Thursday, November 24, 2011

Delmar Turkey Trot 2011 Recap

Last year I ran the Troy Turkey Trot and it was very crowded. Combine that with the difficult parking situation and the boring route - I decided to try something different this year. I registered for the Delmar Turkey Trot because I knew it was much smaller and it would have more of a hometown feel. I was not disappointed. It was a great race and I loved it!

Felice, Janis and I registered, and my BFF - Cortney and her husband even joined in. (They were in town from Bethesda so I was very excited to run a race with them).

The race started at Bethlehem Middle School and we met up with Cortney at 8:15. We also ran into Darlene, and a few other pals from the past which was fun. We went inside to pick up our bibs and we also picked up a few other goodies - including a T-shirt, free car wash coupons, pens, and a water bottle. (Not bad for a $15 race!)

We made our way outside and at 9:15 we were on our way.  I flew through my first mile. When my mile bell rang on my Garmin, I glanced at it and was shocked to see that I had run my first mile in 8:43! I don't think I have ever run a mile that fast. I continued on through the adorable Delmar neighborhoods and was happy to see that there were a lot of people standing outside their houses cheering us on.

At mile 1.5, I noticed I was starting to get tired. And I also noticed that my breathing was hurting because it was so crisp and cold outside. I had taken a few hits from my inhaler before the race started and I was very glad I had thought to do so. I continued on thinking that I really wanted to beat my personal record (PR) from the Freihofer's Run back in June. I plugged on and ignored the fact that I really wanted to stop for a walk break!

I continued on and finally hit mile 3. I felt my pace slowing down but I knew that I was still going pretty fast and I knew that I would PR. I rounded the corner and crossed the finish line in 26:11. I was so excited! My Garmin told me that I ran 3.04 instead of 3.1. Whatever. It was slightly off or the course was a  bit short. But I will take it. I ran a great race and felt great and it felt good to run a 5K again. I haven't run a 5K in a while and it seemed so...short! I guess after all those long runs - sometimes throwing a short run in there makes it fun!

After the race, it was time for some family time with my parents. Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving!

1 comment:

Suzy said...

Congrats on a race well run!