The elevation at the half marathon I ran last year was almost none. It was a fairly flat course with a few mild inclines.
The half marathon I ran this year was a whole different story:
My advice... check out the elevation before you register for a race and train for the hills if you need to.
Splits (courtesy of my Garmin!)
Mile 1-10:54-ran
Mile 2-11:33-ran
Mile 3-13:08-walked .5
Mile 4-12:20-ran
Mile 5-14:07-walked .5
Mile 6-12:44-ran
Mile 7-12:54-ran
Mile 8-13:58-walked .25
Mile 9-14:12-walked .5
Mile 10-15:00-walked .5
Mile 11-14:30-walked .75
Mile 12-14:19-walked .5
Mile 13-14:01-walked .5
Mile .1-2:14
As you can see miles 1,2,4,6,7 are the miles that I ran from mile marker to mile marker. I took off my long sleeve top during mile 3 and it was hard to get off since it was underneath mu short sleeve and I accidentally safety pinned my bib through both tops. Oops. I got it off though and tied it around my waist and luckily it did not bother me at all. We got to run through Hershey Park weaving in and around some roller coaster rides during mile 3-4 so that made for some distracting scenery. During mile 4 we ran past the wildlife park and I am pretty sure there was a huge elk starring right at me. Mile 5 was the first long uphill and I walked most of it. They had some dressed up Hershey candy characters on the hill and racers were stopping to take pictures with them which I thought was pretty funny. I ate my first GU and got the burst of energy I needed. Mile 6 & 7 felt pretty good. A few small rolling hills but nothing major so I ran. I really enjoyed passing the half way point where all the relay team members were waiting for teammates to tag. I decided to pull out my phone and text my hubby that I was half way done. :) Mile 8 was another long hill so I did some more walking. Mile 9 was when I thought perhaps I would never finish. We were running on a golf course at this point and I was just bored out of my mind with the scenery. I filled up my water bottle at the water station and took my time chatting with the water boys and girls. I just needed some quick conversation. Mile 10 was brutal. I started to get a horrible stomach ache. I ate another GU and drank a ton of water but that did not help. Mile 11 finally took us off the golf course which was nice and I pulled my phone out again to text my hubby that had 2 miles left. Mile 12 was running down Chocolate Ave. It was mice to run under the Hershey kiss shaped street lamps, those things always crack me up! They had a huge Hershey kiss shaped truck at the end of the Ave and tons of characters passing out Reeses fastbreak bars. YUM!! Just the little sweet snack I needed. Mile 13 was pretty flat but so long and windy and so boring. It was basically through the parking lot of the Hershey Museum and Hershey Stadium. The last quarter mile took us in the stadium and part way around the track. I saw my cute family right next to the finish line and that made me so happy.
I FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2:57
I beat my goal of 3:05 by 8 whole minutes! So happy about that!
Added 34 min to my half finishing time from last year but that was to be expected. This course was much harder and I am much slower. I am about 25 lbs heaver than I was last year and lets not forget to add that I just had a baby less than 5 months ago! I am breastfeeding which means I get no solid sleep ever and have not for a very long time. My fitness level and endurance are just not as great as last year. I planned on walking portions of this race. My pace goal was to stay under a 14:00 minute mile and I did! 13:33 was my average.
Elevation Gain: 712 ft
Elevation Loss: 941 ft
Min Elevation: 348 ft
Max Elevation: 624 ft
(lots of rolling hills and a couple long ones)
Garmin also logged me burning 1,952 calories! Yes!
My hubby said baby Cash slept pretty much the whole time. Yippeeee!!!! Ella was enjoying herself on the stadium field meeting and taking pictures with some Hershey candy characters.
There were MANY times while training for this race that I wanted to give up. I even talked with my hubby and a few friends about selling my race bib. Training with a new baby in the home was not easy. Training in the summer was not easy. Training with extra baby weight was not easy. Nothing about this was easy. Now that it is over, I am so very glad I endured to the end. It felt AMAZING to cross that finish line. I will be doing another half marathon again!
PROUD TO BE A RACE ADDICT!
1. Cross the finish line
2. Cross the finish line in under 3:05
3. Cross the finish line in under 3:05 with a smile on my face
Now let's get to the STARTING LINE!
Distance:4.00 mi
Time:50:12
Avg Pace:12:24 min/mi
Elevation Gain: 66 ft
Calories:558
Today was my final training run. 4 brutal miles. Brutal because I am in pain. Brutal because my whole body aches. Brutal because I was nauseated the entire time. Brutal because it was exhausting.
Mastitis+Running=BRUTAL
I have no idea how I am going to get through 13.1 miles on Sunday with my body feeling like this. I have been on antibiotics for 4 days now and I think the swelling and infection is going down but I feel like I have the most horrible flu ever! Not fun at all. What horrible timing for all of this, right?!?! I am going to do my best and really TRY to finish this race.
Plans for tomorrow include lots of hydration, as much rest as possible and then off to Hershey for packet pick up and the Kids Fun Run for little Miss Ella!
Garmin Stats:
Distance: 8.00 mi
Time: 1:42:31
Avg Pace: 12:49 min/mi
Elevation Gain: 377 ft
Calories: 1,162
Felt pretty good.
I stuck with my run 2 miles walk .5 mile plan. It has been working out fairly well for me. I am able to walk pretty fast when I take breaks that often so it works really well.
Now it is REALLY time for taper week
Half Marathon is in 1 short week. AAAHHHHHHH!!!! Hope I am ready!
I ran 4 times while in CA. Nothing too extreme. All just shorter runs as part of my taper to the Half Marathon.
I would like to share the stats from my last run while there. It was HARDCORE to say the least. A hill like no other. I ran where my sister lives in Oceanside in an area called Fire Mountain. PERFECT name for the place since this hill felt like a mountain and my legs were on fire by the time I got to the top.
GARMIN stats:
Distance: 3.00 mi
Time: 39:38
Avg Pace: 13:13 min/mi
Elevation Gain: 951 ft
Calories: 462
WOW!!! Do you see that?!?!? 951 ft!
Slowed me down for sure! I basically crawled up this steep hill and felt like my leg muscles were a burning fire. It was great. (HA!) This hill was at the very beginning of the run. It was hard and the remainder of my run was slow slow slow. Got it done though and that is what matters. :)
