Race Recap: Turkey Trottin’ 2011

Thanksgiving: my favorite holiday. I love turkey. I love green bean casserole (especially the one I make with fresh green beans and homemade cream sauce). I love stuffing. I love the football games. I love pumpkin cheesecake.

For the second year in a row, I decided to run the Festival Foods Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning. I can have an extra helping of that green bean casserole guilt-free then! I signed up for the 5-mile run. My goal was to run it in under 50:00. I’ve done great at distance runs this year, but I have a hard time cranking up the speed on short runs.

Awake at 6:30 a.m. Check the weather – 37°F and drizzle. Long sleeves, waterproof jacket, tights. Coffee, banana, water, and out the door I go. I got to the convention center, found parking, and made my way to the starting line. I had just enough time beforehand to run into and catch up with some old friends, out with their son before the festivities of the day. That was a great start!

I did have to giggle once. There were about 3,500 people at the race. A woman in line at the start said, “Wow, this race is so big!” Having just run in Portland with 15,000 other people, I was reminded of how your perspective can change in just a single day. Once, running with 1,000 other people was a lot. Once, running one mile was a lot. As we grow, and experience new things, and change, our perspective changes too.

We started oh-so-promptly at 8:00 a.m. The race wound through the north side of Oshkosh, heading towards Lake Winnebago. We ran along the lake and through the park, then headed east for the final mile. It was cold and drizzly, with a biting wind along the lake. I didn’t mind, though. I kept reminding myself of how much better it was than my race in April. And from this picture, captured at about mile 2-1/2, you can hardly tell I’m cold and miserable!

Courtesy of The Northwestern

Mile 1 was easy. I had to keep myself in check, and remind myself I was running a few more miles. Mile 2 flowed nicely as well, as the scenery changed and the lake came into view. Mile 3 was fun, as one of the volunteers was my former boss, and I got to say hi and high-five him. My music was perfect. I was in The Zone. Mile 4 I started to struggle a little. I can tell I haven’t been running as many miles as usual. I’m getting tired. Just as I crossed the “mile 4″ marker, I heard a group of guys chattering behind me. I thought, “What the heck? Quiet down! I’m trying to focus here!” When I saw them pass me, I realized why there was all the chatter:

Courtesy of The Northwestern

Yes, I was just passed by Pac-Man and three ghosts! I busted out laughing, and picked up the pace so I could keep them in sight the last mile. I cruised through mile 5, and turned up the jets the last tenth to cross the finish line.

I was rewarded with an official chip time of 48:54! It’s my second-best 5-mile time, and my best 5-mile race time. I’ll take it! Plus, I got to run after Pac-Man.

And the pumpkin cheesecake was fantastic.

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