorary member of Run 610 and Manayunk Beer Runners Clubs, and I'm ready to run number 7.  I cannot express my gratitude more to Sam and his wife Tiffany for making this possible. I cannot express to you all how excited I am to have helped raise money for Autism awareness through running.  I cannot put the words onto this computer to let you know how amazing the whole thing really was.  But, it was one of the best experiences of my life and  that’s the truth!