Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Turkey Trot

On Thanksgiving, I got to run my favorite race of the year - Brazen Racing's Nitro Turkey Trot.

I first ran this race in 2009 just because I loved the location. I got up, went to the race, ran the 5K, and drove home, all without saying more than a word or two to another person. By the time the 2010 race rolled around, I found myself as part of a running community, and had so many runner friends to enjoy the race with. So of course I was excited for this year's race, and to be running with so many of my favorite running buddies.

I was so excited for the social aspect of this race that I hadn't really given any thought to the actual running part, and while waiting for the race to start my friend David asked me what my goal time was. I told him I was just running for fun, not shooting for a PR. About 45 minutes later, I would find myself really regretting those words.

It was a slightly drizzly morning, and the trails were a little muddy, but the run itself was beautiful. After finishing the 5K, I of course headed straight for some coffee and pumpkin pie, then went to watch all the 10K runners come in.

I then went with some of my speedy friends to check the race results. My friend David got 1st in his age group for the 5K, and one of my TNT coaches got 1st in her age group as well as second overall woman! She is a speeding bullet!

I checked my result and was really surprised to find that I was fourth in my age group. My finish time was 31:08 - not what I expect to see as a fourth place finish time. When I checked the time for the first place finisher in my age group, I was really surprised to find that her time was 28:xx. It was at this point that I started kicking myself for not at least attempting to PR, as my 5K PR is nearly two minutes faster than that. Not that I necessarily WOULD have PR'd, but at least I would know that I tried.

Now I have a new challenge for myself - enter as many Brazen 5K races as possible and try to get an age group win. And I guess I'd better work on my speedwork too!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

I've been a runner for a little over two years, and enjoy reading running blogs. I thought I'd try this out as I gear up for my next training cycle in January.