Turkey Trot 10k Race Report

I’m feeling a little race spoiled lately. At the last minute, I decided to run a local turkey trot that is just a mile or two down the street from my house. This year was the 36th year of the race, and I know it’s a favorite of so many friends.

My friends Leah and Laura had already signed up for the race, so I crashed their party and signed up too. We all run relatively close to each others pace, so I knew we had potential to push each other while having fun. Before the race started, I also found Bob (my walking hug) and he was going to run with us too.

I was surprised at the size of the race. It sells out at 2500 runners, and I know it was close. I was also surprised by the weather. It was 31 degrees when I left my house that morning. Even with cold temps, the energy before the race was amazing.

My day started early with a trip to the airport. Cole was taking the first flight out to Nashville to see his dad. We splurged on Starbucks while we waited for him to board: a chocolate muffin and coffee. Perfect food before a race.

I had zero expectations for this race. I didn’t have a race plan. I didn’t even care how fast I ran. I was planning on running for fun, but a last minute conversation with my husband and a quick chat with my coach before race start made me change my mind. Since I paid for the race, I might as well race it. Leah and Laura were on board too. Leah wanted a PR with a pace in the 8s. We had our mission.

The race was off, and we were running. My garmin was hiding under my clothes, and I wasn’t willing to give up the thumb holes on my shirt to look. It was bad enough I couldn’t feel my feet until after mile two. I had a lot of aches and pains the first two miles. My hamstrings were tight. My feet hurt. My ankle was sore. I’m sure my body wasn’t warmed up enough even though we jogged a few minutes before the start.

8:37

8:37

By mile 3, my body felt better. By mile 4, I was thankful to be running in a pack. Miles 3 and 4 were hard. There were so many times I wanted to fall back and let my friends run. I sat behind them and just ran. I hoped I could hang on until the finish.

8:26

8:46

8:29

Just after the mile 5 marker, I found a second wind. Running felt easy again, and before I knew it, the finish line was ahead of me.

8:22

7:59 pace

I crossed the finish line with both Laura and Leah with an unexpected new 10k PR.

53:24

28/165 in my age group

Almost one minute faster than the Wicked 10k. Running so many races this fall is really starting to teach me how to run a race. I’m learning, and this makes me excited.

I’m lucky enough to have another race on my calendar next weekend: the Surfin Santa 10 miler. I’m going to try to run it the exact same way I ran this race. I want to see how far the second wind can carry me. These middle distance races intimidate me the most, so I know this race will be good for me. I have another PR to set.