The Hershey Half Marathon

Back in May, I posted about my first 5k race and how I had joined a running group - some moms in Lancaster County who enjoy running for a variety of reasons. There are over 600 members in this Facebook group and I only know maybe a dozen or two, but we all live in the county and sometimes folks will post that they are looking for a running buddy or need some suggestions for socks that don't blister or any other topic related to running. It's been very inspirational as there are several ladies in the group (one of which I knew from MOPS before) who qualified to run the Boston Marathon this coming April - wow!

Well, the group has been inspirational and a little addicting. I ran a few times with two friends (Roseanne and Laura) as they were training for the Hands On House half marathon. I ran 11 miles with them the first time and did the entire 13.1 thereafter, which ended up being 13.6 when we got lost. But, I had no intention of running a race. I sort of just wanted to see IF I could even run that far. I even took my phone and had Shawn on alert in case I needed to call him. Then less than two weeks before the Hershey Half Marathon (which our friend Chris has run the past couple years), another mom that I met through this group told me that she had a friend who signed up to go and could no longer make it. She was hoping to get some money for her bib and was selling it for half price!!! I quickly asked Shawn his permission and he reluctantly agreed. I was amazed that I was able to get into this sold out race. I had run eight miles at 5:30 AM with a different mama friend that Wednesday morning (before helping with Caleb's "Community Helper" day at preschool) and found out that afternoon that I could run in the Hershey Half. I was ecstatic - and nervous!

I asked our friend Chris if he would be doing a long run that coming weekend and if he'd like company. It was the first time he'd ever run with company, but he let me set the pace, which was nice. Shawn feared I might die running with him because he's faster than me. But, we kept to between a 9-9:30 min/mile pace, which was comfortable for us to talk with. We ran the 13.1 in just over 2:05, which was only a minute slower than he had done it the previous week, so I wasn't cramping his style too much (hopefully!). I did some running in addition to my regular workouts that next week, but that was the only real "training" I had. Another mom I met at Caleb's preschool (who had a daughter in his class the first year he went) is part of the group and said she was riding up with a friend to Hershey and I could come with her. That was SO nice! Four of us rode together - Lisa drove and we met at Heather's house and Roseanne and I tagged along, too. Roseanne was so sweet and let me borrow her Garmin watch because she was going to stick with Heather (who had borrowed Laura's).

That morning was COLD for it being October. It was 40 degrees (which now feels warm but felt ungodly chilly that day). Oddly enough, I wasn't all that nervous that morning. I had asked people to pray for me and I didn't have to worry about parking or where to go, so I was feeling quite peaceful. Also, I had driven up the day before to get my bib and Shawn helped me get all set up. So I actually enjoyed a chatty morning with friends that day. We took a few group pictures (and there were even more taken because I see a couple girls missing who I knew jumped in a few at the end, but I obviously don't have copies of them). Below, in the pink jacket on the left is my friend Roseanne; my friend Jen who got me the bib is in the orange skirt between Roseanne and me; Heather is next to me in the pink running capris; and Lisa who we road with is on the end in the pink jacket. I recognize some of the other gals, but I don't really "know" them.The first couple pictures were a bigger group photo of some of the moms from the facebook group who were running this race.

We lined up and hit the porta-potties one last time before getting into a spot where we thought we should be pace-wise. I started with my friend Jen, even though she's a faster runner than me. My goal was to be at a steady 9 min/mile pace and I figured she'd work her way up to an 8 min/mile eventually. But, they had 8's and 9's sort of together, with 6's and 7's out in front of that and then all the slower paces by minute behind. It takes awhile with that many people to pass the chip timer, so our time was almost a full minute less than what the ending clock read.

I started off feeling really good. I was keeping to just below that 9 min/mile pace - just over 8:30. I felt like I could go faster, but I know all the books say to keep to a normal pace at the beginning or you'll burn out fast and not be able to make it to the end. I saw a guy who was JUGGLING! next to me. I was trying to stay focused on breathing and movement and he juggled literally the entire 13.1 miles going that pace. WOW! This race was to benefit the Children's Miracle network, so there were people in costumes and carrying flags and doing things to encourage the kids who were spectators from the Milton Hershey School.

Around mile three, I saw my man. I was listening to the song "Applause" and lo and behold, he had gotten a perfect spot to see me. He waved and I waved back, SO excited to actually see him cheering me on. I knew my mom was watching the boys, but I wondered if Shawn would make it on time to get in to see me or if we'd even be able to see each other with the thousands of runners and even more spectators. But, we did! I was beyond thrilled!!! He snapped this picture of me as I went by. He was standing there FREEZING in the cold (only wearing a hooded sweatshirt and NOT running) and he was there because he loved me and wanted to show his support. I was beyond blessed!!!

I continued to feel really good. When I hit the half way point, I was at 52 minutes - far better than my goal of finishing in under two hours. But, around mile 7-8, I started to feel crampy. I felt like I needed to use the potty, but I knew I was NOT going to stop. I was also starting to feel the fatigue from lack of training. But, I knew that wouldn't stop me either. We hit the first big uphill climb and I took the opportunity to sip some water. I passed up the opportunity to hit all the tables where people were handing out water and gatorade for a couple reasons. The first was that I hadn't trained to run while drinking - and it is a learning curve. I had my bottles which were easier to wrap my mouth around than a cup that I was afraid I'd dump all over me. Second, I didn't want gatorade because I'd never run with it before and I'd heard horror stories of it upsetting people's bellies. No reason to take a chance! I had eaten a banana and a small snickers bar before leaving and I figured my body fat could carry me through. But, I also knew that my friend Heather had passed out during her first from low blood sugar (or something like that). So, I wanted to be careful, too. I took a minute to stop and try to open a gu gel that I had purchased. But, I didn't count on my hands being so sweaty and I could NOT get it open. I tried not to panic. I tried and tried - even stopping and trying with my teeth. It wouldn't open. I just tossed it into the trash and kept going. I was annoyed that it took time off my run and I didn't even get the benefit of the energy from it!

There were cameras everywhere, and if the pictures wouldn't have been so expensive, I probably would have bought one. I told myself this was the only half I was ever going to run. I was hoping to do it in under two hours, but truly, I was just proud of the fact that I could run that far without dying. Not every person who weighed as much as I once did could accomplish this goal. I felt honored and blessed to be there!

This is one of the uphill climbs, and the pictures were terrible. I look like death warmed over. But, I was still going!

I kept telling myself to pass just one more person. At the end, I was struggling to even stay with the person next to me. I saw an ambulance around mile 10 and thought "I could just wave and they would take me back to my husband." But, I didn't. I saw Shawn again at mile 11.5ish. I thought about just running to him and telling him to take me home; my legs were done! But I knew I'd kick myself for quitting when I only had that far to go.

I remember following these girls in purple who were dressed alike. :) I told myself to stick near them and keep up. At the end, all I could think about was seeing Shawn at the finish line. "In 20 minutes, if you just keep going, you'll see your man. You can do this!" "It should only be 15 minutes if you press on until Shawn is able to help you to your car! Keep going!"

I was glad I had taken my ear buds. It's another area where I could have shaved off some time because I went to adjust the volume at one point and one of them fell out. Then it tried to call someone (since my music is on my phone) so I had to take the time to readjust them, turn the phone part off, etc. as I was sort of half slowly running. But, I NEEDED my music at the end. I am so thankful for my phone and for my wireless ear buds! They are great running company!

I had downloaded an entire new playlist just for this event. Here I was (behind the person in yellow) coming to the finish line. Unfortunately the chip in my bib didn't work (even though it had scanned correctly the night before). So it took me a couple days to find out my actual time.

Based on their rough estimate of when I started and the clock behind me as I finished, I completed my first half in 2:04:41, which is a 9:31 min/mile pace. It wasn't my goal, but it was GREAT for my first!!! Especially without any real training and the couple of rough hills!

My girlfriends finished at about 2:07ish. I was so impressed with Heather for trying another half after she passed out at her first one and never finished. And I was also impressed with Roseanne who was suffering from a severe cold that day and training for a full marathon in just a few weeks after this one. They did great!

I laughed at my medal photo because of the woman behind me. That's how I felt, even though I'm smiling! I was just glad to be done!!!

I called Shawn and he was right there. He had seen me finish - even catching me at miles 3 and just before 12! I got my medal, my goodie bag and my wrap to start getting my body temp back to where it should be and met him where spectators and finishers could meet. He had seen our friend Chris, too, who finished well under two hours (no surprise there!) and we didn't see my brother-in-law who finished a little more than 15 minutes after I did because he was struggling with his IT band/knee.

Someone asked if I would take a picture of her and her husband (or boyfriend?) and I said sure, and then I asked her to get a picture of Shawn and me. I LOVE this picture of us. I'm sweaty and nasty (Shawn even said "Wow! You smell really bad!" Haaaa!!!) But, it shows how much he loves and supports me. And I had accomplished a goal!

My legs were really sore the next week or two. I mean really, really sore. I tried to go to Attack, but my one calf muscle was really tight. Shawn bought me a deep tissue massage from Universal, and it really helped. My mom also lent me her foam roller, which also is AMAZING!!! While I threw on some compression socks after the race, I didn't take the time to stretch and I didn't have time to ice. We walked the mile (it felt like even more!) to where Shawn had parked the car and we picked up our boys from my mom's house. We ate a fast food breakfast on the way home (which I felt like I was going to vomit but kept down). I tried to rest with my legs up that afternoon, but it wasn't enough. There are some things I would do differently. But, it was a good day overall. I realize now that I shouldn't have pushed my body so hard to start working out immediately afterward but given it time. I lost three toenails in my long runs, too, which grosses Shawn out. But, they're starting to grow back. There are some things I need to adjust in general. But, live and learn! ;-)