Hot Chocolate 15K Report - Part II

Yesterday I posted about the wonderfully organized packet pickup for the Hot Chocolate 15K.  Now here's my race report!

Hubby and I got up early Saturday morning to get ready for our drive downtown.  Sadly, we had warm temperatures on Friday (50's), but then a cold front swept through and Saturday morning temperatures were in the 20's with wind chills in the teens!  Brrrr...

I definitely layered up for this race, and even though I probably looked silly, I wanted to be warm.  I wore my tights, with capris over them, on bottom.  On top I had a long sleeve tech shirt underneath a hooded tech type sweatshirt.  To round things out, wool socks, gloves, my Bondiband hat, and I grabbed this tech scarf thing I got at the Knoxville expo last year that I'd never worn before, hoping to keep my neck warm.

The race instructions suggested parking downtown and walking to the start.  Hubby is pretty familiar with the downtown area, and knew of some closer parking lots that were open, so we headed that way instead (so much better!).  We were a very short walk to the start.   We were way too early for our race (the 5K started at 7am; 15K at 7:55 am) but had to get there early because of road closures.  We got out of the car and hit the portipotties, and checked out the start area before returning to the car to hang out and stay warm.  

We heard the 5K start at 7am, and watched the runners go by near where we were parked.  It was so cold, and I was shocked to see runners in shorts and singlets!  Brrrrr....

About 20 minutes before the start, hubby and I headed to the portipotties one more time, and then walked around to try to stay warm.  We also snapped a few pics.

Selfie!  Am I robbing a bank, or running a race?!

We were in different corrals so hubby and I separated at this point and headed toward the start.  The corrals were starting to get a bit crowded, so I entered mine and stood around, trying to stay warm.  I distracted myself by looking at what everyone else was wearing (I saw a bunch of cute running skirts, worn my some pear-shaped ladies, like myself, so I started thinking I should bite the bullet and order one to try out).

Since my phone has been dying on long runs/races with music and Runkeeper (for intervals) I decided to just use it for music, and use the uphill portions of the race as my "walk" intervals.  I would have loved to take pictures, because this was a really great course around scenic areas of Nashville, but I wanted to try to keep my hands from freezing off more, so I decided to put the phone away and keep my gloves on.

There were only 5 corrals, and I was in the second to last one.  It seemed like it took forever for us to actually start, and once we did, my feet literally felt like blocks of ice attached to my legs.  It took 4 miles or so for my feet to actually feel normal, but once I reached that point, I felt fine.  I definitely wore the right combo of gear, and the only things that stayed cold were my face and fingers (despite the gloves).

The race was very well supported with water and gatorade, portipotties along the course, and police officers helping with traffic control.  Also, there were volunteers with flags and cowbells at every turn, directing runners, and I was so thankful for them standing out in the cold, cheering us on!  There was even a chocolate stop around mile 7!  I grabbed a piece and a cup of water, which was frozen on top. The volunteers were actually hitting the cup on the table before handing it to runners to break the layer of ice on top so we could actually drink!

Hubby met me a mile or so before the finish and we ran together.  (He waited to get his "finisher's mug" until I finished so that we could enjoy together).  As I made the turn toward the finish line he broke off, I passed the finisher's mug tent, and the smell of chocolate was AMAZING!  I finished strong and hubby and I headed over to the tent to get our hot chocolate and other goodies.  

We took our mugs to the car to enjoy.  It's a plastic mug/dish with a cup holder for hot chocolate in the center, a little spot for chocolate fondue, and then the rest was filled with a banana, rice crispy treat, vanilla cream wafer cookie, pretzels, and a big marshmallow.  

I have never had such a delicious post-race treat!  The hot chocolate was perfect, and warmed me up quickly.  We enjoyed our treat, and then headed home.  

My time was 2:08:01.  Not fast, but I had fun and that was my goal.  I have to give this race an A+.  If you have a chance to run for chocolate where you live, I highly recommend this race!