Hot Chocolate 5/15K Columbus Recap

True story: I am not a good blogger. Also true, I have no impressive paces to brag  tell you about, I didn't lose 15 pounds in 9 weeks, and I have no impressive dinners to show you pictures of featuring only a burnt squash, brussel sprouts, and chia seeds all blended together. This post is much delayed, as I am just THAT BAD of a blogger. In fact, the only reason I am typing this now, is because my son is hardcore sleeping in today.

Thanks, kid.

Emily and I decided we wanted to do the Hot Chocolate Race because well, we heard there would be chocolate. That is the honest truth. We made an 8 hour round trip for some fondue. I was running the 15K and Emily the 5K. The day to leave arrived, and since we had to make packet pickup in Columbus before 6 PM we had to leave around 1 PM. Our leaving was delayed by Willa the dog, who would not GET OUT OF THE CAR.

This is E's dog Willa. She normally wears sweaters.

The trip to Columbus went by fairly quickly. Emily resorted to giving me a synopsis of all the movies she's ever seen. Including one called "Seven brothers Seven Wives." Which sounded like a new TLC show. However, it turns out it is a movie about a mass kidnapping, wherein the victims eventually succumb to such awful Stockholm Syndrome, that they marry their kidnappers.

We easily found the hotel where packet pickup took place. Now, having heard the horror stories of the four hour wait at the Chicago Hot Chocolate race, I had my East Coast rage self-righteously prepared, if there was another snafu like that. After a long walk through the conference center, (which was also hosting a cat show, and a ball room dancing competition), we made it to the packet pickup. No waiting for me in the 15K packet pickup line. They easily scanned my barcode and I was sent off to retrieve my jacket. We had also heard there was some horrible problems with sweatshirt sizes at the Chicago race, and people were not able to exchange. Well, RAM Racing must've really listened to the passive-agressive imploring cries of the runners on their social media, and had a jacket exchange right there at the expo. In fact, the RAM employees urged us to try on our jackets right away to ensure that they fit. Our jackets fit well, so we had no need of an exchange, but it looked like the exchange process was going smoothly.

Behold, the jackets. Source: RAM Racing

As for other vendors at the expo, I honestly cannot remember, but they had this DJ who was trying to pump up the crowd, but our crowd seemed like they would be more suited for the ballroom dancing downstairs. They would not be pumped...However, there was a local running store there with lots of clothing from companies like Nike, Saucony, Pearl Izumi, with deeply discounted stuff. If you saw something you needed, it was definitely the place to buy it.They also had Hot Chocolate race shirts, onesies, hats. Everything you need to prove you were actually there :)

Onward, to the hotel I booked. This trip was proof, that I am no roaming gnome. I booked what was a 3.5 star hotel in "North Columbus." Not being familiar with the area, I assumed this was on the outskirts of the downtown area. No no, it was a good 15 minutes away. When we arrived, I think Emily contemplated murdering me. It was sketch. Let's be honest. You used a key card to get in the main door, much like an apartment complex, and then your room was located in that building. There were many buildings. We were the farthest building away from civilization. Also, when we arrived there was a large crowd of people tailgating in the hotel  parking lot. Someone had brought a trailer loaded with a few grills, many coolers, and several sets of cornhole. It was all very strange.

Emily and I set out in search of food. After a frustrating navigation of the roads in "North Columbus." We stumbled upon a Waffle House. Now, the Waffle Houses I am familiar with are warm, friendly, inviting places where the waitresses say "Mornin'" when you walk in, regardless of the time of day. Not the Waffle House of North Columbus. It was more like a night club in there. The music was so loud it shook the restaurant. And then, our waitress started singing along with the music.

We went back to the hotel to finally catch some rest. As usual before a bigger race, I did not sleep. AT ALL. It also didn't help that a cheerleading group was practicing in the hall. It is also a good thing I didn't sleep, because E's alarm never went off. We were up and at 'em at 5:00 AM, and made our way back downtown to get good parking.  Also, I didn't take a picture of my oatmeal as my pre-race meal. I think that's a running blog sin.

We'd been warned traffic would be horrible and that parking was limited. Well, at the crack of dawn when we arrived, neither of these things were an issue. We pulled right into a garage a short walk from the start and had no trouble finding a space. And then we got out of the car and froze. THE END.

But seriously, neither Emily nor I accounted for how cold it was going to be. Neither of us were dressed right for it. We got there around 6 AM, and Emily's race didn't start till 7:30 and mine didn't start until 8. So, we had alot of time to kill. There was hardly anyone there when we arrived. (Probably because they realized how cold it was, and decided to come later. Smarty pantses). I have honestly never been so cold in my life. We tried to keep moving and shifting around, but there just was no avoiding it. Emily and I parted ways around 7:15 so she could head to her corral and I could find somewhere to warm up even a little. The corrals...Well, they were like those pants, you know the ones you can't fit into and are busting out the seams. it was crowded. Especially in the 5K. There was no room at all. It was like a slaughter house.

After we parted, I went in search of somewhere to get warm. I contemplated locking myself in the porta-potties till race time. Then, I found that a bunch of people were waiting in the lobbies of the parking garages. It was a balmy 50 degrees in there. Felt like Daytona beach in June to me. I contemplated going to my car too and just staying there. I knew if I didn't warm up, I was not going to be able to run. I killed some time in there being envious of other people's awesome running tights and shirts  warming up. Finally, it was time to go. I made my way to the corral. I could not even wiggle my way into my correct corral. It was that crowded. So I ended up being a few corrals back, which I'm not going to go all elitist on you and say was horrible, but wasn't that great for the first mile or two.

We were off, and let me tell you, I LOVE COLUMBUS. What a nice, clean, city. Not overly hill, but not boringly flat. We made our way through some of the downtown area, with some cool buildings, and neat looking shops, and then headed out towards the outskirts. It was really cool, because we were running along, and then all of a sudden in the middle of this urban jungle, there was a row of what seemed to be brand-new houses. Really nice, and seemed like such a cool place to get to live.

One complaint about this entire thing. The City of Columbus was not able to shut the streets down completely (which I understand) However, we were penned into the area one lane wide with cones. It was definitely not enough space for the amount of runners we had in the very beginning. I cannot imagine how it was in the 5K with the 1000s more runners they had. I saw quite a few people trip on the cones, which then sent them flying towards other runners, who also tripped on the cones. It also made passing difficult, nay impossible for the first 3ish miles. Not a huge deal, but there were cops and volunteers out there yelling at people to get back into the coned area when they strayed outside the lines. 

Since I was running the 15K, and the majority of the people at this race were running the 5K, the crowds had dwindled a bit. But, still plenty of families out there with signs, cheering on their people. Love seeing that! We came to the end of the race, which was a turnaround at a bridge. I was really hoping we'd get to run the bridge, but there were volunteers directing us AWAY from the bridge. Rats. We made our way up a small hill, and the finish line was near.

Here I am finishing. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I finished in 1:16:26, an 8:12 pace. I was 26/234 in my AG, 190/2232 and 407 overall. I did much better than I anticipated. That is definitely a PR for me. I would also like to mention, that Emily PRed in the 5K at this race.

As usual, Emily was there at the finish line being amazingly supportive and eating fondue. Seriously, she's the best friend one could have. And I made my way over to the line to grab some food. And honestly, my mug looked just like the pictures. No complaints here, it was good stuff. We even saved our mugs. (And I put them in a plastic bag and stuck them in the trunk, and then found them sometime mid-December).

 

 

 

 

Source: RAM Racing

A good time was had by all, and we didn't lose any fingers or toes to frostbite.  So that was cool. AFter I finished, I scarfed down my food, and we headed back to the hotel. We were both still so cold. It's also a good thing I didn't go to my car in the parking garage where I was getting warm. I was not even in the right garage. So directionally challenged am I. Honestly, this race was well put together, it was fun, and exceeded my expectations. The Hot Chocolate race is coming to Detroit this year, so I think we will be running that one instead of Columbus next year, however, I would love to run in Columbus again! And then we ate Chipotle. Lunch of champions.

Our one and only picture together at the race. Source: Emily