A Tale of 2 Turkey Trots

I guess I needed a bit of a blogging break? It's been so busy - it's that time of year I guess - and something had to give. Needless to say, the computer time was the first to go.

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Last Saturday was the first of 2 turkey trot 10k races that I'd registered for this year. The Clear Water Outdoor Turkey Trot is the same race I walked last year with Kim and Tori. (We didn't MEAN to walk it, but Tori hurt her knee early on, and it turned into a giant gab fest, with us coming in dead last). It's held in Big Foot Beach State Park, right along Lake Geneva in WI.

This was going to be my friend Sarah's very first 10k race ever. it's nice, local, and relatively inexpensive, with the race shirt (a long sleeved tech tee) as an optional add on. The downside, if you can call it a downside, is that it's on real trail - not HORRIBLY difficult, but most certainly not easy either. They do a great job keeping it clear, marking roots with spray paint, and the route is well marked. There are some tough hills in there though, and the course changed from last year, making it tougher on the back end. (garmin data) I had warned Sarah about the course, but I don't think she REALLY knew what she was in for...

Sarah offered to drive, and picked me up plenty early. The race started at 9:30, and we were out my door by 7:30, with about an hour drive.

Well, an hour drive IF you stop where you are supposed to.

We were gabbing gabbing gabbing, and before you knew it, we'd turned off on what we thought was the right lake road. We SLOWLY made our way around the lake, and I began to doubt. Pulled out my cell phone, and turned out we were one lake PAST the lake we were supposed to be on.

Well, shit.

By the time we made it back to where we needed to be, it was just after 9, and we still needed to pick up our bibs and stuff. Which wouldn't have been a big deal, except for the 30 car back up to get into the state park.

Nothing like a little stress to get your blood pumping on race morning.

But it was no big thing - there were LOTS of people behind us, so they ended up delaying the start by about 15 minutes. We got our stuff, waited in line for the port-o-potty, brought extra stuff back to the car, and only had to wait for about 5 minutes before the race started. Just enough time to connect with a bunch of running club people who were there too.

The run itself was fairly uneventful. I let Sarah know right away that I was NOT racing, that I was there for her as fast or slow as she wanted to go. She'd hoped to finish with less than 11 minute miles, but quickly figured out that that was unrealistic. The first half of the course we shared with the 5kers which was crowded and rather obnoxious. Sarah hung in pretty good, even when the hills were kicking her butt. She only walked up a couple of the steeper hills at the end, and we finished in 1:15 and change. 10 people finished behind us, which was a definite improvement from last year.

Afterwards, we found that they'd run out of nearly everything including water. I think the turnout was WAY more than they had anticipated, which was great for them - proceeds go right to the park. I love this race, and next year, I'd like to RACE it. As for this year, I was SO proud of how well Sarah did, and I know that she'll kill her next 10k.

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I ran a new to me hilly trail route with Kim on Sunday. I had really missed running with her, and it was so great to catch up.

Then, this week was school breaks and John off from work and conferences for my older 3 and Thanksgiving prep; even though I didn't host this year, there was still so much to do. John was completely focused on finishing odds and ends in the basement. My niece spent the night Wednesday.

Basically, all the workout plans I had for the week, including my strength class, went right out the window. (which means by Wednesday night I was a complete bitch. seriously.)

***

Thursday morning, I got up after a crappy night's sleep. I felt crappy. I was blah about my next race, the Mayor's Turkey Run put on by the Kenosha running club, along with a 2 mile race. I ran this one with Riyanti, a running club member (with a new blog). I still hadn't decided if I was going to race it or run it for fun.

We made it up to Kenosha plenty early, and they had the museum open so we could hang out in the heat and use indoor bathrooms, which was really nice since it felt MUCH colder than they had said it was going to be. I was pretty worried that I'd really under dressed. (I wore my screaming green turkey trot tee from Saturday's race and capri's. No jacket. No gloves.)

Riyanti and I run a really similar pace, which is great. We decided to start together, and I told her I'd know later in the race if I was going to push for my sub-60, but the goal was start out pretty easy. We lined up towards the back.

This turned out to be my only mistake of the day.

The first mile was a cluster. This was a pretty decent sized race (almost 2000 total with 600 10 k racers) and we spent way too much time dodging and weaving and getting COMPLETELY stuck. I didn't care at the time - we counted it as a warm up mile. It clocked in at 10:27.

By the second mile, I was finding a good groove. We were still passing people, but it had thinned out a lot. I wasn't pushing it, so I was surprised when garmin beeped 9:55.

They had a water station that we hit twice at the beginning of the third mile. We skipped it here. (We ended up skipping it later too.) We were feeling good, and pushing the pace a little. We were cheering for all the runners coming back off of the turnaround. We hit mile 3 at 9:36. I started to consider the possibilities....

After the turnaround, we were following some girls running just the right pace. I was just keeping up with them. Passing runners right after they were. Not paying attention to my watch except when miles beeped done. They were having a random conversation about bikini waxing. Freaking hilarious! It kept me laughing the whole mile. Didn't pass them until they peeled off for a photo op, and then never saw them again. Mile 4 = 9:42.

Right at the beginning of the 5th mile, I decided to see just what I had in me. I was feeling good. I was hitting the hills perfectly. I was feeling comfortably uncomfortable, aiming now for flat out uncomfortable. Why not? I left Riyanti behind in this mile. 9:29.

Mile 6 hurt. But in a totally good way. I was passing people like CRAZY. Me! Passing people. At the END of a race. Who is this girl? I was chasing 2 girls, picking off others one by one. It felt amazingly good, but strange. I was watching my average pace creep down to where I needed it. Just before the mile marker one of the girls dropped an eff bomb because her shoe was untied. She kept running, and I passed them. Hit mile 6 at 9:17.

Her friend was having NONE of me passing them. They passed me back, and urged me on with them. I laughed and said I was down for the chase. We TOOK OFF. All I could think was that I started my kick way to effing early, but it was too late to do anything but hang on. Untied shoe girl peeled off to hurl. I was right behind her friend til we crossed the finish line, gasping. The last 0.24? Yeah, I did that (almost a quarter mile) at a freaking 7:46 pace. Yes, I did.

Once I caught my breath, I congratulated my 2 rabbits and cheered Riyanti over the finish. We both PR'd. Perfect.

Official finish time: 1:00:21
Garmin time: 1:00:22
Pace: 9:44
Half Split 31:03
414/600 runners and 22/31 in my age group

I couldn't be prouder of how I executed this race. Had I lined up farther ahead (which I would have if I'd decided I was racing before the start) I could've hit it under an hour. Next time...

***

We spent a wonderful Thanksgiving at my sister's with her family, my parents, and John's Dad too. It was a lovely afternoon with all of my family. I have a lot to be thankful for, and I know it.

Hope your Thanksgiving was as good as mine!