Hot Chocolate 15k Race Report

Listed Distance: 15k (9.3 miles) Garmin Distance: 9.63 miles

Official Time: 1:26.56

Overall Official Pace: 9:20 Overall Garmin Pace: 9:02

I first found out about this race in October of last year when the registration for 2010 was already full and I was just getting back into running. The idea of running for chocolate is a perfect match for me considering my typical chocolate eating method is shoving an entire handful into my mouth at a time. So, I verbally committed to this race over a year ago and was ecstatic when some of my friends agreed to do it as well.





There was a medical emergency at the expo Friday night when we were picking up our packets, so it took a bit longer than expected. Needless to say, we still found ways to entertain ourselves.

Once we were finally able to go in, I found a hat and shirt that I had to buy since they have the "Will Run for Chocolate" logo.

Our hotel was right across the street from the start, so we didn't have to get up too early for the 8:20 start. I debated on what to wear because I knew I would be cold waiting and warm once I started running. I decided to check my coat and pants and went with shorts. It turned out to be a perfect choice.

The gear check was a bit crowded, but the line moved fast and we were able to get a fake running shot with some of the city background.

Although I have been around large races as a spectator many times, this was the largest race I have actually run. I believe there were over 20,000 runners and this made me a little anxious. I had not submitted a time to be placed in a corral, so Jen and I both were to start in the open corral. I knew this would make my "trying to run as fast as I can--nothing slower than 9:30s" strategy a little tricky, but there really wasn't much I could do about it.

They had to re-route part of the 5k course at the last minute, so this delayed our start and we didn't make it through the actual start until close to 8:45. Jen and I spent the first two miles weaving through runners and this made me a little nervous after becoming exhausted at Allerton last week when I had to do the same thing. My Garmin went a bit crazy due to the building interference so I was again a bit anxious to know how we were actually doing. Turns out I didn't have much to worry about it because mile 1 was a 8:13 and mile 2 was at a 9:19 pace.

I went ahead without Jen (something we anticipated would happen) and continued to push myself through runners. I felt great the whole time, barely noticed my hamstring, and got a few laughs. My favorite conversation I overheard was near mile 5 when a girl asked the guy she was running with, "So, how long is a 15k?" The guy replied, "I don't really know, I think it is like 10 miles or something." To which the girl said, "No, I think it is like 7...we're almost done."

I continued passing people and felt like I was picking up my pace even in the last few miles. The last mile and half did seem to go on for awhile, but I actually clocked in faster times...8:32 and 8:41 for the last half mile. This made me happy considering I'm trying to use this as a time indicator for an upcoming half marathon.

We were in a bit of a time crunch after the race since we had to check out of the hotel at 12, but the event was well organized and the lines for chocolate went quickly. The fondue and hot chocolate hit the spot.

There was a stage with live entertainment and plenty of space for the post race party.

Overall, the race was good. It is a great distance and runners receive a jacket (that runs small), which is a nice alternative to a race shirt. If I were to do this again, I would try and get in a corral. I would also see about a late check out that doesn't cost $50 so that I could get as much out of the post race party as possible.

Happy 1 Year Runniversary!

Today, well tomorrow, marks my 1 Year Runniversary of more serious running. Last year I ran Allerton with Jen and Marissa and had a blast in our pink tutus. This year I tried it solo and for the first time ever, raced.

I met up with Mike (pace leader from the marathon) before the race and asked him about his goal time. He was hoping to keep at least a 9:30 pace and I was excited to hear that.

After the race got started, I tagged along and kept close to him as he aggressively passed MANY runners. If I hadn't been able to do that, I would have been stuck behind people and would have been no where near a finish pace of 9:30. I am not too familiar with trail racing so the single track parts were interesting. We exerted a lot of energy in the first two miles running between 8 min and 8:30 min. miles and I was worried I would be pooped before the race was over.

Fortunately people started settling into their paces and we were able to get to our comfortable pace as well. Mile 2-4 were still hard though because I was much more tired than I thought because of the speedy first 2 miles.

There were quite a few more ups and downs than I remember from last year. I really gave it my all and have never done that before. The finish could not come soon enough and I really thought I was going to pass out with only .5 miles left. I had no kick in the final stretch and was passed in the last 30 seconds by about 5 people. Nonetheless, I came in around 52:40, which is about 10 minutes faster than last years time. My Garmin also registered a course of 5.69 miles instead of the 5.5 miles it is listed as. I think it is partly because of my weaving in and out to pass people in the early miles.

Mike and I visited afterwards and enjoyed a donut from the wonderful food station provided by racers. They encourage racers to bring an item to share, needless to say, I mooched and didn't bring anything this year.

*Note to self, bring something next year.

Some upcoming races

Looks like my hamstring (fingers crossed) is on the mend. It is definitely not 100%, but it is coming around. I participated in a 5k muddy obstacle course race and had a lot of fun. That got me the running bug again and I'm now signed up for the Hot Chocolate 15k in Chicago on November 5th and I'm eyeballing a Turkey Trot Half Marathon in Schaumburg on November 26th. Conveniently, the half marathon training program I found has my running a 15k race the exact weekend of the chocolate race, I think this must be a sign!

I did my first speed training yesterday and it went quite well. I even saw a few 6s in my mile/hour at various points in the workout. It was just a short one..5x400, each week gets progressively longer. I'm keeping an optimistic mind as I enter those runs!

I'm still running...even in the rain!

I know it has been awhile since I've posted. I've consistently been running about 5 miles a few times a week and try to do a little longer run on some weekends. It has worked out for the most part.

This morning I was scheduled to run with Donna and it was sprinkling when I left the house. Needless to say, within five minutes it was pouring and after about 5 more minutes it was thundering and lightning.

I really have only run the rain one or two other times, but it was not this heavy and it was colder out so I had a rain jacket on. Here I am SOAKED after cutting our run quite a bit short.

Tuesday Track Workout

I managed to convince Mary and Cass to try out the track for a workout this morning. I was glad they were game because I knew I wouldn't do it by myself.

We met for our regular Tuesday 5:30am run near my house and ran the 1 mile to Parkland's track. I did not fully disclose what we would be doing because I wanted to leave some suspense. I actually dumbed down a workout that I did with Second Wind just because I didn't want us to kill ourselves the first time trying it.

So, we attempted a 400 at a quick clip, with Mary and I coming in around 1:31. We were exhausted...that was a bit too fast for us.

We slowed down the second attempt after a quick breather and pulled off 1:51, I believe. This beat the range I thought we were capable of doing 1:55-2:05, so I was pleased.

On our third lap, we came in at 1:47. I informed the girls that for our last 400 we had to beat our best time by 2 seconds. We were all able to do that.

We are hoping to try and do this once a week to see if the speedwork helps are regular pace. Each week we will switch it up a little bit or at least add on an extra 400. Today we just ran back to our respective houses, although Mary did crank out an extra 2 miles.

We did all meet up again later today at the gym for our Cycling Interval class. This was our second go at this one, and I think I'm hooked. It consists of 30 minutes on the bike followed by a 30 minute Cross-Fit typed workout. Today we spent 10 minutes getting through 20 squats on Bosu balls, 20 push-ups, and 20 core cross overs with medicine balls as many times as we could. I think I made it through each activity 3 times and did the squats a 4th time. I felt much better doing it tonight than I did last Thursday, so we shall see how it goes this Thursday.

The last part of class was devoted to balance work combined with stretching. If you want to see something funny, just come and watch me try this. I have known that I don't have very good balance, but it became quite evident last week when I tried this. I showed some subtle improvements, but I still have a lot of work to do.

This class seems to be the perfect fit for me and I'm glad that I tried it out last week.

Madison Half Photos

And I'm Back!

I don't anticipate updating as regularly as I had been, but I haven't stopped since the marathon. My runs have drastically decreased in length, but I've been managing to run 3-4 times per week. 3 weeks after the race, I put in an 8 mile run on the weekend for my first long run. I have since done a half marathon while up in Madison. It felt great to be back running and I wouldn't have put in that distance if I had not been part of a race. I have my eye on quite a few races coming up, all different distances. I intend to work on my speed a little more, but have not been tied to a plan just yet.