Broad Street was my first jump in distance. The transition from 5K to 10M, then half marathon, marathon, and the rest was history. It was a gateway from the casual 5K/10K to a “Can I even finish?” distance I took on 20 years ago.
What went right?
I had a blast! I didn’t have any goals for this race. I ran to the best of my ability for that given day and course. I had just raced the Philadelphia Trail Marathon the week prior and felt the effects. I would never miss one of these limited events with my family as we are near the “tail end”. The doorway is beginning to open with my children. Both my son(7) and daughter(10) are signed up for their first 5K. They are about to embark on their running journey. In the podcast from Derek Sivers, I was really moved by this one section where he talks about the importance of raising his son right:
If you do this right, it passes on for many generations —A kid that’s raised really well can pass on that generosity of spirit, you know? Somebody that’s raised ignored might pass on that scarcity of spirit, you know?
Derek Sivers – Tim Ferriss Podcast
What went wrong?
I had a marathon the week before that I cared more about than this race. I gave 100% effort in that race, and this got about 80% effort. I mostly recovered but knew that it would limit my output. I was tight in my hips and could still feel it, but I still felt nearly recovered. It must have been close to 10 years since I last raced back-to-back weekends.
What I would have done differently?
The best race will be when you don’t care about the outcome. Future me will try harder to remove myself from outcomes. I know I have the best performance when I don’t care about time. It’s not like I didn’t try, but I just know my times will fade as the years add up. I won’t break records as I get older. I am fine with that. What I can do is make better videos, live in the moment, inspire my children, and motivate them in their fitness adventures. The finish time could be 1 hour or 2 hours, how fast you get down broad street really doesn’t matter, or make you any more interesting of a person. The race is set up to reward those in the front to start first, but that’s it. I don’t want things to go faster, I just want to experience them deeper, or differently. Maybe I should start with the pink coral? 🙂
The more time goes on the more I detach myself from outcomes and connect myself with those I can share the experience with. If you focus on outcome you could miss out on the sights and sounds of the race. If you watch the video I shot I cared more about the feel of the race vs time. Honestly, I don’t think I couldn’t have gone any faster anyway.
I look back on 20 years of racing with fond members of my family, pre-race dinners, subway rides, and bib pick-ups. I won’t boil down a race to seconds on a clock when there is history and emotion that runs down Broad Street. Mile 8 is my street, Ritner, the street I grew up on, and 2 miles from the finish. I hope I have 40 more finishes, a few more with my family, and my children. To some, it’s just another race, but to me, it was that spark that lead to a lifetime of adventure.
Here was my PoV video from the race. My camera died right at the end…
Patrick is an ultrarunner and coach from Philadelphia who loves documenting his running career. His mission is to provide useful tips and tricks to assist others along their ultra journey. You can find his coaching services at https://ultraruncoach.com.
