Red Won a Turkey Trot Scarf!

Had a GREAT workout doing intervals on Thursday. I again did my speedwork on the treadmill as I'm still learning what it feels like to do different paces. I did 3x 1 mile intervals with half mile jogs in between. My intervals were at 7:03 pace (exactly 8.5 mph on the mill). When I was doing these intervals, I kept thinking, "How in the world did I keep this pace up for 10K in the Turkey Trot last Fall??????" Somehow I managed. I have the Top 100 Turkey Trot scarf to prove it! (I wear it everywhere - I'm so proud!) But I'm still not convinced it wasn't a fluke. I'm longing for my next 10K to see if I can do a repeat performance. I tell ya, race-day adrenaline must be super-potent, because I'm still in shock at my time.

So my hubby got a call a few days ago from someone involved with the Stoney Creek Running Club. We've been thinking of joining up for a few months. It'd be great to meet fellow addicts - er, I mean, runners. I'm kind of a solo-trainer, but that doesn't mean I'm entirely anti-social. We already know several people in the club anyway, and it'd be nice to meet some more. Perhaps I'll find running with others will push me to limits I didn't know existed. Perhaps I'll learn some training and racing tips from far more seasoned runners. Perhaps I'll just have a great time!

Anyway, the call was a personal invitation to the Sunday group run at the park. It is "Bagel Sunday", so that means free food and coffee after the run. That always helps motivation to attend! Plus, apparently there will be a few reporters on-hand from local papers to do write-ups about, well, running is my guess. Some of the elite Brooks-Hanson's guys and gals will be there too. I wonder if we got invited to help swell the ranks and impress the reporters. heh. I still think I'll put it on my calender. Free food, free food, free food...

Gault Screwed Up

Matty did what I should have done - he emailed Gault Race Mgt., the company in charge of race timing at the Turkey Trot, and asked them if they did a chip start or a gun start. Apparently they meant to do a chip start but one of the start mats was malfunctioning. They said they'd adjust our times if we told them how far back we started. Matt told them our own watch times and they actually did what they said they'd do. It made a HUGE difference in our placement. I'm glad they adjusted the time, but what really annoys me is they did not place any kind of disclaimer on the result listing. So they only adjusted times for people who thought to write them and complain. C'mon, people, take responsibility! Anyway, my new time is 43:27 which I'm so thrilled about!!

Turkey Trot - New 10K PR!!

The Turkey Trot went great!! I got a new PR. The official results are not online yet, so I'll have to update this post a little later. My watch has me at 43:31, which is nearly 3 minutes faster than my previous best. Yay!! I know I was top 100 (women) because I got a Turkey Trot fleece scarf at the finish line. Matt is jealous. hah!!

I went out really fast and with about 2 miles to go, I started wondering if I went out too fast. But I tried mind-over-body and told myself that pain is temporary - the race will be over in a matter of minutes. That worked. So much of running is mental.

Some poor guy did push too hard. With the finish line literally in sight, I saw him veer off to the side, put his hands on his knees, and just as I was passing him, I heard him lose his stomach contents! Thank god I didn't see it actually happen. Hearing it was bad enough! Poor dude.

Oh, and I actually saw Mark (see Nov 23 post) at the race! He passed me at about the halfway point and recognized me. What are the chances??

When you run a Turkey Trot, you can stuff your face at dinner and not feel guilty about it. It's a win-win situation.

Edit: Well, not sure why, but my official chip time is much slower than my watch time. The only way that could have happened is if they didn't have a chip start. But they did have a mat! *shrug* My time: 44:07 (7:07 pace)