So this brings us to the rematch. Jim bounced back from that painful day in
Chicago and
conquered
Philly in 3.53.13. "I started very conservatively, ramped up a bit after 10 miles and as usual in a marathon the last 3-4 miles hurts pretty good. All in all I am happy with my run, after my trouble in Chicago and being sick this past week I was a bit apprehensive about the day. I ended up within 2 minutes of last year's time."
"I was a hotel hermit on Saturday (had allot of work to do over the weekend ... free high speed is key) and a key factor was finding a Whole Foods where I bought lunch, dinner, and breakfast all in one shot. Some bananas, blueberries, granola, soy milk, and a pre-made pasta dish really served me well. Next day, the weather was great! It was forecasted for a high of 50 degrees, but I'm thinking it was warmer. I started in shorts, short sleeves, and a jacket and quickly lost the jacket and kept it off the entire run."
Stoffel was also on a mission, having great results on the bike lately, no doubt curiosity pushed him to do a running race, so hey, why not a marathon! He later said " I felt a lot of pain with the rest of us mere humans. The last 6
miles were tough. Met up with a South African during the last 5 miles
or so and he helped me quite a bit with motivation. He did 5
marathons within the last 2 months, Chicago, New York, Richmond,
Philly and one more that I can't remember now. He said that his legs
were really taking a lot of strain but he looked so fresh and was
chatting and laughing and that after 21-22 miles and four other
marathons."
"I started just behind the 3:30 group and ran with
them to about mile 12. My 13.1 time was around the 1:48 mark. I knew
I was in trouble when I got to mile 18 and my legs were sore and my
hamstrings cramping. Ran to mile 20 and then walked and ran the last
6. My wife and kids shouted and jumped up and down but I was too
focused on just getting to the finish line to even hear them.
Apparently, my son said that he could smell me just about a minute
before I came in and caused a lot of laughter at the finish line." Well Stoffel, congratulations, you did come in with a great overall time of 3:58.14. |
Knowing that Jim was in good form, Brian didn't hold back either and kept an eye out for Jim. "After seeing you at the turnaround," Brian recounted to Jim, "I was certain that you and I would be in a dead sprint/limp fest at the finish."
"I also went out with the 3:30 pace group and hung with them until 13.1. Then I knew my legs wouldn't hold the speed so I rolled it back (much more involuntarily than voluntarily) and enjoyed the last 13.1 miles of the 2006 race season. That's it for me wearing a race number until the Spring Races in March. My legs desperately need the break. they have had zero 'snap'
in them since A-Z..."
"Mile 20 is a killer...You've just completed an out and back in Manayunk (a small town just north of Philly) and you now have to run back the way that you came to get home. Plus Kelly Drive (along the banks of the Schulykill) is a lonely, lonely stretch of road. How about having to climb the highway entrance ramp at mile 21...miserable..."
"The interesting thing is that we were all probably right near each other. With the stars aligned a little differently, we may have had a Team OA full bore sprint at the finish. I had a feeling that Jim was tracking me down and didn't want to look back near the end because God forbid I would have to sprint. What a finish photo with all three of us killing ourselves for 1,788th place..." And a great finish it was for Brian with a time of 3:47.35.
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