The Hot Chocolate race series is always such a popular event.  I have participated many times, but this was my first time running the new downtown Phoenix course.  I actually trained for the 15k - it was my longest distance since the pandemic, and gave me something to focus on.  The expo was Friday and Saturday at the convention center downtown.  I took the light rail, which I highly recommend. I got there right when it opened and was in and out quickly.

The actual race started at Wesley Bolin Plaza, which I was not familiar with. I ended up getting together with friends and taking an uber.  It was a crisp Phoenix morning, which definitely put you in the mood for hot chocolate! The 5k started at 7:25 am and the 15k started at 8:25.  Corrals were set up very efficiently and signage was good.

The course wound around several sections of downtown Phoenix. Most water stops included chocolate and/or some honey stinger goodies as well. The course was flat and fast, only one or two inclines.

Given my numerous injuries in the past year or so, and a cutback in mileage, I'm super pleased with how it turned out.  I felt good, and finished in 1:38, top 1/3 of my age group.

The hot chocolate really hit the spot.  I brought most of the other goodies home to my son.  They handed out the finisher mugs pretty efficiently, but seating is an issue. There are signs "No sitting or standing" all over the parking lot. It's hard to enjoy these hard-earned goodies and still abide by these rules.

Let's talk swag and bling! Hot Chocolate has always given out really nice jackets that people actually want to wear again - and this year was no exception! This year we received black puffy lightweight jackets, which look really nice and fit well.  And the medals were nice, large, and distance-specific, which I always appreciate.   I also enjoyed being able to scan my bib for my results immediately.  Next year's race will take place on December 11, 2022. Until next time!

I haven't ran a trail race since 2015, and that is by design.  The last time I ran a trail relay, I fell and sprained my ankle, and had to walk over 4 miles on it back to camp.  It really freaked me out and made me feel like I just can't do this.

Fast forward to 2021, when I decided to give trails another chance.  In fact, the exact same trails that scared me last time.  Spoiler alert: I loved it! 

I became a Ragnar Relay ambassador back in May and the trail race is now our only local Ragnar Relay. So, I got some friends together and made my own team, determined to not let my previous bad experience weigh me down. I started with my local "brew crew", 3 friends who I met in a women's running group many years ago - and met for lots of virtual races during the pandemic.

Then the team got filled in from another friend (and former colleague) and her husband, plus 2 out of state friends I met at other Ragnars.  Building the team would prove to be the easiest part.  My biggest challenge  was the logistics of getting us and our stuff to the campsite. It's a long story but basically 2 people were flying in and had no gear or transportation, and another 2 of us had very small cars with little storage for all the gear we needed to bring. So I rented a SUV. Problem solved right? Wrong. I showed up to the car rental place and was told they did not have the type of car I needed, or anything similar - IN THE WHOLE STATE! Connie came to the rescue and got us a uhaul cargo van. It was ghetto, but we made it work!

While we were dealing with the van, other team members went up early and snagged us a good spot.  6 of us spent the first night before the race started 

We settled in next to good friends (who made delicious food all weekend!),  and then waited for our start time and for our remaining 2 teammates to arrive.

We had hoped to do glamping, which sold out 6 months in advance. We were on the waitlist and never got in, and it ended up working out just fine. We had an early start time, and Amanda was our first runner on deck.

It got hot really quick, so we were each treated to a some crazy hot runs in the afternoon. My first run was the yellow loop, the dreaded technical loop.  It has some tricky spots for sure, lots of ups and downs and some nice runnable sections.

I survived this run, and actually enjoyed the end section where it merged with the other trails.

Spent the rest of the day rehydrating, chilling, and cheering on our remaining runners.  

My next run would be around 11:30pm.  It was the green loop, which is a nice rolling trail on packed dirt.  It was just us and the stars and moon.  Really peaceful, maybe 55 degrees?  It was such a relief to not deal with any technical terrain or loose rocks.  I absolutely loved it and felt like I was flying.

After this run, I crawled in the tent, feeling satisfied and got a few hours of much needed sleep. My last run was around 930 am, and it would be the red loop, the longest one, and the one I fell on last time.   It has a long steep incline in the first 2 miles on loose rocks that I don't understand how anyone can run on it.  As soon as I hit the one mile mark, I fell and my watch did the one mile  chime.  Nothing was hurting, so I popped up and kept going. But it would be 2 more miles before I was able to fully run on solid ground. Once I was back running again, I  enjoyed it and was trying my best to beat the heat.

Then it was just a waiting game for our final runners!

Here they come!

All in all, a great time was had and I have discovered that I CAN do hard things, I CAN run trails! So happy to be able to have done this with my friends.

I have heard great things about Hood to Coast - literally the "mother of all relays" but have never had the chance to run the traditional course from Mt. Hood to Seaside, Oregon - until now!

This race is so popular that you can only get in through lottery , or by charity team.

I saw a FB post from a friend that they had an opening on their charity team.  My plans had changed for that weekend and I decided to jump on the opportunity.  I knew 3 people on the team, so I had a feeling it would be a good time.  And they were sooooooo organized it made it easy for me.

I got picked up at the airport on Thursday - my entire team but me arrived on Wednesday to hang out for 5 full days - they must really like each other, huh??   We stopped at the worst, weirdest  Subway on the planet in an industrial park in Portland on the way.  More than just the bread was "baked" there, LOL.  Anyhoo, we met up with the rest of the team who was having an amazing time partying in the lodge at Mt. Hood.  Such a cool setting, and everyone was relaxed, welcoming and fun to hang out with.

Ok, time to get serious. Our team had a start time of 3:10 am and I was in van 1 - YIKES! It was an odd night of sleep for sure, but we made it to the top of Mt. Hood where it was around 37 degrees, windy and drizzling. Not exactly my favorite combo!  I hit up that gear store, saw runner 1 off and hopped back under the covers in the van.  My first leg would be 4.6 miles, somewhat downhill.   I suprisingly wasn't cold, it warmed up about 10 degrees once we drove down the mountain.  But still drizzling.  Unbeknownst to me, my leg would take me in part on a trail through the woods.  At 4am.  Once I turned onto the trail, the fast people quickly went by and I was suddenly alone on the trail which was not marked along the dirt trail. Kinda freaked out a little, as I am NOT a trail runner and wasn't 100% sure I was going the right way.  It eventually merged onto a paved trail that was marked and shortly after that I was back on the highway. Whew!

Leg 2 would take our van through downtown Portland (sketchy) and the outskirts. It was heating up a bit, so most people did not enjoy their jaunt through ugly industrial areas and homeless encampments.  My run was the longest I had, which was around 7.5 miles.  Straight stretch of highway, but rolling hills which kept me entertained.

Being a charity team, we got to take advantage of a huge VIP area at exchange 24 where they had swag, recovery tools, comfy chairs, and FOOD! Made a quick sweep through there and then went off to sleep for a bit.  Where we ended up is known to not have cell reception. So when we got up at the time we had agreed on, we learned that the other van finished a good hour early and was waiting for us. Oops.  Our last legs would be in the dark (at least the first 3 runners) and it was pretty uneventful.  Legs were soooo sore from all the hills so it was more of a shuffle.

Quite literally, as we finished our legs and were driving on towards the coast for breakfast, we were stopped in the road by a pig offering us bloody marys. Naturally, we had to stop and check this out.  After breakfast we headed for the finish at the beach.  This was such a cute area. Seaside is super touristy. There were a bunch of tents set up on the beach, it was quite a sight.

All in all, we did pretty well! Our captain David brought us over the finish line where he proceeded to formally medal us, which was kind of cool.

We did all the obligatory putting our feet in the water, taking goofy pics and then it was time for a ceremonial finisher beer.

After lunch, I left the crew to meet up with 2 girlfriends who flew in for the weekend. The team ended up spending another day and a half sightseeing, going to waterfalls, goonies house and Nike store.

This was a perfect way to cap off an epic Oregon adventure.  I absolutely loved it here and will definitely come back.  Feeling blessed to have been with such a great group that I'm sure in one capacity or another will race with again!

A few takeaways in terms of differences between Hood to Coast and Ragnar:

• overall structure is exactly the same
• van magnets are not a thing here
• signage is generally not as good as at Ragnar, and very few "one mile to go" signs.  Most signage was stenciled on the ground.
• Start times start crazy early and go for a heck of a long time.
• Higher quality participant tees (tech tees)
• Gear tent available at more than just exchange 6 and finish
• Handcyclists are allowed at HTC
• Post race photography is a little more organized and professional at HTC (but has a fee associated with it)

​It’s been a minute since I wrote a blog post.  Time sure flies. Busy with a new job and life in general. I’m so happy that things are starting to return to normal, including travel and racing – 2 of my favorite things!

One new thing that is taking up some of my time is that I became a Ragnar ambassador!!!! What does that mean? I’m helping to share the good word about Ragnar, and have my own discount code to share, which I will include at the end of this post. The ambassador community has been really great so far. These are my people!
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So, 2021 is almost half over, I have a lot of lost time to make up for!  I’ve got plans, let me tell ya!

• Ragnar Northwest Passage (July)
• Ragnar Minnesota (August)
• Hood to Coast relay (August)
• Ragnar Michigan (September)
• Ragnar Cape Cod (October)
• Ragnar Trail AZ (November)

​I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am that ragnars are back, and it’s safe to travel!  I am even captaining my own team for the trail race in AZ this November. The Brew Crew ladies are going to have a blast!  If you want to build your own team for any Ragnar Relay, use code EWAMB21 for 10% off your team registration!

I was recently a guest on the Michigan Runner Girl podcast (how cool is that?!). I met Heather in real life when I was on her Ragnar team back in 2018.  She’s pretty great. We talked about running, injuries, adapting our goals, and of course, RAGNAR!  You can listen here.
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So, the countdown is on! A month from now I will finally get back to what I love – travelling for Ragnar races! I’m back training and couldn’t be happier. I hope to see some of you at a Ragnar this year!

Ah 2020, the year of virtual races. It seems like just yesterday I was sitting at the Rock n Roll AZ expo in Phoenix, representing the Hot Chocolate race and helping them promote race registrations.  I would never have predicted that the race would not be taking place in person, and everyone would be running it on their own virtually.

When I registered, I had full intentions of running the 15k, as it would be perfect training for Rock n Roll AZ the following month. Well,  you know how that played out.  Then,over the summer and fall I had a string of various injuries that had me take an entire month off from running.  My 15k hopes were dashed.  But, there's no shame in a 5k, right?

So,  registered for the virtual race, and got some pretty nice swag. High quality hoodie, medal, bib and a treat bag of hot chocolate and honey stinger waffles!  Then I talked to my girlfriends and got them to sign up, too. The 15k ladies started about an hour before, then we met up with them for the last 5k. And of course celebratory drinks after LOL.

Once I got home, I made the hot chocolate for myself and my son.  It was so unbelievably rich and decadent, we loved it!  Just missing that delicious chocolate fondue. I'll make up for it next year!

I ran my  first Hot Chocolate race several years back, and really enjoyed it.  This race brings out ALL the local runners and walkers, since you can choose from 15k or 5k - - and everyone LOVES chocolate, right???

Your typical Hot Chocolate race has sweet stations along the way - grab a handful of m&ms,  hershey kisses, etc. to keep you motivated along the way...and then finish with a glorious mug of hot chocolate, and chocolate fondue with various dippers.  It's typically a chilly day here in Phoenix , so the warm chocolate really hits the spot!

As everyone knows, nothing about 2020 is typical!  So, all the Hot Chocolate races since March have gone virtual. So how does that work, exactly?  Obviously you will run or walk whichever distance you choose on whichever date you want, wherever you want!  Then you'll receive a Hot Chocolate swag bag in the mail!

Swag bag includes:

• Comfy hoodie
  
• Sweet treat bag of 2 hot chocolate packs, Honey Stinger waffle, Nuun tablets
• Hot Chocolate Medal!!!
  

Hot Chocolate Phoenix takes place on December 13.  Register today and start training for that chocolate!

"Disclaimer: I received a free entry to the Resilience Challenge 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!"

It seems like everyone and their mom is doing a mileage or movement challenge to keep their sanity during quarantine. I've done some virtual races, and a 50 mile challenge with Honey Stinger. I saw that Team in Training was doing one, and I decided to jump in!

I have a longstanding history with Team in Training.  I did my first 5 marathons with them. They are such a fantastic organization, and a very worthy charity (Leukemia & Lymphoma society).

So How Does It Work?
Team In Training’s Resilience Challenge is a 30-day movement & fundraising challenge dedicated to supporting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

1. Register here
2. Join my team!
3. Walk or Run 50 miles between Sept 1- Sept 30
4. Tell your friends! You'll have a personal fundraising page - there is a suggested goal of raising $500, but there is no fundraising commitment.
5. Have fun and log your miles!
6. Win prizes for the fundraising levels reached

What's included?

• Resilience Challenge Playlist
• Fundraising & Social Media Toolkit
• Training Resources with an Exclusive Event Facebook Group
• Badges & Achievement Milestones
• Digital Finisher Certificate
• Virtual Finisher Medal
• Virtual Post Race Celebration

LETS DO THIS! Join My Team "Movin' and Groovin' to Beat Cancer" today! Even if you aren't able to fundraise, I think raising awareness for blood cancers is super important too.

"Disclaimer: I received a free canister of Metcon START pre-training formula  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'm always on the lookout for products that make my running or weightlifting easier - whether it's energy before or recovery after. I wanted to try Metcon START because it was developed by a top athlete, for athletes.

Since I've been dealing with some injuries and running less,  I decided I would use it for the first time doing my body pump workout. 

My initial thoughts after taking the first few sips were 1) wow, that dissolved really quickly! and 2) the flavor was a bit intense for me.   The directions call for 1 scoop with 12-16 oz water, taken 15 minutes before the workout.  I knocked it down to about 2/3 scoop and I like the flavor SO much better!!

So here are some of the selling points of this product that you should know!:

• gluten free
• paleo
• zero calories! say what?
• no artificial colors, sweeteners or ingredients
• Vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K
• amino acids
• caffeine! contains the equivalent of approx 1.5 cups of coffee
  

I can't say that I noticed a huge burst of energy, but it is a sustained energy release.  So it tastes good, replaces electrolytes and adds vitamins, etc. without any artificial sweeteners (yuck!).  It runs around $50 for a 30 serving container.  This will probably last me more like 40-50 servings since I'm using a bit less. It's definitely something I will continue to keep in my arsenal, especially once I'm back actively training for half marathons (and Ragnars!) again soon.

Also, Metcon gives back! Every product purchased provides a meal to a local food bank.

And, here's a little bonus to get you started: Try it for yourself and get 20% off! Use "BibRave" for 20% off a one time purchase.

Disclaimer: I received a sample box from Sips by to review as part of a partnership. My opinions are my own

Well, folks - summer is here! Those of you in most parts of the country welcome it.   Those of us in Arizona kind of dread it due to triple digit temps for months.  One way we can beat the heat, though, is to drink copious amounts of iced tea!  I just received a collection of teas curated by Sipsby to help us chill out. Let's dig in, shall we?

Red Berry Cooler from Pinky Up
-Caffeine Free
-Organic
- Hibiscus, Elderberry, Rose Hps, Rooibus, Cranberry

Sunny Sangria from Fava Tea
- Higher caffiene
- Black tea
- Features blackberries and an exotic collection of fruits - pineapple mango, orange, tangerine, strawberry. Yum!

Lychee & Rose Cold Brew from Tea Pigs
- Caffene free
- Blend of lychee and rose with a fruity base
- Light and sweet

Moroccan Mint from Davdson's Organic Tea
- Low Caffeine
-combines organic green tea with organic spearmint

Shop for the Iced Tea Box here.  Cheers!

"Disclaimer: I received a free entry to the Global Running Day 24 Hr Virtual Relay  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 always try to do something within my local running community for Global Running Day each June - Whether it’s joining a group run with my local run club or participating in a virtual race.  This year,  I heard about the Global Running Day 24 hour virtual relay.  Since I am a self-professed Relay Queen, I couldn’t say no!

Here’s how it works:

The relay will take place on June 3, 2020. There are teams across the country in most major cities.  Just search for your city, and find a timeslot you like. They are all 30 minutes each.  Each person will walk/run for 30 minutes at their assigned time then notify the next runner on the list to “pass the baton”.  That’s it! Easy, right?

And yes, there’s swag to be had! Every participant gets a medal and shirt!

You can join any team you want, whether it’s your own town, or spread across the country with friends. You can even create your own team! I’m currently in talks with one of my running clubs to sponsor their own team. 

Anyway you choose to celebrate, being part of the running community is the best way!
Learn more and reserve your spot today! Registration ends at 11:59PM on June 1!

GIVEAWAYS!
All participants will be entered intro drawings for prizes from sponsors including:
Garmin
Trigger Point
Goodr
Maurten

CHARITY
25% of proceeds are being donated to the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund. If you're interested in donating, check it out here.