Rock Philly Rocky Style

For first-time visitors, I ran the Philadelphia Marathon this past weekend to celebrate turning 27. It's an unremarkable year -- unlike turning 18, 21, 30 or 40 -- but I wanted to make it memorable doing something I love: running.

I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate my birthday. To find out why, keep on reading.


Friday
I flew into Philadelphia Friday afternoon. My friend and host, Shruti, whisked me away from the airport and treated me to dinner at Dim Sum Garden downtown for my birthday. I will eat dumplings with her again any day. Yum! After dinner, we stopped at a charity event at Mad River. I drank water. We ended the night at Penn, where we watched undergrad and graduate students put on a swing dance show.

Ben, who had been in Minneapolis, got into town around 10:30 p.m. I knew I needed rest in preparation for the marathon, but Shruti, her husband Ravi, Ben and I stayed up until about midnight talking.

Saturday
I woke up to homemade Chai tea and broiled cinnamon and sugar toast, thanks to Shruti. This simple breakfast is a new favorite of mine.

Following breakfast, Ben and I made our way down to the Philadelphia Convention Center. It was within walking distance, but Shruti recommended Ben and I take the bus to save our legs for race day. She walked us to the bus stop (such a good host!). A few blocks into our ride, the bus died. We ended up hiking over to the convention center!

The expo was busy, but not crazy or overwhelming. We made our rounds and visited every both. Runners' World had set up a booth, and Bart Yasso, the magazine's chief running officer and author of "My Life on the Run", was there. Thanks to Ben's persistence, we got a photo with Bart!

Brady, Bart Yasso, Ben

Following the expo, we met up for lunch with about 18 people, many of whom I've connected with through Twitter. Many thanks to Erica Sara @ericasara for organizing lunch. I finally got to meet Joe Whelan @RgulrJoeRunning, who helped convince me to run Philadelphia Marathon with his detailed account of the race. I also got to see Sam Felsenfeld @operationjack again. Whenever I feel like giving up, I think about how Sam has run 56 marathons in 2010 and counting.

Ben and I spent the rest of the day relaxing. We saw the latest Harry Potter flick, and we enjoyed a home cooked meal before turning in for the night. 


Sunday
All week leading up to the race, I had giant butterflies in my stomach. I received a lot of love and support from Twitter friends. However, the more support I received, the more pressure I felt to perform well. While I went into the marathon hoping to PR (achieve a personal best), I didn't know if I could six weeks after a marathon. Ben had told me not to expect much.

Then, two days before the marathon, I received this message from a Twitter friend:

Just have fun... Soak in the moment...your birthday..the spirit of your dad...and the love of many...will be cheering for you!

I needed that. I recalled this message throughout the race, and it gave me such peace.

On race day morning, I felt calm.

Our friends with whom we were staying lived a few blocks from the race. The start time was 7 a.m., so Ben and I (did I mention he ran the marathon, too) left about 6:20 a.m. to make sure we'd have time to navigate the corrals and use the bathroom.

The gun went off at 7, but I didn't cross the line until about 7:20 a.m.I settled into nice, comfortable pace that I planned to hold for at least the first half. I didn't want to go out too fast because I knew I'd encounter several hills during the first half, and I hadn't trained much on hills.

Around mile 13, I slowly picked up the pace. The last 13 miles were out-and-back. Normally, I find this annoying on a race course. But I knew there would be no surprises during the last few miles, and I liked that. Going out, I saw fastest racers coming back into the city. They inspired me. I also saw @operationjack looking tough in his pink arm warmers.

By mile 20, I knew I'd have to pick it up even more to achieve a PR. My legs felt great, so I tried to run each of the last five to six miles faster than the other. Around mile 23 or 24, I let out my signature grunt and turned on the thrusters.

I finished in 4 hours, 7 minutes -- around four minutes faster than my previous PR. Yes!

Isn't she pretty?

I was ecstatic -- and still am -- over the PR. But (there's always a "but" with me), I know I have it in me to perform even better, break four hours and eventually qualify for the Boston Marathon. Sunday's race gave me that knowledge and confidence. I couldn't ask for a better birthday gift.

P.S. I need to add that Shruti and Ravi made our marathon experience even more memorable through their generosity. They provided us with a warm bed and hot shower, made sure we got to where we needed to be always, fed us yummy food and showed us around town. They both had to work Sunday, yet they came out and cheered for Ben and me at mile 13 with creative signs! Upon our return to their apartment after the marathon, they had chocolates and ibuprofen waiting for us.When I think of the Philadelphia Marathon, I will always think of them.