This year was my first ever turkey trot! I have always
wanted to do one but have never been near a place that had one for Thanksgiving
day. This was a lot of fun for a few reasons. First of all, I have not ran a 5k
in a while and I forgot how much fun they are. Secondly, it was pretty small,
and I like smaller races. It feels more like a community event rather than a
production. It was pretty cold, about 30 degrees, but once you get running, it
warms up pretty fast.
This was the second year that the city has put this race on
and I think that they did a good job. Here are the pros and cons of the race.
Pros: Friendly people. Many of the volunteers were kids, so
it felt like a family affair. I liked that. The registration was only 20 bucks
and I did get a free t-shirt, even if it was cotton. The race money goes to
feed the hungry, which seems not only like a good cause in general, but really
feels good on Thanksgiving. The food at the end was great! There were coffees,
bagels, water, granola bars, craisins and bananas. It was one of the better
hauls I have seen!
Cons: The race was not timed. This is okay, since I have a
Garmin, but it feels weird to not have the clock or at least a slip of paper
you write your time on so they can put it online (they did this in New Orleans
when there were no chip timers). The course started on a track and several of
us who were in the beginning of the pack at the start, myself included, went
through the wrong gate. This may or may not have been the reason that my Garmin
said that my run was actually only 3.02 miles, not 3.1. The race started about
15 minutes late, which is usually not too big of a deal, except that we had
many other things to do (and to cook) that day, so it was a little annoying.
My final Garmin reading was 23:40. Since this was only for
3.02 miles, I would assume it would have taken me about 40 more seconds to do a
proper 5k. This would put me at 24:20, which is a 7:48/mi. A new PR!
This was a good race. I had fun. The only thing I may do
differently is run a longer race next time, since that 5k only burned about 300
calories and I ate about 3000 calories the same day!
What is your favorite
race distance? What did you do Thanksgiving day? Did you exercise or did you
embrace the food coma?
I ran a 10K but had to walk much of it due to my son's asthma. Still though, it was fun to have him do a race. You are a fast little woman...way to go! As for the eating, I did well on Thanksgiving, didn't even have pie, but as the weekend went on, I caved in a few times. Jess
ReplyDeleterunningtobeskinny.com
It's all about balance, so I think you can get away with 3000 calories a couple of times a year. :) Good job on the speedy 5k! I didn't do a Turkey Trot because I wanted to sleep in and hang out with my husband and doggy, but I did run later in the day.
ReplyDeleteThat's still a good 5k time! What a fun race.
ReplyDeleteI would love to do a Turkey Trot sometime, I don't think we have one in Des Moines though?
ReplyDeleteI've never ran anything further than a 5k in an organized race. Hopefully I can change that in 2012?? We'll see!
What a great race! I would have liked that it was smaller too :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on a new PR! I ran an untimed race once too and I was not a big fan of the idea. I started liking shorter races this year...5ks, 10ks...and a ten mile was fun too! I haven't ran a full or a half in a while now! Maybe next year! Oh, and don't worry about eating so much! It doesn't happen every day so I wouldn't even think twice! Thanksgiving is the best!
ReplyDeleteTurkey trots aren't really a big thing up here since our Thanksgiving is on a Sunday in October (which I've missed the last three years since it's the big "race weekend" and I've been racing!)
ReplyDeleteNice job on the PR!! My Drumstick Dash was timed, but they did not have any food or water at the finish! I was disappointed as I did not bring water with me and I was parched. We got a long sleeve technical, though, so I am happy with the race. I just will know in the future to bring water!
ReplyDeleteYOu have gotten so fast!!
I think I might try a Turkey Trot next year. It sounds like a lot of fun and a great way to stave off the guilt of overindulging on Thanksgiving.
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