I participated in the Philadelphia Hot Chocolate 15k this Sunday. This was an odd race for me because I had not been able to run properly for the last 11 days. Two Tuesday’s ago I took a shot to my ribs in basketball that left me unable to train, or for that matter run at all. A few days prior to injury, I had run a nice non-stop 9 mile run and was pretty hyped for a good performance at this race. I was sidelined for all of last week and starting this Wednesday I was able to at least run a bit. On Friday I put in 3 miles on the treadmill about a minute slower than race pace and was able to do it relatively pain free. 3 is not 9.
I spent the weekend completely sober and even the 7 days before that so I was in good health and spirits even with the injury. I woke up at 5:30 on Sunday to get ready for the race. I deuced and showered, tightly tied my race shoes, attached my bib, and ate a chocolate chip granola bar to prepare. I hailed a cab and met up with Chad, Nikkii, Evan and Lisa at the Art Museum steps. It was way colder than I would have liked. We met up with Jenn and Jon to expand the crew. Here is a pre-race shoe shot which looks neat.
Which is mine?
I hadn’t been checking my phone but we luckily met up with Laura as well. Evan and Chad were doing the 5k which started 45 minutes before the 15k. I saw them start and was highly anticipating the results. I wanted to see them finish but it was cutting it a little close as I had to get to my corral for my race. I could tell from the people and how they were dressed that it wasn’t going to be the most competitive race but for my physical state, that was fine. The weather was warming up too which made things all the merrier.
The race went off and I was in the back of the corral. I started and wasn’t pushing the pace and felt pretty good. I knew I had a chip time cushion and hit the 2 mile mark at close to 12 which is where I want to be. If I could sustain 6 minute miles, I’d be happy. I was gaining on people who went out too hard and started running with this tiny kid who after seeing the results was only 15. He took me through 5 and then started picking it up, or better put, not fading. I was still feeling pretty good at the 10k mark and a weird thing I do is break everything down to percentages. At 10k, I only have 33% of the race, or merely a 5k and that kept me going. I was making some spurts of energy but all was not well with the endurance. Mile 7 and 8 went down but not without a fight. I was out of steam for the final .3 and had no kick whatsoever. I finished in 8th place with a time of 56:29. I was happy.
After the run we went to Brick (s) and had some brunch. They offered a $20 bottomless drink special and I think I drank about 8 mimosa’s. Ck4 even did a Coors Light – Amaretto bomb which was a rarity. I ate a decent omelet and there were some breakfast burrito’s that looked big. The service was good and it was a nice spot to check out after a race. Evan had some people over after but I was all mucked up from the run and went home. I showered and dressed to go back over but wasn’t feeling great. I laid down for one minute and fell asleep. I woke up 2 hours later and watched an episode of the Wire which brings me right here right now.
This chocolate fondue was giving to finishers.
A fun day and mostly sober weekend which is also a rarity. Good job to everyone who participated because the more people who do it, the more fun it is. I also will add that the race was was well run and an ideal size. The course wasn’t the most creative (out and back on West River) but the weather was magnificent for a run. I will probably add some pictures to this post as they become available.
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