Hershey Half Marathon

The parking situation for this event was a NIGHTMARE! It took us a very long time to get into the venue and park. We were running a bit late and I was not able to take my time getting to the start line. We literally had to rush. I got in line to use the restroom but before it was my turn the race announcer was counting down the start so I just left and did not use the restroom. My hubby snapped this picture right before I zig zagged my way through the sea of runners (3,749 finishers) closer to the front.

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.

Garmin Elevation Stats:

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!