I also have to comment on the expo. I know some people don't like the crowds at race expos, but I don't mind it, especially at Philly RNR, because there was so much free stuff! I know, I'm a dork, but I came home with lots of LARAbars, energy supplements, and other stuff I picked up at the expo. Once again, RNR is easily the best expo I've been to.
Now for the race. I was back and forth the entire week leading up to the race as to what sort of pace I wanted to run. Steamtown Marathon was only 3 weeks from race day, so I was nervous about going all out at HM pace (and I should note that HM pace, in my mind, was about an 8:30 mile), which I thought would put me around a 1:53 HM. Part of me thought I should do the race at marathon pace to gauge where I stand, which would mean a time of about 1:57. Even as late as walking to the starting line, I told my husband we should probably start at marathon pace, and if we were feeling good at the halfway point, maybe kick it up a notch. We also had Nick to worry about--it was his first half (first race, actually), and we didn't think he'd be able to keep up with our pace throughout, so we had to decide whether to stick with him or not. However, he told us that if he had to drop back, just go. Little did I know, we wouldn't have to worry about that anyway. Bastard. So that was (sort of) the plan.
Our group before the race in Love Park
The corral start went pretty smoothly. However, I will voice my one complaint about this race: it was way too packed! On top of that, people from corrals much further back hopped up into our corral, and (without sounding like too much of a jerk) they were slowing us down. It's understandable to corral hop if you're going to do better than the time set for your corral, but this was just a pain. Doug, my brother-in-law Nick, and myself, were all weaving like crazy trying to get around people for the first mile and a half, and our 5K split time definitely shows that. I think this problem could be partially fixed by blocking off all 4 lanes of JFK Boulevard, but what do I know? Nonetheless, we were off and running. Our first mile was a 9:10, and my goal marathon pace is 9:05, so considering all the weaving, I felt pretty good about it. We were gradually picking up speed as the crowd thinned out, too. We made it to the 5K point in just a little over 27 minutes, so we were around an 8:45 mile. I felt pretty good, and the guys did as well--we were still holding a conversation at that point, so we didn't even concern ourselves with slowing down.
We worked our way through Chinatown and back up JFK toward the art museum and hit mile 5. I thought it would be around 45 minutes, but Doug was keeping time and we were at 43. I was still feeling good and, again, still talking. Nick was feeling a bit tight but he didn't think it was much of a problem. So we kept pushing. We worked our way down along the river, which was one of the things I love most about this course. Running along the Schuylkill is beautiful, and we were there for about 3 miles. There were a lot of quiet areas, but since it was an RNR race, there were cheerleading squads (which Nick got a kick out of) and bands every so often to offer crowd support. I may be wrong, but I think we made it as far as almost getting to Manayunk before crossing a bridge and heading back down the river toward the art museum. There was some really great crowd support there, and I was still feeling good. There was Gu a little after mile 8 before we crossed the bridge, and I took one, but never ate it (so now it's in my stash). The alternating Gatorade and water plan seemed to be doing well for me.
It wasn't until about mile 10 that I was a little less easy talking, but I was still doing it occassionally. I could see Nick starting to show signs of wear, but he was doing pretty well over all. I'm pretty certain that from Mile 11-on, each one of us refused to slow down because they others weren't, and we all just kept going. I stopped asking Doug what our time was, because I just didn't care at that point. I didn't want to force myself to push any harder. Doug and I evidently really kicked it up at mile 12, from what Nick said. I think I just wanted to be done at that point. So we pushed on and got to the base of the hill leading up to the art museum (which killed me last year, but after all the hill training I've been doing this year, was nothing) and I pushed as hard as I could until we got to the finish line. That's when I finally asked to see Doug's watch, for the first time since mile 8, I think. 1:48:09!!!
My time splits!
Holy crap!! I didn't think I could possibly run that fast, for that long. What made it really awesome was realizing that I can easily shave a minute off that, given the crowds at the beginning, then keep that pace up for a full marathon and I'll have my BQ! It seems totally doable now, and that's what makes me really happy.
After the race at Love Park
What's even more impressive, though, is that Nick kept up with us for the entire race. Again, bastard. Doug even said around mile 11, "don't you hate him just a little?" ABSOLUTELY. :) In all reality-I'm very proud of Nick. Those Park boys seem to pick things up athletically pretty easy, and even though I'm jealous, it makes me very happy.
With Nick after the race... typical.
Overall, I'm super happy with this race, with how I did, and with how everything went. Everyone in my group had PR's. On a side note, I really like the distance of the half, and training doesn't take up as much of my life. I was also able to enjoy the rest of the day after the race. It definitely solidified my decision that after Steamtown, I'm going to take time off from marathons for a while and run as far as I want to, not as far as Pfitz tells me to. 
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