Hot Chocolate 15k
Greetings! Salutations!
I hope everyone's Monday was fabulous, and I hope your weekend was as fun and exciting as mine was!
On Sunday (October 5) I ran the Hot Chocolate 15k in Denver! It was such a fun race and an overall great experience! Never in my life did I ever think I'd run a 9.3 mile race, but how could I say no when chocolate is involved? This was one of my first real race experiences, and it couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. I'll give you aquick rundown of the days events!
I stayed at my cousin Jake's place in Denver on Saturday night so I wouldn't have to drive to the race from Boulder super duper early on Sunday morning (thanks again Jake!). I didn't sleep very well the night before (not surprised), but it didn't affect me too greatly. I got up at 5:00am, got dressed, ate a bagel, and then headed to the race.
Parking was iffy, but I managed to find a $5 lot and walked to the course from there. It was quite chilly Sunday morning with temps (I'm guessing) in the mid to upper 40's when I first arrived. I walked around, took some pictures, and watched the start of the 5k race at 7:00am. Before I knew it, we were being called to start lining up in our corrals, so I checked my bag and joined the extremely long lines at the porta-potties. I then made my way to my corral, corral 'I', which was the second corral for the 15k. Corrals are quite a fitting word for the method of dividing racers into smaller groups - it kind of felt like we were herds of cattle being shuffled around a pen.
Anyways, the race was soon underway as corral H was sent off. We waited our three minutes, the horn sounded, and we were off! In the very beginning my stomach was cramping due to the cold, but I warmed up pretty quick and (thankfully) didn't encounter any other issues for the rest of the race. Around mile 5 I started to feel like I was hitting a wall, but my worries subsided when I realized we were gradually running uphill. Ha! It was amazing how quickly the miles ticked by. The energizing race atmosphere, fantastic views, and good music to jam out to really helped. :)
The race course itself was so awesome - it's not every day that you get to run through the streets of Denver! It kind of made me feel like I was in the movie Cars, seeing the city through a vehicle's perspective. In addition to the water and gatorade stations, they also had chocolate, tootsie roll, and marshmallow stations as well, which added another little level of fun to the run!
You could see the finish line after the 9th mile, so it was good motivation to give it your all for the last .3 miles. I was approaching the finish line close to the hour and a half mark, and it was so awesome to have the commentator and fans cheering for us to cross the finish line before we reached that 90 minute marker. I turned off my music, listened to the crowd, and stepped it into high gear, giving it my all for that last little stretch! Crossing the finish line was so rewarding and exhilarating, and getting an awesome chocolate bar shaped medal was an added bonus!
Katelynn, my friend from Anytime Fitness (she introduced me to the race and ran the 5k herself) surprised me by being there to greet me at the finish line! It was so nice to see a familiar face and have someone to talk and walk around with afterwards. I also got to say a brief hello to my friend Jared (he also ran the 15k) and his wife, which was nice! I went and collected my 'finishers mug' which contained a delicious cup of hot chocolate, a banana, a rice krispy treat, graham crackers, pretzels, and chocolate dipping sauce! So delectable and satisfying.
After getting our fair share of the post-race party, Katelynn and I parted ways. It was at that moment that I realized I made a terrible, terrible mistake: I didn't make a mental note of where I parked my car. I had originally planned on parking in a specific parking garage, but by the time I got into Denver the road to get there was blocked off. I ended up driving around until I found a fairly affordable parking lot and called it good. I remembered that I was parked in stall 31, but on which street and in what direction? I was racking my brain trying to remember landmarks from the walk from my car to the race site, but I ran into a nice lady in the parking lot and we walked to the race together, so I wasn't paying any attention to where we were going. At that point I felt that it would take me longer to find my car than it took me to run the entire race, but it ended up only taking me a little over 30 minutes of wandering around until I finally stumbled across the parking lot that contained my precious car; I was so happy I could have kissed it.
Next stop: Chipotle. I had been craving Chipotle for the longest time, and this seemed like the perfect time to get it! I brought it back to Jake's apartment so I could take a quick shower, eat, and then pack up all my stuff to head back to Boulder.
Before heading home I met up with Aaron to watch the Bronco's game at Lucky Strike which was a lot of fun! After the game I met Amanda and some of her other friends at Maurice's in Broomfield for a shopping party she won! We got to shop in the store after hours and received 25% off our entire purchase. I remained strong and ended up leaving satisfied with my one item - a cute and comfy crew neck sweatshirt.
And I lived happily ever after with a happy stomach and sore legs. The End.
Well, that was my Sunday in a very large nutshell! Overall an amazing, fun filled day. God continues to fill my life with wonderful opportunities and amazing people, and I am so thankful and blessed for the amazing life that I live.
♥ Jane
I hope everyone's Monday was fabulous, and I hope your weekend was as fun and exciting as mine was!
On Sunday (October 5) I ran the Hot Chocolate 15k in Denver! It was such a fun race and an overall great experience! Never in my life did I ever think I'd run a 9.3 mile race, but how could I say no when chocolate is involved? This was one of my first real race experiences, and it couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. I'll give you a
I stayed at my cousin Jake's place in Denver on Saturday night so I wouldn't have to drive to the race from Boulder super duper early on Sunday morning (thanks again Jake!). I didn't sleep very well the night before (not surprised), but it didn't affect me too greatly. I got up at 5:00am, got dressed, ate a bagel, and then headed to the race.
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| Pre-Race with Marshmallow Man |
Anyways, the race was soon underway as corral H was sent off. We waited our three minutes, the horn sounded, and we were off! In the very beginning my stomach was cramping due to the cold, but I warmed up pretty quick and (thankfully) didn't encounter any other issues for the rest of the race. Around mile 5 I started to feel like I was hitting a wall, but my worries subsided when I realized we were gradually running uphill. Ha! It was amazing how quickly the miles ticked by. The energizing race atmosphere, fantastic views, and good music to jam out to really helped. :)
 |
| Homestretch - Finish Line! |
You could see the finish line after the 9th mile, so it was good motivation to give it your all for the last .3 miles. I was approaching the finish line close to the hour and a half mark, and it was so awesome to have the commentator and fans cheering for us to cross the finish line before we reached that 90 minute marker. I turned off my music, listened to the crowd, and stepped it into high gear, giving it my all for that last little stretch! Crossing the finish line was so rewarding and exhilarating, and getting an awesome chocolate bar shaped medal was an added bonus!
 |
| Katelynn & I |
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| Finishers Mug |
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| Post Race - Medal & Finishers Mug |
Next stop: Chipotle. I had been craving Chipotle for the longest time, and this seemed like the perfect time to get it! I brought it back to Jake's apartment so I could take a quick shower, eat, and then pack up all my stuff to head back to Boulder.
Before heading home I met up with Aaron to watch the Bronco's game at Lucky Strike which was a lot of fun! After the game I met Amanda and some of her other friends at Maurice's in Broomfield for a shopping party she won! We got to shop in the store after hours and received 25% off our entire purchase. I remained strong and ended up leaving satisfied with my one item - a cute and comfy crew neck sweatshirt.
And I lived happily ever after with a happy stomach and sore legs. The End.
Well, that was my Sunday in a very large nutshell! Overall an amazing, fun filled day. God continues to fill my life with wonderful opportunities and amazing people, and I am so thankful and blessed for the amazing life that I live.
♥ Jane
.JPG)
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