Broad Street Run Recap

Happy Monday, all! I hope you had a great, relaxing weekend. I had a great weekend, but I wouldn't call it relaxing--yesterday was the Independence Blue Cross Broad Street Run in Philly. I've mentioned before that my dad and I have been "training" for a few months for this day. Unfortunately, my dad got hurt playing basketball last week and couldn't run with me, but a friend of ours took his place and I couldn't ask for a better stand-in running buddy.

Before the race!

To be honest, I really have no interest in doing races. I like to keep running fun and not stressful, since I use it to make life's other stressful things not stressful. So if running is stressful and other things are stressful, it just sounds like I'm one step on the treadmill away from an emotional meltdown. And when my dad, who convinced me to do this race, was no longer running, and our friend from the gym, who convinced my dad to sign up, didn't originally get to register, I was baffled how I ended up being the only one doing it. Though I'm very glad I did.

Training was a lot of fun. Not many people get to run for hours with their dads, and I'm so blessed that I'm able to spend time with both my parents doing something we all love. I would never be as motivated or determined if it weren't for them. And the race itself was definitely an experience! 40,000 runners all crammed into one starting area. Even spread out among the 10 miles of Broad Street, there was a sea of people that just didn't end. It was incredible. When all is said and done, it seems like we ran twice the distance from weaving back and forth between people--something we surely didn't factor into our training. But there's nothing like having thousands of people cheering the entire time you're running. Who wouldn't be motivated by that?!

And we're off!

The sea of people going all the way down Broad Street. Amazing!

My last minute running partner, Flo, and I have never actually run together before, which is a little tricky going into a race. We had no idea what each other's paces were like, but we ended up being a great match. We finished the race in 83 minutes, and for never having done a race like this before, I was very happy with my time.

We finished!!

All in all, it was a great experience.  And if I wasn't moving to England, I'd absolutely run again next year. Maybe in the future! Also, if anyone out there has a hard time staying away from carbs, alls you have to do is eat a whole bunch of them in one sitting (perhaps a giant roll, some cous cous and toast for lunch?), and then you never want to touch them again. Just a tip! Have a wonderful day!