The Lehigh Valley Half Marathon is one of the more popular half marathons in my general area. It’s also a pretty elite field as far as half marathons go. It’s a fun race, with lots of bands on the course, a covered bridge to run through, a nice run through a park, and hot food at the finish line.
I was pretty excited for this race headed into the week. I knew that I trained really hard for this race, and I was feeling prepared and confident that I was going to hit my goal time. Then Thursday night came. After a tough week at work, and not quite enough sleep, Thursday I began coughing…and coughing…and coughing…and snotting. Unfortunately it didn’t really disappear before race time on Sunday, despite my best efforts to drink way too much Emergen-C and get the most sleep possible.
We made the drive to Allentown the night before, about two hours away. We went out to a nice pasta dinner with some old friends whom I haven’t seen in a while. After turning up the air conditioning full blast to drown out the people drinking in the parking lot of our hotel, I actually got a fairly restful night of sleep, albeit interrupted due to my own coughing.
We hit the start line with time to spare, which was a nice change from my usual race morning antics. Port-a-potty lines were actually reasonable, and there was even toilet paper left, which is basically a first for me at a big race like this! I lined up with my brother-in-law right behind the 2:10 pacer – although I didn’t mean to line up behind him, it was nice to know he was there since before the cold hit me, I was hoping to hit at least that time, if not better. My Garmin had freaked out when I tried to catch the satellites, because apparently Allentown has different satellites than the Harrisburg area, so the 2:10 pacer was some comfort.
The race started with a quick downhill, which was fun to start, and a little drizzle, which continued throughout the race. There were quite a few spectators cheering and having a great time. For the first mile or two, I was thinking “I can do this – I know I’m sick but I can keep up.” After about two miles, my lungs really started heating up, and quick glances at my heart rate showed it was really elevated for the paces I was running. The 2:10 pacer was still in my sights. Joe brought his bike, and was riding around taking pictures of the race – I got my first glimpse of him at about the 5k mark.
After about five miles, the reality of my cold started to set in. I reached for my first Clif Shot, grabbed a cup of water, looked up, and lost the pacer. That was the last time I would see him. As I continued to run, my lungs heated up more – it felt like there was a fire in my chest. I couldn’t maintain the pace I had started at, which just a few days before I knew I had more than a great shot to maintain for the full 13 miles. I kept running, and for the first time in the day, I actually thought I might not be able to finish the race.
The race continued on to the more scenic sections. We ran through a crushed gravel park with really gorgeous scenery. The highlight in scenery of this race is no doubt the covered bridge with a string quartet serenading the runners as they race through. The park section of the race was no doubt the most difficult. It was very hilly, and for the first time in my race history, I had to walk up a few of the hills. This in itself was pretty crushing for me – I’ve never had to walk in a race before, but I just couldn’t breathe.
The last few miles of the race are a bit of a blur. The rain was picking up to a point where it didn’t really feel good anymore. I remember a person who set up his own personal water station with beer instead of water in the cups – and a few runners who took him up on his offer! I passed, but told him to meet me at the finish line!
At about the last mile of the race I must have looked like I was struggling. A person whom I am really grateful for right now (and if you’re out there, thank you!) stopped and just said “let’s run this out, we’re almost there.” We talked for the last mile or so – he had run his first half marathon at 50 years old, and actually ran the Philly Distance Run with me last September – and he wouldn’t let me walk. He convinced me to finish strong – we entered the stadium together, and I managed to get some extra kick to the finish. This person is the reason I was able to finish strong, and I’m very grateful to my mystery friend.
I finished in 2:20:15, which is only a little more than two minutes better than my first half marathon. I’m glad I did better – but it’s hard to not be disappointed when I know what could have been, because I was definitely trained for a much better finish. The next day I wasn’t even sore – a testament to not being able to use my legs, and how really limiting my breathing and heart rate were on Sunday. The race itself was a really great one – and one I will look forward to trying again next year, hopefully with better circumstances. I’m racing again next month (and this time, hopefully actually RACE) in the Baltimore 10 Miler, and I’m hoping I get to redeem myself then. Official marathon training is right around the corner, and I’ve got race fever again, so I can’t wait. There are always more races, so I know this isn’t the worst thing ever, and hey, I still finished my second half marathon!

Logan’s Run is a race that’s close to my heart. It was the first race I ever participated in. The first year for this race, there were maybe 50 people, and that’s being generous. Four years later, this race has expanded into almost 300 participants (not including walkers), and this year there were so many that they actually ran out of numbers. It was great to see such a large turnout this year, especially for such a great cause.
I also got a foam roller – and a good IT band stretch for once! This thing really does feel amazing. I can’t put 100% of my weight on my IT band yet (like the cartoon to the left), but I’ve been modifying by putting one leg on the ground to brace myself while I roll on the other IT band. Eventually I’m anticipating being able to lift my other leg off the ground for added pressure. It sort of works like a rolling pin, and by the time I’m done, it feels like I just got a massage. I was a little skeptical at first, but I think it will really help heal and prevent further issues.