Turkey Trot

I've skipped out on the Turkey Trot 5k the past couple years due to the proximity of the race to the Route 66 Marathon. With how tired my legs feel running it 4 days after a half-marathon, I have no interest in trying it 4 days after a full-marathon. Jeremy does it and runs the 5k super close to his normal 5k time. I have no idea how he does it! This year Thomas was still planning to run the 5k even though he ran the full marathon. They are crazy! Ty planned to run the race with the kids in the double stroller. But then the night before my mom decided to skip the race because her back was sore. That worked out best because it was cold and rainy which wouldn't have been as much fun for the kids. We have a weather shield for our double stroller so they wouldn't have gotten wet during the race, but it was still yucky.

My legs felt pretty heavy during my runs the week leading up to the race. I was actually surprised by how sore I was. After a couple days I realized I haven't run a hilly half-marathon since the Route 66 Half in 2016. I've run all flat halves and had forgotten that the recovery is harder when it's a hilly race. My recoveries after the flat races were all pretty easy. Going into the Turkey Trot I figured I'd be able to run under 22 minutes and was hopeful I might be able to squeak under 21 minutes, but my main goal was to just run what felt right. My calf was pretty tight and I was still having some foot pain, so I didn't want to make things worse. My focus right now is entering my training block for Boston healthy and pain-free so I can really get busy!

We were a little behind schedule arriving at the race and hadn't picked up our packets ahead of time like we normally do. I was feeling laid back about it because I wasn't trying to all out race so I wasn't too concerned about getting a longer warm-up. I just wanted to get at least a half-mile in to see how my legs were feeling. I ran over to packet pick-up, got all our packets, and then took off to finish my cool down. I ran a little less than a mile warm-up and decided to take a chance getting to the bathrooms with 2 minutes until race time. I was going down the stairs in City Hall to the restroom as my dad was coming up. I made it to the start line in time for the National Anthem. There was a young woman at the front of the start in shorts who looked really fast. She kept eyeing me before the start which I found entertaining because I knew I wouldn't be competing with her! We took off and I got to run through the confetti they shot off at the start. I always love running through confetti! I felt like I got out to a fairly slow start. The leaders just flew off the starting line. Even so, once we were about a half-mile into the race, I started picking people off in packs. I ended up running side by side with the woman who sang the National Anthem for a while. I went through the first mile in 6:34. That mile is the easy mile. The 2nd mile has some decent hills and then the last mile has a small incline all the way to the finish that lasts for about the last half mile or so. I was in the middle of listening to 11/22/63 by Stephen King at the time I ran this race and I randomly kept thinking, "Jim La," as I ran up the hills.

During the 2nd mile I started closing the gap between me and a girl running ahead of me. I knew I was slowing down, but I wasn't slowing down as much as she was. I thought there was a chance I could catch her. I could really feel the half-marathon on my legs going up those hills. It made me wonder how Jeremy was running so fast just 4 days off the marathon! He was so far ahead of me, I couldn't even see him! With how Thomas' marathon went I felt really bad for how his legs must feel on the hills. I went through the 2nd mile in 7:03. I was glad to be mostly finished with the hills. Mile 3 is fairly flat until the finishing straight-away from what I remember. By the time we turned left down main street to run toward the finish I had narrowed the gap between the girl and myself to around 15 seconds. I knew I wouldn't have enough of a kick to make up that distance, especially once she took off sprinting toward the finish. There was a guy in between us who I was able to outkick. My last mile was 6:47 and I ran the final section in 6:00 pace. I was impressed with my finishing kick when I saw my pace later. Not too shabby considering it was uphill.

Jeremy finishing the race.

Coming up on the finish.

Dad crossing the finish line.

Ty coming up on the finish.

I finished 31st out of 1,000 overall, 3rd out of 579 females, and 1st in my age group with a time of 21:11. Jeremy, crazy as he is, finished in 19:55! He was 17th overall and won his age group. Dad finished in 24:41, good for 104th overall and 1st in his age group. Thomas finished in 25:24 which put him 129th overall and 8th in his age group. Ty ran in the turkey costume and finished in 32:17 which put him 366th overall. We missed having mom and the kids there with us but it was still a lot of fun! Read about the Turkey Trot Fun Run in 2017 here, the 5k in 2016 here, 2015 here, 2014 here, and 2013 here.

They gave out mugs as awards this year.