Caesar Rodney/Philadelphia Trip Report

No issues on the direct flight from Birmingham to Philadelphia.  I landed around 2 PM and picked up my rental car, which was a Chevrolet Malibu.  First stop was the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which is about 20 minutes from the airport.  I wasn't interested in the museum at all.  I was there to pay tribute to one of my longtime heroes, Rocky Balboa.  Who cares if he's fictional?  I stood on his footprints and snapped a picture of his statue and the view from the top then gingerly ran up the stairs while protecting my sore knees. 

Rocky Steps

From there, I picked up Market Street to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was actually signed.  I did get to see the Liberty Bell and tried to get advance tickets to see Independence Hall but unfortunately, tickets are only sold on the same day and on a first come first serve basis.  The Ranger told me that it is usually sold out before noon.  My parents know the offensive adjective that I use to describe policies like this one but I won't repeat it on this blog.  There was no way that I could get back to Philadelphia in time after tomorrow's race.  I ended up taking a stroll through Market Street and a short drive on Broad Street.  Dinner was a pretty good roast beef sandwich at a local tavern.

Independence Hall

It was now time to head south on I-95 to Delaware for the race in Wilmington.  I took a 20 minute detour through New Jersey for no particular reason.  Yes, I've been to both New Jersey and Delaware before but not in the last 15 years.  Though just across the river from south Philly, this area was flat and rural.  I didn't see a store until I was within about 4 miles of the 295 bridge to Delaware.  At any rate, I arrived in Wilmington just after twilight and settled in to my hotel, which was less than 1 mile from the Start/Finish Line. 

The race didn't start until 9:30 AM, which I liked because it enabled me to sleep in a bit.  The day dawned clear and quite chilly but warmed up nicely by mid-morning.  I was fine in a long tech with shorts.  Running with an iffy knee and highly toxic metals being dumped from my organs into my tissues, I had no time goal.  I just wanted to finish and expected it to be a death march.  I nearly downgraded to the 5K but decided to chance it in the half marathon.

Caesar Rodney

Delaware may be mostly flat but this course was a challenge.  After an all downhill first mile, which passed comfortably in 8:13, the course was nearly dead flat for the next 4 miles.  From the elevation chart, it appeared that Miles 5-8 would be tough (200 ft elevation gain) then it went back downhill before a mean climb just before the finish.  Mile 2 was nearly as fast and I knew I could not hold it so I wisely backed in down.  The next 4 miles were all in the 8:45 range and I passed the halfway point around 56:20, well on track for a sub-2 hour finish even with the hills ahead. 

It turned out the elevation chart was deceptive.  Mile 5 was flat.  6 had a gradual hill followed by a long steady decline that gave back most of the previous elevation gain.  7 and 8 were all uphill and it was a fairly significant grade so most of the 200 feet of gain came in less than 2 miles.  I thought the hills were over after Mile 8 but it flattened out then turned back uphill in Mile 9 and 10.  My pace faded to the 9:30 range but I was keeping up with my pack and was still under 90 at 10 miles.  Normally, if I can make it 5 miles in relative comfort, I most likely finish respectably.   For whatever reason, I suffered my worst meltdown ever from that point on and the downhill did nothing to increase my pace.  The crash was as sudden as it was complete.  I had to walk/ very slow jog it in but I finished. The knee held up okay.  I simply ran out of energy.   40 race states.  38 official half marathon states.  The only thing that may have saved me was if I carried extra DIM.  Since my system demanded more of it, I was untested beyond 4 miles.

I checked out of my hotel then headed back up 95 to Philadelphia.  I took a short walk on a riverside trail, which is popular with the running community and captured some nice shots of the city skyline.  Eventually, I made it back to Market Street with about 2 hours to tour before I would have to leave for the airport.  My choices were a 57 story observation deck or the Ben Franklin museum.  Since I just saw some nice skyline views by the river, I opted for the Franklin museum.  It was small but quite interesting.  Driving back through the city was somewhat stressful with detours and construction but I made it back to the airport in plenty of time.  The return trip also went without a hitch. 

Franklin

Philadelphia