2022 Hot Chocolate 15K Charlotte Recap

 I received entry into the Hot Chocolate Charlotte15K as a part of being a BibRave Pro. Check out BibRave.com to read and write race reviews.

Scenes from the Sweetest Expo Around: Hot Chocolate 15K Charlotte

I received entry into the Hot Chocolate Charlotte15K as a part of being a BibRave Pro. Check out BibRave.com to read and write race reviews.

Tips for Running in the Cold, so you can Run for Chocolate Most Efficiently!

 I received entry into the AllState Hot Chocolate Charlotte15K as a part of being a BibRave Pro. Check out BibRave.com to read and write race reviews. 

This coming Saturday I will be running one of my favorite fun races of the, The Hot Chocolate 15K in Charlotte, NC. This will be my 5th year running the Hot Chocolate 15K and my 6th Hot Chocolate race (one year I ran in both Atlanta and Charlotte the same year - actually the same WEEK!)

You may recall my previous blog about my Top 5 Reasons I LOVE to Run for Chocolate (if not, just click the link to go there). 

You may also recall, that I am not a huge fan of running in the cold (which I may have mentioned a time or a million). Anyway, I bring this up because right now the temperature is supposed to be below freezing AGAIN for race morning!! Not cool! Or actually TOO COOL. 

So to prepare, I am busting out my Top Tips for Running in the Cold.

• Layer, Layer, LAYER! Especially when it comes to race day, you end up standing outside for longer than a regular run getting into corrals and waiting for the start and hanging out, cheering on finishing friends at the finish. You may want to consider something you can remove and tie around your waist easily or something disposable if you feel you'll warm up a bunch when you start running. Here's a handy guide on how to layer for certain conditions:

• Make sure that you cover your head and your hands. Hats and gloves are LIFE, people!! If you do manage to heat up, they can be easily removed and stowed, but trust me, you are going to want hats and gloves. I recommend convertible items like gloves that can turn fingerless like these Turtle Gloves or Buff Multifunctional Headwear that you can fold in lots of different ways to cover your head. Both of which I plan to be wearing!

• Hydrate like it's the Summer. Sometimes it is easy to forget to drink enough water in the colder months since it doesn't seem like you are sweating as much, but you are. It is easy to get dehydrated quickly in the winter. Take extra steps to hydrate to make sure that doesn't happen.

• Bring a Post-Race Change of Clothes. When you finish your run, your body temperature will start to rapidly drop and all of that sweat on your clothes and body will quickly start to make you even colder. Bring a bag with you to gear check, if available, or stow in your car for a quick post-race change. And I mean everything. There is nothing worse than standing around in a cold, wet sports bra. No one wants to each post-race brunch in that!

• Give your Pace some Grace. Running in the cold is hard for a number or reasons. Added gear that is bulky and weighs more, harder to breathe, stiff joints, frozen roads, less daylight and so on. You may be slower with the same amount of effort. It's hard to, but try to remind yourself that in the Spring, you'll be faster again and that is ok. In the past, I've had to get 2 or 3 miles in before I was able to feel my toes! It's hard to run with numb toes for sure!!

It says 2021 and it's 2022, but this race is part of the 2021 season

But, I will say, as much as I HATE running in the cold, I cannot think of a better race to do it for than one that gives you a warm jacket and a piping hot cup of Hot Chocolate and chocolate fondue at the finish line!

And be sure to tune in on my Instagram and Twitter on Friday too check out the Hot Chocolate 15K Expo with me. If you'll be there yourself, I plan to be at the packet pick up around Noon and will be wearing an Orange BibRave shirt, so, if you see me, be sure to say HI! I'll also be racing in BibRave Orange on race day, so feel free to flag me down there too if you see me! 

And it's not too late to register if you want to join me still. Register here: https://www.hotchocolate15k.com/charlotte

Additionally, you can typically score some extra swag when you register with a BibRave coupon code. This year, with coupon code HC21 you receive a free Hot Chocolate branded Buff (above). 

And for your amusement, here's me at the last live Hot Chocolate 15K, where it was even COLDER (22 degrees!!!). See, I am NOT a happy girl...

Okay, so I gotta admit, I kind love this pic of me, lol
THIS is my winter mood summed up in one pic

Though I was MUCH happier after that race when I was all warmed up and eating chocolate as you can see here. 

Stuffing my face... SO GOOD

So I guess I am gonna end this by adding one last tip - Keep Your Eye on the Prize. Running in the cold is yuck, but when there is chocolate at the finish line, it's totally worth it! 

January Goals Recap

So time to reflect back on how January went. 

First a quick word on January. It's a lot, am I right? We all come in all hopeful that things will be better this year and we will be better this year and then BAM, we are smacked right in the face with the fact that January is cold and dark and basically just YUCK and thus sapping all of our forward momentum. It's tough to keep moving forward in the face of that. And yet we optimistic individuals solider on. Yay us! We all deserve a huge pat on the back for not giving in. And some warmth and sunshine.

So quick reminder, here were my January goals:

Here's how I did:

Renew CPR Certification. Big ol CHECK! I scheduled a class with the Red Cross that was a hybrid online/in person on January 26. First I had to watch 31 videos with practice activities to learn (or relearn) all the course materials and then go into the Red Cross facility for another 2 hours to demonstrate all of the lessons on the demonstration mannequins (I even kinda bonded with my infant mannequin, Tilly but alas, she had to stay behind to help educate others). And I passed, yay! I am certified Red Cross Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED for the next two years!

Next up, Pass my RRCA Certification. Well... I technically haven't passed YET. I am hoping to today, however. And it is not that I have failed, it is just that I haven't yet completed my test. I took the RRCA Coaching Certification class last weekend (Jan 29-30) but you have 30 days to complete the 100 question test, and tbh, with all the running info running through my brain these days, I needed a small break (and to ya know, do some things around the house and what not) so I haven't rushed to complete the test. Currently, I have 40 questions answered and I feel pretty confident about how it is going so far. UPDATE: I PASSED!!!!!

Dry January. Well, this one I am also giving myself a partial credit for. I actually did have 2 beers in January, but at the very end. On the Saturday after sitting in my RRCA class all day long, I got a message from some friends that they were checking out a place near my house and to come meet them. Long story short, the place (Carolina Brewing Supply) was pretty amazing and they had all the nanobrew beers. I had one called Elvis's Sandwich (Peanut Butter and Banana beer) and a Grapefruit IPA that was pretty amazing. So technically I did fail Dry January, but again, I went most of the month and I did cut WAAAAAY down on the amount of beer I drink. It was a good reset. And I play to keep my consumption much lower in the future as well.

Whole Food Detox week. I plan to do an entire blog post on this, but yes, this one was a total success for me. I spent a week following a plan from Fit Girls Guide to basically from scratch prepare every single thing I ate from real, whole foods for a whole week. In a future (very near future hopefully) blog I will provide a full review of the week in detail. But this is a big CHECK!

15 Burn Boot Camps. Another big CHECK! 15 exactly! I am on course to hit my year goal of 175 camps.

Me, January 31, hitting 101!

100 Running Miles. On Monday evening after work, I logged onto my Strava to check my miles for January and I was at 99. So you know what I had to do! I changed into my running gear and hit the neighborhood. I actually run 2 just to make sure, but this one is another bigh CHECK. I ended January with 101 miles run. I needed to actually be around 105 in order for me to be on course to finish my year at my 1256 mile (or 2022 km) goal, but I plan to make up some miles later in the year. Y'all it is just HARD to get out there an run in the cold. Especially since this January was particularly brutal. We had snow/ice storms 3 weekends in a row! And they are calling for maybe another this weekend! I promise, I will make it up in July. But for now, as long as I don't get too far behind, I am okay being a bit short for the year. And a side note, I am honestly considering changing this goal as my priorities have been sort of shifting as of late so I am not sure cranking out massive mileage is really what I want to focus on in 2022. I may try a more quality over quantity approach. But for now, I'll keep moving forward.

Yoga every Sunday. Big ol CHECK here as well. Each Sunday morning, I did a 30 minute Beginner Yoga class each Sunday (with the exception of Jan 30, I was rushing to get to my RRCA class so only did a 20 minute class) via YouTube. My cats were very interested in my progress, which, alas I will say felt very minimal. Maybe I need to do it more often to see results, but y'all I am stiffer than a board and don't seem to be getting any better at stretching. I plan to keep on doing the Yoga going forward. Here's hoping for any progress in the future.

Two Blog Posts. Yup and Yup. You can see the 2 blog posts that I wrote in January here:

https://runnerdgirl.blogspot.com/2022/01/starting-off-2022-right-goals-edition.html

https://runnerdgirl.blogspot.com/2022/01/from-sunglasses-hoarder-to-knocksquad.html

So I guess that is that! A mostly successful January.

I am hoping to sort out my February goals this week and get those up and posted soon. In the meantime, what do you have going on that you want to get accomplished in February. Or even for the rest of 2022? Let me know in the comments below. 

From Sunglasses Hoarder to KnockSquad

 Hello. My name is Lissa, and I am a hoarder. Specifically, I am a sunglasses hoarder. 

I was going to tell you how many pairs I have, but I have lost count and have them kind of stashed all over so I am never without a pair. In addition to the 20 or so pair in my primary storage area (I'll get to that in a second), there are at least 2 pair in my car (including an emergency pair in my back window), a pair at my desk at work so I have them for random walk breaks away from the desk, a pair in my adventure bag, a pair in my purse, and random ones here and there. 

The majority or my sunglasses are on a special rack by my back door. These were made with these metal strip style knife holders and some spacers to hold them from the wall about 2 inches to hang the sunglasses on. I originally had 1. Now I have 3. I may need more still...

Would you believe my dad asked me when he saw this if I thought I had enough
sunglasses. Like that is a thing that can happen... 

And yes, while I have A LOT of sunglasses, I do actually wear them all. I love being out in the sunshine (I think I am partially solar powered) and have really light blue eyes so I am quite light sensitive. Plus, no matter your eye color, UV light is not fantastic for your eyes. So I wear sunglasses pretty much every time I go outside. And I love mixing up the different styles and colors with my outfits.

I would have to say that Knockaround Sunglasses make up about 90% of my collection. One reason for this is they have just so many different styles and colors. Not to mention they periodically offer some really cool Special Edition and Limited Release styles, several of which I have just HAD to get. And you have to watch out, they sell out FAST. Once, there was an adorable Hive Mind style I really wanted and they sold out as I was adding them to my cart. Sad times. But it's okay, I got the Celestials that came out last month in time. And I love them! 

If for some very unlikely reason you don't find a style/color combo you love, you can also create your own custom pair with their Custom Shop. I made a really cool pair of Teal/Orange Mai Tais once and just love them! You can customize the Front, each Arm the Lenses and the Logo all independently! There are so many colors, patterns and styles available! There are over 1,000,000 different possibilities! Check out the custom shop here: https://knockaround.com/products/custom-premiums-sunglasses#/p/_prod_vsgqd3p0h

Yeah, so you can tell I'm a bit obsessed. So when an opportunity arose to be a Knockaround Ambassador, you know I totally tried out. And guess what, they chose me! Yay! I am so excited to be a member of the 2022 #KnockSquad. I'm proud to join some really amazing people who, like me, love their Knockarounds and love spreading the word. And if you are interested in becoming obsessed with Knockarounds like I am, check out the Knockaround website here: https://knockaround.com/ 

And when you find your perfect pair, you can use my discount code to receive 15% off your order. Just use KnockSquad_Lissa at the checkout! 

Real quick, there are another couple of cool things to know about Knockarounds. First, every Friday, they give away a free pair of sunglasses! To get your chance to win, just post a photo on Instagram of yourself rocking a pair of Knockarounds and tag it #KnockFan. It's that easy! Second, Knockaround posts a super cool music playlist on Spotify each week. Make sure you follow them on Instagram and look for the weekly story for the opportunity to submit your favorite song to be included. 

Starting Off 2022 Right - Goals Edition

Here's me ringing in the New Year
how I always do, Baxter Trail 5K

I may be two weeks late in saying it, but HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

I want to say that I am going into 2022 optimistically but let's be honest, I am more or less trying to enter it cautiously hopeful. The last two years were a lot. But I am trying to convince myself that we are now going to take a turn away from, well all the things that were not super awesome the last couple of years and instead focus on the things that were pretty great and there were some pretty amazing parts of 2020 and 2021 that kind of go lost in the shuffle and I never took the time to write about and fully appreciate them. 

In fact, I am going to try harder at maintaining this blog this year (I know, I've said that before, but this time, I am going to stick to it. In fact, I have already made a list of several topics that I want to write about in the near future. These include (in no particular order):

1. Fit Girl Guide Detox Review
2. How I spent my Summer Vacation
3. KnockSquad 2022
4. Adventures in Hiking
5. The Absolute Worst Weekend of my Life (yes, I am being dramatic)
6. Becoming a Running Coach
7. Previews and Reviews of my 2022 Races

See one thing I am going to start doing in 2022 is keeping better track of my goals and writing them down so I am more motived to stick to them. And this year, I am going to set me goals a month at a time. This way, I can experience a more immediate sense of accomplishment and also not get overwhelmed by huge overreaching goals that may not manifest until the end of the year (looking at you Rock n Roll Savannah that is not until November that basically destroyed my whole running vibe and will discuss more in another blog post). So here is what I have on tap for January:

Truth be told, I've already met one of them and making good progress on some others 

How do you keep on track with the things you want to do? Do you keep a planner? A blog? Shout to the Universe? I want to hear all about it in the comments below. Also, if you have any topics that you would like me to write about in 2022. 

I'll leave you for now with this quote I saw. May you write an amazing story in 2022... 

That Time My Buff EcoStretch Made the Worst Race of My Life a Bit Less Worse

"Disclaimer: I received a Buff USA Original EcoStretch to use and review 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 have written on this blog several times before about how much l love Buff products (here, here, here, and here). I've worn several different products for a variety of different uses and adventures. Arm sleeves, hats, neckwarmers, multifunctional headwear, you name it, I've used it. 

The latest Buff product I've been able to try out is the Buff Orignal EcoStretch. As you may know, Buff advertises that there are 12+ ways to wear their Multifunctional Headwear. Well, buckle up for this quick story about another way I found to wear mine in a time of dire need.

First, let me give you a bit more info about the Original EcoStretch. At its core is a moisture-managing microfiber fabric that is wind resistant, yet breathable. The deets from their website are as follows:

• 95% recycled REPREVE® Performance Microfiber
• 4-way ULTRA-STRETCH
• UPF 50 Sun protection*
• Recommended by The Skin Cancer Foundation**
• Multifunctional - 12+ ways to wear
• 100% Seamless
• Moisture-wicking, quick-drying, breathable
• One-size-fits-most adults

Basically, they are awesome. 

So now let me set the scene. Earlier this month I raced the Rock n Roll Savannah Half Marathon. It was cold, it was wet and it was nasty. Did I mention cold!? The weather was so bad in fact, the decision was made at 6:18 am (for a 7:30 am start) to cancel the Marathon event. The Half Marathon and Half Relay however were still on (lucky me). My friends and I decided to run our races anyway. I may or may not have whined A LOT and/or used the terms "Worst Race of my Life!" on multiple occasions. I'm honestly shocked my friends are still my friends in fact. But I digress... 

Pre-race. Don't we look absolutely thrilled?!
I am the lone runner not in a trash bag instead opting for the sleeker plastic poncho. 

I had my Buff EcoStretch around my neck for extra warmth. Cozy. But after around 5 miles, the fleecy hat I was wearing was so full of water, it kept slipping over my eyes. I literally ran into a cone at one point because my hat had slid down over my eyes. And not one of the little ones mind you, the people sized cones which luckily I just kinda bounced off of instead of completely fell over. I did manage to terrify the poor girl running next to me in the process. 

There was no way I could lose the hat, I needed it for what little warmth it was providing, plus it had a bill on it to keep the rain directly out of my eyes. So, thinking fast, I pushed up my EcoStretch from my neck to use it to hold my hat in place for the reminder of the race. It held in place perfectly (and gave a bit of extra warmth to my ears). I may have still been cold, wet and to be perfectly honest, completely miserable, but I could at least see where I was going and no longer in danger of errant road cones. 

This is a terrible pic, but it shows me crossing the finish line, hat still secure with my Buff

Multifunctional indeed 😀

But don't worry. I've also gotten to wear my EcoStretch on some more fun (and warmer) adventures too. I wore it to climb to the top of Table Rock, a super challenging 8 mile, 2000+ft hike and also on a 14 mile bike tour of Charlotte. And I know I will take it on many more adventures as well.

 

Table Rock Hike

Embarking on Biketoberfest in Charlotte

Interested in trying out some awesome Buff products for yourself? Visit https://www.buffusa.com/bibrave to register for their newsletter and you will get 15% Off your first Buff order.