One of my goals before moving to FL was to run a race in downtown Chicago, I had initially thought about running the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon but saw the Hot Chocolate 15k and was instantly attracted to it. What could go wrong at a race distance I had never run before, in the middle of a city, that had hot chocolate and fondue as one of the perks?

Photo Source: Hot Chocolate Chicago

The expo was awesome! I attended the expo on Saturday November 7th and was blown away by the amount of people and vendors present. The bib pick up and jacket pick up was extremely simple and organized. It took my mom and I about 10 minutes to get our bibs and jackets, with some of those 10 minutes being spent grabbing samples of hot chocolate and marshmallows. The jacket that you receive with your race registration is extremely soft and has become one of my lounge staples. I only bought some headbands from Sparkly Soul and debated about getting a car magnet but was too undecided to pick just one.

My New Sparkly Soul Headbands!

  As you can see from the pictures of my expo swag below, I made out like a bandit and enjoyed every minute of it! If you can see it in the picture of my jacket there's a cute blue/grey racing buff. I received this buff because I used a code from one the Hot Chocolate ambassadors. Hopefully one day I'll be able to share a fun code with my readers.

A Jacket, Bag, and Buff! Major Win!

So Many Marshmallows!

During the expo there were various picture opportunities set up, because I was with my mom I decided to not push the issue about taking a ton of pictures and just took one with my bib.

The morning of the race got off to an extremely early start. The night before I had stayed at my uncles house along the Blue Line and had a much shorter commute than I would have had if I had stayed at home. The access to this closer house was greatly appreciated, but I still had to get up a dark o'thirty and function on a fairly normal level. My dad was kind enough to drive my mom and I to Grant Park so we didn't have to take the el, and we got there much earlier than planned. Just after he dropped us off we realized that my mom had left her phone in the car. Because of the amount of people that would be here we needed her phone for connecting after the race and spent a good 15 minutes getting my dad to turn the car around and deliver the phone. 

Once the phone had been retrieved we separated because she would be participating in the 5k and I had elected to run the 15k. These two events are split for the start and the signage to get to our respective corrals was impressive. At no point did I feel like I was lost or confused. 

The split for the 15K and 5K. 15K on the left, 5K on the right.

I quickly found my corral and a was happy to see that it was by a grassy area to stretch. I had submitted a proof of time from the Crystal Lake Half Marathon and was happy to see that I was placed in a "preferred corral" for this race.

When I entered my corral I found the people that were with me to be extremely friendly. There were a few ladies in my corral with the same leggings and we had a good laugh over cheap, yet cute leggings from Kohls. While I was setting up my tracker and music I heard my name being called by a familiar voice. Much to my excitement some of my friends from Running Depot had been placed in the same corral. We were lucky enough to get a picture together from the official photographer. 

Once the race started I stayed with my friends for a bit, but we ended up splitting up. I was trying to PR and they were just planning on having fun. The race weaves on Lower Wacker for a bit and despite fearing this section I actually found it easy. There was a strong presence of race officials and police so I never felt uncomfortable, plus the street was clean and easy to navigate. There was a slight smell to the area but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. 

Once we were out of Lower Wacker the rest of the race was "above ground". I found the course well marked, and well staffed. 

During the first three miles I seriously debated dropping down the 5K course but knew that if I did I would really regret my decision. During these first three miles I dropped my water belt, had my music glitch, and my fitbit tracker was completely off. It was insisting that I was running 6 minute miles. The 5k course and the 15k course stay together until about mile 2.5 and then they split. I've heard stories from other runners about how they accidentally jumped on the wrong course but I have no idea how that could have happened. This course was extremely well marked out and there were a ton of volunteers making sure that the runners stayed on the correct course. 

Past the 15K/5K split I found the race became easier. The crowd thinned out and I was able to focus more on running my race and not trying to "show off". During this section of the race I found myself focusing more on the scenery and less on maintaining my pace. Because I was running through sections of the city that I don't normally experience, I decided that it was perfectly alright to just enjoy the course. 

The only part of the course that I did not enjoy was the section through McCormick Place. This area does get dark, like pitch black, dark. So I ended up turning off my music and slowing down. I figured that any lost time would be worth it, the last thing I wanted to do was trip and injure myself. 

Once I had finished this section I felt like I had won. The majority of the race was over and I felt super accomplished. The final section was fairly hilly but I honestly didn't find them too bad. These hills were steep and a bit twisty but they were manageable. Running into the finish felt amazing, there was a huge crowd along the course cheering the runners on, and the atmosphere was awesome. Everyone was so festive and excited. 

Once I crossed the finish line I was instantly impressed with the organization. Like the 15K/5K split earlier the finish was divided because the 15K runners were receiving medals and the 5K runners did not. I quickly received my medal and then found the water/sports drinks immediately. The volunteers working the hydration station were extremely generous and handed me two water bottles even though I asked for one. I also quickly found the medical tent, with a very short line, and debated about getting ice but decided against it. 

After the finish I followed the crowd to the finish line party. Holy moley was the race party crowded. It was literally a mob of people, but also surprisingly organized. There were alphabetical signs around the party for people to meet up with their parties. After my mom texted me saying that she was at the party we quickly found each other. Once we found each other we wandered through the merchandise tent, and got our hot chocolate and fondue. The hot chocolate was the perfect temperature for me and the fondue was a fun reward for finishing the race. 

Overall, I loved the Hot Chocolate 15k and would run it again with no hesitation. My only complaint is that I am moving to Orlando and am going to have to drive up to Atlanta to run the race next year. I'm hoping that because Orlando is listed as a "notify me" on the Hot Chocolate website the race will one day come to my home! If it does then I can guarantee that I will be running it!

Pros: Great swag, super organized, fun post race party, awesome medal, great atmosphere.

Cons: Waking up a dark o'thirty, there isn't an Orlando race yet. 

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As a quick side note, I wore my new Sparkly Soul "Run Chicago" headband during this race and kept feeling it to make sure that I still had it. That headband did not move at all during the race, or after the race while I was at lunch. It gripped my hair perfectly, but did not leave a dent or snag my hair at all. Plus, I love that I now have a headband to honor my hometown! Sparkly Soul is definitely going to be my headband of choice during my next races. 

I'd apologize for the delayed update, but I'm sure this isn't a surprise for anyone.

On October 18, 2015 I ran the Care 4 Breast Cancer 5k in Woodstock, IL. This was my second 5k of the year and my second race with the Running Depot team. I had participated in the 5k training program that was hosted by Running Depot and felt extremely prepared for this race.

The race was held at the "new" Woodstock North High School (in a small town, with very little happening, things stay new for a loooooooong time) and started at 8:30am, but I got there at 7:00 to ensure that I could park in the high schools lot. Several of my friends arrived closer to 8:30 and were forced to park at the Municipal Building down the street. The race was kind enough to provide shuttles between the Municipal Building and North.

The race expo was held inside the gyms at the high school and had enough offerings to keep me entertained until the race start. There were bagels from Panera, donuts from Country Donuts, and coffee from Starbucks for the participants. There were also several different vendors who were handing out free samples such as chapstick, sunscreen and fun bags. The chapstick was greatly appreciated because of the weather.

That morning when I woke up it was in the 40s so I made sure to wear a thermal top under my racing tank, and my winter running tights. I also brought gloves, a headband, and neck warmer, while these items were nice to have before the race, I wish I hadn't worn them during the race.

With the race set to start at 8:30, my group and I headed over to the start at 8:20. The start was set up with various pace signs to help people line up from fastest to walkers. Unfortunately, most of the individuals at the race did not listen to the pace signs and just charged to get close to the start. This caused a lot of strollers and walkers to be ahead of my group, even though we stopped by the 8 minute/mile sign (we couldn't get further than that due to the wall of people).

The race started promptly at 8:30 and it took my group 2 minutes to cross the starting line. Once we had crossed this line it was fairly easy to weave around the slower individuals and get to a pack of people around my pace. One thing I will note is that people tended to not listen when you announced "on your left", there were several moments when I had to change directions because the person I was trying to pass would jump right where I was going.

The first mile is slightly hilly, but manageable. It is directly down the main road and is lined with balloons, and volunteers cheering. I felt like this mile went extremely fast and was well marked out, I completed it in 9 minutes according to my FitBit data.

The second mile was a bit slower for me but was pretty consistent, with a pace of 9'10". This mile goes through a local neighborhood which is always nice. There were several residents out who were cheering for the runners or just having a good time. It was around this mile that the pack I had been running it started to separate, it provided a nice opportunity for me to try and keep up with the faster runners of the group and really push myself.

The third mile slowed down for me considerably. The first portion of the mile was in the neighborhood, which was fast, but the last portion followed the first mile with all the hills. These hills weren't too severe but because I slacked on my hill training they felt like mountains. It was during this mile that I had a back and forth going with a parent running with a stroller. This "competition" helped me keep going at a steady pace because I kept telling myself that if they can push that stroller and keep a consistent pace then I can run, by myself, at a consistent pace.

The last 0.1 mile was on the driveway to North. This mile was fairly irritating because there were radio hosts from a local radio station "cheering" on the runners. I can't stand listening to radio DJs in the morning and these two individuals happen to be on during my morning commute. Once I finished the race I was pleased to see that I had improved my 5K PR by 6 minutes, bringing it down from 34 minutes to 28!

While I did PR at this race I don't believe that it is one that I would do again.

Pros: Nice expo, fast course.

Cons: Disorganized start, way too many walkers causing a bottleneck, awful parking, and the darn DJs.

This may be a day late (or 17, whoops), but I figure it's better late than never! Plus, as you'll see further down, I had to wait to make any type of formal announcement about my new year.

So, without any further delay, here are 5 things you can expect to see from me in this coming year.

1) More races.

Picture Source: Fort2Base

This coming year I have several races planned, with the goal of running one race every month (excluding January). My main goal is to run a strong 5k and keep my time below 30 minutes, currently I'm averaging around 28 minutes. I would also like to run a few more half marathons and possibly a race on the beach. I have updated my race schedule tab with the upcoming races and my updated PRs.

2) Dressage lessons.

Picture Source: wikipedia.com

One of the main items on my must have list for the new barn is access to dressage lessons. I feel like my flatwork needs a lot of help and I'm hoping that by taking dressage lessons I will be able to build a stronger foundation. I might keep up my Hunter/Jumper lessons but right now that will not be my main focus. Ideally I will be able to try a dressage show or two, even if it is just a walk/trot test.

3) Actually finishing and reviewing books.

Picture Source: huffingtonpost.com

This past year I have read and finished several books but I never finished any written reviews on them. I entered the 2016 Goodreads Reading Challenge with the goal of 100 books, currently I have started 4 different books and finished 0. I'm already off to a great start.

4) More adventures.

Photo Source: tumblr.com

Because I'll be more independent and more accessible to my friends I fully intend on forcing them on adventures. Several items I have planned are exploring the new area, attending an away football game for my Alma mater, and learning how to live on my own.

Which leads me to the most interesting part of my year........

5) Successfully move to Florida.

In a few weeks I'll be leaving my small town, in Northern Illinois, and moving back down south to the Orlando, FL area. This move marks the first time I won't have roommates, the first time I will be 100% financially responsible for myself, and the first time I have ever had to make all the decisions about my living arrangement. I am extremely excited because I'll be moving back with all my friends and I won't have to endure any more Midwestern winters!

This move involves a new job at a new company, which involved a huge milestone in my life. Interviewing for a job, while being employed by another company, then having to resign from my current company. If that doesn't sound extremely stressful then take my word for it, it was a headache and a half.

In the coming weeks, while I pack and prepare, I fully intend on keeping everyone updated about the move and the various components that make up the experience.

Wish me luck!