We Don't Walk Slow

Pre-Broad Street Run Feeling

This weekend leading up to the Broad St Run has been difficult. Normally I’m guzzling down beers with the everybody else but this weekend I stayed completely sober. The difficulty lied in the fact there was so much going on this weekend that it was nearly impossible not to have a good time. I strategically planned out a settled weekend and stuck to my gameplan.

I slept in Upper Dublin on Friday night because I was playing in a Golf Tournament that was using a Stableford scoring system. What Golf Tournament you may ask? I spent 50 bucks to join an association that plays at Center Square which I was made aware of by Sam Levin. I woke up early on Saturday and had breakfast with my mom before I went over to the course. I had an awful round just a week ago so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I hit a few balls and felt OK but certainly wasn’t impressive. I stepped up to the first tee and felt a bit of nerves for some unbeknownst reason. I eyed up the ball and took my back swing just thinking that I hope I made contact. My downswing brought about a huge topper that went 50 yards and I was off.

The round went well and I finished with an 85 from the whites at Center Square which sounds better than it really is. I was all over the place and finished just out of the money with a +18 in the stableford scoring. They factor in my 16 handicap and you get -2 for D bogey, -1 for a bogey, +1 for a par, +2 for a birdie, and +4 for D birdie. I actually birdied a hole which translated to a double and is why my score was so good. +21 won it.

After golf I returned home and took a nap while my friends and siblings were drinking. I woke up, ate some pizza, and then hung around with more people. It is somewhat odd not drinking because I have no difficulty interacting with people and probably do a better job to the point that I have no reason to ever drink. Sure it’s not as fun, but it’s good to talk to people sober just so I remember how to do it. At 10:43 currently, everyone has gone out for the night and I’m sitting at my computer blogging.

My goal tomorrow is sub-60 minutes. I’m pretty confident I’m in sub 60 shape but I haven’t gotten the long runs in I would have liked to. This means that I will be under pace at 7 miles and either I’ll have it or I won’t. I feel pretty good though with no major injuries. I tried to do everything right leading up to the race and if all goes well, hopefully I beat last years time of 58:45. We will see. Well I’m going to polish the bed post before I go to bed. Just kidding, you never change the oil pre race. It’s like losing power.

By Tom Stortz|2014-05-03T22:45:27-04:00May 3rd, 2014|Running|0 Comments

American Odyssey Relay 2014

American Odyssey Pre-Relay Thoughts

I’m an American Odyssey Relay veteran. 2014 is my 3rd consecutive year running this relay and each year keeps improving. For new readers, AOR is a 200 mile relay from Gettysburg to Washington, DC that is completed by 12 runners. Being a vet, there are no worries whatsoever going into it. I don’t worry whether I’ll be able to finish the legs, get lost on the course, meet up at transition points, or wonder what it’s like being in a van for 30 hours. With all of this behind me, the goal becomes to have fun.

This year we had the same van as last year except that my brother replaced Bob. There’s a comfort level to knowing the people in your van which is both good and bad. In one sense you know what you are getting which takes away the fun of meeting new people. However, because you know each other so well, you can completely be yourself and that leads to a different atmosphere. Either way, you spend almost 2 full days together so it’s important to make sure you get along.

To the Starting Line

Our team had a 10:15am start time. We woke up early to watch Nikkii decorate the van because she is the only one with any type of artistic ability. I tried to help in the creation of what to write and some how steered us in a direction towards cows instead of bulls and that lead to confusion. Technically we are the Ambler Stampede and even horses can stampede as Nathan accurately pointed out. Either way, the van got decorated and we killed some time before heading to the starting line.

Breakfast at Perkins

Before we got to the start, we stopped in Walmart to buy an AUX cord so we could listen to some tunes. Can we get this cord subsidized 24 ways? Once ready to jam we saw Maureen off and our set of legs were set to begin. We had some hours to kill and had our traditional Perkins breakfast. Discussion at the table is always humorous.

Our plan was to drive the set of legs that Van 1 was running to get a feel for the course. I abruptly decided that I needed to charge my phone and plugged in a monster converter that blew the fuse. This send a shiver of panic over our van because without power to charge the phones, we had no GPS. We backtracked to where we started and picked up a conveniently 24 packed set of 20 amp fuses. Once replaced, we were back on track.

Our First Legs

Old Friends.

We knew the weather called for rain but didn’t know when. Wouldn’t you know that as soon as we got the the transition point, it started pouring. The weather was warm though so we had that going for us. Lisa started off leg 7 for us and we were off. At this point, Nikkii had been demoted from driver after telling us she “had it up to here (pointing to about the van ceiling)” about us pointing out the nuances of her driving and comments to passing runners. Let’s not forget the almost Corvette incident 20 hours earlier.

Lisa completed her run as she always does and David got a taste of what CK4 had to experience last year, a long incline followed by a serpentine of downhill that extends miles. David finished and passed off to Sam who popped his AOR cherry. By this time the weather stopped raining but it was starting to get cold. Sam handed to Nikkii who went on a delightful run through the woods. She emerged somewhere and finished her run handing off to me.

TC and Nathan at the Mason Dixon line border.

Because this is my blog, you get to read about what goes through my mind while I run. I was feeling pretty good along my 7+ mile leg to start. I caught up to Nathan and took my favorite picture of the relay. The environment along the Mason-Dixon line is incredible. It’s a panorama of farm land. I always keep my eyes out for slate roofs and there were two awesome structures along my path which I wish I had a camera to take a picture of. At about my 5 mile mark I was caught by another runner which has never happened before. This guy was moving pretty good and I wasn’t necessarily taking it easy but I had some gas left in the tank. I went with him as he passed me and stayed with him for a long period of time. With about a half mile left, I made a move to the finish line only to be denied and then owned by about 15 meters. Fun nonetheless.

I gave the baton to CK4 and he completed our first set of legs. Since the vans were at different points, we decided to get some food on our own. We couldn’t remember if we ate in Boonsboro last year and decided on a different course. We found a beer store and an Cracker Barrel for some food. At this point we all had a few bullets and were having some fun messing around. We arrived at Boonsboro at around 10pm and had a bit of time to kill. I brushed my teeth which was a revitalizing factor. Nikkii also saw the stick of my deoderant head fall on the street as I nonchalantly put it back in and used it. The life of a runner.

2nd Set of Legs

Team 2 during CK4’s night run.

I started this set of legs taking the Browns to the Super Bowl in a lonesome porta-a-potty. It was completely dark inside and I crossed my fingers it was less used because it was in such a remote area. Everything went fine and David started this next set. The second set of legs is a bit shorter and David went out a touch to hard which was evident by his minute slow down from 1st to 3rd mile. He handed off to Lisa who took down the hardest leg on the course BY FAR. This leg was crushing runners left and right and it was no surprise that it manhandled CK4 last year only to sideline him for his last leg. Some sarcasm is being use here but Lisa completed the leg efficiently. During this transition, some drama occurred.

While I was driving, I jokingly said that I saw some little child on the side of the road. This FREAKED Nikkii out. Discussion lead to a chupacabra and Nikkii was breaking down about doing her night run. Sam’s quick moving light through the night sky handed the bracelet off to Nikkii and she was set out in the abyss. We met up with her half way and running had overcome the fears of the devil. She finished her run and I had a short 3+ mile run.

My run started through the Gettysburg battlefields and after a few moments I was completely by myself. My headlamp was weak and I had to look down to see straight every time. It was pitch black and after our ghost comments, I had that going on in my head that I was completely vulnerable to any 2am attacker in the battlefields. At one point these lights flashed across the road and my heart skipped a beat. I was certain I was getting abducted by aliens but it turned out to only be the lights of a van behind me. I finished my leg and handed off to CK4. CK4 also successfully finished his night run and we were on to the 3rd set of legs. We passed on the $7 dollar boy scout buffet and headed off to John Poole High School.

3rd Set of Legs

Bundled up.

Most of van 2’s 3rd set of legs runs along the Potomac which is quite the scenery. The start begins at a middle school in Poolesville, MD. It’s a bit over an hour drive from Sheppardsville, WV to Poolsville and David manhandled the driving with me sitting shotgun and giving uncertain directions. We listened to some Pink Floyd and other classic rock artists while making the trek at 4am. We got there at 5, parked the van, and tried to get some shut eye. I bundled up in a sleeping bag outside because the van gets a bit crowded and lord knows how much oxygen is trapped in that van with 5 other people breathing.

I woke at 6:15 after about an hour of sleep to see they had opened the school. I bought a bagel and the kid told me there was cream cheese and a cutter over on the other table. I wasn’t familiar with a cutter and used a knife to split it. The woman there looked at me like I was special and told me that I could have used the bagel cutter and that she couldn’t give me any advice on how to use the toaster. After I punched her in the face, I went outside and slept an hour more.

Hanging out at the John Poole Middle School

I’ll bypass the running along the Potomac but each leg is beautiful with little hills and the weather was perfect. The only episode occurred when I handed off the stick to CK4 and his phone was dimmed. He stamped his foot down and wasn’t moving which isn’t a good look during a relay where running is encouraged. After a minute, he took off and I was put in charge of directions to the finish line. My GPS wasn’t working right and I was using Nikki’s. This was a mistake because I veered from the AOR directions and used a device that I wasn’t familiar with. We missed a turn and it sent us into touristville DC and we crawled along. We arrived in time to see Chad finish and our running journey came to an end.

AOR Finish Line

AOR team at the finish line.

We finished the run in a bit over 29 hours which was good for 50th place out of 200. This relay isn’t about winning and a good time was had by all. The after party held in the wharf was not a great experience. The beer being poured was atrocious and a line was building because pouring wasn’t handled properly. The food was average but free is free. A short episode about bedbugs in the hotel sent everyone packing. We had a nice team meal in College Park, MD and then headed home. I was running on 2 hours of sleep and pretty tired. Lisa, Nikkii, and I chatted it up along the ride back but it seemed to drag on. We arrived safely and I was dropped off before I had to deal with van issues which was nice for me. My drive back can be read about here but once my head hit the pillow, it was lights out.

The overall experience was positive. You hang out with different people and spend time running which is both healthy and fun. We made sure to crush some bullets along the way try to stink as little as possible. Knowing how to prepare for a relay like this is half the battle to success. Major thanks to Nathan Relles for organizing everything because without him we would be all over the place. Another thanks to everyone who participated because there is no AOR without a team. If you’ve read this far in this post, you enjoy running too much. Until next time.

By Tom Stortz|2014-04-29T13:43:21-04:00April 29th, 2014|Running, Sports|1 Comment

Philly Hot Chocolate 15k

I participated in the Philadelphia Hot Chocolate 15k this Sunday. This was an odd race for me because I had not been able to run properly for the last 11 days. Two Tuesday’s ago I took a shot to my ribs in basketball that left me unable to train, or for that matter run at all. A few days prior to injury, I had run a nice non-stop 9 mile run and was pretty hyped for a good performance at this race. I was sidelined for all of last week and starting this Wednesday I was able to at least run a bit. On Friday I put in 3 miles on the treadmill about a minute slower than race pace and was able to do it relatively pain free. 3 is not 9.

I spent the weekend completely sober and even the 7 days before that so I was in good health and spirits even with the injury. I woke up at 5:30 on Sunday to get ready for the race. I deuced and showered, tightly tied my race shoes, attached my bib, and ate a chocolate chip granola bar to prepare. I hailed a cab and met up with Chad, Nikkii, Evan and Lisa at the Art Museum steps. It was way colder than I would have liked. We met up with Jenn and Jon to expand the crew. Here is a pre-race shoe shot which looks neat.

Which is mine?

I hadn’t been checking my phone but we luckily met up with Laura as well. Evan and Chad were doing the 5k which started 45 minutes before the 15k. I saw them start and was highly anticipating the results. I wanted to see them finish but it was cutting it a little close as I had to get to my corral for my race. I could tell from the people and how they were dressed that it wasn’t going to be the most competitive race but for my physical state, that was fine. The weather was warming up too which made things all the merrier.

The race went off and I was in the back of the corral. I started and wasn’t pushing the pace and felt pretty good. I knew I had a chip time cushion and hit the 2 mile mark at close to 12 which is where I want to be. If I could sustain 6 minute miles, I’d be happy. I was gaining on people who went out too hard and started running with this tiny kid who after seeing the results was only 15. He took me through 5 and then started picking it up, or better put, not fading. I was still feeling pretty good at the 10k mark and a weird thing I do is break everything down to percentages. At 10k, I only have 33% of the race, or merely a 5k and that kept me going. I was making some spurts of energy but all was not well with the endurance. Mile 7 and 8 went down but not without a fight. I was out of steam for the final .3 and had no kick whatsoever. I finished in 8th place with a time of 56:29. I was happy.

After the run we went to Brick (s) and had some brunch. They offered a $20 bottomless drink special and I think I drank about 8 mimosa’s. Ck4 even did a Coors Light – Amaretto bomb which was a rarity. I ate a decent omelet and there were some breakfast burrito’s that looked big. The service was good and it was a nice spot to check out after a race. Evan had some people over after but I was all mucked up from the run and went home. I showered and dressed to go back over but wasn’t feeling great. I laid down for one minute and fell asleep. I woke up 2 hours later and watched an episode of the Wire which brings me right here right now.

This chocolate fondue was giving to finishers.

A fun day and mostly sober weekend which is also a rarity. Good job to everyone who participated because the more people who do it, the more fun it is. I also will add that the race was was well run and an ideal size. The course wasn’t the most creative (out and back on West River) but the weather was magnificent for a run. I will probably add some pictures to this post as they become available.

By Tom Stortz|2014-04-06T20:41:37-04:00April 6th, 2014|Running|0 Comments

My Goal Is To Beat Cecily Tynan

Cecily next to her doofus husband.

Cecily Tynan, the Philadelphia weather caster, was 43 when she won her age division last year competing in the Run the Bridge 10k. She was 51st overall with a time of 38:29 which averaged out to 6:10 miles. Sam sent me an email stating that I have to beat her. My response was a wimp out and said that I probably can’t and I might not even run. After running a few miles today, a different position has been taken.

A month ago I was gearing up for this 10k. I was routinely hitting 8-9 miles at paces that even though I didn’t time, I know were fast with some miles hitting under 6. I was feeling slim and for a race as short as 10k, I would have posted a fast time. Unfortunately I went against a cardinal rule and got myself injured. There was no one to blame this on but myself. I always say (at least to myself) that getting injured is the absolute worst thing you can do to yourself. If there is a part of your body that hurts, rest it, and come back when it feels better. I ignored this and a week previous to hurting my knee, I kept complaining that my knee hurt but I was still working out on it. Already tender, I played a football game and tweaked it to the point that it was seriously injured. I didn’t get an MRI, but did see a doctor and the diagnosis was that it was bruised or sprained and that rest was the best option. I’ve readily complied and have sat out 5 straight weeks of football and basketball. I’ve made various attempts to do some runs but each time I could feel my knee was ready to give way if I ever tried to do anything more than jog. With that back story in place, it brings upon today.

Today I went for a run and would say it was relatively painless. I still wasn’t able to hit full speed but I would guess I was hitting somewhere near 7 minute pace. All things considered, even if I’m not in my best shape, I still should have retained some of the strength I built from a month ago. With 4 more days rest until the race (I’m going to attempt a double header football game on Saturday which may exacerbate this situation), I should be ready to rock for the race. Which brings us to Cecily.

Under normal circumstances this isn’t even a consideration. My Broad St time beat her by over 2 minutes and it would only get wider in a 10k. However, I’m not at full strength and I have a feeling she doesn’t miss a beat. My goal would be 6:10 miles. If she runs faster than that, she’ll win. If I were a betting man, I’d probably give her a 75-25 edge. My ceiling is higher but my training is why behind. I hope I find her during the run and can start chatting her up. She’s obviously a dime at 44 and it would be fun to take her down at the finish line. I’d definitely make a picture or two. Hopefully it comes to that.

She didn’t have a shoe, an arm, or a shadow before I got done with her.

By Tom Stortz|2013-10-30T23:34:01-04:00October 30th, 2013|Photoshop, Running, Sports|1 Comment

Running To Beat the Heat

What movie is this scene from?

It’s been hot. 100 degree hot. I’ve been getting my ass kicked on workouts like never before. I’ll start out with 15 minutes at a nice pace, do 10 minutes of hard stair work, and then I’m toast. I try to add more to the workout and my whole body is spent. My run back is unbearable and I’ve even had circumstances where I’ve had to take a break and actually walk on the way back. I swear this is unheard of in my years of running. So I’m either aging or the heat is sapping the life out of me.

I know full well that I’ve entered into some of these workouts dehydrated and that doesn’t help. Running on days after drinking is always more taxing on the body. This is hardly an excuse as I’ve been doing this for many years. Without the proper hydrating though, I can feel that my body isn’t reacting with efforts of strength in this 100 degree weather. This has me hydro-loading for the 5k on Wednesday. To anyone reading this blog, there is a fun 5k on Wednesday called the Phil’s 5k. It’s going to be steaming hot but that makes it more fun.

There are a few benefits and downsides to running in this weather. The biggest downside is that your clothes get so sweaty that they need to be washed immediately. If you leave sweat drenched clothes on the ground for days at a time, the sweat smell gets embedded into it and it’s impossible to get rid of. That means that if you run daily, you need to do a load of wash after every run. One of the great things about scorching weather is that the water afterwards tastes 10x better. Today after I did my run I found a water fountain in my building that was probably the coldest, purest, elixir I’ve had in a long time. It was comparable to sipping water while in the Sahara desert. I sat by it for 3 straight minutes just lapping up the water. It reminded me of being a kid and knowing which water fountains were worth drinking out of because they were the coldest. Working out in weather like this also helps you when the heat goes back to normal because you’ll be prepared for tougher conditions. I personally love it because it makes me sweat like a beast and I feel so good afterwards. To anyone who doesn’t like it, you’re probably a pussy.

By Tom Stortz|2016-10-28T15:24:46-04:00July 15th, 2013|Running|3 Comments

Broad St Run 2013 – Better With Age

This Sunday for the 2013 Broad St Run I continued to amaze myself. I played a round of golf on Saturday and walked my bag the last 5 holes which I wasn’t sure was smart because it could hinder my performance. I got a fairly decent night’s sleep (aside from a 2 am wake up call) and was feeling alive on Sunday morning. I dressed in only a tee-shirt and shorts which was a mistake pre-race because it was a chilly morning. I did a lap around the area and some brief stretching to get prepared. I was hydrated as I hardly needed to drink any water and didn’t need to use the bathrooms which I think was a huge indicator that I was geared to go. I met up with Bake and the McGrath’s pre-race which was surprising because of all the people in the area.

My goal was under 60 minutes and my strategy was to go out hard to make up some pace and then see what I had left in the tank. I was in the red corral, which was up front, and I had no problem with the start of the race. I went out in a 5:35 mile which got me plenty of breathing room and a nice cushion to work off of. As the race progressed I kept clicking off sub 6 minute miles and was wondering when I would start to fall off. Around mile 6 I could tell I was slowing but was still under 6’s which had me extremely optimistic. At the 8 mile mark my feet started hurting and I hit my first mile over 6 with a 6:02. Moving into the last mile I found myself checking my watch more frequently (I didn’t check it once in the first 8 miles other than the splits) because I was out of gas. My feet were hurting me and I couldn’t sprint but I still closed the last mile in 6:11. I finished in 58:35 (chip time) which was good for 146th place. I felt great through 7 miles, started cramping a bit after that, and my feet hurt for the last two. Other than that though I was feeling like a champ. Results here. My splits were 5:39, 5:39, 5:46, 5:50, 5:43, 5:56, 5:53, 5:51, 6:03, 6:11.

When I got back home I popped a blood blister and was walking around gingerly. It was Cinco De Mayo and I was celebrating a nice time with a few drinks during this beautiful day. I’ve also become wiser and more experienced with my drinking as I was in great shape all day and woke up this morning feeling fine. Only story from yesterday was when Ian and I really had to take a piss and decided to go into Woody’s (gay bar) because it was the only place around. Ian was completely against it to start and I underestimated the experience. The bathroom was completely empty when we went in and within 2 seconds, 3 dudes were in the bathroom making comments and asking if we were gay or straight. It was a bit terrifying when my dick was in my hand but we both made it out alive. I was also harassing people throughout the day who were wearing their Broad St medals around because 12,000 place finishes shouldn’t be flaunting medals 8 hours after the race. All in all it was a good day for me and I will continue to get better in all aspects of life.

By Tom Stortz|2013-05-06T20:04:06-04:00May 6th, 2013|Running, Sports|0 Comments

Training to Peak – Broad St Run Wisdom

I have a feeling after those AOR posts that I may get a few more people who are interested in running than usual. This post will also be my last running related post until I segway into my normal writing. With the Broad St Run coming up, I want to share my feelings on peaking for a big race. This will apply to people who maintain 9 to 5’s and are out of the education schedule. We all know that after you get out of school, responsibilities increase and training time decreases.

It’s extremely difficult and not very practical to be in RACE shape 99% of the time due to the time and dedication. My suggestion is to never let yourself get out of shape. During times when you aren’t training for a race, run 3-4 times a week to stay toned. When you sign up for a big race, I’d give yourself about 6-8 weeks to make that effort to peak. Before any training begins, ESTABLISH A GOAL TIME! If your goal is to finish that’s one thing, but having a mark to hit helps you in how to train to hit that time. My goals are always better than my personal best. If I know I’m not going to be near my best, I usually don’t enter races because my motivation isn’t to finish, it’s to improve. Now back to how to train.

Let’s use the ten mile Broad St as an example. 2 months before the race I’ll start with 5 mile runs at as close to race pace as I can get. My philosophy is to train at race pace at lower miles and continue to work up to where I want to be. This doesn’t mean killing yourself but it means pushing yourself at these lower distances. I also throw in longer, slower pace runs to increase miles as well. It’s important to mix it up so you don’t get stale. As time passes, you want to keep moving closer to the 10 mile mark in your training runs. I don’t think it’s smart to run 6 or 7 days a week, more like 3-4 and 5 at the most. Your body needs to heal because getting hurt is pretty much the absolute worse thing you can do. In my life I’ve been hurt one time due to training so I’ve learned how to avoid injury. If it hurts, don’t press it. You aren’t setting world records.

Within 2 weeks of the race I want to be as close to 10 miles as I can be and as close to pace as I can get in order to achieve my goals. My real life example is to break 59:45 this year. I have one week to the race and my run today went like this: 2 mile warm up, 4 miles at 6:10 pace, break, 10 miles on the Art Museum steps, 2 mile cool down. I didn’t kill myself but I wanted to make sure I could hit pace for an extended period of time. A race will always be faster than practice because the adrenaline makes it happen. No alcohol this weekend and a good night’s sleep before the race. I’ll put in an easy run tomorrow, a long hard run on Thursday, an easy run on Friday, and nothing on Saturday. This will have me prepped for Sunday. Once this race is over I won’t let myself get out of shape but I’ll tone everything down until I sign up for another race. That is my wisdom and philosophy on racing. Giving yourself plenty of time to prepare is essential to setting and achieving goals.

By Tom Stortz|2013-04-30T19:47:13-04:00April 30th, 2013|Running|0 Comments

Frostbite 5 Miler 2013 Experience

The Frostbite 5 Miler is a very well run race hosted by the Ambler running club. Ira Meyers, winner of the 1986 Philadelphia Marathon, is the race director and keeps everyone up to date with info. Supposedly we were going to get some snow and ice last night but luckily everything held off. I slept at my parents house so I wouldn’t have to rush to race. I got there at 8:15 or so and there were already a good number of people. The race started at 9am and was expected to get 1600 runners. I met up with Ck4 and Nikkii and other people looking to recruit runners for the American Odyssey Run come April. We are looking to get 2 teams of 12 runners and are 4 short so if anyone who reads this blog wants to participate in a 200 mile relay run from Gettysburg to DC, let me know. The highlight being you get to spend 24+ hours in a van with me.

Back to the run. The weather was perfect for this run as it is sometimes extremely frigid. I got in behind the first few rows of runners and the race began promptly as scheduled. I had trained entirely indoors this year and this was my first time outside since the fall. Sometimes treadmill training can be deceiving with no hills so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The first mile is a gradual decline and I finished the first mile at 5:15. I read last year’s post and was at 5:30 so I knew I was at a pretty good pace. I still felt good and was running mostly with myself and came across the next mile at 10:50. Still feeling good I started running with this bro for the next mile and we were at low 17 for 3 which I knew would make it difficult to break 29 which I would say is my goal. At this point I still had strength in my legs and was expecting to pick up the pace. Wrong. At 23:15 crossing the 4 mark I knew I was toast. To quote Sam, “I started rigging up.” My stomach was hurting even though I still had strength in my legs, I just couldn’t get a kick going. With 400 a female started coming up on me but even a deathly ill TC can outkick a girl and I finished with a 29:15 or so. I was pretty pleased as I didn’t know what to expect. It was 10 seconds off of last year and I assume I’ll lose 10 seconds every year following.

I talked with Ck4 at the finish line for a while and then jumped in my car and headed off. I had to drive through some runners but they made it out alive without getting hurt. I got a vanilla milkshake from McDonalds like last year and headed back to Philly. I arrived back at 10:30 which should make this one of the first posts in any blog out there about this race.

By Tom Stortz|2013-03-15T02:57:23-04:00February 16th, 2013|Running|0 Comments

Philly Broad Street Run Lottery Sucks

The Philly Broad Street Run lottery sucks. I received an email today about a lottery system being implemented due to the overwhelming amount of “runners” who wish to compete in the Broad Street Run. Last year there were 34,058 runners who competed which is a huge amount and makes this one of the biggest road races in America. The email stated something that I agree 100% with:

“After considerable amount of research and discussion, it has been decided that the Blue Cross Broad Street Run will be using a lottery system to select the 2013 race participants. This decision was not made lightly and will help us continue to be a race for all levels of RUNNERS. At this point, I must stress that this is a ROAD RACE. Walkers are strongly discouraged from entering this event. “

Obviously what happened with this race is that too many non-runners were taking the place of actual people who want to run seriously. Let me just go over my thinking on this topic. First thing I want to mention is that runs have turned into leisurely strolls and talking amongst friends. The hobby joggers have come out in full force. As this usually has no effect whatsoever on me (aside from the award ceremony being delayed), for a race of this magnitude it is a big deal. The term 5k RACE no longer has any meaning. My opinion on the Broad Street Run (it should be changed to race) is that everyone should complete the race in 1 hour 40 minutes. If you can’t do 10 10 minute miles, you aren’t physically capable of completing this race and taking a spot of someone who is.

NOTE: THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH PEOPLE WHO CAN’T DO A 10 MINUTE MILE, THEY JUST AREN’T READY FOR THIS RACE. A 10 minute mile would probably require a consistent light jog. If you need to walk for a baby 10 mile run, you aren’t ready for this race. 20,064 people completed the race under 1:40 last year which would eliminate 14,000 people from last year’s race. That seems like a more reasonable number and would allow for plenty of people on the cusp and thousands of people who deserve to be allowed to run. The ceiling could even be upped to allow for people to the maximum amount of allotted runners which is 34,000.

I personally think it sucks that I could potentially get skipped over for this race. I’ve done it the last 4 years and I find it to be one of the best courses and perhaps the fastest race with the most competition that allows me to set personal bests. A time ceiling keeps out the people who are doing it for fun. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with doing races for fun but it turns an already wimpy sport into a laughing stock. This isn’t just some 5k where everyone wants to have a good time (nice pun). This is a prestigious event that has become watered down by the magnitude of “runners”. Serious runners should not have to worry about getting in because of some lottery. And perhaps their system will guarantee all fast runners but that’s not what I expect from a lottery.

The obvious response to this is how do you know who to allow? Anyone can say they are going to run 1:40. Simple answer, prove it. What did you run at the Broad St last year? What is your best in a ten mile run? I’m not saying that it has to be a strict guideline but the idea is to keep out the riff raff and turn this race into an actual race and not a social event. It obviously bothers me that I have a chance of not getting in due to the lottery and this is my suggestion to make sure I get in. Selfish perhaps, but I write what I feel and knowing that some slob can sign up and take my spot doesn’t make me happy.

By Tom Stortz|2013-03-15T03:00:42-04:00January 23rd, 2013|Running, Sports|6 Comments

Working for the Weekend

Not really but I am at work typing this post up. Yesterday was a relatively reserved day and I didn’t really mind it at all. I was out til 1am on Wednesday night, although completely sober, and woke up at 6:45 yesterday morning for the Gobble Wobble. I ate 2 pancakes, took a nice morning dump, and felt pretty good for the race. I met up with CK4 and Nikkii and did some marginal warming up for the race. We bumped into the eventual race winner pre-race, Mike Paul, and got to hear how a person talks before a race he’s going to win. It was the first time I’ve run the course and it had some identity to it. I crossed the first mile in 5:15 which I knew was fast but wasn’t sure what to expect. The 2nd mile was mainly uphill and my two mile mark was 11:30. I felt fine but haven’t really been training any hills (mostly just on a treadmill) and my legs sort of felt like Jello. The hills just took any type of speed out of my legs and I finished the race in just under 18 minutes. Obviously I had higher expectations but I can’t change what happened. Ck4 finished in under 28 which I thought was a nice improvement over previous races but proved to be a minute slower than his Phil’s race. I believe the course is the main reason for this.

After that we did some typical thanksgiving things that you can read about in Sam’s blog if you want to know. I had some action on the Lions straight up which proved close but wrong. I also lost on the Cowboys vs the Redskins. That had me down 125 going into the night game and I just decided to bet 150 on the Patriots over which fortunately covered. I’m up +158 for the entire season starting week 1. Considering I make bets on college bball, fball, NBA, and anything else that strikes me I think that it’s quite remarkable to be up after 3 months of action. I went home last night and got a good nights rest which leaves me in pretty good shape for the real weekend. Addasheee hit a 3 team parlay which I’m sure he’s sitting at work now not working thinking what he’s going to be on next.

By Tom Stortz|2013-03-15T03:09:11-04:00November 23rd, 2012|Running|0 Comments