Race Report: 10th Annual Turkey Trot 5K

Recods went DOWN at the Charlotte County Habitat for Humanity 5K Turkey Trot!

Scott and I arrived at the race venue around 6:30AM under chilly (48F) South FL conditions. We quickly wiggled our way through the packet pick-up line and met up with Sondra & Jeff. Jackie, my uncle's girlfriend, was also with us and was participating in her first ever 5K walk.

We met up with Kim in her winning Pocahontas costume and her cutie-pie husband, Bobby for some photo ops! And then took some of our own with the blow-up Turkey!

Pocahontas (aka 'Kim's Running) and Bobby (aka Mr. Kim's Running)

L-R: Jackie, Scott, myself and Sondra.

Scott, Sondra and I did a quick 1/2 mile warm-up with a few striders at the end. We then did lots of squats, side to side lunges and knee-ups while waiting for the horn to go off. I've become quite addicted to my HR monitor these past few weeks and in the few minutes before we were waiting to take off, I actually saw my HR get up to 120... while I was just standing there! Talk about adrenaline and nerves! I was ready to GO!

Sondra, Scott and I waiting for that dang horn!

The starting horn finally blew and we were off! Julie told me to get my HR up to 178 ASAP and maintain it between 178 and 185 until the last 1/2 mile... then kick it in! I averaged a HR of 173 for the first mile (7:32 split); 182 for 2nd mile (7:47 split); and 184 for the last mile (7:54 split). Right on the money! I pushed as high as 192 on the last 0.1 mile anaerobic sprint to the finish! Wow! I do wish that I had pushed a bit sooner (last 1/2 mile, like Julie has said), but dang... splits all under 8:00! Super stoked about that!

About 1/2 mile to go! Feeling happy! Yes, that little kid was actually ahead of me. How do these wee ones do it??

Scott rounding the final turn with 1/2 mile to go! Ready to smash his PR! Lookin' good baby!

Sondra with less than a mile to go. Pushing hard and on her way to a new PR!

I caught up with a fellow runner during the last 1/2 mile stretch. He had slowed to a walk and I could tell that he just wasn't "feeling" his run. I offered him a few words of encouragement and we ran side by side for the remainder of the race. He later thanked me for helping him out and told me that he would never forget it. Man... THAT'S what Thanksgiving is all about!!!

I found out later that the man that I talked to above was named Matt. Little did Matt know that he and another guy that was running near us actually pushed 'me' towards the finish line. I'm quite sure that I would have slowed down a bit simply b/c I already knew that I was well under my previous 5K time and saw no need to really push anymore; however, running with them made me realize that I still had pleanty left in my legs during that last 1/2 mile and more than enough to put in a strong finishing kick at the line.

As I approached the finish line I saw that the timing clock read 23:52! I don't like to cuss in my blog, but HOLY SHIT! I was hoping and praying for a sub-26 race, but DANG, I was going to be sub-24 if I just finished strong. I kicked it out as hard as I could (hello 192 beats per minute) to finish in 23:58! YES!!!!!

I jogged it out a bit after coming through the finish shute only to notice that my awesome husband was nearly right behind me! I cheered him on as he came down the home stretch with a new PR of 25:17. I think my hubby is going to be a natural runner. If he logs 8 miles a week, that would be a lot. He's going to give his age groupers a run for their money once he ups that mileage. Congrats, baby!

Sondra came in a few minutes after Scott and also earned a new PR... 28:49! What a day for race records! Like always, she finished with a determined look on her face; those powerful legs of hers tearing it up! My firend, you have come so far in such a short amount of time. Your determination continues to inspire me.

Jackie, the only walker of our group, finished in around 42 minutes... ahead of some runners! Jackie has one of the longest walking strides I've ever seen, so her time doesn't surprise me. She really enjoyed the event and told me at T-Giving dinner that she would like to eventually start running. Yes! Another convert!

Wrapped up in Scott's warm arms at the awards ceremony.

I ended up with 1st place in my age group for my effort. Happy, happy, joy, joy! I definitely had the loudest cheering section at the awards ceremony... I LOVE you guys! They were so loud that I couldn't hear what my time was! LOL! The guy announcing the awards said that he wanted to come to dinner with me. I think he figured that it was going to be quite a party. :o) Scott and Sondra just missed out on age group awards by a few spots, but I have no doubt that they'll be collecting a lot of them come this next year.

A nice golden Turkey medal for me

With my bestest bud and friend for life!

What an amazing morning spent with family and friends. Definitely a race to remember. Conditions were just perfect for PRs (and I'm sure A LOT of them were set that day) and Habitat for Humanity was able to raise a boat load of money thanks to an awesome turn out of runners and walkers. At this point I need to do a very special shout-out to the man behind the camera... Sondra's hubby, Jeff! Jeff has become our official photographer and super-support crew! Battling reoccurring blood clots in his left leg, this awesome guy manages to still get out there and cheer us on like nobody's business! Thank you, Jeff! I hope that you know that you are a very vital part of our "team"!

I took two 1-hour naps during Turkey Day plus I slept like a baby that night... and of course, I had a case of the 'Stiffy Leg Blues'.

Next up... the Winter Waddle 5K on December 13th. That race is scaring me a bit b/c I'm afraid that I won't be able to duplicate my Turkey Trot effort! Like it was a total fluke. LOL! I'm just still in disbelief!

Hoping that all of my friends in blogworld had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!