Race Recap: Atlanta Hot Chocolate 5k

Today, I officially kicked off my race-a-month resolution of 2013 with the Atlanta Hot Chocolate 5k!

My alarm went off at 5 a.m., and I immediately checked the weather – 63 degrees and 94% humidity. In January. I was really hoping for this race to be chilly, but oh well. In what would prove to be my best decision of the day, I wore my trusty cropped Nike Dri-Fits and a tech tee from Tarjay.  I scarfed my standard breakfast of oats with almond milk, peanut butter, and cinnamon before Mom snagged me at 5:45. We hit the road, driving through a foggy downtown Atlanta on the way. Couldn’t resist a blurry iPhone-from-the-car shot!

The race sold out (19,000 people total), so unsurprisingly, there was a good bit of traffic getting to the parking lots, but we were parked by 6:35, no problem. The corrals didn’t open until 7:15, so to kill some spare time, we walked around, scoping out the post-race party area; the music was already blaring, and there was a group Zumba warm-up going on that looked like a blast. Before we headed to our corrals, we took a picture with the sign I made for Mom.

I was assigned Corral C but managed to sneak back to Corral D with Mom so we could start together – sorry for being that person, race organizers, but I just had to!

Roughly nine minutes after the race officially started, our corral crossed the start line.  As we ran up Capitol Avenue under the Olympic rings, I could see the Atlanta skyline shrouded in fog while “Born to Run” played in my ears. A perfect start, I’d say.

My multitasking-while-running skills are still not that great, so I have no photos of the actual course – fail of the race. There were enough hills to make the course interesting, although it wasn’t particularly scenic. We ran through a lot of Georgia State’s campus, and I caught myself getting a little nostalgic. I graduated from State five years ago, and I can still remember where what my first day on that campus was like.

Mom and I crossed the finish line holding hands (final time: 34:57) and immediately hit the water station for some non-chocolate refreshments. I was so hot and sweaty that chocolate was honestly the last thing on my mind until I guzzled some water. After our H20 fix, we walked to the Finisher’s Mug area where we waited in a very short line before a super friendly volunteer gave us our mugs. Look how cute!

We popped a squat in the middle of the madness of the Turner Field Green Lot and enjoyed our chocolate. The pretzels seemed to suffer from the humidity, but the hot chocolate and marshmallow, banana, rice krispie treat, and fondue hit the spot!

Obviously, the humidity was not kind to our hair. After we took our picture, we joined the super energetic emcee and the crowd for a mass Wobble dance-off. Yes, my mom did The Wobble. It was pretty awesome.

Final verdict: even though I was hoping for much cooler weather, the Hot Chocolate 5k was a really fun and well-organized race, and I’m so glad we kicked off January and our next two months of half-marathon training by running it. Major shoutouts to RAM Racing and all of the friendly volunteers who made the race such an enjoyable experience!

Recap: Hot Chocolate 5K Expo

First things, first, the weather today was absolutely gorgeous. Think 75 degrees and sun – oh, glorious, glorious sun!

Mom and I hit up Figo for lunch before heading to the Hot Chocolate Expo – any excuse to carb load! Whole wheat primavera penne, you are my BFF.

After lunch, we headed to the World Congress Center for packet pick-up. I was a little worried about how smooth packet pickup would be after reading some not-so-pleasant reviews of previous races in other cities, but I was pleased to see there were no lines, just lots of orange-clad volunteers and very loud music. Boom boom pow!

(I’m not sure what is going on with my elbow in that picture, but it’s kind of freaking me out.)

We picked up our race bibs and sweatshirts with no wait. The sweatshirts, while surprisingly thick and super comfy, do run a bit small, but not so small that I had to exchange a size, so no complaints here.

The expo had a cute little chocolate area in the center with volunteers handing out hot chocolate and little chocolate squares – a yummy preview of what we will be enjoying tomorrow after the race!

We stopped by Big Peach‘s corner, and it was a zoo! Mom managed to navigate the crowds to get a neat little headband, and I picked up some thick socks for cold runs (if it ever actually gets cold). After that, we stopped by the Publix Georgia Marathon booth to get glimpse at the half marathon and marathon medals!  I had seen them on Facebook, but it was fun to see them in person and pick them up (heavy!). I’ll be envisioning that half medal around my neck somewhere around Mile 10 that day, for sure.

Trying out new products is one of my favorite things about expos, and I am an admitted sample fiend. The Hot Chocolate Expo was small and definitely lacking in that area, BUT they made up for it by having the Biscoff booth stocked with full-size jars of deliciousness. I would be lying if I said I didn’t stick a spoon in it the second I got home. The husband is hooked as well.

On our way out, we picked up our pre-paid parking pass (so glad we were able to purchase one) and passed the Cheer Squad station. I always love to see bystanders holding silly signs, and I hope I see some good ones on the route tomorrow. We grabbed one to pose with at the starting line tomorrow.

After leaving the expo, we went to the yoga studio for Lisa’s holiday detox workshop. It was two hours of twisty, sweaty goodness! Definitely a good way to spend the evening before a race. I feel loose, limber, and ready for my 5 a.m. wake up call.

I just finished my night-before-the-race tradition of making my playlist, and now I’m trying to decide what to wear. The Weather Channel is telling me it will be 60 degrees tomorrow at our start time. Crops and a tech tee? Shorts and a long sleeve tee? Decisions, decisions. Hard to believe it will all be over in less than 12 hours.

See you at the start line, fellow Hot Chocolate runners!

Friday Favorites.

Happy Friday! I feel like we haven’t seen the sun in Atlanta in DAYS. These were the things that served as my little rays of sunshine instead!

• As a lifelong Uncle Jesse fan, Thought Catalog’s piece on where the characters from Full House would be today was basically amazing
• Oscar nominations were released yesterday – happy for Quvenzhane but so sad about no Best Picture love for Moonrise Kingdom
• I’m a sucker for a good infographic and all kinds of wine, so you can only imagine how happy this made me
• Thank you, Kristen Wiig, for giving me a .gif almost identical to my reaction upon reading The Avett Brothers will be here with Old Crow Medicine show in May

I am so looking forward to hitting up the Hot Chocolate expo tomorrow evening and then running Sunday’s 5k with my mom! What are your weekend plans?

Long Live the King.

First things first, happy birthday Elvis! Many thanks to Yoga Dork for opening my eyes to this amazing video.

I don’t think there is anything more delightful than seeing this hunka hunka burnin’ love sing the lyrics, “You tell me just how I can take this yoga serious when all it ever gives me is a pain in my posterious.”

After work, I scooted over to Cheatham Hill for a  quick 2.6 mile run before coming home to cook a yummy dinner and climb in the bathtub with some red wine and Lana del Rey. Not bad for a Tuesday!

An aerial yoga class, a short run, and a post-holiday detox workshop with A Charmed Yogi are on deck prior to Sunday’s race. This is my first race with my mom, and I am super excited! I’m thinking of making her a special playlist to get her extra pumped that morning. Any suggestions?

Gosh Almighty.

If the first weekend of 2013 is any indication of how this year will turn out, it’s safe to say it’s going to be a fun one! Last night we went to Mad Mad Whirled in Marietta to play whirlyball, a lacrosse/bumper car/basketball hybrid, with some coworkers of mine. If you’ve never played, go do it! It’s a little tricky to get the hang of at first, but it’s so fun once you do.

This morning I woke up, scarfed a bowl of peanut butter oatmeal, and went for a 4-mile run around the neighborhood. After a few more runs in the Old Navy running top I raved about in this post, I went back and picked up another pullover this week since all their activewear is on sale right now. Lululemon it ain’t, but it keeps me warm and looks pretty cute doing so! Throw in some texting gloves, and I was good to go – can’t get enough of those thumbholes.

The thing most motivating me to finish my chilly run? The BBVA Compass Bowl’s 1 o’clock kickoff! Mitch, Novelette, and I went to Black Bear Tavern, Atlanta’s Ole Miss bar, to watch the game; it was so nice to be amongst fellow fans! The Rebels whomped Pitt (final score: 38-17), and I think we hotty toddy-ed five times with the man at the table next to us.

A solid run, a Rebel win, and a week left until the Hot Chocolate 5k! Not a bad way to spend the first weekend of 2013. How is your weekend so far?