Troy Turkey Trot 10K race recap

Yesterday I ran the 10K Turkey Trot.  It was a beautiful day for a race. The race started at 8 AM, so I left my house at 7 AM because I was nervous about parking. I shouldn't have worried. The 10K is a lot smaller than the 5K. (The 5K didn't start until 9:45, so there was plenty of parking.) I sat in my car for a while to stay warm, and then I wandered over to the Atrium to use the bathroom. I ran into my friend Melissa. We chatted for a while and then went to line up.

I should note that I forgot my Garmin. I realized this when I was about halfway to Troy. I debated about turning around to get it, but I decided not to. So I was basically running this race free-form! I had no watch to look at my pace or to see my mileage. I felt kind of...naked.

The race started at 8 AM and we were off. I wanted to start slowly and save my energy. This is the third 10K that I have run - and my goal was to run it in under one hour.

The route was basically a double loop. That is definitely not my favorite type of race. It kind of screws with my head when I have to run the same thing twice. Plus, all the fast runners, were running by me before I even reached the turn around point at the 1.5 mile mark. So, as I was running, I saw runners going the opposite way. And boy, they were hauling. And I had to endure this TWICE.

Anyway - as I hit mile 5, I really had no concept of what my time would be. I felt like I had slowed down the last two miles, and I started to wonder if I would meet my goal. I shouldn't have worried. I crossed the finish line at 54:28! Holy cow! I was so happy. It was a big PR for me, as it took me more than one hour to finish my other 10K's.

I was back home by 9:20 enjoying a Thanksgiving breakfast.

Stats:
Time: 54:28
There were 1034 finishers and I was #575.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!