hot and now in the cold and rain

When I was ready to run again, I knew the importance of a motivating goal.  I needed to register for a race that wasn't too long, one that had a little more spunk than your average 5K, and maybe one in a new city to see.

 

Krispy Kreme Challenge?  Yes, please.

It was a hard race for many reasons – coming on the heels of the tummy bug; battling the cold and rain; fighting the urge to yak at the sight of crazies devouring the doughnuts.

And the hills.  Oh, hills of downtown Raleigh, you were not friendly!

You can check out race details here, but here’s what you really need to know:

• Crazy people run this race.  As if scarfing a dozen doughnuts at the mid-point of a four-mile run isn’t enough, they’ll absolutely do it in the 35 degree cold and pouring rain, with their toddlers in strollers.
• The scent of those fresh-baked doughnuts takes on a whole new meaning when you’re running.  You don’t crave them the way you do when you drive by and see the “Hot and Now” sign at your local Krispy Kreme store.  I personally will never again look at a box of glazed doughnuts in the same way.
• The doughnut consumption interchange is complete chaos.  It really does look like this: 

• Post-race conversations with true challengers revealed the breaking point for many is about nine doughnuts.  Participants are feeling confident after polishing off the first five or six, but nine is where the rubber meets the road.  And eating them in stacks of three is, apparently, the way to shave minutes off your time.  (Gag.)
• The boxes do not hold up well in the rain.

Although I didn’t eat the dozen – I didn’t even eat one after the race – I did run the two miles back with the box in hand.

Mine lasted about a mile after the mid-point pick-up, and then as the box tucked under my arm began its disintegration, I felt a few doughnuts escape.  I hoped no one behind me tripped, and then I debated offering the remains to one of the police directing traffic.

I opted instead to push through, in the name of evidence to prove the insanity of it all. 

In the end, the box score looked something like this:

Miles traveled: 1,200 round trip

Race day temperature: 35 degrees

Rainfall: a lot

Personal calories burned: 400-ish
Doughnuts consumed: 0

Doughnuts remaining in the disintegrated box: approximately 7

Ugly-girl laughs: 1

Other giggles: too many to count

War wounds: a little doughnut glaze matted into my fleece 

Worth it?  Yes.

Although, tomorrow the body might tell a different story!