Swatara Police Department Hero Run 5K - My race Review

Date of the Race: November 1, 2015 at 9:30 am

Location: Started in front of the Harrisburg Mall.

Weather conditions: Cloudy, but warm. Around 55 degrees, light wind.

Price: $15, I registered in May.

Shirt- Awesome blue Captain America tech shirt.

Bathrooms- Race started and finished at Harrisburg Mall, we used the bathrooms in the mall.

Post race food: Awesome selection! Bananas, bagels, coffee, cupcakes, granola bars, water.

Others: Because it was a Hero run, there were some cosplayers present. Also, I saw the Oscar Mayer’s hotdog car, and the Ghostbusters car.

I did the Hero Run in 2014, it was cold and windy, but had so much fun that I knew I would be back this year. I looked for the registration since April, and was way too excited when registration opened in May. I knew I would go as Selena, my personal Hero. My son and Roget both had something to say about my costume. My son said “Selena is not a hero, she doesn’t have any super powers”, to which I answered “Yes, she does! She has the voice of an angel! She can defeat any doubts or non-believers with her amazing voice.” He wasn’t impressed. Roger asked me “ are you going as Selena *again*?!”, to which I answered a very emphatic and enthusiastic “Yes!” and his response was a disappointed “Oh!”. I rolled my eyes at both!

My son asked why I couldn’t be normal and wear a Wonder Woman Costume… oh my dear son, your questions on “why is my mom not NORMAL?” are only getting started. I explained to him that although Wonder Woman is an awesome super hero and has a super awesome Laso , invisible jet and amazing powers, I wanted to be Selena. I know almost nothing about Wonder Woman, and I hadn’t worked on a costume.

Well, my dreams were crushed, chewed up and spit out before they could become a reality. The sports bra that I turned into the amazing Selena Sparkly bra in the period of 2 weeks was accidentally left home the day of the race.  

 

I picked up my race packet before the race, around 8:30. They were very helpful on getting my son registered at the last minute for the 1 mile fun run. All went by super quick. There were about 7 people helping with registration and packet pick up.

The course seemed to be the exact same as last year, but with the start at the entrance of the Harrisburg Mall, rather than by Commerce Bank. Last year it was really cold and windy, and we had to wait in the car until the race got started, and because it was so cold, I waited in the car with my son. Having the mall option would have been really nice last year, and it was very much appreciated on Sunday.

I wore my race shirt because of costume complications. I love the color of it!

I was all sorts of disoriented at the start of the race, it wasn’t until I heard the “last call” for all the runners that I started stretching and lining up for the race, shortly after the race got started. I kissed my son and told him good luck on his 1 mile fun run!

Roger told me that I need to push myself harder on 5K races, because my body has gotten used to the 8.15 minute pace and I should be sore the next day. So, I ran hard. I kept passing runners most of the race, but I had pushed myself for the last 3 days to get moved out of my place, I was tired and stressed out. At the 1 mile market, I heard myself yell a curse word at learning the distance I had gone. I kept pushing and kept running faster, or what felt faster than my normal.

At around mile 2.3, I had to stop and walk a few steps. A person in the audience was cheering on the runners and then I heard her say "Go joggers!!"  My legs were tired, my spirits were down.. and I realized I didnt' want to be called a jogger. So I ran faster.. and stopped, because my body was tired.  After a few steps, I reminded myself that my son would be completing his 1 mile fun run, and to hurry up to go congratulate him, and started running again. Then again, at mile 2.45 my brain reminded me I was tired and that it wanted to go to sleep. Walked again for a few steps and picked up again. I ran hard again, around the mall parking lot. A few kids flew by me.

This is the only part I didn’t like of the course, same as last year. About .25 of the run goes inside the Harrisburg mall, which sounds like a good idea, but feels awful. We go inside after running in cold air for 2.75 miles, to go back into the warm building for about .25 of a mile. This time it felt hard to breath, and had to find everything in me to keep moving. The nice part of going through there is that there were some volunteers and audience cheering on the runners. I am pretty sure I ran faster, just to get out of there as soon as possible.

The finish line was shortly after getting out of the mall, and I really started sprinting as fast I could at this point, and crossed the finish line at 25.30. I found my son and Roger at the finish line.

My son did really good in his 1 mile run. Roger said that he ran parts and slowed down when he knew he had to stop. He really enjoyed hearing people cheering on Harry Potter. He was so proud to wear his bib and his costume. I am amazed that he ran with the cloak on, and that he finished his race! He was very proud of himself and asked to save his bib.

I love the Hero Run! The volunteers are always super nice and friendly. I love seeing the creativity of the logos for he run. The food spread is always very generous, and the location and time of the run are perfect for me. The only thing I wish was different, was the shock of running inside the warm building at the end of the race. Will definitely be back next year, and this year I promise I will not forget the sparkly Bra, because I have to redeem my Selena Hero Costume, might even add a cape.