Running

Hot Chocolate 15k Recap!

On February 4, 2019
By Virjinia
8 Comments

Happy Monday friends! I hope you had a wonderful weekend and are settling into the week just fine. My weekend was full of running, chocolate, and time with some of my favorite people. While Texas is not feeling any of the effects of the Polar Vortex, our weather has been downright gross. Race day was Saturday and it was a humid, foggy, misty mess. However, it was a great time!

Disclaimer: I received free entry to the Hot Chocolate 15k as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Going into this race, I had been cautions with my training. I hadn’t really done longer runs but I had been working on hill training and speed work. Again, here in Texas our “hills” are truly overpasses but when you run on super flat roads, those overpasses sure are tough. The Hot Chocolate 15k course goes through a popular road into downtown and I knew it would be tough. My main goal was to survive but honestly, I wanted to push myself. I know that my legs have it in them to go fast but I hadn’t really had a chance to let them just GO. You know how once you speak a goal, it’s real? Well, I told my friend that I was hoping to keep an 8:50 pace throughout the race EVEN with the hills. Sure it was terrifying but it was also exciting. I’m much speedier on 5ks but never on a 15k.

I truly love the atmosphere of the race. Even at packet pick up, it was a big party! Every year, the Hot Chocolate packet pick up is at Minute Maid Park which is where the Houston Astros play. There’s something neat about going up to the club level and picking up all your gear. There was a good selection of vendors and the packet pick up is a breeze. They also have hot chocolate and other goodies to munch on while you shop!

I set out all my clothes and accessories the night before so I could sleep as much as possible. Of course, I was dozing off on the couch at 7:30pm on Friday so that wasn’t a big issue for me, haha! It was a long day and I blame the dreary weather. Saturday morning arrived and the dreary weather stuck around. I stuck with my shorts and tan top. I stepped outside and was hit with a wall of humidity. Not quite the weather I wished for but I just had to deal with it.

My friend Fren-Mark was part of the awesome pacers that Hot Chocolate had! I think it’s so neat because not only does the Hot Chocolate race have pacers but they had A LOT of them. I believe the range was a 7 minute mile to 15 minute mile! It’s not often that races have such a broad range of pacers (I once ran one that stopped at 8 minute mile….rude) so I really appreciated it. He was pacing the 8 minute mile group so I would be behind him but I did chat and joked a bit with him.

The race started right on time and we were off! At this point, the sun had risen and the fog was gone. However, the damage was done. The mist had wet the roads just enough for them to be slippery. I had to watch a few turns because my footing was not so great. There were a few puddles to dodge and I could feel my feet slipping in my shoes during some of the hills.

During races, I tend to feed off the energy of other runners. I ran with a girl with a Beef Team singlet for a long time before I lost her at one of the water stops. I also got water up my nose and it was painful. There’s a first time for everything folks! I noticed that I was super thirsty and I blame the humidity. Once we were moving, I was hot and SWEATING. No bueno.

In my mind, Fren-Mark was always in front of me and I was chasing him. In reality, I had fallen behind the 8:30 pacer but just thinking that motivated me. There were a few moments where my mental toughness wavered but I kept telling myself that I could do it and that even though the conditions sucked, I would kick butt. I even saw my friend from the gym at one of the loops. She was probably a minute in front of me but what were the chances that I would see her in a sea of runners? I used her to help keep me going too. There were a few turnarounds and I would look for her to keep my mind busy.

Toward the end, pain face kicked in. I had developed blisters because of all the slipping and I was so done. Y’all those hills sucked! My hamstrings and glutes were on FIRE. This flat road runner was having a hard time keeping speed and getting up those hills. However, my lap pace was still looking good. I stayed within each mile and focused on that until I saw the next sign. Eventually, we were on our way back into downtown and I picked it up!

Isn’t it funny how there’s always some fuel left in the tank when we get close to that finish line? Oh but wait, this finish line is uphill (yay Chicago Marathon flashbacks)! I took in a deep breath and forced my way up that street like my life depended on it. I made the final turn to cross the finish line and I felt the bile coming up my throat. I was extremely exhausted, my lungs burned, my hamstrings and glutes were begging for mercy, and I had a few volunteers ask if I needed medical assistance. However, I looked down and I almost cried tears of joy. I finished with an 8:48 average pace! I grabbed my medal, water, some Nuun, and found a corner to sit. I texted my friend a picture of my Garmin and the words “Everything hurts and I’m dying.”

It’s safe to say I left it all out on the road on Saturday. The blisters and muscle soreness are NOTHING compared to the feeling of pride and accomplishment I had. It feels so great to be able to get out there and just see what my body is capable of! After the race, I went over to Athlinks to claim my results so I can remember this awesome day! I’m truly thankful for BibRave for giving me the opportunity to run this awesome race and I can’t wait to give it another shot next year!