kicked asphalt... all 26.2 miles of it!!!

I've been back from my trip to Philadelphia to run the marathon for a week now and haven't gotten around to updating with details. So, here goes...

"Kick Asphalt" is the official theme of the Philadelphia Marathon and I must say that's exactly what I did! This was a great race (well organized, great course, etc.). It started and finished in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which of course was made famous from that great scene in "Rocky." The race started at 7am and it was freezing... literally. I actually prefer a cold race and once we got started running the day turned out to be perfect for running a marathon. The course provided you with a great foot tour of the city... We passed the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Philadelphia's "Old Town" (the historic part of the city), the Philadelphia Zoo, Drexel, and The University of Pennsylvania. The last 13.1 miles of the marathon was an "out and back" to this cute little town, Manayunk, with a great, quaint main street. This town was so cute I wanted to take a break in middle of the town (mile 20) and do some shopping!

Thankfully, this race eventually came to an end at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. As if just running 26.2 miles wasn't enough, I had to run up the stairs of the Museum of Art just like Rocky did, for a photo opp (crazy, I know!). To make things even better, after all that... I had to walk a little over a mile just to get back to my hotel. No rest for the weary, right?

However, once I completed the trek back to my hotel (btw folks: technical running clothes designed to keep you warm while running do a fabulous job of just that. However, they do a rather lousy job of keeping you warm any other time... in other words, the walk back to the hotel was miserably cold.) I must say I was ready for a nice warm shower to help me thaw (yes, I totally skipped the ice bath!), this tasty new hot chocolate/recovery drink (which is wonderful after a cold run!!), and a much deserved NAP!

While in Philly, I also got to see the room in Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence and our nation's Constitution was signed. Here's a pic... By the way, the only piece of furniture that is original to the room is the big chair in the middle of the picture. George Washington himself actually sat in this very chair. How cool!?!?

I have to add that while we were in Philadelphia we did LOTS of good eating (I totally justified it with the fact that I was/did run 26.2 miles). To name a few, we ate at great tapas bar, Continental; a great Itallian resturant for our pre-marathon meal, Spasso. However, more than any other resturant, it was very appropriate that we went here to enjoy fabulous food...

All in all, a fabulous weekend!