Chocoholic Frolic 10K
This was an amazing race! Well run, reasonable field of runners, perfect mostly-flat course, and, of course, CHOCOLATE!!
Race day bib pickup started at 7:30 for a 9:00am race start, sonI wanted to get there about 7:45 so I could be sure to get parking at the park, not somewhere on the street (which, as it turned out, was very scarce because of road construction). I got a great spot right by the pavilion where bib-pickup was, and I was thrilled to discover that the pavilion was an actual building, with walls, doors, and, most importantly, HEAT. I might like to run in the cold, but I hate standing around in it. Another reason I wanted good parking was to hang out in my car pre-race, if necessary.
I got my bib, my amazing winter-running shirt, and a couple pieces of Halloween candy and took stuff back to my car. If to my bib attached to my shirt, ate a waffle, drank some water, and then headed back to the pavilion to stay warm while also moving around. I ate one little bag of M&Ms, but otherwise avoided the candy. They had a selfie spot with a bunch of signs, so I grabbed one and took a selfie (just not in the selfie tent, because it was busy) I always try to remember this when I’m racing and there’s people passing me like crazy.
The kids race around the pavilion started at 8:45, and ended about 5 minutes later, and they swarmed the medal, water, and cookie table. Then it was time for the 10K runners to fill in the small starting corral. I started close to the front, just because that’s just where I ended up, but I made sure to stay on the far right. I started out well, and made sure to stick to my intervals, because I have a habit of ignoring them in the adrenaline rush of starting a race.
The first quarter, or maybe half, mile was on a paved trail, and there were a few spots where slow traffic and fast traffic got snarled, but then we transferred to a two lane road and everyone had all the space they wanted. 10 minutes after the 10K started, the 5K runners got going. The races shared a course until the 5K turnaround, an obviously, the fastest 5K runners hit their turnaround before I did, so I got to cheer for them. There was a water stop at the 5K turnaround, and also a basket of candy. It was like going trick-or-treating! The water was icy cold, and I only took one cup.
All through mile 3, I was leapfrogging back and forth with this lady in blue—I would pass her on my run, and she would pass me on my walk. I finally got solidly past her in the first half of mile 4. Also in the first half of mile 4, shortly before the 10K turnaround, I saw a bald eagle take off from a tree along the river. So, I almost always see cardinals on my daylight runs, my late great-grandma always loved cardinals and I was her favorite great-grandkid, so I figure she’s keeping an eye on me. I decided she couldn’t find a cardinal in the area to check up on me today, and sent the eagle instead
I did end up seeing a male cardinal later in the race as well I need a lot of watching, apparently)
After I passed the blue lady, my next target was orange tail, a lady with a bright orange shirt tied around her waist and hanging below her coat. I passed her before the 10K turnaround, and set my sights on the silver twins. They got to the turnaround ahead of me, and they dithered around digging through the candy bowl, so I caught them and passed them. For the next mile or so, they would catch up to me when I walked, but as soon as they caught me, it would be time to run again. They were catching me just a little faster each time, and I thought they’d be passing me, but then they saw a potty and detoured and I was off.
In mile 5, I saw an eagle’s nest and snapped a picture
After that, it was a long time before I passed anyone, but eventually, I got closer and closer to black and grey. They were fading fast and I passed them before we got back to the 5K turnaround. It got a little harder to tell who was in which race after that, because the 5K walkers had only just hit the turnaround when I got there (taking another icy water and a handful of candy—I should have had a mini trick-or-treat bucket with me, the pocket of my leggings was pretty full). I passed pink shoes lady and the guy with her in mile 6, and I’m 97% sure they were 10K runners.
Coming back into the park, I passed grey guy, but then he passed me again when I cut a run interval at the mile 6 marker short so I could save a little extra for the last tenth of a mile. Then the silver twins reappeared and passed me
just before the 5K 3 mile marker! In my head, I was like, “oh, absolutely not! I got rid of you people ages ago.” I hit that 5K 3 mile marker and put on the speed. I passed grey guy, and then the silver twins, and then I was done!
I knocked 2 minutes and 45 seconds off my PR from the 2022 Twin Cities Marathon Weekend 10K!! This course was really quite flat, I think I’ve run bigger hills
inside the parks at Disney World.
I hit the segment button on my watch when I hit the mile markers
I got in line to get water, a medal (my choice of several different designs—they don’t put years on them, so they can offer prior years’ designs), and a giant cookie.
I’m not kidding about the cookie—it’s the size of my face!! (it’s right up against my nose in this shot)
I got my picture taken in the selfie spot with my medal, cookie, and the nerdiest sign in the pile of signs
I grabbed a couple more piece of candy for my grandparents, and headed back to the car. I switched from my shoes and sweaty socks for dry socks and hard soled slippers (I didn’t figure it was quite flipflops weather at 30°F) On the way home, I hit up McDonalds for some fries and a coke.
Here’s my candy haul, minus what I gave to my grandparents
Seriously, this is a NICE shirt—fleecy lining, and a zipper protector that goes the whole length of the zipper—so no cold metal on my neck or chest.
They had some funny signs at the race
After I got home, I got changed and went out to do some yardwork as my active recovery. I blew leaves in the front yard so my grandparents could rake them into out leaf hauler and move them to the woods. Then I got to smash up our Halloween pumpkins for the wildlife to eat—I got to use an ax!!
Then I got the lawn tractor stuck in the deep leaves and had to push it out—whoops! I took a hot bath, and relaxed for the rest of the day. My grandma and I watched Elemental and I really liked it!
. My body physically rejects the heat but winter running is my jam (as long as the path is clear and it’s above 10F).
