Hot Chocolate 15K

Last September, when we signed up for this race, it seemed like such a great idea.  The race was scheduled for the week before the Princess Half Marathon, and a 15K (9.3 miles) would be a great warm-up for that event.  We were walking by the Hot Chocolate booth at the Women's 5K expo, and it was hot outside, and doing a 15K in February when it wouldn't be hot and you got hot chocolate at the finish, and you got a terrific hoodie rather than a race t-shirt - well, what could be better?  Fast forward to today, and just about anything would have been better!

Yes, our faces froze this way

By "we" I mean KB, Molly, and me.  We were still living in oblivion about the 15K until yesterday, when we started sending text messages about race day weather.  Oh, didn't I mention that on race day it was 21°,  felt like 11°, 9 mph N wind, and humidity of 73%?  We texted things like "Should we," and "Won't it be cold," and "Really - should we?"  Molly said we should, so at 6:30am we headed for the race start.  To put it bluntly, IT.   WAS.   COLD.   Luckily the race had a merchandise booth, where most of the participants huddled together waiting for the start of the race.

Anyhow, at some point, the race started and we were off.  I had several concerns, like the usual "will I be able to finish this race" and similar thoughts (especially since we saw several people during the first few miles that had turned around and were headed back to the start), but mostly I was concerned that my toes felt like they had turned to ice and were in danger of breaking off.  Sam and Lynnette live in the neighborhood of the race, and he and Lindley (in the stroller, bundled up like an Eskimo) met us just after the start and jogged a bit with us.  Eventually the blood started circulating in my feet again and I warmed up (relatively).  This race course took full advantage of Nashville's "rolling hills" and for 9.3 miles we wogged up and down and up and down, eventually finishing and receiving our finisher's bowl (instead of a medal). 

The hot chocolate was yummy and the hot chocolate fondue was delightful.  Were we glad we did it?  After finishing, of course we were.  It seemed like a great idea again.  Will we do it again?  Probably, based on our penchant for doing dumb stuff.  Are we ready for next weekend's races?  Of course not, but we want to believe we are.



No, we were not a cult -
we were just super cool!

So who is today's race for?  Well, when I think about hot chocolate, I think of my high school friend, Madeline.  One of her favorite things is frozen hot chocolate from Serendipity.  While I've never been to the NYC establishment, I've been to the one in Miami, and always imbibe in her honor.  But hot chocolate also reminds me of the old days when my church would have revivals, and we would have a service in the mornings before school started.  They would always serve hot chocolate and doughnuts and we would get together and worship and head off to school.  I remember my friends from church and how much they meant to me - Pam, Laura, Anita, Carol, Martha, Debbie, Lynn, Janet, Suzanne, Elizabeth, Denise, and many more whom I've probably forgotten.  These girls were the ones in my grade and we have great memories of parties and trips and Sunday School.  This race is for my hot-chocolate girlfriends - I hope maybe one day we can all do a 5K together - maybe in our hometown of Starkville, Mississippi!  Meanwhile, here's an oldie but goodie that we used to sing back in the day:

We are the Starkville girls, we wear our hair in curls.

We wear our dungarees, way up above our knees.

We wear our daddy's shirts, we are the biggest flirts.

We are the Starkville girls, hip hip hooray - HOORAY!!

 

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Today was a great day because:  we froze but finished the 15K; sonic with KB and Molly; hot shower and warm bed recovery; taking Everley and Mathieu to Nissan shop; Sam picking up CF for dinner; Lindley and Everley time