Hot Chocolate 5k Philadelphia Recap

**Disclaimer:  I received a free race entry as a part of my ambassadorship with Ram Racing and the Hot Chocolate race series.  I was not required to give a positive review and all opinions are my own.**

This weekend absolutely flew by!  It was packed with fun events and I was so glad my brother came to town to share in the fun!  We started the whirlwind weekend with Drafts and Laughs, a fun comedy and beer festival.  The next day we woke up early to introduce Macey to potential adopters.  I'm happy to report that it went well and she is now part of a very loving family.  After giving the pups a nice long walk at the park Saturday afternoon, my brother and I headed to the Nationals game.  In all honesty, the only reason my brother really came was to see the Braves play the Nats, but I'll take any excuse to see him!  We had a great time at the game, but had to leave immediately after to head up to Pennsylvania for the Hot Chocolate 5k in Philadelphia!

After less than 3 hours of sleep, we were up to get ready for the race.  My uncle was running the 5k with us and my cousin and her husband were running the 15k.  Our race started at 7:15, so we left bright and early to make sure we would have plenty of time to park and find our way to the start.  I was thankful that my uncle drove into town, but it turns out that parking was really simple.  We parked for $10 in a garage nearby (pretty sure it was less than a mile) and walked to the start.  There were a ton of portapotties, lots of places to take pictures, and even though there were a lot of people, I never felt crowded.  We snapped some pictures and found our corral.  It was a little chilly, but once we got running I felt fine.

I was really excited by the street name :)

The race went right along the river and was an out and back.  I am a huge fan of running near water, so this made me a happy girl.  Because the course was an out and back, you passed the aid station twice.  They had water and gatorade, and plenty of portapotties on the course as well.  We took it nice and easy and just enjoyed running with each other and didn't worry so much about the pace.

After crossing the finish line we got a cup of gatorade and a bottle of water and headed to get our chocolate!  There was no wait for our finisher mug filled with hot chocolate, fondue, graham crackers, pretzels, a rice krispie treat, banana, and marshmallow and we found a spot by the fountain to eat our goodies.  The treats were delicious and I enjoyed every bite (literally).  My uncle, brother, and I hung out and took pictures (the Rocky statue is at the art museum steps where the race started and finished, so we had to take advantage of the photo op).  We got to see my cousin and her husband finish their race and I think everybody had a great time.

Overall, I had a wonderful time!  The race was extremely well organized, they had amazing volunteers, and I would definitely run it again!  It was a great way to spend the morning with my family!  DC folks, I strongly suggest you take advantage of this race the next time it's in Philly!  It was a HUGE difference from the race we had a couple of years ago and ran so smoothly!  You won't regret it!   Thanks again to Ram Racing and the Hot Chocolate race series for my race entry!    

**Disclaimer:  I received a free race entry as a part of my ambassadorship with Ram Racing and the Hot Chocolate race series.  I was not required to give a positive review and all opinions are my own.**

Week 18 Recap and a Winner!

The last long run is complete and I am in the final stretch to Race Day!  After all the months of training I've put in, it's a bit strange that it's so close. 

Wednesday: 5 miles on the treadmill.  It felt really good the whole time and it was nice to play around with the speed.  

Friday: I was debating running on Friday, but knew that I wanted to get my long run in on Saturday since the weather was supposed to be a little gross on Sunday.  I didn't want to have to worry about running 5 miles on Sunday after running 13 miles the day before, so I laced up and hit the treadmill.  I tried to keep it at a nice, easy pace and overall had a really great run.  

Saturday: I was so ready for this run.  I just got a Camelbak and was excited that I would be able to run as far as I wanted without having to loop back to my car for water.  It was a really nice day, but maaaaaan was this run tough.  It was not the confidence booster that I was hoping for, but I was proud of finishing when I wanted to quit about 17 times during this run.  I did stop several times to stretch my calves which helped a little bit.  They were incredibly tight and  I will be spending a lot of quality time with the foam roller over the next couple of weeks!  I think a combination of having a little extra weight from the Camelbak and an unexpected late night at the vet (don't worry, everybody's fine) made this run harder than it should have been.  After I ditched the water around mile 9 I felt a whole lot better.

At least I have a pretty place to run!

I know not every run will be perfect and I know it takes time to get used to running with extra stuff, but it's never fun when runs don't go as you would have liked.  I won't be using the Camelbak in the race because there are plenty of water stops on the course, but I am excited to keep using it on future long runs!  Maddux and I headed back to the trail later that day and had a great walk which helped to loosen up some tight muscles.  

Maddux always has fun at the park :)

Total Miles for the Week: 23.1

Total Training Miles: 296.7

There were some other long walks and some strength moves happening at some point this week, but honestly the days were just a blur!  I can't believe it's already March.  Where is 2014 going?

********************

Annnnd finally, the winner of the Hot Chocolate 15k/5k race entry is: 

Ja: "I love milk chocolate bars! :) I'd love to the race in Columbus! :)"

Ja has been emailed!  Thanks to everyone who participated!  And remember you can still get a free travel mug if you use the code LINDSRUNMUG for the Philly Race in April!

One Sweet Giveaway

**Disclaimer: As part of my ambassadorship with the Hot Chocolate 15k/5k I was given a free race entry to give away to one of my readers.  As always, all opinions are my own.**

February is coming to a close and I know a lot of people aren't quite as excited about their goals as they were on say January 1.  I find one of the best motivators to get my butt out the door for a run is knowing that a race is on the calendar.  The Hot Chocolate 15k/5k has given me one free race entry (you can pick any city!) to give to one of you!

The Hot Chocolate 15k/5k has races in cities across the United States.  The full list of cities includes:

Atlanta, Georgia

Columbus, Ohio

Chicago, Illinois

Dallas, Texas

Denver, Colorado

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania <--Don't forget, you can use my code LINDSRUNMUG to register for this one for a free mug!

Maddux says everyone should have one of these :-)

Phoenix, Arizona

San Diego, California 

San Francisco, California

Seattle, Washington

St. Louis, Missouri

Nashville, Tennessee

There are so many amazing cities, I wish I could do them all!  

Annnnd don't forget, along with a fantastic race comes some fantastic swag.

  **If you do one of the 2015 races it will be a new season, so the goodie bag will be different, but still awesome.   

So here's the deal: Check out the Hot Chocolate 15k/5k website and figure out if any of those fabulous cities will work for you, then comment below telling me your favorite way to eat chocolate.  If you're like me and have about a thousand different ways you like to eat chocolate, keep it in one comment.  I'll only count one comment per person!  I'll randomly pick a winner on Friday, February 28, so make sure you have your comment all ready by 5pm EST.  A big THANK YOU to the Hot Chocolate 15k/5k for letting one of my readers have this opportunity!

GOOD LUCK!  

Will Run for Chocolate: Hot Chocolate 15k/5k Philly

It's a super sweet edition of the Friday Five!  I found out this week that I was selected to be an ambassador for the Hot Chocolate 15k/5k in Philadelphia.  I'm really excited to run in this race because my brother, two of my cousins, and my uncle are also running in it!

Here are five things you need to know about the race:

1. The race starts on the Philadelphia Art Museum steps on Sunday, April 6.  Sunday races are my favorite because I don't have to stress about getting anywhere on Friday night after a long day of work.  I love that there are two race distances so it's accessible to everyone.

2. Check out the race swag.  A couple of years ago I did the Hot Chocolate 15k in DC and I absolutely love the windbreaker I got.  I'm excited to add the fleece to my running wardrobe!

3. The race benefits the Ronald McDonald house, which supports families who have really sick kids in the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.  Learn more about it here.

4. If you are signing up for the Philly race, feel free to use my code LINDSRUNMUG to get a free travel mug with your registration!

5. CHOCOLATE!  I'm all for running for chocolate.  The post race party includes hot chocolate (of course) and fondue.  Since I've done the race a couple of years ago they have added a mug to keep all your goodies in.  (Ok, really this should have been number one.)

Stay tuned for a fun giveaway!


Make sure to check out the blogs by Mar, Cynthia, and Courtney.  HAPPY FRIDAY!

Probably TMI

First off, Maddux is a survivor!  

Maddux was ok with resting.  We love naps :-)

I got in a run at the trail after I dropped him off to keep my mind off what was going on at the vet.  I don't know if I just had too much on my mind or if it was the fact that it was already over 80 degrees a little after 8am, but it was not the awesome run I was anticipating.  It just felt hard.  Normally if I am close to making 5 miles during my 45 minute runs I just keep going until I've hit it.  Not this time.  As soon as my watch hit 45 minutes I was done.  A few hours later the vet called and told me I could pick up my little boy.  I think the vet office workers may have made fun of me a little.  The tech said "Wow, I can tell you really missed him," when I went to pick him up.  Is it that obvious?  Maddux is recovering really well and except for the spot where he actually got the shot, you can't even tell anything is wrong with him.  Woo!

My run schedule got a little off again this week.  My little brother came to visit!  Wednesday it was 104 degrees out, so I managed to convince him to go to the outlets with me for a little shopping.  

There was also beer.  That probably made shopping a little better for him.

Thursday it was still a little warm, but we decided to go and see the sights of DC.  Since we were getting some quality walking time in I decided to put off my run until Friday.  Ben finally got to see the highlights.  We started at the Lincoln Memorial and made our way around the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial.

Hey DC, meet my little bro!

It was nice to have someone to explore with.  I feel like so often I miss out on doing cool things because I'm over the traffic in this area.  When you deal with it the entire work week you aren't too excited to go back in it later, but I'm pretty sure seeing the sights will never get old.  Days like this remind me of why I love living where I do and how lucky I am.  I like when people come visit me so I can pretend that I am an awesome tour guide.  

I'm pretty sure Maddux is going to be this big after he's done with steroids.

Friday I got my butt out the door for another run.  I ran on the treadmill (surprise) and I was pleasantly surprised that it went much better than I expected.  I had a little bit of a cold the past couple of days, and when I finished up my 5 miles in 46:19 I was pretty excited.  I felt a little tired going in, but after I eased into the run it was actually really good.  Ben is a huge Braves fans, and lucky for him, his visit coincided with the Braves/Nationals game.  

Ben tried to cut out my Nats shirt.  Also, we are happy because it wasn't raining yet.  The Nats also hadn't blown their lead yet.  Gotta say, it was not their best night.

The game ended up going into extra innings after the Nats decided it would be fun to blow a 9 run lead.    I think I hit a record for staying up late.  I'm an old lady when it comes to staying up, but made it until 2AM(?!?!).  Needless to say, I did not get up early to run on Saturday.  I had 10 miles on the calendar, but decided to push it until today because my friend and I were going to Gonzo Fest at Flying Dog.  I mean, "Good people drink good beer."  It was definitely worth postponing the run for good beer and fun.

I kept putting off the run today.  I got to another late start (lazy weekend, anyone?) and was in serious need of groceries.  My fridge looked so sad.  I reasoned that after running 10 miles I would need to refuel so of course I had to go shopping first.  I didn't end up getting to the gym until almost 5pm.  I decided to take it nice and slow.  I wasn't feeling confident at all about this run.  Physically I felt fine.  I was a little worried about my IT band because I could definitely feel a little strain on my run on Friday, but other than that I had no reason to think it would be a bad run or that I couldn't finish.  I foam rolled like a champion a few times today to help alleviate that worry.  I'm really happy to report that I didn't have an ounce of IT band pain this time around!  I kept the incline on .5 until mile 5 and then I wimped out and dropped it back down to 0.  My pace ranged from 6.0-6.2 (10:00-9:40ish) and overall there really wasn't anything remarkable about this run.  There were a few times when I struggled mentally.  I counted to 100 and back to 0 a few times and that helped pass some of the time.  I stopped for water every couple miles and then had a strong finish for my last mile.  I finished my 10 miles in just under 97 minutes.

Proof!

  

Ready for the TMI?

After my run I took Maddux out to the dog park.  I knew I should eat something really quick before, but my aunt called right when I was walking in the door and between trying to talk to her and get Mad Dog out to pee, I just didn't think about it.  As I went to pick up after my pup, it hit me.  My stomach cramped and I knew that I had to make a mad dash back to my apartment.  Later, I tried to eat a turkey sandwich and it took me a long time to choke it all down after my stomach finally settled down.  This has happened now several times after my longer runs.  I don't remember having these issues in college, and I will tell you they are very memorable ailments.  I'm not really sure what changed.  I think I'm going to talk to a doctor about it, but I'm thinking that I am losing too much salt during my longer runs.  I am a disgusting sweater (work hard, sweat hard, right?) and even though I try to drink gatorade, I think I need to do a little more to avoid this nonsense.  It's not fun and to be honest, it's kind of embarrassing, especially after races.  I practically had to knock someone out of my way in my haste to get to the bathroom at the Hot Chocolate 15k.  I know, nothing anybody wanted to know, but part of having a running blog is sharing the good, the bad, and oh yes, the ugly, too.

On that note, I will end this oh so lovely post.  Hopefully I will have some answers soon so that there will be more good (and even bad) and not so much ugly up here.  Have a happy running week!  

Hot Chocolate 15k: A PR Story

I have been looking forward to this race for a loonnnnng time.  The second I heard the words "chocolate" and "running" together I knew I had to sign up and luckily my birthday was right before so my mom and dad agreed to gift me with the entry fee, along with my very own box of hot chocolate, and a brand new running shirt (which by the way, was part of the perfect race day outfit).

As I've said I was really nervous about the race from the expo to race day.  I just knew I would miss the expo and not be able to pick up my bib and then sleep through my alarm, be late for the race, and butcher my goals.  Only one of those things happened.  Guess which one?

My friend went to the expo with me because I was paranoid about not being able to find it (my GPS sometimes plays mean tricks on me and we often have communication issues...) and other than interpreting the Hot Chocolate Expo 2 rights the wrong way we made it with no problems.  I got really excited because the National Harbor was pretty and I saw Ketchup which is a restaurant they ate at in that show The Hills in LA, which is a terrible reason to get excited about something, but whatever.  The expo went really smoothly and I hardly had to wait at all to get my race packet.  The entry fee included a windbreaker, which turned out to be yet another part of that perfect race day outfit, along with my favorite Target pretty much spandex pants and my gloves and headband.  The jacket also had POCKETS!  No worrying about what I was going to do with my gloves when my hands got too hot or my ipod falling into the water or something.  You never know.

I stayed at my friend's house before the race because it was closer than my apartment, and as my sister can tell you, I was once again paranoid I was going to forget something.  I had a continuous check list going through my head and I'm proud to say I didn't forget anything.   

Maddux wanted to go, too!

I have a very nice friend who is willing to leave the house at 5:30 in the morning, ride a shuttle through tons of traffic, and stand in the cold for hours to see me a total of 2 times during the 9 mile race, all while holding my bag of stuff.  Said traffic made the race get off to a late start (which is good considering that I made it to the race site 10 minutes before we were supposed to start and I had to sprint to the portapotties to make sure I wouldn't suffer the whole time...which happened anyway, but not because of my grandmotherly bladder).  I was really sad to see all the negativity from runners at this race.  There were a few unexpected change of events, but I mean it happens.  Usually runners are such a fun group to be around, but so many people were complaining about the dumbest things I have ever heard.  Man up or go home.  Anyway.  I just felt sorry for them that they allowed themselves to dwell on the things that weren't going as planned and ended up having a sucky day.  

As far as the actual running part goes (I know, ridiculously long post), I felt awesome for the entire first 10k.   Most of that was on the highway, which was kind of cool at first because a lot of the time I'm stuck in traffic on the highway and have this thought that it would be really awesome to run and see how much faster I could run than drive and that dream came true!  Kinda.  I got a high five from my friend around mile 5 so that gave me a great boost.  Then mile 7 hit and things started to get hard.  Mentally I was saying, "You have less than 2.5 miles left, WOOO! YOU CAN DO IT!", but my ankles were saying, "Excuse me, we don't really run this far.  We're going to tighten up on you now."  Then at mile 8 my IT band said, "Hey, remember that time you ran too far after training too little?  That's what you're about to feel now."  Then at mile nine I said, "THANK YOU, LORD!" and made it to the end for an ever so swift 1:38 finish.  According the the race results, that means I had a 10:30 pace.  Bah.  Not exactly the goal I had planned, but a PR no less.  And the end of the race was really pretty.  And there was yummy hot chocolate at the end.  And more Ghiradelli squares at the end.  And chocolate fondue which I didn't want because I just wanted to get on the shuttle and sleep until we got home.  

I am very sore today, but now I'm more motivated than ever to get my butt in gear for my March half marathon.  This race definitely proved that not taking training seriously isn't going to surprise me with an awesome run.  If I want to meet my 2:05 goal I really need to stop the excuses and start working hard.  Annnnnd for more motivation I am cashing in my birthday gift certificate from that very nice friend from the race to go get my new running shoes today!  I hope they don't make me run to see my stride though.  It might not be completely accurate right now....