2011 Broad St. Run & April Totals

Sunday marked the beginning of a busy month of racing. "Racing" isn't quite the right term since as I like to think of these events as organized training events. I didn't originally sign up for such a busy month, but a schedule change now means I'll be racing four straight weeks. The annual Broad St. Run was the first.

The weather was perfect for running and exponentially better than the dangerous heat we faced last year. I was joined this year by Joan, my brother John, his girlfriend Emily and 25,000 others at one of America's largest and fastest 10 mile runs. The run starts in north Philadelphia, goes straight south through the city and ends at the Navy Yard. Runners and non-runners make it an annual event.

The last thing I want to is get hurt in a race that doesn't mean too much this year, so I tried not to push it too hard. However, it's very hard not to get caught up in the excitement and sheer mass of humanity moving down the street. I settled into a nice pace at the upper end of my comfortable heart rate zone and turned in a 7:25 first mile. That felt good, so I went with it to see how long I could hold that effort. I was consistent through the first five miles to city hall staying within a five second range at each mile split. Mile 6 picked up a bit as everyone made the move around city hall. Just as a slow moving river speeds up as it narrows, everyone moved a little faster through the most congested part of the race. The result was a 6:44 mile with four to go. I pulled back a bit, and the rest of my splits came in around 7:00 even. I finished the race in 1:12:56 - about 7:15/mi pace.

I'm happy with the effort and glad to see that all the running I've been doing over the past year is really starting to pay dividends. I wouldn't have wanted to go much faster this early in the year with so much more in front of me, so I'll take the result. I've already marked the calendar for next year's race where I hope to go sub 70 minutes.

Here's how the rest of the month plays out for me:

- Saturday, May 7: Devilman Half-Lite 50 Triathlon in New Jersey. More than an Olympic Distance race, but less than a Half Ironman. First tri of the year for me and first open water swim of the season, so I don't have high hopes. This will just be a brick training for me.

- Saturday, May 14: Doylestown Duathlon (originally scheduled for April).

- Saturday, May 21: NYRR Brooklyn Half Marathon (with John & Emily).

I'm off the next week, but then it's up to New Hampshire for Mooseman 70.3 Ironman. After that my schedule is open until Wisconsin. I may pick up a shorter race for training somewhere in there, but nothing too big.

The goal this month is to race hard but smart, and to avoid injuries. If I do that I should be in good shape for the rest of the year.

April Totals:

Swim - 26,550 yards

Bike - 335.20 miles

Run - 67.80 miles

Year-To-Date Totals:

Swim - 94,150 yards

Bike - 966.80 miles

Run - 316.25 miles