Hot Chocolate 15k

I'm back from the Hot Chocolate 15k! My first ever 15k race for that matter.

I got up to Philly last night so I could go to the race expo and get my packet. The bib had my name on it (yay!), came with a drawstring bag and a super nice hoodie! I have a feeling I am going to wear this thing everywhere, it's so freaking soft and warm.

I also bought some merch from the expo. Mug, sticker, and this .. pink shirt. I don't like the color pink very much. My husband swears it looks good on me and encourages me to wear it. So I really wanted this shirt but it only came in mint green and pink. Well mint green ain't gonna happen because that color would look like shit on a pale skinned blond. Sigh. I bought the pink one. And I gotta admit it does look pretty cute on me. Dammit. I like blue.

Oh and I couldn't leave the expo without some chocolate

I wasn't sure what to wear because they were calling for sunny, 50 degrees, and wind. Of course I brought short sleeves and shorts, but also packed a long sleeve and capris. The wind is what threw me off. In the end I went with the short option because I figured I'd warm up as always. I was confident about my decision until I got to the race site and the wind had begun to pick up. It was cold as shit. And of course my long sleeve was in my car to save room in my backpack and I had taken a bus there. Seeing as how my teeth were chattering uncontrollably I ended up buying another shirt, a blue long sleeve to wear during the race. 

There were so many people at this race. 15,000 of them from what I hear. This is the largest race I've been to, all the road racing I did in Georgia was small time compared to this. So of course there was the whole waiting for my corral's turn to go. Took me awhile to warm up and for my feet to stop feeling numb. The race started on Ben Franklin ave, with all the world's flags lining the road, then turned back and headed towards the riverfront. This course followed the river and was beside it for a little while. Very flat course, only one noteable hill and it wasn't even big. My goal for this race was 1:40, and my mentality for pacing myself was just to pretend it was one of my practice runs. I have been doing 8-10 mile runs the last few weeks and they've all been great, so I figured I could do the same here if not better. I paced myself really well. Maybe even too well. At the halfway mark we turned around and headed back towards the city. Here I picked up the pace because I was feeling good. Managed to get my pace into the 9:00's for the last half of the race. I took a Caramel Macchiato GU at mile 3.5 (this was really good! I don't usually use GU but I might have to make an exception for this flavor) and a chocolate Honey Stinger at mile 6.5 (I didn't like this one, will stick with their other flavors) and took water at every stop which I believe was 4 total. The impulsive shirt purchase worked well, I did get warm towards the end because the sun was beating down on me but I wasn't overheating. I think with the strong winds I would have been too cold without it. Within the last couple miles I was passing everybody around me and even sprinted once I saw the finish. This was a great run, I never bonked and actually had negative splits for most of it.

After the race I instantly got my bag and put my hoodie and pants back on. I got cold within 5 minutes after finishing, and that's saying something cause I overheat like crazy when I run. Luckily they hooked me up with some hot chocolate and other goodies!

It's a plastic mug with hot chocolate in the center, then a fondue with things to dip in it. Banana, vanilla wafers, marshmallow, rice crispy treat, and pretzels. This was so good. I learned today that eating warm chocolate after a race is really satisfying!

Oh yeah, I finished in 1:35 which was below my goal and slightly faster than the average finishing time. I'm so glad I am at the point where I can run over 9 miles and still feel great, even sprint at the very end. 

My thoughts on this race - 

Pros 

• Well organized. For 15,000 people being there, no major lines or crowding. 
• The volunteers were great. Everyone was friendly and provided great service.
• Fun! I loved the chocolate theme, and having the hot chocolate and fondue at the end was just heaven. 
• Bling. The hoodie is awesome and the medal is very nice - it's a unwrapped chocolate bar with a bite taken out of it (see first picture of me biting it) and even is custom to Philly

Cons

• Stuff was not marked well. They give you a map, but there was no signage on any of the tents. I'd like to be able to just look at the tent from across the field and know if it's the bag check, chocolate station, or merch tent. The finish line was also not marked, if I had seen it sooner I would have started sprinting earlier.
• Spectators were few and far between. I love having random people cheer me on and it just wasn't as much of a presence as say, the Augusta Half, where there were tons of people all along the course. 

Loved the race, would definitely recommend it because it's not like any other race out there.

I'll include another post about the stuff I did (and ate) while I was in Philly!