Will Run for Chocolate...

....and I did! 9.3 miles of running to be exact.

I had signed up for the Will Run for Chocolate 15K in October hoping it would be an easy run to train for after completing the Wicked 10K Halloween weekend. After the knee/leg injuries I endured through October that caused me to skip out on the 10K I had lost all hope that the 15K would be feasible. My plan had been to pick up my race packet on Friday evening and then sleep in Saturday. While at work on Friday something hit me and I decided that I wanted to give the race a try. I'd been back to running (very lightly and short distances) over the previous week without any pain. I knew a couple of girlfriends running the race and thought it would be something fun, plus it ended with hot chocolate and fondue - talk about motivation!

The motivation - yum yum!

The race itself had some glitches on the organizers part but once it get started (an hour late) it went better than I could have ever expected. I started the race out reminding myself to just have fun with it and don't focus on the time. Much to my surprise at the 10K mark I had beat previous 10K race times by 5 minutes! By mile seven I was exhausted but knew I could get through the last 2.3 miles as long as I took it easy. I finished well under my two hour goal (I thought it would take at least that due to my lack of training) and felt great! I'm still shocked that I actually completed the race but have never felt so confident in myself as a runner. I think I hear the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in DC calling my name!