Run Turkey Run 5K - Race Round-Up

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for having the means to travel to my parents' home in Connecticut.  Even though being here can be weird sometimes, it's still nice to come back.

I'm thankful that I'm healthy enough to run.  This one goes without saying.  I'm thankful that I haven't had any major injuries or illnesses (knocking on wood) that have kept me from doing something that I love.

I'm thankful that I can find and register for a race no matter where I travel.  After the Marine Corps Marathon, I didn't really think about my post-race plan.  I would run, of course, but I wasn't sure that I would race beyond one or two holiday-themed races in DC. I figured that since I was home, it would be a great time to run with my dad so I went on a search for Turkey Trots within a reasonable distance.  I settled on the Run Turkey Run 5K -- the price, distance, and distance from my bed were right.

I'm thankful that I can run with my dad.  My dad basically said, "If this is what you want to do on Thursday morning, this is what we'll do."

I'm thankful for challenges.  Dad drove us to the race. We started together, but I wanted a little bit more of push and went on ahead.  The course was an out-and-back along a trail in Hamden. It was a pretty straight forward course, and there was a bit of bunching at the beginning but things thinned out.   I wanted a PR, so I started the race at about an 8:30 pace and held that for the first mile.  The second mile was a little bit slower, but I was able to pick up the pace for the last mile.  According to my watch, I hit 3.1 miles in 27:25 (Personal Best - 25:47 at the most recent Love the Run You're With). 

I'm not entirely disappointed by this.  I made a lot of progress in my first year of running because I had a lot of progress to make.  Now, if I want to run faster, it's clear that I'm going to have work a lot harder to reach my fitness and time goals.

I would love nothing more than to PR at this year's Jingle All the Way 8K.  It's two weeks away, but I have plenty of time to get in a few really good runs and speed workouts.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!