Turkey Trot and Turkeys Galores!

Happy Thanksgiving! And good night to all your crazies who are going out in just a few short hours to conquer Black Friday Madness.

As I mentioned in my recent post, I signed up for the TreesGreenville 8k Turkey Trot. This would be my first sanctioned 8k event and I had a goal to run it in under 1:03 (12:36 pace). Over the past few months, my tempo runs have been holding steady at around 11:30-12:30 pace. I have a hard time with sprint work. I have never been a fast person, even in my best sport of swimming, I am a distance swimmer. The only fast thing I do is talk. It's true. Ask anyone... especially that section on Report Cards for Teacher comments.

So I woke up this brisk Thanksgiving morning at my Future-in-Law's and I was a little nervous for the race. I figured that I would wear my RnR Savannah official shirt, because I may as well look like a badass runner. Plus any excuse to drum up conversation with others and have them ask "Oh, did you run the half or full?"... I am all for saying "oh, I did the full" like its something I still talk about everyday no big deal. 

RnR shirt is under there.... Girl Scout promise!

 

Since we got into town late yesterday, we had to arrive early to pick up our packets. Finn is sick, so his cousin's wife (Emily) came out for the fun and ran as him. Sadly, I didn't take any photos of any of us there. But here are the "long" lines at packet pickup. Bonus to small local races. 20 porta potties = no line. Love.

Sorry babe, for making you wake up so early to pick up a packet!

My friend Brian from Clydesdales Can Run ran the 8k as well (check out his musings and running, show B the love). So Emily, Brian, and some other Clemson cool kids waited around in the cold for the race to start. I decided to ditch the long sleeve and show off the RnR love. I also made a peer pressured discussion and to run without my fuelbelt. I always run without. I drink a ton of water when I run. Turns out, I missed it about as much as Reese Witherspoon missed Ryan Phillippe. Yep. Not at all.

The race is out and back and VERY hilly. The first .75 is straight down hill. My first mile was 9:45 and my second mile was 9:52. What? Who is this runner? Once I started up the 3rd hill, I realized maybe I went out too fast. I started to need a mental strategy around mile 4... going up another blessed hill. I had been following behind Brian the whole race and trying to trip catch him. Finally. It wasn't that I caught him but we needed each other to tackle the last mile and get under our own goal times. I mentally tied a string around his wrist and made him drag me. Thanks, Brian for dragging me those 5 miles. If your legs are more tired than a standard 8k, this is why. You are welcome.

We barely talked that last mile. I like to run each mile for that mile. I kept thinking back to November 5th... wondering how I ran 26.2. Then I remembered how much slower my pace was and that I was doing 4:1s. Then I kept looking at my garmin and how I was rocking this run!

I should fire my photographer.....

Garmin time 0:55.56 (Garmin said avg pace was 10:56... but pace calculator is 11:11). Kept all my miles under 12 minute pace! Only walked for a total of two minutes... going up two hills. I am so very happy to have pushed myself hard. Dug deep. And prove to myself I can do it!

So if you are in Greenville, SC for Thanksgiving, I would recommend this race before you dive into your feast! I give it a B+ for the Local Yocal race front!

On a side note, next year. I need a costume. I felt naked not wearing something funny and Thanksgiving themed. I guess I will have to really amp up my game for the Reindeer Run.

So Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a great day with family, friends, and tradition. We enjoyed a great feast and some football. I was pleased that I kept my eating in check and got my one bonus point for Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge for eating 7 servings of fruit and veggies!! 

QOD: What are you thankful for?