Hot Chocolate 15k Race Recap 2-10-18
Had some fun times at the Charlotte Hot
Chocolate 15k this morning. Got a chance to catch up with Megan.
Hadn't seen her in nearly year. Had the opportunity to mix it up
again with Mark this morning. The last time that we mixed it up was
at the Charlotte Turkey Trot 8k on Thanksgiving several years ago. He
was wearing a Turkey costume, and it took everything that I had on
that day to stay in front of him. I was expecting him to be off
running with the leaders.
The weatherman was calling for rain
today, but we got off lucky. Most of the race we faced nothing more
than a slight drizzle.
With the 5k runners heading off at 7:45
AM, we made our way to starting line for an 8:05 start. Mark and
Megan were lined up next to me. Chaz, who was pacing the 7 minute
milers, was just behind us.
Everyone stepped up to the line, and we
were off and running. Almost immediately, we all went single file.
Seemed that Mark and I were running similar paces. We passed a couple
of guys in the first 3 miles, but by then, the lead runners were out
of sight. We were pretty much pushed each other, or in all in
honesty, Mark was pushing me the rest of the race. However, from the look on this face, he
didn't seem to be working as hard as I was.
And, good lord, was the course full of
rolling hills. I cannot explain it why but it always seems like the
uphills go on forever while the downhills are way too short. We
passed through 4 miles, and then 5 miles, and then 6 miles. These Hot
Chocolate guys had their stuff together. Cones marked the course so
if you got lost, it was because you were not paying attention.
Something I nearly did at one turn. They had clocks at every mile. If
I remember correctly, all running except one. Then, there was aid
stations. Plenty of the water, Nunn, and Chocolate if you wanted it were being offered, and they had
plenty of volunteers staffing these aid stations.
For most of the race, I had a step or
two on Mark. Occasionally, he would come up by side me on a hill, but
once we crossed it, I got my step back. That is until we hit the
final climb on Randolph Road. Mark came up by side me, and then he
just shifted into another gear. My legs were struggling. I couldn't
maintain his pace. The more we climbed, the more ground that he put
on me. We turned off the Randolph Rd, and for a moment, the ground
losing stabilized. Then, we started up Laurel. Laurel isn't necessary
steep but rather just a slight steady climb. However, at nearly 9
miles, my legs thought they were climbing Everest. Not helping my
confidence, Mark was growing smaller with each step that I took. And,
he wasn't getting smaller in my rear view mirror, but out my
windshield. He was definitely pulling away. The whole time, I felt like I was
slowing down. I hit the 9 mile mark around 56:20. I sucked it up and
pushed my way to the finish. I clocked a time of 58:28.
My time was slower than my Novant
Health 15k last fall, but still I was happy with it. This coarse in
my opinion is actually tougher than the the Novant race.
I finished 7th overall, and
some 20 second or so behind Mark. This placed me first in my age
group.
Post race, I need to give the Hot Chocolate
guys props for a “sweet” looking medal. Also, the post race mugs
were more like a huge bowl. It came with snacks and a cup of hot
chocolate. I just wish we could get seconds, thirds, and forths.
One last note on my closing miles,
while mentally, I thought that I was slowing down. Looking at my
splits now, I pulled my over pace for the race down by 2 seconds per
mile over the last 5k. In reality, my only problem was not slowing
down but Mark pulled his down by 5 seconds. Guess, I just need to
work harder so next time, I give myself a better opportunity to stay
with him.
Now, I am on to the next race - the 10 miler next weekend.
Sipping the Hot Chocolate,
The Cool Down Runner
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