We're Going Streaking!

Hi Everyone!

My fellow BibRavePro's and I are streaking through May. Come join us!

Two quick reasons to do a run streak:
Forming a routine: Scientific proof that if you make a point to do a learned behavior every day it will become habit and then routine. You'll start out learning how to fit running into your schedule, and it will eventually be part of your daily routine without hesitation. Of course you may have curve balls thrown at you along the way, you'll learn how to adjust to get it done.

Weather: if you are an outdoor runner, it will help you learn how to deal with the elements. My early running days, I only went out in near perfect conditions. That has changed drastically. My last day off was due to a little blizzard, I vowed to not let the elements be the reason my new streak ends. (Previous streak 22 days, current streak 1190+ days) And if it's raining out you'll look like a total badass (or a crazy person) to your neighbors.

Concerned about not getting any rest/time to recover? Most training plans call for 2 strength training/non running days and 1 complete rest day. You can always do a more casual one mile day if you need rest. That's only 2000 steps, you got that in you.

How to join:

Hopefully you are already on strava. If it's not on strava, did it even happen? Lol
Strava is free if you aren't on there.

Join the club: 
Strava Club BibRave

Log a mile a day through May! It's as simple as that!

Be sure to add me as well!

Strava athletes: Joe G 

Flying Pig Marathon Training - Week 19 - Weekly Running Update: April 28, 2019

Hi Everyone!

Hope everyone is doing well. How's training going? Any recent races or coming up? Which ones?  This weekend was full of big races! Big Sur on the west side, plenty in the mid west, I know several people that doing the NJ Marathon, and Virgin London Marathon was today as well ! Anyone participate in any this weekend? How did it go?

My week was not as exciting. Week 19 of marathon training. One week to go to Flying Pig Marathon!

I probably wont do a full pre-race blog post, my goals going into week 20.

• Trust the taper
• Try not to do too many extra miles.
• Rest as prescribed. (can't avoid yard work though, that stuff is growing fast!)
• No strength training. (per plan) Part of my daily routine, more time on my hands in the morning!
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! I already do 1-1.25 gallons without trying too hard, will do more!
• Stretch/foam roll per usual.
• Sports massage! (xmas present). Will be my first one!
• Epsom salt baths! Will try to do at least 2 this week.
• Trust the plan. Don't stray on race day. (fresh legs and adrenaline are dangerous combo) Learned that from my NYC experience, right?!
• Have fun! Take in the views! Cincy/Flying Pig may be a one time deal, make the most of it!

My Week 19 in training:

Monday: 5+ miles before work. Sunday, minimal chores (got the worst done saturday). Made a point to relax. Even took a 20 minute epsom salt bath! Relaxing! Hydrated and stretched (of course). Was in bed before 9:30. Woke up a couple times, up before my alarm, a bit groggy to start. Coffee, work out (got rid of the grogginess pretty quick),  hydrate, and out the door by 6. 45 minute timed run. A break from those 7 mi Monday's! Still went with the same outlook of settle in to my comfortable hm pace and seek inclines and hills! Could feel Saturday's long run, but not that bad. 

Tuesday: 3.11 miles before work. Monday, hydrated all day and foam rolled at night. In bed by 9:15, up before my alarm but may have dozed off until it was time (4:50). Coffee, work out, hydrate, and stretch, out the door by 6:05. Slightly brisk air was nice! Took about 3 minutes (3-1 minute alerts) to settle in. Felt slightly more comfortable than expected. Pacing: 8:15/8:20/8:13 Before/after worst hills/overall.

Wednesday: 4 miles before work. Decent night's rest. Up before my alarm. Coffee, work out, hydrate, stretch, and out the door by 6:05. I wouldn't say I was grumpy this morning, but was in a bit of a mood, not as enthusiastic as usual. Pacing: started out better than expected. Felt good and maintained. Issue, I eventually suspected by phone gps is off, confirmed by mile 2 vs my watch. Continued on with what felt comfortable. May have pushed slightly harder to get it to 8:20 (watch 8:22 vs phone 8:00, phone is usually slightly higher than watch). Anyway, the run I didn't feel like doing because I was in a mood felt decent, always glad I got it done. Also, second confirmation my phone gps was off, it said 4 mi at least a half a block early!) During my cool down stopped by my azalea bush, bloom came in out of nowhere! Such a short bloom, will probably be gone next week!

Thursday: 1 mile before work. Wed, had drinks at dinner and a night cap. In bed early, but not quality sleep. Up before my alarm. Coffee, work out, hydrate, and out the door by 6:10. Sometimes tempted to push it on one mile day, not really today. Started out pushing it and then pulled back. Pacing started at 7:35 and was willing to let it fade to 7:50 and then decided to push it again to 7:45.

Friday: 4 miles before work. Could of gotten more sleep. Stayed up to 10:30 watching baseball (no beer involved, and they lost in extra innings). Up before my alarm but dozed off again 'till it went off. Coffee, work out (started slow but got going), hydrate, stretch, and out the door by 6:05. First mile felt great! 7:50, But probably should of pulled back a bit. Faded through the hills in mile 2 as expected, avg 8:20. Faded again through slight inclines, but split on the way back (which also has inclines). Weather was misty and humid, but felt good after.

Saturday: 7 miles. Happy long run day! Single digits, yay! But I have to work today, have plans, and want to ensure I complete the monthly Strava hill climbing challenge, so I'm skipping the trail today to stick to the hills! Up at my normal time, but taking my time to get out there. Figured I may still head out by 6, but my normal "routine" was off. Glad that doesn't happen during the week often, knock on wood! Head out by 6:30. Settled in the 8:20's for a bit. Incline/decline every street until mid way, then it's all up hill for a while. Pace faded as expected to my comfortable hm pace 8:30. maintained. On the way back cut the declines short to turn around for more inclines. Sick in the head huh. lol.. Faded to 8:32 a couple times but regrouped to 8:30. Felt pretty decent today. Had to do yard work immediately after since I have to work at noon for a bit and then have plans. Travel day is next Saturday, will probably have to do yard work one more time since the spring growth is so fast right now. blah! lol

Sunday: 1 mile. Rest day. One for the streak. Run Streak day 1191. "Slept in" until 6. Took my time getting ready, but have to get out there in time to finish up and get to the movies. Avengers Endgame! 3 hr movie, will be sure to hydrate after! ;) also, I see the irony that I wore a DC shirt this morning. 1 mile day, worked on cadences. Felt good. Will probably take it easy on 1 mile days this coming week. ;)

This was week 19 marathon training, using the below plan.

Image from Coach Jenny Hadfield

Weekly Summary:

Miles: scheduled 23 mi / completed 25 mi 
Strength Training: scheduled 80 min/ completed 101 min
Foam roll: 7 days 
Hydration goal met: 6 days! I slacked on Saturday! Didn't hydrate before a road trip, had alcohol, and didn't hydrate enough after. 'Doh! 

Race Schedule 

05.05.19 - Broad Street Run! - Love this race, but won't be doing it this year. Sometimes you have to pass on repeat things to try something new! My review from last year, here.  

05.05.19 - Flying Pig Marathon! I am officially booked. Looks like a fun themed race, a great spring challenge, and somewhere I've never been (Cincy, Oh)! Hope to also check out Indiana and Kentucky while I'm out there! 

09.15.19 - Rock n Roll Philly Half Marathon. Use codes "19RNRBRP16" to save $16 off the half/full marathon and "19RNRBRP6" to save $6 off the 5k/10k! Race Preview, here!

11.24.19 - Philadelphia Marathon. My review from last yr, here. 

Good luck to everyone with training! Kick some butt! 

If you do any races, please remember to review them on BibRave.com! Your opinions help other runners decide what races to run! #BibChat Follow me on BibRave Joe G

Flying Pig Marathon Training - Week 18 - Weekly Running Update: April 21, 2019

Hi Everyone!

Hope everyone is doing well! Any recent races or training for one, which ones? How did it go? 

Anyone participate in Boston? How was it?! So many amazing highlights and inspiring stories!

This was week 18 of marathon training for Flying Pig for me. Starting to taper down. #TrustTheTaper 

My Week in Training:

Monday: 6 miles before work. Sunday rest day. Some light chores, but made a point to rest plenty. In bed early...but.. tornado warning at 3 am! Startled us for sure! Rain and winds kicked in shortly after. Howling! Not sure if I fell back to sleep or not. Up before my alarm. Coffee, work out, hydrate, and out the door before 6. Light rain, was actually looking fwd to it to waking me up. Still feeling Saturday's 20 miler and tired, settled in at 8:25-8:30. Through the worst of the hills thought about fading but hung in there. The rain cleared up early. Flash flood warnings, but a non issue.

Tuesday: 3.11 miles before work. With the sleep issues Sun into Monday, made a point to get to bed early on Mon night! In bed before 9! Fell asleep right away. The only issue is, I rarely sleep more than 7 hrs. Felt the need to "catch up", got my normal amount of sleep, but up before 4, gave up trying around 4:15. No "extra" rest, but it was quality. Up, coffee, work out, hydrate, stretch, and out before 6. I always check the weather before heading out. Good thing! Temps back in the 30's! thought I was done wearing long sleeves! lol.. Brisk and well rested, ready to go! Pacing felt better than expected compared to Monday. 8:15/8:20/8:12 before/after worst hills/overall.

Wednesday: 4 miles before work. Tues, up a few late, 9:45! Up a few min before my alarm, but a bit groggy. Coffee, work out, hydrate, and out the door by 6. Temps just below 50. Brisk at first, air felt great. Definitely like the brisk air when I'm tired. Pacing: settled into the 8:15-8:20. Maintained at 8:20 after the worst of the hills mid way. Did my new fav extreme hill in mi 3, a bit tough to maintain pace after. Quads and hammy still feeling last weekend, but perfect weather, loved today's run. 

Thursday: 1 mile before work. Since Thu is 1 mile day, I may have a drink or two on Wed night. Went to bed early, 7 hrs sleep, up before my alarm. Dragging to start. Coffee, work out (got going and had time for extra reps), hydrate, stretch, and out the door by 6:10. Worked on cadences to start. Pacing: goal to do casual 8 min, maintained at 7:45 ish. Felt good. Still didnt have motivation to go to work though. lol..

Friday: 5 miles. Notice I didn't say before work! Off today, yay! Thursday, up way past my bed time, almost midnight! Watching sports. Sixers (win) started at 8, Phillies at 8:40 (loss :( ). Also had a couple of beverages. ;) If today was long run day, I wouldn't have done either. I like to get my rest! Up around 6, but taking my time. Coffee, work out (did a couple extra sets since I had time), hydtrate, stretch, and out the door around 8! Nike app issue! No pace updates! (I have mine set to alert every minute). (maybe an update that needs a boot?) Started out a bit fast, still had my watch to alert every mile, settled into my pace in mile 2. Another set back of not getting my alerts, would of done an extra .5, been mixing up my routes to get more hills, don't have the route memorized at the moment, hit my target after my last hill, but was .5 away from home. Did a cool down from there. I normally would of gone to the trail on a day off, but concentrating on hills for weekday runs. Will be there tomorrow!

Saturday: 10 miles. Long run day, trail day, yay! And it's "only" 10 miles! Let the tapering begin! Fri, pretty much just relaxed after my run. Hydrated and foam rolled. Went to bed early. Thunderstorm and flash flood warnings overnight, didn't really hear them. Woke up at my normal time. Coffee, light breakfast, hydrate, stretch. Thunder started at 5:30! Pouring rain! Guess I'm going to get wet today! Head over to my trail by 7. Flash floods along the drive there! Rain settled down just as I got started. My trail Pennypack Creek. Park in the middle, Welsh and Terwood Rd. Did the more gradual side to Rockledge Park first. Pacing settled in the 8:30's. First mile in, I saw an albino deer! At first I though it was a white dog, (especially since I wasn't wearing my glasses due to the rain), but as I got closer could tell it was a deer. It didn't stick around for a picture though. :( Continued on. Up the incline, pacing 8:38 ish, on the return got it back to 8:31. Fueled at 5 mi, hydrated as I passed my car 5.25 mi. Continued on to the other side of the trail to Byberry Rd. Pacing 8:40-8:45 on the way back. Was comfortable, quads a bit heavy, would of taken some exertion to get it back to the 8:30's. Was also humid today, definitely evaluating my hydration plan for race day. 

Full Pics

Sunday: 1 mile. Rest day, one for the streak. Streak day 1184. Up late sat night (Phillies baseball), and actually slept in! 7 am! Took my time getting ready. Coffee, read the news (play on internet), stretch, and out the door after 8. Plan was to do casual 8 min mile, first couple alerts better than expected, 7:15, alright, guess I'll be pushing it a bit to maintain. 7:30. Got my yard work done yesterday, will be taking it easy remainder of the day. Hydrate, stretch, maybe even take an Epsom salt bath. 

This was week 18 marathon training, using the below plan.

Image from Coach Jenny Hadfield

Weekly Summary:

Miles: scheduled 28 mi / completed 30 mi 
Strength Training: scheduled 80 min/ completed 98 min
Foam roll: 7 days 
Hydration goal met: 7 days   

Race Schedule 

05.05.19 - Broad Street Run! - Love this race, but won't be doing it this year. Sometimes you have to pass on repeat things to try something new! My review from last year, here.  

05.05.19 - Flying Pig Marathon! I am officially booked. Looks like a fun themed race, a great spring challenge, and somewhere I've never been (Cincy, Oh)! Hope to also check out Indiana and Kentucky while I'm out there! 

09.15.19 - Rock n Roll Philly Half Marathon. Use codes "19RNRBRP16" to save $16 off the half/full marathon and "19RNRBRP6" to save $6 off the 5k/10k! Race Preview, here!

11.24.19 - Philadelphia Marathon. My review from last yr, here. 

Good luck to everyone with training! Kick some butt! 

If you do any races, please remember to review them on BibRave.com! Your opinions help other runners decide what races to run! #BibChat Follow me on BibRave Joe G

Flying Pig Marathon Training - Week 17 - Weekly Running Update: April 14, 2019

Hi Everyone! 

Hope you are doing well! Any recent races or ones coming up, which ones? How'd the race or training go?

I had a couple recent races. Love Run Philadelphia Half Marathon and Hot Chocolate 15k Philadelphia, now back to marathon training for Flying Pig. This was week 17! Last long run before taper time!

My Week in Training: 

Monday: 7 miles before work. Sunday was rest day, but did 2.5 hrs of yard work. Hoping my back wouldn't be an issue this morning. Relaxed remainder of Sunday. Hydrated and foam rolled. Went to bed early, but tossed and turned a bit, and received a call from work at 10:30. Short call, sleep shortly after. Up before my alarm, but didn't get up until it went off, oops, it was still set a few min earlier (4:30) from Saturday's race. Coffee, work out, stretch, and out the door before 6. Settled in the 8:20's early. Comfortable, but expecting to fade through the hills. 8:25 before the worst hills/8:27 after. Felt the hills, but maintained just under 8:30. Checking the training schedule, today was my last 7 mile Monday, Yay! Doing a tougher plan than what i did in the fall, was not looking forward to these Mondays (neighborhood's got hills)! I prefer my trail for 5+, but hey, hills are good for you! Managed to get through the tougher Monday's with no issues. Resting properly, and umm cutting back on Sunday sports day drinking helped. lol.. 

Tuesday: 3.11 miles before work. Stayed up a few minutes late to watch a baseball game, but still up before my alarm. 4:50. Groggy. Coffee, work out, hydrate, stretch and out the door by 6:05. Temp in the mid 50's and humid! Dark out to start, a bit cool at first felt nice. Pacing felt better than expected for being tired. Planned on 8:20. Was 8:10 before 8:15 after the worse of the hills, and able to bring it under 8:05 to end. Definitely felt better than expected for being tired/groggy earlier!

Wednesday: 4 miles before work. Tues, another night I could of gone to bed earlier. Up a few min before my alarm. Coffee, work out, hydrate, stretch, and out the door by 6:05. Felt pretty decent. Comfortable pacing 8:15-8:20. Slight inclines throughout, a decent hill midway, still felt good, sought out an extra hill near the end that's not part of my 4 mi route. There are cherry blossom trees every other block, stopped by one during my cool down. Will try to stop by a couple better ones while they are still in bloom!

Thursday: 1 mile before work. Since Thurs is 1 mi day, I may be tempted to indulge in a beverage or two Wed night. beverage with dinner and during a baseball game. Ugly baseball game, did not stay up too late. Up before my alarm, but tired. Coffee, work out, stretch, and out the door by 6:10. 1 mile days I am sometimes tempted to push it, not today. Goal to maintain at 8, brisk air felt good. Wind chill in the high 30's, probably should of worn long sleeves. After my run, turned back to take a pic of the sky, didn't notice it earlier, there's a corner hill I should of paused at to appreciate it a bit more. I also stopped at my neighbors magnolia tree for a pic, sorry rushed the pic, didn't want to stand in their lawn too long. lol..

Friday: 4 miles before work. Excellent night's sleep. In bed by 9:30, could of been slightly earlier, but whatevs. Up a few min before my alarm. Coffee, work out, hydrate, stretch, and out the door by 6:05. (should of been 6, but lost a few min in the morning "routine"). lol.. Temp in the high' 40's. A bit brisk, but felt good. Pace: aiming for comfortable 8:20, but under 8 for the first mile. k, I may push a bit today. 8:10 after the worst hills mid way, maintained, did another extreme hill at 3, faded slightly but regrouped.

Saturday: 20 miles. long run day, trail day, yay! Haven't been to my trail in three weeks due to races, three weeks seems like forever! 20 miles? ruh, roh! lol.. 
And of course I make afternoon plans, so I feel the need to get done early. Wake up early? No problem! Up before my alarm. Coffee, stretch, and over to my trail by 6:40. My Trail Pennypack Creek. Park in the middle (Welsh and Terwood Rd). 60's, light rain possible, humid and sticky! oh, fun! Mid to Rockeledge Park. Saw 7 deer in the first 5 minutes! But they didn't stick around for photo-op. :( Humid, steamy and sticky, start sweating early. Glasses fogged much of the early morning. Rocklege park and back, fuel before passing my car to hydrate at 5.25 to Byberry Rd and back. Fueling and hydrating again at 10.5. Pacing 9.2 at 10.5. continue to Rockledge Park and back. Feeling the slow down but at 9.4 at 15. Goal was 9:09, but from 18-20, faded for sure! (9:20 overall) Am usually good with hydrating every 5 mi, could definitely have used more today! Will be sure to take advantage of hydration stations on race day! Of the 3-20 milers, this was the toughest. Hopefully the taper helps. 

Afternoon plans. I've been trying to appreciate the Cherry Blossoms while they are still in bloom, well, went to Philly to check them out! Glad I saw the VisitPhilly article a couple weeks ago, here. Shofuso Japanese House and Fairmount Park, for full photo's check out my FB page or IG page. ;)

Full pics

Sunday: 1 mile. "Rest day" one for the streak. Run Streak day 1,177. Up early, but sore from yesterday's run. Taking my time getting ready. Casual 1 miler for the streak. Will have to do about an hr of yard work before actually resting today. Rest and hydrate this afternoon for sure! 

This was week 17 marathon training, using the below plan.

Image from Coach Jenny Hadfield

Weekly Summary:

Miles: scheduled 38 mi / completed 40 mi 
Strength Training: scheduled 80 min/ completed 90 min
Foam roll: 7 days 
Hydration goal met: 7 days   

Race Schedule 

05.05.19 - Broad Street Run! - Love this race, but won't be doing it this year. Sometimes you have to pass on repeat things to try something new! My review from last year, here.  

05.05.19 - Flying Pig Marathon! I am officially booked. Looks like a fun themed race, a great spring challenge, and somewhere I've never been (Cincy, Oh)! Hope to also check out Indiana and Kentucky while I'm out there! 

09.15.19 - Rock n Roll Philly Half Marathon. Use codes "19RNRBRP16" to save $16 off the half/full marathon and "19RNRBRP6" to save $6 off the 5k/10k! Race Preview, here!

11.24.19 - Philadelphia Marathon. 

Good luck to everyone with training! Kick some butt! 

If you do any races, please remember to review them on BibRave.com! Your opinions help other runners decide what races to run! #BibChat Follow me on BibRave Joe G

Race Review: How sweet it is! Hot Chocolate 15k/5k Philadelphia!

Disclaimer: I received free entry to Hot Chocolate 15k Philadelphia race as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are all doing well. I am here to review the Sweetest Race in Philly! The All State Hot Chocolate 15k/5k Philadelphia! (I participated in the 15k)

Expo: bib pickup was a breeze! Expo was held at the the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The convention center is a few blocks long, best to know where your hall is before parking. (walked a couple blocks). Parking was a breeze. (maybe because I parked so far away). Enter the hall building, blow-up chocolate bar in the lobby. Yup, I'm in the right place! As you enter the hall, to the side is a bank of cashier type computers to check in. Minimal line, bib pickup maybe two minutes. Next, over to the jacket pickup line. Again, minimal line, maybe two minutes. To the side of the jacket pickup area, you can try on your jacket just in case you need to exchange. Tried it on, oh so soft and comfy! (pic in swag section)

Now time to get some chocolate and check out the vendors!

Hot chocolate samples, a cup containing chocolate pirouline rolled wafer and marshmallow with chocolate fondue, and chocolate bar samples!

After snacking, vendor time! (and more snacks!)

Sponsor All State, can take a quick survey to win prizes.
Sports Beans, grabbed 2 samples. Jelly Belly Krispy Kreme, and Quick Performance.
Honey Stinger, tried the organic waffle vanilla flavored.
Power Crunch: grabbed a peanut butter honey snapstick. They had a spin the wheel game. My wife won a chocolate mint protein energy bar, and I won a fanny pack!
Aftershokz! I just stopped by to say hi! They recognized my shirt from right away from all the work BibRave partners with Aftershokz on, told them how much I love my Aftershokz Trekz Air's! #ShokzSquad
Other notable stands:
Make a Wish Foundation
Black Girls Run
A jewelry stand, with race mementos all blinged up!

After checking out the great vendors, stopped for a couple pics by the race mascot, Marshall!

Okay, I may have stopped at the hot chocolate booth for 1 more round of samples before leaving! ;)

Race day:
Met up with fellow BibRavePro's, be sure to check out their blogs! Left to right. Ken Stands on Things, I Run on Beer, myself, and Scootadoot.

Before the start, there was a "heat zone". A few portable heaters to stay warm beforehand! Sponsored by Allstate, I participated in a quick survey and received the below hat for free! There's also a DJ nearby getting the crowd pumped up, the DJ was also doing a little dance party after the race as well.

Race course/map:
Relatively flat! From the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a mile down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and back to the museum, then down along the Schuylkill River (opposite side of Boathouse Row, crew teams were out for practice!) and back, slight incline just before the finish line at the museum. 

Image from Hot Chocolate 15k Philadelphia site

Training: I am currently on a marathon training plan, but custom training plans are available. With weekly email reminders of the upcoming week's schedule!

Weather: the one variable you can't control. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best. Rain all day the day before the race. Clearing up this morning. A light drizzle on the car ride into town, but cleared up. 45 this morning, going up to the 60's later. 50 is the line I am confident a short sleeve is ok for me. I warm up quickly, planned on going with short sleeves. Packed a long sleeve to discard, a space blanket, gloves, and checked a bag for later. Pre-race, used the space blanket and gloves for a bit. Didn't bother with the long sleeve, donated. Comfortable throughout the race.Was a bit chilly after the race, glad I checked a bag, but warmed up in the sun.

My race:
Previous PR, 1:14:something/7:59 pace. Goal 1:13:something. Plan... To hang between pacers, and pace at my gps pace of 7:45-7:50, just in case my gps is off by .10. Found the 7:30 and 8:00 pacers. Got next to the 7:30 pacer immediately at the jump, was comfortable and even thought about jumping ahead. That would of been foolish. Hanging by the 7:30 pacer. At the 1 mile mark they introduced themselves to the group and what to expect. Felt good, but knew that wouldn't be reasonable to sustain for the race. 5k mark, still with them, probably should of backed off by now, but still hanging. Knew by the 5 mi mark I should start being more realistic. Faded a few seconds. Trying not to look back yet. Course turn around near 5.75 mi, maintaining. Eventually see the pacer behind from the opposing traffic. Can tell I have a decent gap if I were to fade a bit more. For the race, I had a 1:14 countdown going, started doing the math with a couple miles to go, could tell if I were to maintain I would be ok, but had to maintain somewhat. Felt some fading, but maintaining cadences and hanging in there. It wasn't pretty at the end, but PR ahead of plan! 1:11:21/7:40 pace.

Swag:

Shirt: Full zip up hoodie! Men's comes in black, ladies comes in merlot. It is so soft and comfy!

Medal: Chocolate bar with city specific design. For Philadelphia, the Constitution Center and the Betsy Ross American Flag!

Chocolate: chocolate fondue and sides for dipping, all nut free. Sides include: marshmallow, Rice Krispie Treat, Snyder's mini pretzels, Stinger organic waffle vanilla flavored, and a banana!

Photo's: Free photo's! Don't you hate all those emails from other races to buy pictures, additional emails letting you know they are about to expire, but continue to get emails anyway.. Well, free photo's from Hot Chocolate 15k/5k! I was tagged in 20+ photo's. Of course I am only presentable in a handful. lol..
Looking alright in the beginning, not so much towards the end, but able to regroup somewhat to power through!

Post Race: (after all the chocolate celebrations) met up with a few members of FB group #RWRunStreak at City Tap House. 

Overall: This is a great spring race to train for through winter. The course is relatively flat. There's awesome swag, and of course... chocolate! This is a pretty sweet race! Would definitely recommend!

Question: Have you ever participated in the Hot Chocolate series? What is your favorite treat?

Socials and Site below! 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HotChocolate15k
IG: https://www.instagram.com/hotchocolate15k/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HotChocolate15k/
Site: https://www.hotchocolate15k.com/philadelphia/ 

If you do any races, please remember to review them on BibRave.com! Your opinions help other runners decide what races to run! #BibChat Follow me on BibRave: Joe G