Gobble gobble! Turkey Trot race report

I am about ready for a nap, so I will try to make this post quick. I think the turkey is working its sleepy-time magic. ;-)

This morning's Turkey Trot was tons of fun!! I didn't know anyone there, but ended up chatting with a woman who had never been to a race before. Turns out she's almost my age, has a son about the same age as my daughter and works in the field of nursing. We hit it off after she asked me if her race bib was on properly. She told me she would be walking (she did) and I ended up walking the last lap with her after I finished my run.

So this race course started at the gazebo in old town Eureka, where all the homeless people happen to congregate. I'm not saying that to be mean, but it just so happens that there is a large homeless population that hangs out there, by the waterfront. The course went in a loop that we had to complete 2 1/2 times. So we ran up one street, over and down another, next to the waterfront (which was cool) and then back into old town. More than 350 runners participated, making it the largest Turkey Trot here to date. And it was COLD! But the sun was shining, so the conditions were actually pretty good for a run.

I had no intentions of going for a PR today. I didn't even manage a warm-up, since I spent pre-race time talking to Jordie (the girl I had tons in common with). So once the race actually began, I was surprised to find myself keeping an 8:30 minute mile pace for about a quarter mile. And as I ran, there were pockets of homeless residents who were actually cheering us on! That was pretty cool.

I finished the first mile a lot faster than I wanted to, in a time of 9:33. The next miles were slower, but by the time Mile 3 rolled around, I knew I could set a PR if I wanted to. So I dug in my heels and thought about crossing the finish line with a smile on my face. Of course, the smile didn't actually materialize in the pic they snapped of me, but that's OK.

Here's that pic:



OK, here are my official stats:

5K race
Time: 31:24
Pace: 10:07 minute/mile (so close to the goal pace I have of 10-minute-even miles!)
Finished 152 out of 337
Finished 23 out of 38 in my age division

Coming back to add that I never posted a pic of my new kicks! I got a new pair of Mizuno Wave Alchemys (I heart them!) but didn't snap a photo of them before I started using them. Here is a pic off the Internet. They look identical to these: