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

Race Review: A Pretty Sweet Race! Allstate Hot Chocolate Philadelphia!

"Disclaimer: I received free entry to the Allstate Hot Chocolate 15k/5k 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 everyone is doing well! I also hope by now, you may have seen my race previews and/or my race schedule. Well, race day has finally come! Had a pretty sweet time at the AllState Hot Chocolate 15k/5k Philadelphia! ;)

I was so excited for this race! I have heard great things about this race series here and across the country! 

Expo: held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Easy bib pickup! About 20 stations to check in, it's not in alpha or numeric order like most pickups, they just scan your email, print a sticker and apply to a bib! The shirt pullover pickup was in a separate line and went smoothly as well, they just scan your bib to pick up your shirt. They did have a changing area nearby if you wanted to try on/exchange your shirt for another size. After pickup, there were about three rows of vendors to checkout. Some of the vendor stands to check out were running clothing, medal displays, headphones, healthy meals, Nuun hydration, KT Tape, and shoe frosting.  Did I mention this is a chocolate themed race? Well, there was a stand in the middle to sample some of the race day treats! Wafer cookie and a marshmallow to dip in chocolate fondue and a shot of hot chocolate!

Training: I've been using a half marathon program that fits my needs for this and other races. But the Allstate Hot Chocolate race has been nice enough to provide one as well. Available on their web site, and also emailed to you weekly! Each Sunday you would receive an email for the upcoming week's training schedule. Very nice!

Race week:

Weather: going into this week, it looked like weather was going to be a factor! There was a forecast of 1-3 inches of snow, then it changed to 3-6, then wintry mix, then Friday it changed to coating to an inch! Race day, nothing! Maybe flurries, but nope! It was cold pre-post race, but no issues during the race. There was a heating area that had about 8 outdoor propane heaters, definitely made a difference while standing around pre/post race!

Race day: 

Pre-race: Met up with fellow BibRavePro, Meridith, be sure to give her a follow here.

Elevation/Scenery: Great news, the course is relatively flat! Some of the Philly races have one big hill in the middle, not this one! The course starts just to the side of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, (not at the end of the parkway like some races). The race is only in the city for about a mile. Down to Logan Square, turn around, back on the parkway (a mile already? am surprised more races don't use the parkway as part of the race, usually just part of the starting area), the rest of the race is along the Schuykill River (I76 side), you have a view of the river, parks, and Boathouse Row, avoid the hills, turnaround, back along the river to the museum, ending by the museum steps (which has a slight incline the last .25!). 

My race: Having just done a half marathon 2 weeks ago, was not sure if I'd have anything in the tank for a good race. Been trying to make a point to stretch, hydrate, and somewhat take it easy before race day.  I have been stretching more, but still room for improvement. Today, my goal was to pace around 8, fading to about 8:15ish. Well, feeling good, started out ahead of the 8 min pacer, felt good for a while, decided to keep with it. Ended up pacing there the entire way! I admit, the last mile I had doubts and was about to fade, the pacer passed me with about 1/4 to go. He gave me great words of encouragement, but I couldn't hang with him. My finishing time was a 7:59 pace! Results were available right away!

Post race pics: Had to get some photo ops with the marshmallow man and hot chocoloate!

Met up with my buddy post race, be sure to follow him as well, here!

Swag: 

The Chocolate! Sorry, didn't get a close up of the chocolate. Included was dark chocolate fondue  with treats to dip! Marshmallow, rice krispie treat, biscoff cookies, and pretzels. As well as hot chocolate!

Medal: pretty sweet medal! Chocolate bar! and a key chain of the Liberty Bell! (each Hot Chocolate 15k race has a city specific landmark key chain) 

Pullover! Most races have a short or long sleeve shirt, this race has a tech pullover! It is so comfy! and provides plenty of warmth! Already gave it a trial run, was very nice!

 

Free photo's! On race day?! When checking my result's yesterday, the photo's were already available! I received an additional email this morning that they tagged me in a few more! And I only look like death in a few of them, actually happy with some! 

I had a blast doing this race, it was pretty sweet! ;) Will definitely do this race again here in Philly, and hopefully in another city as well someday!

Allstate Hot Chocolate 15k/5k sites and socials: 
Site: https://www.hotchocolate15k.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HotChocolate15k
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HotChocolate15K/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hotchocolate15k/

If you have any questions or comments, please let me know!

Good luck with your training, keep kicking 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

Weekly Running Update: February 4th, 2018

Hi Everyone!

Hope everyone is doing well. Training wise and personally.

Another week of training in the books!

My week in review:

Monday: 5 miles after work. Sunday was rest day. Was well rested, stretched, and hydrated yesterday. Feeling energetic in the morning. Not as much after work, but still felt good.

Tuesday: 3.11 miles. Went to bed early Monday. Didn't set my alarm to get up early, but was hoping to get a good night rest and naturally wake up before my alarm.  Good night's rest and up early! Scheduled to snow after morning rush hour, got it in before work! I didn't stretch/foam roll last night, but felt OK, will make a point to tonight. Tuesday/Thu are also strength training days. Crunches, planks, curls, tricep extensions, push-ups done before heading out.

Wednesday: 4 miles. Work from home day, lunch run! I failed to foam roll again yesterday, but made a point to this morning. It was a bit colder out. Started out at a 5k race pace, with the cold air was practicing breathing, pace went a bit further than planned, decided to keep with it. Definitely a bit winded at points, but overall was my best 4 miler in a bit.

Wednesday also marked the end of the month. Feel good about the month overall. There was at least one rough long snow run in there, but got the miles in. Making more of a point to stretch and foam roll, getting it done for the most part, and think I feel a difference in recovery time. Will make a point to keep at it.

Thursday: 3.11 miles. Early. I didn't get up early on purpose, and it wasn't because I was well rested. Tossed and turned for a while, couldn't sleep. Worked out and foam rolled, out the door by 6. Went through the motions, felt decent.

Friday: 4 miles after work. A bit more well rested than Thursday. Well, almost slept till my alarm which is almost like well rested. Foam rolled in the morning, hydrated very well today at work. Noticed it a was a bit cooler out. Little reminder that it's still winter. Started out a bit faster than I wanted and kept with it a bit longer than I should have, noticed I was backing off towards the end and went with it. Shouldn't be overdoing it the day before "Long" run day.

Saturday: Long run day! But its the backing off distance long run. 7 miles. As always, woke up early. Checked out work to make sure all was clear before heading out. A bit of a mistake. Worked a bit longer than planned. Was up at 5:30, didn't get to the trail (Pennypack Creek) till 8:30. A bit chilly out, but prepared.  The trail is 5.25 mi, I park in the middle. Didn't want to do one side and back, then to the other for just a bit. Did the gradual incline side, at the end I headed off the trail into a nearby neighborhood for a bit. Didn't want to get lost, did about 1 mi over there. Head back to the midpoint parking lot, turn around for another .5 and back. The temps weren't an issue, but the gravel was pretty solid from the temps, not as soft as usual. One thing I didn't do right, fuel. I try to fuel around the 45-50 min mark. Realized it a few min later and skipped it. Need to do better on shorter long runs, don't want to 'forget' the fueling that my body is used to (tolerates). 

Sunday: 6 miles. I usually do rest day, streak day on Sunday.. But Saturday was a shorter long run day and the Superbowl is today. Going to flip today and tomorrow's runs. Hydrated and foam rolled yesterday. Well rested, up early this morning, worked out and to the trail by 7:30. Did the opposite trail as yesterday, less gradual incline with a hill at the end. Parking lot to end and back is just over 5.25, had to add a bit in somewhere. At the end there is a business complex that has a loop, ignore the no trespassing/clients only signs, back  on trail and back. Another .2 to make up near the end on a side shoot. Temps weren't an issue, done before the possible precipitation in a bit. Overall felt pretty good.  

Superbowl Sunday! I know I have at least a few Pats frenemies today. Hope it's a close gm with an Eagles win. #FlyEaglesFly! Not sure of my complete #Craftbeer lineup, but there will be Nugget Nectar!

This was week 7 of half marathon training. Using the training program below. 

To credit the images, it was pulled Coach Jenny Hadfield's training plans. 

Future races registered for:

• 03/25/18 - Philadelphia Love Run half marathon. Love the love run! Check out my 2017 review here. 
• 04/07/18 - Hot Chocolate 5k/15k!! (15k) Join me using code “BRHCPHILLY18” to score a BONUS Hot Chocolate branded cap!  

https://www.hotchocolate15k.com/philadelphia

Check out my Hot Chocolate 15k race preview post here! 
• 04/14/18 - Newport Rhode Races! Half marathon. They do have 5k and full marathon options as well! Use code "BibRave" to save 10% on race entry!

runri.us/newport-race-info/

Check out my race preview post here! 

• 05/06/18 - Broad Street Run!  Assuming I win the lottery! My 2017 review 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