Race Recap- Hot Chocolate 5K Dallas, TX

WAY back in November my BRF Jessica and I signed up for this race.  Running, Hot Chocolate and Chocolate Fondue…  What’s not to love?

We were signed up for the 5K, but there was a 15K as well.  Some other members of our MRTT chapter were racing the 15K, but we weren’t able to meet up with them.  As we were getting in to the corrals they were making announcements, and one of those was that they had just over 12,000 people registered for this event.  That’s a LOT of people.  I have to say that I can’t imagine the task of organizing that number of people, but the people at RAM racing did a great job.  They put us in corrals of about 1,000 runners each and released the corrals 3 minutes apart.  it was very good spacing.

Here we are just before getting in to the corrals.  We were in different corrals, which was kind of a bummer, but we were actually racing this one, so we weren’t going to chat the whole way anyway…  Plus, Jessica’s pace is a LOT faster than mine, so I was glad I wasn’t going to hold her back   Tell me you love our Tutus….  Aren’t they cute?

You might also notice the sweatshirts.  It was SO FREAKING COLD….  Jessica and I are kindred spirits in our dislike for the cold.  As we got ready to go and saw how cold it was we wondered if it was worth it.  REALLY….  FYI- cold to us is anything close to or under 40 degrees….  But the worst part was the wind…  The wind just cut through us…..  We tried not to be too grumpy to each other, but also both understand our dislike for the cold, so we walked the MILE to the start area (not kidding) mostly in silence LOL

For me, this race was the first 5K I was going to try to run continuously since last May.  I ran the Girls on the Run 5K last May and then the heat of the summer made it difficult for me.  As I started training for the Half Marathon I was using the Galloway Method, and running 3 minutes with 1 minute breaks.  I managed to get my body VERY used to stopping every 3 minutes, so lost some of my stamina for continuous running.  So, for the last few weeks I’ve been working back up to the 5K distance.  It’s still a challenge for me, I am certainly not in the “easy 5K distance” camp by any means.  I had hoped to beat my time from last year, but my main goal was to keep running

Around 1.5 miles in I made the turn in the course and saw in front of me a fairly long hill….  I don’t run hills.  We were set to go over an overpass….  My first thought was, “What the heck is this about?”  My second thought was, “Is there a way to go around?” and then I thought, “If I made it to the top of this sucker without stopping I am DARN SURE not stopping until I hit the finish!”  And I made it to the top   There was some congestion here on the course because a LOT of people walked it.  I was proud to still be running, however slowly it was

Right around 2.25 miles there was another smaller hill, which I tackled as well (even though the sight of it made me mad LOL) and I managed to keep running through the finish

My time at the GOTR last May was 38:48, and I wish I had looked that up before the race, because my official time on this 5K was 38:52!  UGH   Oh well, I’m still proud because I ran the whole way, I kept a strong pace, and I had negative splits on my miles even though there were hills.

After I made it through the finish line I went to get my finisher mug and go find Jessica.  I was very impressed with the time it took to get my mug- they were very fast, and, while I would have liked a mug I could use for coffee later, (It has compartments), the hot chocolate was delicious and the chocolate fondue was rich and scrumptious.  They did not skimp on the chocolate, and with 12,000 people to serve I was very impressed with that

Will I race it again?  Maybe…  My reasons for not doing it have nothing to do with the race, though…  They are: (It requires a hotel stay, and Dallas is cold) LOL

Do I recommend it?  Absolutely!  I doubt you will be disappointed.

One other thing to mention- the sweatshirts are super nice, but the sizing seems small to me.  I got an XL and it a little tight….

This is my flat mama for the race- Jessica and I had the shirts made for the race- they are very comfortable and cute if you ask me!  I wasn’t sure if I was going to wear the sweatshirt or not, since it was so cold.  I opted for my Gritty Goddess Sweatshirt because it has a zipper.  I took it off as soon as I started running because I know from experience the sweat just makes me more freezing…..

Here I am in the hotel, about to leave.  I love the way the Tutu hides my big butt and thunder thighs LOL 

The advantage of a race in another city?  A whole new crop of police officers to talk to!  I was trying to sneak in and say hi, but Jessica caught me….  Oh well….  next time LOL