Hershey Half Marathon 2013

Hershey Half Marathon

October 20, 2013

Course time: 3:10:04 PR!

I have to say this is the best race I have ever ran. And it is definitely one you should run atleast once in your lifetime. 

Going into this race I knew it was going to be hilly and I was ready for it and sorta looking forward to it. Maybe because I knew during the course I would be awarded chocolate. I have thus far picked my races solely based on swag. I have no shame in this,but I must say I love Hershey, I have been to the park and the attractions twice and I love everything Milton  Hershey represents. I have been on the Hershey tour and saw the Hershey school and really love the cause the money t th is race was going to. 

So the race in one word. ...AMAZING! I laughed I cried I sang I hugged and I high-fived my way through the beautiful rolling Pennsylvania fields and on to a half marathon PR.

The course starts in the parking lot of Hershey park and loops through the Hershey arena and then through the Hershey amusement park. After that the course goes around the backside of the park and past the Hershey zoo and up a short steep hill past a beautiful golf course. At the half way Mark is the huge 1.5 mile hill past a few hotels which was also the relay teams switch off area. I had mostly power walked this hill as planned so make up time going downhill which worked great for me. Then the course goes downhill for a while and then another steep hill for half a mile which landed us on the beautiful campus of the Milton Hershey school. Let me tell you these kids are extremely fortunate this campus is amazing, I'm not sure of the acarage but it's vast. Now about a half mile onto the campus here is where the magic happens. ..the students form human tunnels so the runners can run through and other students are making the water stations and everyone is hiding out their hands for high-fives! I must have high-fives a hundred people that day.lol.

After we leave the campus  it's downhill for about 1.5 miles then we head downtown Hershey and down main st where it's gets even magical. Here comes the chocolate! In two lines across from each other are kids from the children network and they are handing out mini Hershey bar and Resee's peanut butter cups.I almost cried, so cute. At this point I think it was 2-3 miles left and I was pretty tired,I think I lost my running buzz. Then we headed back to Hershey park,the finish line was through the parking lot and into the Hershey arena. The finish line was great I was able to easily find my mom and get some refreshments. As we was leaving I saw a merchandise line and checked out the table and Bam! I found the Hershey kiss 13.1 car magnet and had to get it. So this race was amazing I might not have gotten sub 3 half marathon but I'm definitely glad I got a PR.

Zooma Cape Cod Half Marathon

Zooma Cape Cod Half Marathon

September 28, 2013

This year I turned the big 3-0 and back in January I made my self a promise that for my birthday I will run a half marathon . I trained all summer through crazy heat waves and while fasting and some how managed to achieve my goal. YAY me!

Now here's the race report: 

So because it was my first half marathon and also my birthday I took the day off work to leisurely drive down to the Cape and check in my hotel room and check out the expo. Be advised do not book a room in the main Sea Crest hotel building. The beds are horribly sunk in and out dated , definitely not worth the overpriced room rate! I was not about to have a horrible night sleep so immediately got a room change in the new modern rooms over looking the beach.  Nice comfy beds and awesome views.

So the expo.... or should I say packets pick up plus snacks, because thats all that was really in there. There wasn't much going on in there maybe like 4 tables of vendors besides the packet pick up tables.

At the Sea Crest Hotel about to enter the Expo.

So here is my race swag from the expo:

A cute reusable tote bag, perfect for a lunch bag.

A good quality yoga mat , which worked well as a makeshift foam roller after the race.

An aluminum water bottle.

A tech tee (sizes ran small so it was tight on me)

And of course the race bib and safety pins.

The Swag from the expo.

The race:

 The half marathon started  at 8 and went off without a hitch . I was so excited I made the number 1 mistake in races... I started off way too fast and by mile 1 I felt it. Very bad idea, I had to keep telling myself , calm down -slow down, breath. That helped a bit. So I got my mojo back and was running pretty well keeping pace to finish under 3 hrs . That was until about mile 9, for some reason my calfs was getting really tight and my feet started aching and thats when I began walking breaks. The course also got very boring around mile 10 it literally ran through peoples back yards. There was no view of water only people taking out there trash and sitting on their porches drinking coffee. Oh and by the way around 10 am the sun came out on full blast and I was burning up and super thirsty. All I could think of is how I wish I had a hydration belt or vest or back pack. Also there were hills that I didn't expect. The last 2 miles was extremely painful I walked all of miles 12 and most of miles 13 . My knees and calfs and lower back were throbbing in pain and it felt like my feet were on fire. As I was about to round the corner to the finish line I saw my family holding up signs rooting for me and I got excited and was given the much needed motivation to finish the race running. I raced through the finish line and straight to the medic tent for ice.

Right after the race. With a purple glove of ice.

The medal was actually a sterling silver running girl stamped necklace. I got the large PR medal because it was my first half marathon.

Overall race was just okay, I'm glad I completed my first half marathon during my birthday weekend and I'm glad I didn't give up. But the course was not that fun its was only scenic the first 3 and last 2. I would not be doing any more races in cape cod. 

course time: 3:16:18

The actual "medal" was the sterling silver runner girl necklace.
The "PR" medal for this being my first half marathon.

Let me explain

Okay so life got crazy and I put this blogg aside . I didn't even realize I never published my Boston 10K race and now its almost a year later and none of my races or running info is up. So for the next couple of weeks i'm going to play catch up and post all my past races and update you on whats going on this year.
Stay tuned.

B.A.A 10K RECAP.

Hello World

I am reporting a day after my 10k with achy feet and a happy heart.Yesterday I ran the Boston Athletic Association 10K and boy was it an event. 

So I already had a bizarre running week the past Sunday I ran a 5 miler in under an hour and was feeling amazing, totally ready to kick ass at the 10k the following Sunday but unfortunately that was the highlight of the week..Monday i didn't run at all, I'm thinking it was raining hard or i was stiff i don't remember. Tuesday i did a half assed 1.7 mile run with 4 speed repeats. the speeding was good it was raining and i was miserable but i end up cutting the last 1 mile cool down off craving my dry home. Wednesday i did laundry, my knee was really bothering me from tuesday's wet run and i tried to de-stress myself with reading.Thursday i did manage to push out 2 miles but im thinkning it was a walk run because i was still nursing my knee. Friday i felt great and anxiety free and ready to bring on the 10K again 5 hours of sleep.

(Can you spot my name?...its on the BAA banner)

Race Day :

Woke up 5 AM with a goal of leaving for Boston by 6am and arriving for boston around 7 (the race starts at 8am) But after eating and getting ready I didn't leave the house until....6:37!

Once I got to Boston I immediately jumped into the port-a-potty line ...it was long ,very long. It took almost 20 mins to use it and as I was waiting the announcements were going off ,which freaked my out, I was afraid I want going to be able to reach the starting line in time. I was also sweating since the forecast was for a high of 90 degrees with 90% humidity. So while in line waiting to use the port-a-potty I did a "soccer change " and removed my t-shirt and ran in just my sports bra and  jacket.

I seated my self at the last corral because I needed some time to walk out some nerves and to get my mental game in check. So the first 2.8 miles went pretty amazing for me I had my pace on check to finish in about 1:15 as I did in my last training run .

That is until I turned the corner and was faced with a H-I-L-L. I was not prepared for this at all. Im my race packet the elevation chart was pretty flat. So I took a deep breath and chugged along. I was doing okay up until 3/4 when my legs felt like lead and I couldn't help but walk. So I walked up to the top of the hill and was rewarded with a water station. Thank GOD . It was soo hot and I was soo thirsty I drank 4 cups, 2 with gatorade and 2 with water. Luckily it was down hill now so I began running again and I was doing okay but my mental game was really shot . It was soo hot and once again I was getting thirsty.

 I was ready to quit when around the 5 mile marker I meet a wonderful lady, who saw I was struggling and offered to finished the race with me. She was amazing, she kept a light convo with me and distracted me from the heat.  We even did some run walk intervals together.  She really got me through that last mile and then I heard my mom scream my name and saw my sister holding up a sign  and that was the much needed motivation I needed to finish . I was so excited to see the finish line that I jumped up and slapped the time clock and high fives about 7 volunteers. 

So to sum it up great race experience , this was my first big race and now I know what to expect. 

Course review: Fun yet challenging. I would run this race again.
Course time: 1:27:44

I did it!

Rounding the corner to the finish line.

This is when I saw my brother and son 

So pretty random but we say these tour guys in the Boston Common and I couldn't resist.  

Me and the boys

Family pic

pic with the ladies