I Ran the Philly10K – Lived To Tell and Didn’t Smell (A Piperwai Review)

I wanted to write a blog post about my amazing new client Piperwai Natural Deodorant. I also wanted to write a post about my experience with the Philly10K. Then I realized it only made sense to write these two together.

Let’s start with a flashback: Three years ago I posted about my foray into running with great excitement about running for a grand total of three minutes.   After much training, Crossfit, and a pregnancy thrown in, I shocked and astounded myself with the ability to run 6.2 miles.

After completing my first 5K more than two years ago I really had no desire to up the distance. I didn’t love running. I liked obstacle courses, CrossFit competitions, and silly scavenger hunt races. But long distance running was not my cup of tea.

Then my husband heard about the Philly 10K  and e-mailed me, “Paige, if you are ever going to do a 10K, do this one.”

Hmmm. It is right around my neighborhood. I’d have three months to train. Eh, what the hell, let’s sign up!

And training went surprisingly well. I started by just getting myself back up to a 5K and started increasing farther and farther. Discovering the Schuylkill River Trail just over a mile from my house was extremely helpful, allowing me to run by the breezy river, passing hundreds of other people with the same goal.

I managed the 6.2 mile run three times in advance of the race. Each time left me a little tired, but I was able to go about the rest of my day with minimal trouble. I had zero concerns about race day. And then:

85 degrees with 88 percent humidity. And this was not the breezy river loop – this was hot sun beating down on cement. This was the smell of foul garbage roasting on the oven that is Spring Garden street. This was hell. 

And I am used to working out in some gnarly conditions. I go to CrossFit in an un-air-conditioned garage in the midst of heat advisories (and then do a workout called “Heat Advisory” – you can only imagine). I am no stranger to sweat.

The Philly 10K team planned well, but clearly did not expect the need for so much water. In fact, with only two water stops I know I was not the only runner who felt like I was on the verge of a heat stroke. When I felt like I was starting to get chills running past Market Street, I stopped at a newspaper kiosk and begged a stranger to buy me a bottle of water. Then I drank it too fast and got a cramp. By the last quarter mile I was ready to vomit. And when I crossed the finish line, I proceeded to sweat for a solid 30 minutes, just sitting on a bench.

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Despite the conditions, I was fairly happy with my time. While my Map My Run app had me running a 9:13 mile and mapped a total of 6.5 miles, in reality I timed 59:33 on the actual chip (9:36 min mile). This placed me right around the top 25% in my division! Hooray!

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However, this race took a massive toll on me. Four days later I am still sore and reeling from a virus that has me bedridden. I pushed my body too far in treacherous weather conditions. Stupid? Probably. But I have no regrets and plan to sign up for the Broad Street Run in May.

Now, let’s back up to those 30 minutes where I sat and sweated out the entire water content of my body. Immediately after my friend Elana sniffed under her arm and said, “Hey! I used that natural deodorant you gave me and I don’t smell at all!” I smelled myself, “Wow! Neither do I!”

So that is pretty much all you need to know about Piperwai Natural Deodorant apart from the fact that it is handmade in Philly by two cool young girls who have been best friends since they sold lemonade together in the fourth grade (kinda like me and Elana!) This unisex charcoal creme is so effective, you’ll never want to use anything else on your underarms again – I promise!

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