Chocolate and Running: 2014 Hershey Half Marathon Race Recap

Well, folks, Half Marathon #4 is in the books!

Leading up to the race, a lot of people asked me what my goals were. Honestly, I had to stop and think because I hadn’t really set any. So my made-up-on-the-spot goals were as follows:
-PR. That would be anything under 1:58:18, which was my time at the 2013 Hershey Half. I was pretty sure that wasn’t going to happen…or even be very close. After all, I hadn’t done a whole lot of running over the summer, and as a result, most of my training runs had been at a slower pace. But since I always want to PR, that had to be one of my goals.
-Anything under 2:00. I had unexpectedly logged a sub-2:00 half last year (my first and only time!), and it felt great to have accomplished that. Of course, I wanted to do that again, but (for the same reasons as listed in my previous goal) I wasn’t anticipating it.
-Give it my all and be happy with however it turns out. In all honesty, I was preparing myself mentally for something in the neighborhood of 2:00 to 2:05.

The day before the race, Mom and I made sure to eat carbs throughout the day. We picked up our race packets, stopped in at Chocolate World, and went home. That evening, we made sure we had everything ready (and I mean EVERYTHING, thanks to a to-do list that included everything from cutting toenails to setting out race outfits to packing a post-race bag) and watched “Chariots of Fire” (very inspiring movie, by the way).

There is absolutely no way to take a race outfit picture and have it not look creepy.

I was a bit OCD about checking the weather. The forecast looked nearly perfect, though: Cool-ish temperatures (but not too cold), no chance of rain, and winds increasing as the morning went on.

We hit the hay early and I slept well (other than when I woke up at 3 a.m. and ate a piece of toast), but it still seemed like my alarm went off too early on race day. Mom and I (and Dad, who was going along to drive us and then to cheer us on) got ready, packed up the car, prepared hot chocolate in thermoses for after the race (and only had a minor mishap with spillage), and were out the door by 5:40 a.m. so we could stop and pick Candace up and still have plenty of time to get to Hershey before the start of the race at 7:30 a.m. I ate half of a piece of toast on the way.

We made a quick bathroom stop at McDonald’s in Hershey and then got stuck in a bit of race traffic, so we were just parking at 7 a.m. That was cutting it a little close, so as soon as we parked, Dad said goodbye and let us run ahead to get all situated.

It hadn’t felt that cold when I got out of the car, so I opted not to go with a throwaway sweatshirt. Well, we started walking (quickly), and all the sudden, it started raining. It was still dark, but I could see in cars’ headlights that it was raining pretty hard. “Really, self? No throwaway sweatshirt?” I thought, shivering. I prayed that the rain would let up, and after a few minutes, it did. It was still a bit cold, but it was much more manageable without the rain.

The crowds weren’t too intense, and we had no trouble entering the runners’ area and making our way to our starting points.

Mom, Candace, and I were ready for half marathons #3, 2, and 4, respectively.

I love my mom!

Mom lined up somewhere between the 10- and 11-minute pace groups, and Candace and I lined up with the nine-minute group with the plan to run our own paces. I wasn’t sure I could stick with that pace, but I figured I’d just go for it and see what would happen.

Yep, the nine-minute pace sign

The starting line up ahead

The Hershey Half Marathon benefits the Children’s Miracle Network at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, so a Miracle Child, Everett, counted down to the start. With his cheers urging us on, we crossed the starting mat and were on our way.

It wasn’t too crowded to start, so I didn’t have to expend extra energy weaving around other runners. Still, I tried to keep my pace nice and easy so I wouldn’t burn out too early in the race. I tried to soak in as much of the atmosphere as I could: the cheering spectators, the beautiful morning, the other runners doing their thing, the fact that I was so blessed to be able to run the race that morning…ahhh, yes.

I kept telling myself not to compare my splits this year to last year’s, but it was tough not to. In fact, when I hit Mile 1 at 8:48, all I could think was, “Last year was 9:05! I’m ahead!” I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing, though. Yeah, I was a bit faster, but I didn’t know if that would come back to haunt me in the end. After all, I still had 12.1 miles to go. Just in case, I tried to slow down…or at least not speed up.

Feeling good, as it was still early in the race, I headed on and kept my eyes open for the Mile 2 marker; I had missed it last year. Soon, I saw it up ahead, and I crossed it at 17:15. So I hadn’t exactly slowed down. I was still feeling great, though, so I decided to just let my legs carry me at whatever pace they wanted to. Plus, I was looking forward to Mile 3, where I knew Dad would be waiting.

I was expecting to see Dad on the left side of the course, but as I ran toward the Mile 3 mark, I heard him cheering from the right; he’d been unable to cross the course due to the steady stream of runners. I pumped my fist and grinned as he cheered. I’m not sure exactly when I passed the Mile 3 marker, but it was somewhere around 24:48…ahead of last year’s time. Thankfully, my memories of last year’s splits were fuzzy after Mile 3, so I stopped comparing.

After Dad cheered for all of us at our respective paces (Mom and me, plus Candace and our other friend, Ann, who was running the first leg of the relay), he walked around and enjoyed some of the empty portions of the park:

It looks a lot different when it’s empty!

It’s so strange without throngs of people!

Runners (way before me) nearing the finish

After Mile 3, the course took us through Hersheypark. It has such a cool atmosphere. I mean, we were running through an amusement park! The race’s first live band was set up just inside the point where we entered the park, and I paused my iPod so I could fully take in the experience. As great as it is running through the park, it always seems longer than I think it will be (and by “always,” I mean both times I’ve run the half marathon). When we exited the park just before Mile 4, I felt like I slowed down a bit, and I did, according to my time: 34:45.

Now let’s do some math. According to these splits, I ran basically a 7:30 pace between Miles 2 and 3 but basically a 10-minute mile between Miles 3 and 4. That just doesn’t seem right. I don’t know if I saw my watch incorrectly or if a marker was just out of place, but I can’t imagine having that much of a pace difference. Oh, well. *shrugs*

After Mile 4, the course took us past the elk exhibit at ZooAmerica (which is connected to Hersheypark), and the elk looked very thrilled (not really) to be watching us. I was still feeling strong, but I wasn’t quite as energetic. I hit Mile 5 at 43:24, and I was pleasantly surprised. I thought I had slowed down more than that, but I was still running at a good overall pace. Excellent.

I knew that a very long, tough incline was coming up as Mile 6 approached, followed by a water stop. I planned to pop a Shot Blok at the 5.5-mile mark so I could have some water with it. I hadn’t used any water stops up to that point, but I knew that I wasn’t going to pass this one without grabbing some water, whether or not I thought I needed it. The next water stop wasn’t until close to Mile 9, and I didn’t want to think about how I might feel if I shunned water until that point in the race.

Shortly after I took the Shot Blok, that long, gradual incline started. I tried to keep my pace up, but I could feel it slipping a little bit. “Arms moving, legs moving,” I thought, trying to stay consistent. I guess that worked; I hit Mile 6 in 52:16. Again I was surprised at my pace (anyone else detecting a theme here?), and I began to entertain thoughts of a sub-2:00 half.

After the top of the incline at Mile 6, I grabbed some water and sipped it slowly as I ran. I wanted to make sure I took enough water with my Shot Blok so I wouldn’t end up with a side stitch, and I also wanted to make sure I was plenty hydrated. Yeah, I still ended up with most of that water all over my shirt.

I reached the halfway point at 57:39 (I had slowed down because of the water stop and hill recovery), and I thought, “Wow, halfway already? That went fast!” I don’t necessarily mean that I was fast but that the time just seemed to be going so quickly. I felt that way throughout the race, actually: No matter when I looked at my watch, it seemed like I had been running for a much shorter amount of time. I was still sucking on my Shot Blok (which I apparently kept tucked in the side of my mouth) when I looked up to see an official race photographer. Yeah, that race photo is as beautiful as you’re imagining…which is not beautiful at all.

At the halfway point, here’s where things stood:
Mile 1: 8:48
Mile 2: 17:15
Mile 3(-ish): 24:48
Mile 4: 34:45
Mile 5: 43:24
–Shot Blok
Mile 6: 52:16
–water
Mile 6.55: 57:39

The route from the halfway point pretty much to Mile 7 was a long-ish stretch of road with some rolling inclines. I could tell I wasn’t nearly as energetic as I’d been early on in the race (duh), but I still had plenty left in the tank. When I hit Mile 7, I was surprised by my time yet again: 1:01:20-ish. I was still averaging sub-9-minute miles, which was great!

After Mile 7, the course took us through the campus of Milton Hershey School, and a bunch of kids and their teachers were lined up the whole way (we spent probably about 4 miles of the race on the campus), holding posters, giving us high-fives, and cheering us on. It was amazing, especially considering that it was early in the morning and most teenagers would probably rather be sleeping. Never underestimate the power of spectators; they can make a huge difference in a runner’s morale!

It was on a little hill almost at Mile 8 that my pace met its match. Now, I’ve run some tough hills, and this was a little baby hill. For some reason, my legs just lost their power and I sputtered along. Everybody – and I mean everybody – was passing me! It’s times like that when I have to remind myself that I am racing against me and only me. So I blocked out the people who were speeding by me…and I crested the hill.

I hit Mile 8 a short time later: 1:10:48. There was a DJ at the split; I was about to pause my iPod and enjoy the atmosphere, but then I realized he was playing “Happy” by Pharrell, and I didn’t want to have that song stuck in my head for the remaining 5.1 miles. Now it’s probably stuck in your head, though. Hehehe. You’re welcome.

I was chugging along probably halfway between Miles 8 and 9 when my iPod suddenly cut out. As in, my music was gone (thankfully, I was out of earshot of “Happy” at this point). I had purchased new headphones, so it wasn’t the same issue I’d had on my 12-mile training run. It was my iPod’s fault this time. Even though I’d charged it overnight, it seemed to have died. During the 12-mile run, I had wasted too much energy being frustrated and trying to get my music going again, and I didn’t want to repeat that. I quickly checked my choices: 1) go without music, which would have made the miles seem longer because I wasn’t prepared to run musicless, and 2) plug my headphones into my iPod Touch, which doesn’t have great running music on it (I had brought it solely for taking pictures after the race) and which was nestled in my SpiBelt behind my Shot Bloks.

I decided to go with the latter. As I pulled the iPod Touch out of my SpiBelt, I decided I might as well take some pictures while it was handy. So here you go, just before Mile 9:

…and this is what the Hershey Half Marathon looks like!

“Hey, there’s a water stop up ahead! Yay!”

I grabbed a cup of water at the water stop just before Mile 9, and I needed it. I reached the 9-mile mark at 1:20:15-ish, and I honestly wasn’t sure if I could hold on for a sub-2:00 half. Yep, that’s how quickly things can change during a race. Just 2.5 miles earlier, I’d had such high hopes, but the way my body felt at Mile 9 casted a lot of doubts. Still, I kept on going and was grateful for the impressive spectator support. I still gave high-fives (I gave a lot of high-fives during the race – more than usual).

At Mile 10, my time was 1:29:16. “Just a 5K to go,” I encouraged myself, and a volunteer was shouting the same thing. Only 3.1 more miles. Last year, Mile 10 to 11 felt like my slowest mile, and it felt the same way this year. The wind really started to pick up more noticeably, and it was tough to run against, especially that late in the race when I didn’t have a whole lot of extra energy in the tank. I must have hit a wall right at Mile 10; each tenth of a mile just crawled by, and it seemed like there was nothing I could do to pick up my pace again.

We left the Milton Hershey School campus and ran through town just after the Mile 11 marker, which I reached at 1:38:30-ish. I hadn’t slowed down like I’d thought I had, but I wasn’t feeling great. Even knowing that I only had 2.1 miles to go wasn’t that much of a comfort. What was a comfort, though, was knowing that there was a Chocolate Aid Station coming up. Not even kidding, I grabbed like seven chocolate bars (souvenirs? Yes, please!) and stuffed them in my SpiBelt. While I had my SpiBelt open, I took a caffeinated Shot Blok (only my second Shot Blok of the race). I probably should have taken it earlier, considering how tired I was getting. Oh, well. Shortly after the Chocolate Aid Station was a water station, and I grabbed a cup to give myself some extra hydration before the final push.

I was feeling pretty worn out by the time I reached the Miracle Mile, which is an incredibly inspiring stretch of the race where children who have benefited from the work of Children’s Miracle Network, along with their families, cheer runners on. I gave (and received) so many high-fives. This portion of the race is always such a powerful reminder that no matter how tired I am or how much I feel I’m suffering, there are other tougher, more important battles going on. I’m honored that our race registration fees are helping to fight these battles.

A nice downhill carried me to Mile 12 at 1:48:20, but I nearly burned out trotting up the ensuing uphill. This was just brutal; it must have been the wind combined with the fact that the hill was at the end of the run. I was slow. Very slow. But I made it and regained some semblance of my former pace as we headed back into the parking lot of the Hershey complex. I had less than a mile to go, and I was holding on with everything I had. I knew Dad would be waiting for me just before the homestretch, and I was really looking forward to seeing him.

Before I knew it, there he was, beaming and cheering.

There I am in blue near the curb (it’s a merciful thing that this picture isn’t closer).

“You did it!” he shouted, obviously meaning, “You’re really, really close!” I replied with a laugh, “Not yet!” I gave him a high-five and headed on to face the remaining three- or four-tenths of a mile to the stadium, where the finish line was.

When I entered the stadium, with maybe one- or two-tenths to go, I knew I wasn’t going to PR (which I was OK with because I hadn’t expected to come close to that anyway). Still, I poured it on, sprinting down the track and crossing the finish line with an official time of 1:58:59!

Mile 7: 1:01:20-ish
Mile 8: 1:10:48
–iPod issues
–water
Mile 9: 1:20:15-ish
Mile 10: 1:29:16
Mile 11: 1:38:30-ish
–Shot Blok
–water
Mile 12: 1:48:20-ish
Mile 13.1: 1:58:59

My unofficial time, according to my watch

As soon as I crossed the finish line, I stopped in my tracks. I felt completely spent from fighting the wind and the wall that I hit at Mile 10. But I had finished, and I had finished in under two hours for the second consecutive time. Even if my facial expression didn’t show it right away, I was thrilled! And I did smile shortly after.

I received my finisher’s medal, heat shield, and post-race snacks. Quickly, I returned to the finish line to try to catch Candace before she finished. But she had PR-ed (YAY!), and I missed seeing her.

There’s Candace in the blue/green shirt (this was at Mile 12.7-ish, where my dad was)

A contented Runner of Chocolate

I waited at the finish line for Mom and prayed that God would give her strength to finish the race well. Not long later, I saw Mom! She was giving it a great push on the homestretch, and I knew she would be close to a PR.

Go, Mom! Go!
(on the left)

She was flying!
(on the left again)

It turns out that she finished in under 2:30, which was a PR! I was (and am) so thrilled for her!

Very happy after our successful races

We managed to find Dad in the crowd, and we all soaked in the atmosphere…but not for too long because we were very cold.

We did it!

Victory!

My traditional post-race pose

Mom did SUCH a great job!!

Checking the official results

My results, myself, and I

We do not look as cold as we felt.

Since we were freezing cold, we opted not to stick around for very long. Instead, we began the long trek back to the car and indulged in our hot chocolate once we got there. After we warmed up a bit, Mom and I did a jog/walk to Chocolate World to use a cookie coupon…

CALORIES!!!!

…and then we all contentedly headed home, where we took a few more photos in our race shirts.

YEAH!

More mother/daughter fun

The number of half marathons we’ve run

All in all, it was a phenomenal race. No, I didn’t PR, but I came close. I’m not even disappointed that I came so close but didn’t get it; I’m actually happy that I got as close as I did! I never expected that.

I’m a two-time Runner of Chocolate and a two-time sub-2:00 half-marathoner. That is definitely something to cheer about.