Hot Chocolate

Jeff and I recently ran in the Hot Chocolate Run in downtown Chicago.  I was ready to challenge myself beyond a 5k, and decided to register myself and Jeff for the 15k.  I had heard great things about the Hot Chocolate in the past and was really excited to run it with my hubby.  It was definitely a fun morning with Jeff!  We got to spend five hours together, just the two of us, BUT we enjoyed the morning with 40,000 of our closest friends! :)  There were so many people it was hard to even move.  The race itself was poorly organized from beginning to end. :(  We were on our feet standing in a large mass of people for over an hour before we even started running.  Once we crossed the starting line, there were so many walkers we were dodging people left and right.  To top it off, it was the most.boring.route.ever!  I guess in the past the route has been totally in the city, but this year we ran south of Soldier Field along Lake Shore Drive, which you would think would be picturesque...it wasn't.  We saw a lot of empty parking lots and ran in dark tunnels underneath McCormick Place.  I told Jeff after we crossed the finish line, "I will NEVER do that again!"  But of course now that I've had time to think about it, I kind of want a "do-over."  I ended up with a crummy time, way slower than all my training, and I want to finish feeling good.  So we will see!  All in all, I'm glad I did it, I'm happy I finished, and it was fun to spend the morning with Jeff.

After the Race.  Feels good to be done!

Jeff with his Finisher's Mug.

The best part of the race, the chocolate at the end!