The race begins at SUNY Adirondack, works its way to the Warren County Bikepath and ends at Battle Field Park in Lake George. Rolling course with a long down hill finish.

This is the second year for this 15k race. It replaced one of my favorite races – Adirondack Distance Run (10 miler). That was the one that starts in Lake George Village and ends in a park on the lake next to the marina where we keep our boat.

I was very disappointed that they cancelled this race. (After 40 years, they decided that it was dangerous to run on the road.)

My friend Sue and I have had many running adventures together:

Since Sue was the organizer of this new race, I felt that I should at least run it the first year. It was hard especially the first 5k but I actually enjoyed it so I signed up again.

However, in preparation for this race, I only got in ONE long run (and it was flat).

The rest of my weekend runs were ALL 5ks. (At least these had some hills).

The biggest challenge would be those hills. I knew that it was hilly. And we all know that I do not train on hills or do hill repeats. (Hopefully, there would be some muscle memory from those Prospect Park hills from the mid-week 5k the week before.)

I found this elevation chart on IG:

glad I saw this AFTER the race

We have had some perfect racing weather and today was no different. In the 60s at the start, sunny and 70s at the end.

Anyway, I had no goals besides finishing unhurt. I haven’t run many 15ks.  My surprise PR is from the Stockade-athon last November (1:30:15) and I ran this race last year at 1:33:54. But without those long runs and hill repeats, I planned to be cautious.

There were four water stops along the route: one at mile 2 (which served runners on the way in and out) and then along the bike path at approximately miles 4.2, 6.2 and 8. I would be stopping at each one and hoped that this would be enough.

Due to work, rain and other factors, I had not run much all week.  Fresh legs is always good, right?

rained shortened run on Thursday

So what to wear? The usual.

tank and skirt with compression socks

The race started at 8 am which seemed fine (but since it is summer, I would even prefer earlier). I left my house around 6:15 am since I had over an hour drive. The race began at a college so there were real bathrooms and comfortable places to hang out before the race.

Last year, in lieu of a medal, each runner received a car magnet and a tech shirt.  This year, just the gender-specific tech shirt.

None of my close running friends were running the race but I was surprised at how many runners I did know. I hung out with them until the race began.

Yes, that was the start line. No chip timing for this race.

I lined up with some friends but unfortunately not as close to the start as I should have.

So here’s how the race went: (The course photos are courtesy D. Yeaton)

Miles 1-3: 9:33, 9:46, 9:48

I knew what the course was like (though I did not find an elevation chart until after the race.) As I mentioned, I expected hills. I mean, it’s the Adirondacks so it is hilly everywhere.

One of the volunteers we passed said “Enjoy the roller coaster!” Yup, huge hills…up and down. Just past the water stop at mile 2.5, you turned around and repeated those crazy hills. I stopped at the first water stop to take a GU (since my breakfast was hours ago.)

I started slowly and tried to run up them. After two hills, I realized that that was a mistake, I just ran/walked up them. No sense killing my legs. I ran most of the race around the same women. Piggybacking with them. They ran slowly and passed me on the hills and I got closer to them on the downhill and sometimes even passed them.

Miles 4-6: 9:31, 9:45, 11:23

After the first 5K, we headed to the bike path. The steep hills disappeared but it was a steady incline. I kept hoping for a downhill but it never happened (until mile 7). At least, most of the path was shady.

I stopped and walked at each of the 4 water stops.  I took a GU at the 3rd one.

The hills on miles 1-3, definitely tired me out. My plan changed from just walking at the water stops to walking up the hills to finally just walking whenever my legs were too tired to run. That seemed to be very often. Still I was keeping up with the same ladies. Perhaps I was running fast when I was actually running. The steepest hill was between miles 5 and 6 (see pace above)..ugh!

Miles 7-9.4 –10:25, 10:01, 9:23 (.4 – 8:29)

The rest of the race was on the bike path and the part of the path that went downhill right into Lake George Village (opposite the lake). Finally running downhill!! Though, it seemed too little, too late to make up for the slow mile 5-6.

I commiserated with a few ladies during the bike path stretch. Then I lost them as I got a second wind and tried to sprint to the finish.

The path to the finish line was on grass – soft but difficult to run fast on.

not me but one of the ladies (in red) that I ran with for a while

I crossed officially at 1:32:38 (1:32:36 Garmin Time) and I was happy. I expected worse from this course and it was actually FASTER than last year!!

Refreshments included watermelon, bananas, home made cake, ice cream provided by Ben & Jerry’s, water and Gatorade.

I headed right for the watermelon and then the ice cream.

There was no formal Awards Ceremony. Instead there was an Awards table next to the Finish Line where 5 year age graded award winners could pick up their mugs.

And I came in 2nd!! (The runner that beat me just turned 65 😦 )

Last year, we all headed to lake to soak our feet in the cold water. (I even brought a towel and flip flops this time.)

This year, the water was too high (from all the rain) and so not much of a beach.  Just took a pic, instead.

I was cursing at those hills as I was running the race. Now that’s it’s over, I am thinking about a repeat next year.

Since this was a point-to-point course, you had to board the school bus to get back to your car. It seemed to be a really long ride but a fun one as I got to know even more runners. (My biggest mistake was not getting on one of the 2 buses that left at 10 am. I had to wait 45 minutes for the next bus.)

After I got back to my car, I headed back to the lake to spend the day with my friend who lives there. We went to a craft fair, had lunch and drinks, chatted and went to the outlets. I didn’t get home until 6:30 pm!!!

Back to the race:

They say “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” And I was only a little sore the next day and back to running again on Monday. So all is good.

The Good:

• Easy organized packet pick-up.
• Lots of parking
• Real Bathrooms at the start and near the finish
• Scenic course – especially the bike path (with running water views and shade)
• Gender specific tech shirt
• Adequate water stops (4)
• Capped at 300 runners so not crowded on the bike path
• Mug as an age group award
• Excellent post race food – bananas, watermelon, home-made cake, ice cream
• Bag check and bags transported to the finish
• Ended at the Lake
• Photographer at the finish line

The Bad:

• Not chip-timed
• No port-a-potties along the course
• The hilly looped portion of the course
• Last year we got a car magnet. This year, nada. A finishers medal would have been nice.
• A long wait for the second bus back to the start. 45 minutes!!!
• Would love a bus from the finish to the start as well. (That way I could leave right after the race.)

There are always glitches with a newish race but there really weren’t any big ones.

Next Up:

I thought I might run a 5k on the next two weekends but instead, I think I am going to just run for fun with my friends. So my next scheduled race is a 5k on July 13.

There is a link-up organized by Zenaida and Kim (Kooky Runner).

Since today is Tuesday, I’m linking up with these ladies.

I’m linking also up with Coaches Corner–Debbie and Marc.

Happy Running! Any exciting plans for the summer? Do you enjoy running new races or do you prefer ones that you have already run before? Flat or hilly races? Does it matter?

***********April 27, 2019 in Brooklyn, NY

It seems like I’ve been planning this race forever.  After our girls weekend in Montreal, we were anxious to plan another.

Plus, there some others who couldn’t go to Montreal and wanted to join us – Barbara, Deidre and Jan.

I stumbled upon this NEW race and everyone agreed that it would be fun.  This racing series is popular around the country and this would be the first time it was offered near us.

Well at least a train and hotel away.

So I signed up for the Hot Chocolate 15k because:

• Duh…Chocolate!!
• NYC!!!
• A weekend away with my running tribe.
• Enough pts for free hotel room for 2 nights.
• It would be close after my previous half 2 weeks ago so I would be sorta already trained for it.

Training:

If you follow my posts, you also know that I am not strict about following a training plan. But I did run 13.1 miles two weeks prior to this race.

After my February Half in Florida, due to possibly walking on the beach, I experienced leg discomfort.

So, I skipped many runs and sought the help of a chiro who did ART on my leg. I completed about 8 ART sessions (with minimal relief.)

However, on race day, the pain disappeared and I was able to run 13.1 miles!!

even 5 minutes faster than before the injury

Whether or not, my calf injury was cured or it was just adrenaline, we’ll never know.

I still felt discomfort from time to time after that race and cautiously trained for my April 13 half marathon. None of the usual 10, 11, 12 mile runs 😦 but again I completed this race PAIN-FREE!!

took another 5 minutes off my finish time

That was a downhill course and this course would be HILLY!!!!!!!!!

So, again my goal for this race was just finishing, not re-injuring my leg and having FUN!!!!!

Pre-Race Activities and Preparations:

Since I travel to NYC for work often and I have done numerous races in Brooklyn, I took the lead and picked the hotel, train times, made reservations for all our fun activities and meals.

In other words, we were all set with the logistics.

Unfortunately, the info for the race start and finish was not provided until only a few weeks before the race. Our hotel was near where the RnR Brooklyn, Brooklyn Half and NYC Half began (Grand Army Plaza in Prospect Park) not near where this race began.

However, it did begin near where all the 5ks that I have run in Brooklyn began the Lefrak Center.

Since I wasn’t sure about my work schedule, I paid the extra bucks and had my bib and swag mailed to me.

cool sweatshirt (hoped to not need to wear it at the end of April) – spoiler alert: I did wear it

One runner, Barbara, got injured and dropped out of our group and then 2 days before the race, another runner Jeri (who had paid for all our activities) got injured and cancelled.  We were now down to five of us. (You’ll see in the photos than there is one guy. I mentioned the race to Stan on Monday and he signed up. Since I had paid tickets and restaurant reservations, he agreed to participate in all our shenanigans.)

look out – upstate girls invade the city!

So we took the train to Manhattan, hopped the subway (not exactly a hop – 14 stops) to Brooklyn and checked into our hotel.

we are loving being here at peak cherry blossom time

Then we walked from our hotel through Prospect Park (and got kinda lost) to find the expo.

oops – wrong path

just a little wet but we found it!

We picked up race packets, sampled all the goodies (Chris & I won a $25 gift card for race apparel) and headed off (by subway) to carb load on Brooklyn’s best pizza.

yup – the best pizza ever – I had 3 huge slices myself – if you are ever in Brooklyn, go to Baroncinos

I set out my race outfit and went to bed early (not that I slept well but the intent was there.)

pretty optimistic about the weather – also packed a rain poncho, sweats, jacket and more…

Race Day:

As I always do, I brought my race day breakfast from home – Starbucks k-cup and oatmeal w/raisins.  Up at 4:30 am and ready to leave the hotel at 5:30 am.

Though, it was not a long walk and we also could have taken the subway, we cautiously decided to take an Uber.

So we called one at 6 am and he appeared minutes later.  After a slight detour, we managed to show him where to drop us off outside the park so we could walk to the start.

Thanks to signs and other runners, we found our way.  A chilly morning but no rain and less wind than predicted.

I was glad to be wearing my throw away shirt and also kept on my hoodie until I checked it (as did the others).

As we headed toward the corrals, we bumped into my friend Stan. Sherry, Stan and I  were in Corral A. The others were farther back.

There were 2000-2500 runners registered (small by NYC standards). Everything was so well organized with plenty of pre-race communication and signs.

Anyway, here’s how the race went:

yes the animated version above – 2 1/2 times around

Miles 1-3:

9:45, 9:25, 9:02

After the national anthem, our corral started. It was very crowded and hard to run fast (which was good).  I lost Sherry and Stan right away but luckily Stan caught up to me. He was my savior and the reason that the race went as well as it did.

As I mentioned above, we ran 2 1/2 loops.  We started with an uphill which I actually ran…slowly. But I ran it. I remember running in this park and the hill did not feel as bad as I remember for some reason (at least the first time up it).

There were some rolling hills and downhills. It all blended together after awhile. There were mile markers though hard to figure out since we were repeating the loop. It kept you focused on just running, looking at the scenery (lakes, etc).

Each loop had two water stops, I believe. I stopped at each one and walked. There was always Nuun, water and a cup of chocolate (tempting, but no).

Stan is the guy in the back in orange. I am to his right.

Stan and I ran together surprisingly since he is so much faster than me.  I often lost him at a water stop but he always waited for me to catch up.  We chatted and that made the miles go by so painlessly.  But the best part was that talking while running made me slow down!!!

The weather was perfect for running. A little windy but not too bad – the trees blocked things probably. I was cool at times but warm enough to roll down my arm sleeves during the race.

Miles 4-6:

9:52, 9:56, 9:44

So Stan and I continued chatting. I never looked at my watch and was surprised to be able to run at Stan’s pace. Around 5 miles, I ate my first and only Gu.

Since this was our 2nd loop, we had to conquer that same big hill and some minor hills. Again since I was not running as fast as I may have been if I was running alone, I was able to run up the hill (at a slightly slower pace.)

I usually hate races that loop but it didn’t bother me at all during this race. The scenery didn’t seem repetitious and you couldn’t see the finish line from the course.

Miles 7-9.41

9:30, 10:30, 9:48, 8:22

Finally the last time up the big hill.  At around mile 7 or so, I told Stan to run ahead and I am sure he was relieved to be able to run at his own faster pace.

My legs finally gave out up the last hill. I ran/walked it so that I would be able to finish the last few miles strong.

The happiest moment of the race was not having to run another loop and turn left toward the finish line. Lots of crowd support at this point made up for the fact that the end seemed a long way away from the course (and a little rutty/muddy).

Finally I crossed just over 1:31:00 and happy!!

Stan was waiting. He had finished 3-4 minutes ahead of me.

We quickly retrieved our refreshments and hoodies and waited for the others to finish.

banana, rice crispy treats, marshmallow, pretzels to dip om melted chocolate

and soon they were all done… Everyone was happy and met their goals for the race.

Stan won first in his age group (Thank God I didn’t wreck it for him) and I even won 2nd!! (Awards will be mailed.)

After gathering all our chocolate rewards, Stan led us out of the park to the subway so we could get back to the hotel for hot showers.

We had big plans ahead for the day: bagels for lunch, subway back to Manhattan to see a Broadway show and then dinner near Times Square.

Stan replaced Jeri and joined us for all our post race shenanigans

But all we talked about was how much fun the race was and how glad we were that we did it.

Brooklyn bagels …YUM!

Additional Race Reflections:

The race was fun. It was even better running it with friends and with good weather.  This race company has organized races all over the country and they have thought of every detail – bags to carry your uneaten refreshments, water fountains to rinse your hands, etc.

The Good:

• Easy packet pick-up. Organized expo. Not very large but had samples of the sponsors’ goods – Honey Stinger, Nuun, etc. Located indoors (in case of rain)
• Pre-race emails with instructions and maps.
• Many porta potties at the start/finish area.
• Bag Check. Well organized before and easy pick up at the end.
• Water, Nuun and chocolate stops along the course.
• Well marked course.
• Pacers for all paces up to 15 m/m.
• Very cool medal.
• Gender specific hoodies.
• No lines for post race refreshments.
• Plastic bags available for carry uneaten refreshments.
• Hot chocolate refills.
• Water fountains to wash your hands (from the messy chocolate).
• Free photos.
• Awards announced for top 3 but age group awards mailed.
• 5k option in addition to the 15k.
• Great weather.

The Bad:

• Looped course.
• Course a little long (aren’t they all?)

The Ugly:

• Nothing 🙂

Would I recommend this race?

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Do it if you can. So fun.

Final Stats:

Super thrilled.

Not sure I have ever negative split a race especially not a long one.  My 15k time was about the same as in my recent downhill half marathon and this race had HILLS.

We walked a 15k the next day and my legs did not feel like I had run a race the day before.

to the Botanical Gardens (and back) and around the Cherry Blossom Festival

to Hudson Yards from Macys and climbed all the stairs to the top of the Vessel

Next Up: