November 8, 2015
Hot Chocolate 15k 2nd 15k
Time: 1:46:58 Overall: 8673/12215; 5422/8297 female
I hadn’t planned on doing this race. I did the 5k two years ago and last year I did the 15k. This race is madness. It’s roughly the same size as the Shamrock Shuffle and the marathon but it’s too much of a shit show for me. I know I’m a slow runner and I probably annoy the fast runners who think us turtles shouldn’t even be out there so it may be silly of me to get annoyed by walkers. The difference is that I have some course etiquette. These walkers create a walking wall that no one can get around. Or the run walkers don’t move to the side when they walk. They saunter and fart around and it drives me nuts. I love that these silly themed races bring out people who would otherwise be sitting on their asses at home. It’s creating a movement. That’s cool but there needs to be some educating of the newbies going on out there.
The Thursday before the race I got an IM from Maria who was in my summer marathon training group. Her daughter was giving up her bib to stay on her college campus and tailgate. Maria was giving me the bib free of charge so why not? I let her keep the jacket. I have a nice collection by now and I don’t need another!
I was a little freaked out about doing 9.3 miles. I hadn’t run much since the marathon. I took almost 2 weeks off and put in about 3 or 4 miles about 4 or 5 times. Winter half training started the day before the race and we ran 4. It was going to be good preparation for the half marathon I had the following weekend in Vegas. I had no great expectations so I went for it.
I decided to drive when I was able to find a spot for the low low rate of $9 through SpotHero. It was cold! By the end of the race I took my jacket off and was running in tights and a sleeveless shirt and a hat. It felt like a nice summer day for about 15 minutes after the race until I cooled down and began to shiver.
RAM Racing put on this race every year. They also have their store, Running Away Multisport (RAM…get it?). They closed the Chicago location to focus on the Deerfield store and the racing side of business. It paid off a bit. This year seemed more organized although I didn’t go to the expo. Luckily I didn’t run into too many walker walls! I only had to say, “Make some room!” once towards the end as I plowed through.
It was the same course as last year. The out and back at mile 5 to 6 is right where I started to get fatigued and fantasized about cutting the course! I didn’t. I couldn’t have rightfully taken the medal if I didn’t. What am I saying, I ran the race under someone else’s name! I hope she didn’t mind I got her a terrible time. It was 4 minutes slower than last year but I stopped to pee. There was also a lack of volunteers so I had to get some of the water myself.
Other than my slow time I did well. My body held up. I did a straight run instead of run walk. I ran through the first water stop but I walked the entire length of the last 3 hydration stations. I felt ready for Las Vegas!
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