Well, as the headline states, I have registered for a second triathlon. In addition to the Atlantic City Triathlon I will competing in on September 14, I now will be participating in the Hightstown Triathlon on August 17.
The Hightstown event is a “sprint” version of a triathlon, consisting of a quarter-mile lake swim, 14-mile bike ride and 5K run, so it will be a good warm-up for the international/Olympic version I’ll be doing in Atlantic City the following month. That one consists of a one-mile swim, 20-mile bike ride and 10K run. It will also give me a chance to refine my transition routines.
Hopefully, I’ll get to do at least one open-water swim session before the Hightstown Triathlon to test out my wet suit and get a feel for what it will be like.
Of course, this past week saw some down time in my training as I was caught…
On May 29, I attempted to do an out-of-sequence version of the triathlon, which consists of a 1-mile swim, a 20-mile bike ride and a 10K run. I rode my bike 4.67 miles to the local community college, where I had been doing my swim training. I had a backpack with my swim trunks, towels, locks (for the gym locker and my bike), etc. However, I forgot one important item…my pool pass. The lifeguards don’t let anyone in the pool without it. Instead of doing a mile in the pool, I got back on my bike and rode 16.6 miles for a combined total of 21.27 miles on the bike that day. I followed that up with a…
Chillicothe, Ohio’s ill-conceived Korean War memorial (top) and Ottawa’s memorial to the wrong Jack Purcell (bottom). Photo credits: Top – unknown; Bottom-CTV News.
So…here is the story of two city-sanctioned memorials that completely crapped the bed from planning to installation.
First, we have a Korean War memorial that was unveiled during a Memorial Day ceremony in Chillicothe, Ohio. Now, you have to remember that the Korean War is known as “The Forgotten War” because it was sandwiched between higher profile conflicts like World War II and the Vietnam War. Yes, a very hugely popular movie and television series — “M*A*S*H”—was set in the Korean War, but people seem to remember that fact more than the actual conflict.
The town of Chillicothe and its area veterans wanted to build something that would pay tribute to county residents who lost their lives during the Korean War and give the conflict and its veterans the attention they…
No…this year wasn’t the 35th anniversary of the Broad Street Run…despite what the medals say.
Yesterday, I ran in my first Broad Street Run, Philadelphia’s iconic 10-mile race.
The Broad Street Run was first held in 1980, making the 2014 race the 35th annual edition of the event. However, the medals given to finishers say “35th Anniversary” on them.
Um, no…it’s not. An anniversary can only be observed in years following the first time an event has taken place. Think about it, you celebrate your first anniversary the year after your wedding. Since this was the 35th race, it couldn’t have been the 35th anniversary. It was the 34th anniversary (do the math: 2014-1980=34).
Next year’s race will mark the 35th anniversary of the Broad Street Run, but it will be the 36th annual race…and, yes, they should just stick to using the word “annual” instead of “anniversary.” I suspect whoever designed and reviewed the medals thinks the words are interchangeable…they are not.
So my first-ever Broad Street Run medal has a rather big mistake on it.
There were a couple of other issues I saw as a first-timer that were rather shocking. Upon reaching the finish line, I was dumbfounded by the apparent inability of race staffers to keep finishers moving through the finish line area. When I got there, there was a wall of people just beyond the finish line slowly making their way to the gatorade, water and portable toilets—and to pick up their inaccurate medals. They have to do a better job of keeping runners moving through that area and making sure the finish line is clear for runners completing the race.
Also, the exit setup for runners and spectators trying to leave the Navy Yard was one of the most ill-conceived things I have ever seen at a major event. The space allotted for people entering and exiting the Navy Yard after the race was woefully inadequate. At one point, I thought it was going to take me longer to get through the exit than it did for me to run the race.
Since this event has taken place for 35 years, I expected a well-oiled machine so I was surprised there were things that were so wrong.
Anyway, I do have to acknowledge SEPTA for rising to the challenge. I’ve rarely had good SEPTA experiences, but when I got to the South Philly sports complex at 6:20 a.m., there was a bit of a line at the AT&T (Pattison Ave.) Station. But the trains were there and ready for passengers, so the line moved extremely quickly. So, as far as my experience yesterday is concerned, SEPTA did a very good job getting runners up to the starting line in North Philly and I want to give them credit for that.
Overall, though, it was fun and I would definitely do it again. I just hope they address the issues mentioned above…and make sure they know what words mean when designing the medals.
I completed today’s 10-mile Broad Street Run in 1:36:21. You can click here to view my result, but a) first make sure the “year” drop-down menu says “2014” and b) then search for my bib number: 24716. (Note: When you see the results, I am the Brian Kelley at the top, and that’s it…I have no idea who the other one was listed in all those other events at the bottom of the page.) This was my first “big event” as I ran down Philly’s Broad Street alongside 40,000 people. Plus, it was very cool to run through the heart of a city that I love so much.
I did see some areas in need of improvement regarding the event itself, which was surprising to me since this was its 35th year…and, actually, that in itself was part of the problem. The finisher’s medal incorrectly says “35th…
I should begin by saying that this was a strange week for me. Monday morning, I woke up and realized I was slightly numb on the left side of my body and face. I went to the doctor that afternoon and there was some concern that it could be stroke-related. However, since everything else (blood pressure, pulse, oxygen, etc.) was normal and I’m in generally good health, the doctor just told me to take an aspirin a day, get a brain MRI and get some lab work done.
I made the lab work appointment for Wednesday morning. On Tuesday morning, the doctor’s office–having trouble getting my insurance to cover the MRI–asked me to see a neurologist for two reasons: 1) another opinion, and 2) the neurologist might have better luck getting insurance to cover the MRI. I wound up making an appointment for…
A quick update since my workload has continued to be rather busy lately…
…I went on three runs this past week. I started off with a pair of 5-mile runs on April 21 and April 22. I took a day off and then set off on my final 10-mile practice run for next Sunday’s Broad Street Run. Amazingly, it may have been the best run I ever gone on…I felt great throughout nearly the entire run. I never felt labored even though I was running at a faster-than-usual pace for me. The only issue I had was when my left leg started feeling heavy during the second mile—not a cramp or tightness, but almost as if it were numb or “asleep.” However, it went away and I went on to complete the run in a personal-best time of 1:39:04.
In the latest installment of my Tandem With The Random podcast, I interview Natalie Diener, coordinator of Make Music Philly, a campaign to bring 300 free live music events throughout Philadelphia as part of World Music Day on June 21, 2014.
To do this, Make Music Philly has set up a Kickstarter campaign to hopefully raise $20,000…but the deadline is THIS FRIDAY, APRIL 11, at 1:33 p.m. ET. A donation of just $10 will get you a Make Music Philly kazoo! How could you not want that?! Come on, Philly! Part with $10, get 300 free live music shows all over the city on June 21…AND you can play that kazoo as you make your way from show to show.
I’m back…sorry about the lack of recent updates on my training, but my workload rapidly picked up so I haven’t been doing as much preparation for my upcoming events lately. However, I haven’t stopped training…I just haven’t had time to update the blog or my tracker.
Since the last update, I’ve added to the list another big event for which I am preparing…Philly’s 10-mile Broad Street Run on May 4.
Anyway, I managed to get in a 3.11-mile run in the rain today and it went very well, finishing in a personal-best time of 26:51–a full 1:03 faster than my previous best 5K time of 27:54 in the American Heart Association’s Mercer County 5K Heart Run in Mercer County Park in 2006. My Nike+ app says that I completed the 5K distance today in 26:45 (since I ran a little longer than actual 5K distance).
Well, not much to report regarding my training for the Atlantic City International Triathlon, which I’ll be competing in on Sept. 14, 2014. (See the January 18 update and original post below for background information.)
I’m at the point where I’m basically swimming 72 laps—1.02 miles—in about 40 minutes, which is something I didn’t think I would be doing for at least another week or two when I started this. The unfortunate thing is that I’ve been doing it mostly with just my right arm the past couple of outings since straining my left shoulder a few laps into my final workout last week.
So far, I’ve been able to compensate by keeping my left-arm strokes a bit wide of my body, which seems to minimize any pain. I’m also adding more kicks for extra propulsion. However, that’s something I don’t really want to do in the triathlon since…
Brian Kelley 