Total distance: 2.78 miles*
*This was supposed to be a 5K but it appears as though they mis-measured the race route. Grump.
This 5K is sort-of new this year... I say sort-of, because Chocolaterie Stam, the chocolate shop that sponsored this race, used to co-sponsor the Hot Chocolate Race in the past... which is how I knew about it in the first place. LOVE me some Stam... their bonbons are amazing. I digress. They broke off from the HCR in order to be able to do it more their way, and to be able to donate more directly to charity. They paired up with the organizers of the Des Moines Marathon and I have to say, I was really impressed with this race, except for one minor detail, which I'll get to later.
Their charity recipient is the John Stoddard Cancer Center, which is a major medical facility here in Central Iowa - so it was nice that the money was going to a local charity. They announced before the race how much money they were going to be able to donate, and I wish I could remember what they said, because it seemed like a lot. More than I would have expected from any event, let alone a 'new' event. The route was in a different part of downtown Des Moines than the other ones I've done, so it was nice to have a change of scenery (a lot of the other routes overlapped, even if slightly.) It was a fairly chilly day - hey, it's mid-November! - and they had a lot of space and vendor tables inside where people could wait. They had a fondue station too for after... the chocolate dipped banana I ended up with was pretty amazing. Not to mention the hot chocolate, which was also refreshing, once I'd consumed some water.
As for the race itself, I was a little disappointed in how I did. I guess that's what I get for taking a week off. On the one hand, I felt really good - it wasn't exactly warm, and the sky was gray, but as I got warmed up it felt just right. Even better, the rain held off, which was good because that would have been realllllllllly cold. Mentally, I was in a great place. Physically... well. I was just kind of slow. I felt like I was going slow and it was frustrating.I think once I landed on a song that seemed to properly motivate me to keep a solid pace, I just kept playing it on repeat. For the entire race.
When I crossed the finish line and checked my time, I was incredibly surprised to see that my time was faster than I expected - a new PR?! Maybe I hadn't been going as slow as I thought! ...But according to my UP band, the distance fell short of an actual, full 5K - I crossed the finish line at 2.78 miles. HUGE bummer! (This was the only bit of the race that I didn't love - they mismeasured the route! Hopefully they will fix it for next year. My ONLY complaint about the whole thing.)
At any rate, I really enjoyed the atmosphere and energy of this race and I am currently planning on giving it another go next year. I love how local this one is - from the organizers to the charity recipient. And hey, chocolate.
this would have been a fun run! PS you look skinny in that picture. I hate using that as a compliment on principle but I know you've been working on losing weight, so I thought it was appropriate because it's true.
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