Now let’s see how well my memory works as this was a week ago. But I was waiting for the swag to get here! You may be thinking- couldn’t you have written it after you ran it and just waited to post it? There’s a reason this site is not called The Logical Runner.

Disclaimer: I received an entry into the Hot Chocolate 15K/5K  as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

I was excited to sign for Hot Chocolate 15K- Phoenix. Somehow, I have never run a Hot Chocolate race before even though I had heard great things. Obviously, I would have preferred to run it in person but 2020. I missed the crowds and I know I missed out on what I hear are amazing aid stations. And I miss Arizona- my trip last month reminded me of why we vacationed there when I was a child.

I signed up for this race back in October. I remember thinking that my goal was to be able to run/walk a decent time for the 15k. I was thinking that knowing I had a 15K race soon, I would get back to training. But, yeah life.

Race weekend dawned on Dec 12/13 and I was just starting another week of PTO. I didn’t realize how fried I was until I did nothing but sleep and eat all weekend. Oops. But that is the beauty of virtual runs, right? If race day does not work for you- pick a new race day! Also, the beauty of PTO- I could run it on Monday!

Monday dawned a little chilly but I wasn’t running until the early afternoon, so it was fine. Right? I didn’t think I was up for 15K and was considering dropping to the 5K. A choice I hope I would have been smart enough to make had we been running the race in person.

I started my run with a nice little warm up walk, i.e I got to the top of the hill to start my race. I was trying for a decent time so I stopped, stretched, restarted my run and was off!

For maybe 1/3 of a mile. My left foot started to go numb. I tried to keep running but that made things worse so I switched to walking. If you’ve been with me for a while, you might know this is not a new thing but something I thought I fixed.

The beginning of 2019, I was plagued by a numb foot or worse, numb feet. I could never figure out what caused it. It didn’t always happen and usually happened at random times. I changed shoes, I changed socks, I worked on stretches, etc. I learned that I had to walk it out and the longest it ever lasted was 3ish miles. Then it miraculously went away, yay!

Did you catch how long it could last??? Yep, 3 miles. Like a 5k. And sure enough, my left foot stayed numb for the entire 5k. Seriously?!?! So I walked it out. So, Hot Chocolate 5K- 45:31. Which isn’t the time I had hoped to eke out but it’s not horrible for a numb foot.

I thought about trying to add another 6.2 mile once my foot came back to life but knew my legs were already angry with how I changed my stride. It’s ok, I could console myself with chocolate, right?

Except, my awesome swag was lost in transit! I watched it literally circle the country according to the transit data. It was in CA a few times before leaving again, ha! It finally did arrive though and it is really awesome! The sweatshirt is top notch and I’ve already worn it. It will definitely keep me warm through the next few months. Just one ask- how about a milk chocolate cocoa mix??? I think I may be alone in that though.

Maybe my next Hot Chocolate race will be in person?? Fingers crossed!

Ever run a Hot Chocolate race?

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