“Disclaimer: I received a free entry to run the Allstate Hot Chocolate 15K Charlotte 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.”
As most of you know, over the past year, Virtual has become the new now. Virtual meetings through Zoom and Google Meet, virtual races to somewhat fulfill the void left with the lack of IRL races. The AllState Hot Chocolate 5K/15K Charlotte was not any different as most if not all the Hot Chocolate series has decided to go virtual. I have run the Charlotte installment of the series since it’s inception, so although it pains me not to be able to travel to Charlotte to run, I was happy to have the opportunity to knock it out locally and keep my streak going for the 4th year in a row.
SWAG
To start, I am always impressed about how thorough the race organizers are about getting your race packets out to you in a timely fashion. I received an email about 2 weeks before the race, letting me know my packet had been mailed and included tracking information. I received my package about a week before raceday. I personally treated it like a IRL race and refused to open my package until I had earned it. I took the package with me the morning I planned to do the race and tore it open as soon as I was finished.
And can we talk about swag…SWAG. I have lone said that Hot Chocolate is one of the best races as far as swag goes. Let’s take a look at what I found when I popped open my package.
Jacket
Good quality, full zip black jacket. Hot Chocolate emblem on the chest and removable hood.
Medal
Cool medal in the shape of a chocolate bar, that opens up to reveal a little piece of chocolate.
BIB
2 Packs of dark chocolate hot chocolate
2 pieces of chocolate
Honey Stinger
Nuun
A sample of CBD ointment
The Run
I couldn’t have picked a better day to run this virtual race, although some would say it was too cold. I think the temps were low 30s but felt like 26 with the wind chill. PERFECT! I picked a route that I was familiar with and only had a couple spots that required me to cross over a 2 lane street. I admit, I am totally not big on virtual races because I find it harder to push myself and I always liked to feed off the race spectators. Regardless, I set out and just let my legs do what they wanted. When I finally reached my 9.3 mile mark, I had finished with a 2 minute PR for 15K distance. Couldn’t wait to go to the website and upload my time. So that’s it, another Hot Chocolate in the books and looking forward to racing it IRL in 2022.
And that’s it, that is how my 2018 race year ended. It ended on the highest of notes and I couldn’t be happier. Now, what awaits me in 2019, I don’t know. I know it will start with Hot Chocolate 15k Charlotte. I will be running Cherry Blossom 10 miler in April and I still hope to run New York City Marathon, after being denied the past 3 years. If I can’t get into NYC, I will either to Marin Corps Marathon or try to redeem myself in Richmond. It will be my 5th marathon so I feel like it should either by NYC or back where it all began with Marine Corps(my first marathon). I don’t know but stay tuned for race year 2019, I think it will be an exciting one.
The Brooks brand is well-known throughout the running community, whether you have used them or not, is a personal preference. I personally have loved Brooks since I stumbled upon them when I first started running. When I began running, I was clueless to the idea of running shoes. I was running in some Nike Shox and was having severe shin splits. I started doing my research and had a gait analysis done at a running expo for which Brooks was sponsor. After that day, I bought my first pair of Brooks and haven’t looked back since. Needless to say, I was all smiles when I saw Brooks gear in our swag bag from The Running Event. I was given a pair of Brooks Ghost 11 and a Brooks Canopy running jacket.
I love this jacket! Not only does it keep you warm on those crisp mornings/evenings, it is water-resistant. The water-resistant aspect is what I have been lacking with other jackets I have tried. Others brands I have tried have either been too light, thus not keeping you warm, or not breathable, thus you are sweating heavily because no air can get in. This Canopy jacket merges both worlds together perfectly. Extra benefit with the Nighlife color I received, is it has the neon yellow accents as well as built in reflective areas so you can easily be seen at night and pre-dawn. I took this jacket out for several runs and loved that it wasn’t too heavy, as well as, the option to use the hood or snap it back. The last and probably one of my favorite features is it is packable. That’s right, the whole jacket can pack right inside the left hand pocket, zip up, and has a nice band you can use to attach to your arm. I was able to put this to the test during one of my recent long runs. The temps were in the high 30s when I started out but pushed its way into the mid 40s halfway through my run. I was able to take off the jacket, pack it into the pocket and continue my run without having to worry about the hassle of securing the jacket around my waist.
I mentioned earlier that Brooks was one of my favorite brands, well their Brooks Ghost are one of my favorite shoes. In all I think I have had at least 3 or 4 pairs of Ghost, dating back to the Ghost 8.
Prior to The Running Event I had never heard of activated hemp being used as a recovery or performance aid, nor had I ever heard of the brand Arcanum. We received 3 of their products in our swag bag for TRE, but I don’t think any of us actually knew what to do with them. The following day when we got to visit The Running Event, the Arcanum booth was the first one we visited and we learned a lot of great information. If you read my previous posts about TRE, you know what I mentioned that the Arcanum representative was by far the most effective speaker. She delivered valuable information, without overselling her product. After speaking with the representative, I was eager to give them a try.
When hemp is heated at high temperatures, it’s bioavailability increases, meaning it is able to enter the circulation in the body and have an active effect. This activation creates an increase in the effectiviness of the cannabinoids and other healing ingredients in the Arcanum formulation. Activated hemp has been shown to support recovery time and performance by upregulating your cells, allowing them to communicate and carry on the reactions necessary to help the body recover faster and smarter.(via Arcanum website
I took the Sarco breeze with me when I traveled for my last race of the 2018 calendar year, The Kiawah Marathon. It was a marathon so I figured I would have a good amount of soreness to give the product a good test. After finishing my marathon and showering, I broke it out. My calves were really sore and I had cramped up after I finished the race, so I decided to start there. I am not exaggerating when I say, I felt an immediate difference once I applied the Sarco Breeze. I am not saying the soreness, immediately disappeared but I could feel the tingle letting me know it was starting to do its thing. I would say about an hour after applying the product, my calves felt like new. The soreness had subsided and I could walk around with that looking like I just ran a marathon(you know the walk. Lol) I later applied to my quads and hamstring areas, to get them back fresh. I was impressed with the response. This is also good to use if you are receiving and giving a massage to/from your significant other.
Next up, was the Sarco Freeze. Some of its features/benefits:
Last up and Arcanum’s newest product was The Quill. This seemed to be the product the representative was most excited about, since it is really an item that could be used on a daily basis. Features/Benefits:
I think all three of these products are worth a try. I know you may not know a lot about activated hemp but the stuff just works. Do your own research if you must, Arcanum even has some good information on their websites and you won’t get popped for using performance enhancing drugs. Lol. If I had to pick a favorite of the products, I would probably go with Sarco Breeze. I think the fact that it could be used all over your body and works great for massages, won me over. Give Arcanum as try and get the Arcanum Edge.
Full disclosure, I have never been a fan of compression socks. I have always ran with compression sleeves, part of reason is probably because I like certain socks and sleeves still allow for some freedom with your sock color, etc. Nevertheless, I wanted to give this trail socks their fair shot. We were given the yellow color so they pretty much will go with any color. I headed out on one of NC’s 30 degree mornings to give them a try. At first they felt strange on my legs, mind you I told you I have never been a compression sock wearer. I was doing a 10 plus mile run, so it should give me plenty of miles to see how the socks perform. Halfway through my run, my legs still felt fresh and no signs of fatigue. One slight issue I noticed around mile 8 was my left leg began to get numb. This has only happened one other time and that was when I was wearing some sleeves that were a size too small. I don’t know if my left calf muscle is slightly larger than my right, but once I stopped and rolled down the sock, the numbness went away and I finished the run.
So how does incrediwear work? To start with, incrediwear does not need compression to work. How so you may ask? Incrediwear uses technology that incorporates semiconductor elements within its fabric, which when it is stimulated by body heat, releases negative ions. Those negative ions activate molecular vibrations that increase blood flow and speed. Increasing circulation helps bring more oxygen and nutrients to the target area, which optimizes the body’s natural healing process and accelerates recovery. A few benefits of increased blood circulation is reduced swelling, reduced fatigue and accelerated recovery.
From the moment I put on the socks, I felt comfort. They kind of gave my feet a big hug but I it didn’t feel like compression at all. I have tried a few other brands of socks and have been quite fawn of one in particular, but I will say the incrediwear socks are as comfy if not more comfortable than my usual brand. I wore the socks on a few runs and the performance was exceptional. My feet were not tired or numb at the end of runs, like they are sometimes with other brands. Not only were they good for running but I also wore a pair to work on casual day and I could really tell the difference. I almost wanted to lose my shoes and walk around the office in my socks, but that wouldn’t be very professional. Lol
The young lady working said “I don’t know why its taking him so long”. She said he had been working there 25 years and knew everything about everything. A few minutes later, she says to me ” I know what he is doing”…I think he is trying to upgrade you”. I responded “really?”. A few minutes later he drives up in a Mercedes GLA hybrid. He jumps out and looks at me and says “will this work”. I had never driven a Mercedes so I was kind of excited. He didn’t have to do that for me, so I thanked him several times before driving off. I would tell you how I had to read the manual to find out how to adjust the seats but my learning of that car would take up several paragraphs. lol
I left rental place and drove straight to the expo for the race. After I successfully parked using the backup camera, I made myself inside to the packet pickup. They had a designated area for runners to the Re-Run challenge to get both their bibs. I walked up and provided the lady my bib number. She started shifting through bibs and couldn’t find mine. She advised me that they had several stacks of bibs that had not been sorted yet, so she began to go through stack by stack, still she couldn’t find my bib. She asked the guy working with her for help, and he started going through the stacks. STILL NOTHING. By this time a line is starting to form and another lady had came up for her bib, and they couldn’t find hers. After about 10 minutes of them searching, they sent me down to another table to get a new bib assignment. Im honestly beginning to get upset. I go to the table and explain to them the situation. Lady says that she couldn’t reassign me a another number if I already had one in the system. She said she would walk down and look through the bibs herself. After about 5 minutes of looking, she finds my bib in the same stack the previous 2 individual had been looking. I thanked her and headed over to VIP to pick up my band. As I was walking a looked at my bibs…the first one was right but the 2nd bib had a totally different name. Frustrated, I walked back to the same lady that had just helped me and showed her. Her response was “I don’t know what is going on with them”. She walks over and tells a coordinator what’s going on, then she goes to the 5k area to see if my correct bib was there….IT WAS. After finally getting my bibs and VIP bracelet, I went for the swag. Last year swag consisted of pajama bottoms and a beach towel, this year they had duffle bags and performance shirts celebrating the race’s 45th anniversary. I collected my goods and decided to walk around the expo to see what free stuff I could grab. My favorite booth was the taste testing of the beef and wine tasting, both were great. I stayed about an hour before heading to my friend’s house to prepare for the next day’s 5k.
About 9pm thursday night, I receive an email from race organizers saying they were going to move Friday night’s 5k to saturday morning because of the weather. The forecast was causing for 90 degree weather at 7pm Friday night, with high humidity. Rather that subject runners to potential dangerous conditions, the decided to move the race. I appreciate them letting us know well in advance, although I was disappointed. By moving the race, they pretty much put an end to any runner that was trying to do the Re-Run challenge because now the 5k and half marathon were starting at the same time, so no way you to do both. They said that we could still receive all three medals after the half and we would get a voucher to move our registration for the 5k to 2019. I don’t like getting medals I didn’t earn so I got up Friday morning and did my own 5k. I went out at 6:30 and it was already extremely hot and humid. I think they made a good call moving the 5k to the next morning.
In spite of the hills, their was beautiful views to see as we ran through KC, past the hospital and through several neighborhoods before ultimately finishing downtown. The final mile of the race was downhill, and you could try to take advantage IF you had anything left in the tank after the hills. I had a little bit and was able to finish in a respectable time. I checked my watch and saw that we had run course with 975ft if elevation. My course graph looked like a heart beat signal. lol
Not all frozen meals are made equal, and Luvo is proof of that. When I was given the opportunity to test out some of Luvo’s new Flipped Bowls, I jumped at it. I am usually not a fan of frozen meals, but I was willing to give Luvo a shot based on what I have heard from a few friends. Ordering was simple from their website, and I received my order within a couple days in a cooler packed with dry ice. I was worried with the heat in my area about if the meals would still be frozen when I got home from work. Most of the ice had melted but the meals were still frozen. Win!
2nd Favorite– Chicken Meatballs in Tomato Basil Sauce. This one gave me more of a Italian flare with the tomato basil sauce. Along with the tomato basil sauce, there is a mixture of kale topped with a blend of parmesan and mozzarella.
Recommendation
These bowls more than lived up to the company’s reputation. Each bowl provides you with a tasty meal, packed with tons of nutritional value. At $5.99 a box, you don’t have to worry about breaking the bank to have a healthy meal. Do not hesitate to give these a try. If you are ready to tickle your tastebuds, use code BIBRAVE at checkout to Buy 7 bowls, get 1 Free. Enjoy
TMilesAndRunning 