Dewey Beach Triathlon and Philly Distance Run

Chi Chi Bankok is going to have to stay in the closet for a little longer. I thought about racing in drag to distract the fact that my running time has been, ugh, dragging. My drag alter ego Chi Chi Bankok has been in the closet since Miss Patricia Bambridge's Beauty Ball. The Philadelphia Distance Run today was supposed to be Chi Chi Bankok's racing debut.

As I got up this morning, Miss Bankok said she wasn't ready for her close-up. I left her in the closet and off I went to the race. I put on my black racing shorts, my black and white racing tee, and my sunglasses. No money, no iPhone. I got into my assigned coral and stayed focus on the race.



My first two miles were slow as I held back. FRP's Joe S passed me. PFP's Tony F also passed me. I started to get comfortable once I got back to the Ben Franklin Parkway, seeing the last several corals barely got out of the starting line. I increased my pace a little bit once I set foot on to the familiar Martin Luther King Drive. I started to pass people. FRP's Marty. FRP's Tony. Drexel's Ross. Joe S. Bruce. I was thrilled that I passed Bruce that I may have pushed a little too much. I started to run out of steam around mile 12. What kept me going was the realization that I was on pace for a personal best, and a loud scream from my friend Kevin just before mile 13. "Anh, FINISH STRONG," he said. I knew he was watching so I pulled myself together and sprinted toward the finish line. The clock time was under 1:39.

Chip time 1:36:43
Clock time 1:38:47
5k split 23:58
10k split 47:25
10 mile split 1:14:24
Average pace 7:23

Male 35-39: 165th out of 949 male 35-39 finishers
Male: 976th out of 5853 male finishers
Overall: 1,180th out of 12,274 overall finishers

Once again, the Philadelphia Distance Run brought the best out of me. I had another personal best in a half-marathon road race, the day after I completed a sprint triathlon.



What can I say about the Dewey Beach Triathlon, other than an opportunity for me to parade around in public wearing nothing but a speedo?
The ocean waves were rough this year, so my swim time was 6 minutes (20 percent) slower. My bike and run times were slight better, but my overall time ended up being 5 minutes slower than my time last year. I liked this triathlon because it was not very competitive, and the bike course was easy. Having completed this race the past two years, I don't think I will come back again.

35

P-town
Originally uploaded by reflexblue

Turning 35 was not a big deal for me. I did look back, with wonders, at all the amazing things that were part of my life for the past five years.
I reinvented myself as a runner, running over 20 marathons and over a handful of trail races as well as all the big road races in Philadelphia. I started swimming with the Philadelphia Fins Aquatics Club in 2006. Soon enough, I became one of the regulars in the pool, and I have been the Fins president for the past two years. Making public appearances in my speedo has become a regular routine. I started doing triathlons as well as stand-alone open water swim races. I did the MS150 City to Shore Bike Tour. I ran an ultramarathon. I ran a one-mile leg of the Penn Relays. I became more involved with Philadelphia local politics. I started an annual trek to Provincetown. I surround myself with an amazing group of friends. I have a wonderful partner and a cute black lab. Life is good.

Second Wind

I am back on my feet, running 25 to 30 miles a week. I am training for a 50k trail race, as well as two marathons later this year. My motivation was primarily to prepare my body for Provincetown!
I only ran about 8 miles a week for the past year, so going back up to 25 miles was not easy. I had to slow down to make sure that I could reach my target miesl My body was still in shape, so the second week went by a lot smoother. The 15-mile training run on my birthday was a breeze.
I am hoping to keep running 25 to 30 miles a week for the next 3 months, so I can perhaps see another sub-4 hour marathon time!