Hot damn, that was the most intense speed workout of my life! And it doubled as my first 100-mile race!
I set out very early on Sunday morning (10 years ago) to do a workout that might have been a little ambitious. To help with my motivation, I recruited about 30,000 of my best friends. We all met at Olney Avenue in North Philadelphia for a brisk 10-mile cruise interval -- nothing crazy for the first rep. I didn't bother to warm up as I figured for this type of workout the first couple of reps are really the warmup. I ran that first one in about 1:20.
Some of my friends are really into the whole Philly-Rocky thing, so someone brought the theme song:
It's always a good idea to do really hard speed workouts with a group
The best speed workouts are also usually some of the worst experiences of your life, and it is also a good idea to have someone to blame for all your misery. I blame my wife for this particular one. We had been dating for a few weeks, and I thought she was pretty cool, but then I saw her do this and it was literally what motivated me to start running again. That was 12 years ago, and she's been doing the workout continuously for 15 straight! There is really nothing quite like watching 30,000 people running down the same street.
In order to pull off a speed workout like this, you have to stick to a clear plan, and that plan has to include an appropriate rest interval between repetitions. It is also a good idea to start out with slower reps and longer rests, until you get a good sense for the workout. If you start out too fast, or don't get enough rest, the workout ends up being a bust. With this in mind, I decided to begin with rest intervals of 364 days. I figured that would give enough time for my body to return to homeostasis, meaning all my physiological functions would return to normal, or to out it another way, all of the cells in my body would be happy. It would also allow me to go get a big, fat, juicy burger and wash it down with a very large, frosty beer between reps. Running can really cut into the rest of your life, so I leaned toward slightly longer rest so I could also do things between reps like, mow the lawn, do some homework with the kids, wash the car, complete a major home renovation, maybe make another baby with my wife (we did do that between my 2nd and 3rd reps).
Speaking of 2nd and 3rd reps, they were the ones where I really turned up the heat. I think the fastest was 1:16, and then I came back and took a few seconds off of that after the next rest.
Oh, its also very important to stay hydrated during speed workouts, so if you try this I also recommended asking some friends to serve beverages along the way. These folks are awesome:
It's good to have friends
It is also a good idea to a workout like this on a track. Sprinting takes focus, so you don't want to be dealing with cars or red lights. This particular track is completely straight. I think it might be the only one of its kind in the world. It also happens to go straight through Temple University, and during almost every single rep the Temple marching band shows up to cheer us along.
Temple marching band and more friends cheering us on
It really is important to have as much moral support as possible when you do a workout. My in-laws are so supportive of my fitness goals. They always make sure to bring my kids to the track. Here they are at the same place they stand every single year. This is Spring Garden Street, near where I work, and it is also where you can begin to see City Hall further down the route.
And here is a good shot of the route leading up to City Hall:
At City Hall there is a dog leg. It kind of stinks, since this is a speed interval, and you have to slow down quite a bit so you don't crash into one of the buildings.
But after that it is back to the straightaway and a clear shot to South Philly and the Navy Yard.
Back when I first watched my wife do this, and even during my early reps, there were not that many people watching at the northern and southern ends of the route. Miles 7 through 9 were downright desolate. But apparently we look really awesome doing this workout and spectators just keep coming out of the woodwork to admire us. I personally get a huge kick out of giving little kids high fives.
This isn't the best shot. It is truly amazing how many people come out to cheer on the runners. It is pretty much 10 straight miles of people lined on either side.
This is one unfortunate reality of the route. 30,000 people tend to spread out over the course of a 10-mile rep, but the entrance to the Navy yard has this narrow arch that can cause a bit of a bottle neck.
The sign lies. It is at least .26 to the finish from this spot.
And with that it, its a final rep, and that is what I call a workout! 100 miles total in just over 10 years! 150 for Maggie. Next decade I will definitely try to cut down a little on the rests. Or not.
Happy to finish another one
That is me and my wife, enjoying the post Broad Street glow. It really is great to think back to watching her so many years ago. I had chills for what seemed like hours watching my first Broad Street, and I new, without a doubt, that I would do it the next year. Well, that has turned out to be a truly life-altering moment, because I re-discovered a love of running, and perhaps more important, the feeling of being healthy. Maggie and I make a point of running broad street every year, no matter what. We even ran it side-by-side one year when she was 8 months pregnant with our daughter. We kept it slow and easy that year, around 1:30, which is now a glaring example of the aging process, since that was about 8 minutes faster than I ran this weekend!
The Broad Street Run has been going strong for 39 years. I believe that this was the first year that one gentleman missed his first due to illness. He did all 38 up to this year. It is a truly awesome event for any city, but it is also just completely something that I consider a Philly institution. Philadelphia gets a bad rap for the general fitness of its population, but 30,000 all running the same route gives a very different perception, even if just one day a year. Actually, it isn't one day. Philly is a running city for sure.
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