Hot Chocolate in Hotlanta

I ran the Hot Chocolate 5K in Atlanta on Sunday. This time, the race day temps were not as cold as the past few years.
And thankfully, it was not raining.
I was supposed to run the Run With the Dogs 5K on Saturday, but as happened a couple of years ago, bad storms canceled the race. Not before I had arrived, however. Just like a couple of years ago!
The weather was iffy for Sunday, too, and I woke up around 3 am to lightning and thunder. Thankfully, all the rain and storms had moved off by race time.
I ran with my friend Kellie. We've run this one together before, and she ran the 15K, while I ran the 5K.

Me and Kellie pre-race

Me and Kellie ready to run

Rise Up Falcons fans!

 So, the Atlanta Falcons football team played the Green Bay Packers later Sunday evening, and downtown buildings were showing off their Falcons colors of red and black. By the way, Falcons beat the Packers rather handily and are headed for the Super Bowl!

Can't even see the top of the Westin for the fog

 Just because the rain had stopped, the skies were rather foggy. As you can see from the photo above, the 72-story Westin hotel in downtown Atlanta was socked in.

Ready to start

Who is that runner in the blue hat and pink jacket around her waist? That's me!

The Hot Chocolate 5K offered free photos with the race, but as you can see, I didn't get a free photo of me. Well, not really. I'm behind the woman in the center frame.
Kellie's 15K started about 25 minutes ahead of my 5K, which actually worked out well. She finished just a few minutes ahead of my finish. We met up after the race, drank our hot chocolate and ate some of the chocolate treats and then headed home.
I think I'm done with the Hot Chocolate race. It's expensive, and this year's jacket wasn't nearly as nice as the ones in year's past. It's OK. We had a good run!

Drumming and running

I can certainly tell I am WAY out of running practice. I had the MLK Day Drum Run 5K on Monday and my legs felt heavy afterward. Time to get back at it and run more, be inactive less.
I met up with my running buddies Angela, Carolyn and Susan for the race.

  

Susan, Angela, me and Carolyn

This is the race that has middle and high school drum lines along the route, which is completely contained within Piedmont Park in Atlanta.

Hearing the beat

This race, because it is within Piedmont Park, is part cross country race, part 5K. You start by running across the meadow and then winding around walking and running trails in the park.

Coming into the finish

I must have enjoyed the race, I'm smiling!

We finished up the race and met up with Susan and Carolyn's friend Donna, who has become my newest running buddy.

Finishers!

It was a great race. The temps were cool, but not cold. And it was good to get back to running.

A new year of running

I started 2017 on the right foot -- at the Resolution Run 4 Miler.
I've run the Atlanta Track Club's Resolution Run for several years now and I just love it, because it starts my year, and running year, off right! This year it was cool and rainy, but thankfully the rain tapered off after the first mile and there was just a light drizzle/mist for the final three miles.

Along the course

Coming in toward the finish

I was supposed to run the race with my friend Angela, but she was running late, so we didn't catch up with each other until after the race. In fact, we almost missed each other, but I found out she had been waiting for me at the finish and I must have walked right past her. In my defense, I did tell her at the end of the race, my brain did not have dibs on my blood supply. Ha!
The race turned out to be profitable, too. I found two pennies along the route. Back to collecting found money in 2017!

All finished!

Cute fellow runners getting into the new year spirit

We found each other!

It may not look it, but I was a little tired at the start (and finish!) of the race. I had gone to bed early knowing I would be up early for the race, but my neighbors had other ideas and were shooting off fireworks and, I think, guns at midnight. Not very conducive to sleep. So I got up and signed up for a half marathon in Indianapolis at the early bird rate! I guess it was meant for me to be up to ring in the new year.
So I have the three half marathons and states I plan for 2017: Alaska, South Dakota and Indiana. I expect one or two other states, but those will just be 5Ks. Still, it will be a great new year of running.