The Official Start of Training

The countdown has begun.

Broad Street Training started last night--16 weeks to go!

I'm excited. This is a chance for me to beat last year's time and finish the race in much better spirits than I did in 2006. I intend to run this year's Broad Street Run focusing on the aspects I enjoyed about it and the amazing crowds along the route.

And I intend to run it and enjoy the company. Ted and Dave have pledged their support on the route with me. As in fellow runners.

I envision Dave taking off and meeting us at the finish line. That's fine with me. He's a 16-year-old boy in the best shape of his life, and he's just in a different racing bracket than Ted or I. But Ted plans on running with me. This excites me on a few different levels.

1) The Company. Normally my playlist of Big & Rich, U2, Montgomery Gentry, Hank Williams, and Joss Stone would carry me the distance. And while they are good friends and help take my mind off the time, listening to music while racing does take away from the experience. It drowns out the crowd noise, the bands, the cheering, and any music along the course. It will be great to have a live human being next to me to talk to and share the experience with.
2) The Speed. Ted isn't a natural speed demon. He's faster than me because he's leaner than I am and he's taller than I am, so his strides are naturally longer. But it isn't unrealistic for me to keep up with him. Our runs recently have been mainly side-by-side. The 2-mile and 3-mile runs have been faster--like 8 minute, 8:30 minute miles. This thrills me, because it keeps my pace increasing and I avoid slipping into the rut of comfort I have a tendency to do. I will forever attribute my weight gain during Broad Street to this fact. The half marathon training wasn't too bad because we were doing 5Ks every other weekend, and I was running short runs with Ted for those, which kept my speed up. So I'm pulling for a PR for Broad Street, and I'll have Ted to thank for that.
3) The Experience. Not for me. I've done this race, I know the emotions involved. I can't wait to see Ted run it. I can't wait for him to see the power of the crowds unlike any race he's ever run. I can't wait for him to experience the levels of emotions--the high at the beginning, the brief rut around City Hall, then the finish. I can't wait to see how he feels when he does finish--will he be thrilled with it? Will he be sorry he ever ran it? Will the chances of us running the Philly Marathon diminish? Or will this race confirm our participation together in November?

Time will tell. 16 weeks will tell, to be exact.