May 5, 2019- 7:30 am

As you may remember, this race took place during my annual non-running tennis vacation in Naples, Florida. I take lessons and play tennis every morning and then spend the afternoon on the beach.  Each evening I go out for drinks, dinner and dessert with my tennis friends. Eight days of pure relaxation and enjoyment… (every May since 2005)

I love it.  It’s usually my only vacation that doesn’t include a race.  You have to admit that racing during a vacation does add an element of stress.

Two years we changed our dates. We were in Naples two weeks earlier and that meant that the temps were only in the 80s (not the 90s) and that the racing season was not over yet.

I happened upon a 5k race that took place on the Sunday during our stay. One of my friends offered to get up at the crack of dawn and drop me off and another offered to pick me up.

I unexpectedly bumped into a tennis friend, Rebecca, who had moved to Naples and despite the heat, did fairly well.

And so I registered for the same race again last year. I did even better than the year before.

met Rebecca again at the race

Here again is the description of the race and the course map:

Enjoy a wonderful 5K race that showcases the beautiful streets of Olde Naples. This course is two loops starting on Broad Street.

I’m not a fan of loops but at least it was only a 5K and I don’t remember it bothering me. So of course, I signed up again!!

As she did last year, my friend Catalina agreed to drop me off at the race start.  I was familiar with the race location so I didn’t need to arrive as early as I did the first year.

The day before the race, we went out to an awesome dinner which included a few glasses of wine.  (Oops I don’t usually drink the night before a race but I was on vacay…) Then we went to the theatre followed by a stop at an ice cream shop.  Obviously, it turned out to be a later night than normal.

Sunday morning, I groggily ate my usual race breakfast at 5:30 am.  I got dropped me off in town around 6:30 am. It was still kinda dark and there were still not many runners there.

Unlike last year, I did not pick up my race packet the day before.  So I did before the race. It was again a mug (instead of a shirt).  I had to hide the mug under a tree since I did have a bag or a car.

so happy to get practical swag.

Then I walked a block to the beach to hang out until around 7 am.

This was not a big race.  There were about 350 runners – all ages and very friendly.

The sun was now out and it was starting to get warm.  But it was not as warm as it could have been.  I checked the weather app on my phone. Holy cow!!!

I wore my usual race attire minus the compression socks –

I wasn’t sure if my friend Rebecca was racing but she was and showed up only minutes before the start of the race.

As you can see from the map, the course winds around town and through the neighborhoods twice. And it was flat!!

I had no plan for the race – just finish and get back to my tennis friends so we could get on with the day’s activities.

I race a lot as you know but lately it’s been longer races. In fact, I hadn’t raced a 5k since the end of September. Over SIX MONTHS ago!!

This made me a little nervous. Do I remember how to run fast?

From the get go, my legs felt like lead but my biggest problem was that I had a hard time breathing and I felt dizzy. Was it the heat?  Most likely it was not being acclimated to the humidity. I couldn’t wait to get to the water stop… It seemed like forever but I think it was during mile 2.  I stopped and walked for a while (longer than normal). I actually felt worse after walking so I ran and tried to just get to the finish line without puking.

Eventually it appeared and I gave it my all.

I was shocked when I crossed at 28:xx. I felt so much slower.

As soon as I crossed, I saw my friend Pat who was picking me up.  I quickly checked the results to see if I won an award.

Two years ago, I was 3rd in my age group. Last year, I was the Senior Grand Masters Winner. But this year with my slowest time on this course, I came in FIRST!!

I told the race director that I had to leave so he gave me my award and I didn’t have to wait for the awards ceremony.

Race Splits:

mile 1 – 8:58
mile 2 – 9:12
mile 3 – 9:08
.14 – 8:00

So back to the race…

The course was small so there were spectators cheering all along it.  Although we looped, I didn’t find it boring because I didn’t even notice.

I enjoyed running around Olde Naples and especially along Gordon Drive where you could see the Gulf at the end of each cross street.

I am so happy that I ran this race again.  I loved the course and it was very well-organized. (I am sure that I’ll return next year.)

Yes, last year I ran this race in 27:28 under similar conditions. But my slower time was due to injuries, more long races or maybe just the aging process. I am just thrilled to be running pain-free!!

After the race, I had to rush back to play tennis with my friends.

in Pat’s convertible 🙂

***********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

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