Will Run 4 Ice Cream - Brain Freezer 5K (Cookies extra?!)

The world record beer mile holder is a Canadian.

No one is really surprised...

...considering how hard it probably is, chugging a carbonated beverage as fast as possible - without it exiting your nose - and then resuming running around a track.

How difficult is it really to eat and run/run, then eat? We've all made this mistake before, eating too heavy, or too much before physical activity. So last year, when the Brain Freezer 5K came up on my radar, I figured I'd have a go at it. It's summer! Ice cream! Flat run!

The format: run 2.5km appoximately, eat a pint of ice cream, run the remaining distance for a total of 5K.

Famous last words: What could possibly go wrong? Hmm, "I'll puke it back up" comes to mind...

If I fail to plan, I plan to fail. So the plan basically went like this...

Several weeks leading up to the Brain Freezer 5K, start eating something sweet, or rich, or both in increasing quantities before run.

A single-serve vanilla Greek yogurt.
Greek yogurt pancakes (recipe) with lots of maple syrup.

 Epic cookie (3 different kinds of choco chips!) from Café Névé. Standard coffee mug for scale.

**That^ almost became my "eat-this-rarely-cos-it's-a-cheat-meal" thing until I stumbled upon an even better cookie served at Structure Coffee Roasters. Fight me.**

And then, because I like to come into these things quasi-prepared, began to incorporate ice cream eating partway through short runs.

Example: run 1 mile, eat 1/4 pint of ice cream (Divine Vanille by Bilboquet), run another mile.
Next outing: run 2km, eat 1/2 pint of ice cream (Les Givrés' vanilla offering), run a mile-ish.

Then I figured I'd go for some richer ice cream just to get used to the feeling, because what if on race day it was only deluxe flavours like Rocky Road, or S'mores?

Ta-da! Vanilla caramel swirl
(stock photo from lesgivrés.ca)

Other things I learn while trying to perfect binge-eating ice cream:

- Les Givrés is a much better quality (and tastier!) local product

- when the edges of the ice cream in the tub have softened enough for me to dig my spoon in, farting sounds emanate.

- despite your best efforts, your hands will get sticky from the ice cream.

- running with a frozen mouth and tongue afterwards is kinda funny.

- after supper on a sweltering July evening, I got curious and attempted to speed through a small bowl of lemon sorbet...instant brain freeze after the first spoonful.

Event day arrives, it's sunny - perfect weather for ice cream. It's also a fun run, even though I want to do this as fast as I possibly can without hurling on the sidewalk. Some people have brought their own ice cream scoops!

The halfway point is smack in the middle of downtown Burlington, the Church Street Marketplace.

Running sucks hahaha

Besides ice cream (by Island Ice Cream), there's also sorbet offered as an alternative. See, this is why I try to plan things, right? I know sorbet is not going to be a good decision!

I do have to decide between strawberry, and chocolate supreme. Uh-oh, I didn't train using any fruit flavours, but strawberry it is. I was hoping for vanilla...turns out the volunteers hadn't put the cartons out on the table when I got there. Luck of the draw!

Despite having practiced running and eating a whole pint of ice cream, the remaining 2.5km feel ok except that I feel like I've swallowed a heavy meal, say like turkey and mashed potatoes. 

My official time is 33:19, now I only wish I could have timed how long it took me to actually eat the ice cream. 

Would I run this again? Probably not...been there, done that, got the finisher shirt. I'll enjoy ice cream as dessert, or a summer treat. And I'll pass on the strawberry flavour!

*If you're up for it, please tell me, which café has the better chocolate chip cookie? (DO NOT ADD A THIRD CHOICE! My rules)

Café Névé (151 Rachel E, Montreal, QC H2W 1E1)
Structure Coffee Roasters (460 McGill, Montreal, QC H2Y 2H2)