Turkey Trot 5K Recap!

I know what you are thinking! A Turkey Trot in October? Seems early! Well...I run this race every year because of that fact. Because every registration buys a Thanksgiving turkey for a local family in need. So I'm ok with it being early!

This race is also one that the cub scouts participate in. So we always do it as a family! This year was no exception!

Funny story....my husband was in charge of registering all of us for the race since he is a cub scout den leader. Well...he got us all registered but our shirt sizes were a different story. Sawyer's shirt was a little snug but it worked. MY shirt however....was super big! He ordered me a size LARGE!!! Lol! I'm not sure what he was thinking! And now I can't stop picking on him about it!

This race is always very family oriented. They had several vendors out there with games for the kids. And Piggly Wiggly even had Mr. Pig there!

Donna rode to the race with us. My boys kept her quite entertained! We both bought the same skirt last weekend at the half marathon packet pickup so we decided to wear it to this race! Don't we look cute?!!

My goal for this race was to try and PR my 5K time. I also hoped I would place like I did last year. Because this race isn't bib timed I lined up as close as I could to the start line but not too close so I wouldn't get trampled. I heard two runners in front of me talking about keeping an 8 minute pace so I knew I was lined up in the correct spot.

As I was waiting for the start I realized I hadn't turned on my Garmin. It is usually super fast about finding the satellites but that morning it was having a hard time. The gun went off before my Garmin was ready. But what can you do? I started running hoping it would catch up. And I had RunKeeper going on my phone so I knew I had a backup.

I knew immediately when I started running that I was going to have a good run. My legs were feeling strong. I had that floating on air feeling. It was making me very happy! When I ran mile 1 in the 7's I was super shocked! Had I really just run that fast? And could I keep that pace for two more miles? I didn't know but I was going to try. I was in a groove so there was no slowing down.

There were several hilly parts of the course but I got through them fine. The course was different than last year but still downtown in one of my favorite areas to run.

Before I knew it I had made it halfway and to the turn around point. Headed back I saw several of my Sole2Soul Sisters and that was fun!

Mile 2 came and then it wasn't long and I could see the finish line. But since it was a straight shot there I knew it wasn't super close. I was still running fast and in the 7's. But I was getting tired. I wouldn't let myself slow down. I was too close.

Near the finish line I saw one of my favorite photographers Tim! He snapped pictures of me and said, "Fast!"

That gave me the extra push I needed! I sprinted to the finish line! Right before crossing I heard and saw Sawyer cheering for me! Love my sweet boy!!! :-)

I had done it! I PRed with a time of 23:27!!!!

The only issue I had was my Garmin said the mileage was 3.00. Now I'm not sure if that was because the satellites didn't come on until after I started. Or if the course was a little short. Either way...I still would have PRed regardless!

After crossing I headed toward Sawyer and also found Hayden and Andy. We walked around a bit and the boys played some games. Then we found Donna. We still had a few minutes until the fun run would start.

Another awesome picture by Tim!

Andy was supposed to do the fun run with us. But he could barely walk. He got hit in the leg by a softball last week at his softball game and he was in pain. So he decided to not risk it. I knew Hayden wanted to run since he has been doing the running club at school. But Sawyer wanted to run and walk. Sweet Donna offered to run/walk with Sawyer so I could stay with Hayden in case he wanted to run.

We lined up to start and took off! Hayden did so awesome during the fun run! It was a mile long. We walked a few times and ran a few times. He loved it! He finished in about 14 minutes. Then we waited to see Sawyer and Donna come in. They weren't that far behind us. And as soon as Sawyer saw the finish line he took off!!!!!

After the fun run it was time for the awards. I had no clue if I'd placed or not because I couldn't find the posted race times. So when they called my name for 2nd place in my age group I was so thrilled!!!

I received a medal and a water bottle!

I was so happy! It was another great time at the Turkey Trot! I remember how last year at this race my calf strain had just started. I was so thankful to be running injury free this year!

Of course I'll be back to run this one again next year!!!

QOTD: Have you ever run a race where your Garmin was off? Or a course that was too short?

Turkey Trot 5K Recap!

This past weekend I ran back to back 5K's. The Trick or Trot 5K was on Friday night. Then Saturday morning I ran the Turkey Trot 5K!

This race was a little different than the night before because Andria ran with me! The night before I ran by myself. There were also several of my friends running this race too. And...my family was there again because we do this race every year with the Cub Scouts!

We arrived about an hour before race time. We got our race bibs in no time at all. Then we had some time to socialize before the race.

Me and Andria pre-race!

And some of my Sole2Soul Sisters...all dressed up in our turkey shirts we had made!

We headed to the start line. Hayden and his den were doing the flag ceremony for the race. Andy is their leader. I got to the front of the start line so I could get a quick picture of them! I was so proud of my boys!!!

Then it was time to start! This route started downtown which is one of my favorite areas to run in so I was excited to run it. I had never run this race so I didn't know exactly where the route would take us. But I knew it would be hilly....yes....hills again!

I didn't really have a goal for this race. I was still excited about placing in my age group the night before and knew I wouldn't run that fast that morning on tired legs. Plus my calf had been bothering me some the last week and the race the night before made it really sore. So I knew this race was going to hurt the sore calf some since it didn't really have a lot of recovery time.

Andria and I started out running at a pretty comfortable pace. The route led us through several turns but it was a gorgeous run. When we reached mile 1 we were in the 8's. That was faster than I had anticipated but we went with it. We were still in the 8's at mile 2. I was feeling good...although I was feeling the calf. But I wasn't going to stop. We encountered more hills and I zoomed up them. Before I knew it...the finish line was just around the next corner! I took off and finished strong!

My Garmin time read 26:54 so it was about 1:30 slower than the night before. But I was pleased!

Andy and the boys were running the fun run. They still had about 30 minutes till start time so Andria and I went to find them. Andy took some celebratory pics of us!

My friend Sandi was also at the race! We saw each other before the race but neglected to get a picture. So we got one afterwards! (Sandi did Disney with me in January and is doing Disney Princess with me in February!)

Then it was time to head to the start line for the fun run.

Family picture! My poor boys were facing the sun as you can tell by their super squinty eyes lol!

I decided to do the fun run with the family. I knew they would most likely walk it. I talked Andria into doing it with me! I decided I didn't need to run anymore because my calf was really sore at that point. So she agreed to walk with me even though I think it was killing her to not run lol!

Andy and my boys took off when it began! They were running but I knew the boys would want to stop to walk really quickly. A few minutes into the run my phone rang. It was Andy. He and Hayden were wanting to run but Sawyer wanted to walk. I could see them up ahead so I told Sawyer to wait on the side of the road for me until I caught up to him. That's what he did. We walked the rest of the way together until we saw the finish line. Then I told Sawyer to run for it and he did! :-)

At this time results had been posted so Andria and I decided to go check them out. I didn't think I had a chance of placing. But when I saw my name there wasn't an age next to it and my name was backwards! Andria, however, had placed 2nd in her age group!!! I was soooo proud of her!!!

I couldn't stand not knowing all my stats so I immediately found the race director and she got it straightened out for me. Good thing I pursued it because....I had placed 2nd in my age group!!!!!!!!!!

My official time was 26:56!

Not too long after that the awards began! I couldn't find Andy or my boys so unfortunately they missed it. But I was excited to receive a medal and cup with the race on it!

I was so proud of Andria and her 2nd place win in her age group too! I love that we are in different age groups...we run together but don't have to compete with each other! :-)

We were both really excited to place!!!

Finally I found my boys. They were playing at the park! Andy was surprised when he saw I had placed! :-)

On the way home I got a text from my friend Susanne. We had left the awards too soon because Sole2Soul Sisters had won for the best costumes!!! So awesome!!!

And here's a closer look at my medal and cup! :-)

This race was great! The course was challenging but gorgeous! And there were a ton of vendors there. And there was so much food there for it just being a 5K!

I love that it benefits a local food bank, the Prodisee Pantry. They always do this one about a month before Thanksgiving so that they can raise money to give to families that need a Thanksgiving meal. I will definitely be running this one again! :-)

It was a great weekend of racing! I enjoyed racing back to back but I wish my calf hadn't been so sore. That put a little damper on it. I never dreamed I would place in both races! So blessed!!!

QOTD: Do you run a Turkey Trot around Thanksgiving time?