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Turkey Trotters

soupcan Nov 22 2012 06:53 PM

Who ran one? What was the distance? What was your time? You happy with that? Why/why not?

soupcan Nov 22 2012 06:59 PM Re: Turkey Trotters

Mine was 5 miles, I did it in 44:15. Really happy with that because my goal was 45:00. I had also pulled a calf muscle this past Monday night so I was hurting and not even sure I was going to be able to finish.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Nov 22 2012 07:26 PM Re: Turkey Trotters

Good job soopy. Doing one on Saturday, 8k or 5 miles.

themetfairy Nov 22 2012 08:09 PM Re: Turkey Trotters

Great work Soup! I didn't do one. The closest one was a good 20-30 minutes away; I ran 3.4 miles in the 'hood and then got down to cooking while watching the Parade on TV.

Fman99 Nov 23 2012 05:50 AM Re: Turkey Trotters

For the second straight year some of my friends and I ran what I coined as the "light meat/dark meat" challenge. In other words, why choose, when there are two choices and you can run them both? The local Turkey Trot has two race options -- a 5k that starts at 9:15 AM and a 10k that starts at 10 AM. So, we ran the 5k, which I ran in 23:31 (192nd out of 1900 runners), had a quick shirt/headband change and a water and fruit bar, and then went out and ran a 51:05 10k (190th out of 500). Ran the 10k at a conversational pace with a buddy of mine. Nice workout and nice tone set for the day. We got a lot of "wait, you did BOTH RACES?" comments from people when we were discussing it. That was the best part.

Fman99 Nov 23 2012 05:52 AM Re: Turkey Trotters

Here I am crossing the line in the 10k. The girl behind me did actually catch and pass me in the last 10 feet of the race. We had ideal weather up here, too. I ran the 5k in pants and long sleeves/gloves and roasted. Ran the 10k in this, having already warmed up, and was perfectly comfortable.

Fman99 Nov 23 2012 05:56 AM Re: Turkey Trotters

I was happy with my 5k time -- it was a new course and much hillier than the 5k course of years' past, and I was still 15 seconds faster than I was last Thanksgiving on the old flatter course. My 10k time last year was 2:15 faster -- though, given the increased difficulty of the 5k course I had just completed, this was not unexpected. I was hoping to be sub-50 but one of my other friends who did both said before the race, "Well, I raced the 5k, I think I'm just going to run the 10k." That sounded reasonable/pleasant to me also. So we gabbed the full length of it as we ran, which normally slows my pace down anyway.

themetfairy Nov 23 2012 06:09 AM Re: Turkey Trotters

Great work Fman - that's impressive!

metsmarathon Nov 23 2012 08:11 AM Re: Turkey Trotters

i ran my local turkey trot yesterday. its typically my fastest, best (official) race of the season. in '09 i ran it in 21:15, then a pr. for the past two years, my running has been mostly derailed by a string of annoying, recurring, seemingly minor injuries. i've run, but not really trained. on monday, i ran a little, tried to push myself a little, and figured, based on that run, that i should be happy if i could get my 5k in under 24 minutes. so yesterday, i lined up for the turkey trot. wearing shorts, a long sleeve t-shirt, a calf wrap, and toe shoes. i set myself up about 20-deep from teh starting line - just far enough back that there were no strollers or kibbitzing walkers or little kids - basically obstacles - in front of me, but not far enough forward that i felt out of place for my anticipated pace. as i waited for the gun, a few people noticed my toe shoes, and it was cool chatting about them. at the gun, i started running, natch. i wasn't really trying for a specific pace, just running what felt right. i felt fast in my toe shoes, but didn't really feel like i was killing it. i noticed the 1/2 mile mark and saw my watch at 3:30ish, and figured it must be wrong. i got to the mile mark, and my watch was below 7 minutes, and i immediately dismissed it's veracity. "they've got the mile marks spray painted on teh street - how could they be getting htem wrong?" i thought. shortly after the mile mark, a guy was calling out times, but i wasn't sure if he was in the right spot either, but if so, it was about a 7:20, and that was with a brief stop at a water table. i hit the turnaround at 10:30ish, aided by a bit of a downhill stretch for the preceding 1/4 mile. i suppose i considered walking more at the water stops, but i wanted to keep running because of the toe shoes - gotta represent the vibrams afterall! i still didn't quite appreciate what my turnaround time signified - i know, its really easy to multiply 10.5 x 2 = 21, but i was already in the mindset of dismissing whatever lies my watch told me, and i probably figured my pace wasn't anywhere near sustainable even if it was correct. the two mile mark came and my watch said i'd just run sub 7. just more lies. how could it be anything else. fatigue was setting in, but i managed to keep my pace. i played yo-yo with a couple of younger runners - they'd pass me, i'd pass them - and that helped keep me in the run. as the finish loomed, i got a bit of a second wind as i realized i'd had about a quarter mile to go. passed a few of the runners i was near. hit my watch at the three mile, but didn't really look at it. down a slight decline to the finish chute, and i didn't even look at the clock. i stopped my watch, and figured it must be wrong. it had to be wrong. 21:30. what. the. hell. i slowly gradually added up that i hit the mile marks at about 7 minutes even for each of them, and ran a consistent race throughout, and at the midpoint, which was where it was supposed to be, on a usatf certified course that i'd run before, then my time must be right. holy shit. i love this race. and seriously, i love toe shoes. i think tehy were truly the key. well, that and not focusing on my time and just running hard all teh way through. at no point did i doubt my ability to run at teh pace i was running - i just didn't believe i was actually running that pace. so... yeah... i totally earned my turkey. 21:27 official chip time, (13 seconds ooff my pr) 153th / 1910 overall, 16th male 30-39. 7:00 pace. the rest of the day, my plantar fasciitis was bothering me, but that's in part because i didn't stretch out afterwards, i think. its also a sign that i need to still run conservatively in my training. i don't want to have to shut down again.

themetfairy Nov 23 2012 08:16 AM Re: Turkey Trotters

Awesome job mm - truly fabulous!

metsguyinmichigan Nov 23 2012 01:37 PM Re: Turkey Trotters

I ran in a 5K through downtown Grand Rapids. It's an annual fundraiser for the school district athletic program. It's a new route, not especially conducive for speed, with some sharp turns and narrow spots that clogged a bit. But it was wonderful, taking over us over two bridges, right next to President Ford's grave, and ending up in the middle of the Van Andel Arena, allowing spectators to wait in warmth. Not my best time, but far from my worst. A good time was had by all.

soupcan Nov 24 2012 06:48 AM Re: Turkey Trotters

Fman knows I'm done giving him kudos. A 5K and a 10K back-to-back is just bullshit and I'm starting to really dislike the guy. AND I'm growing less fond of his son who will be shaming me very soon as well! Screw the Fmen and their superhuman running abilities. mm - I'm super-impressed. Having finally been able to start running at a regular schedule as well after of lot of years of starts and stops I can appreciate the day you had. Very frustrating getting older and not making the progress you want to make as quickly as you want to because of both age and injury. Great job, enjoy it. And for those of you not on Facebook, here's me during my trot focusing more on the camera and less on my time (which is another reason that Fman, Jr. will be running rings around me this time next year.)

John Cougar Lunchbucket Nov 24 2012 01:21 PM Re: Turkey Trotters

Very cold this morning -- much more than I expected, so I had to borrow gloves and a hat from brother in law. This was a 8K near my relatives here in Fairfax. Fun course on trails thru the woods, but they changed it from a year ago messing up my plans to "visualize" myself to a better finish than last year. The last mile is all uphill, diabolical. Got off to a slowish start as my foot was a bit cranky but started picking off enemies after a first mile warm up. Crossed in 38:43, 7 seconds worse than last year. Eh! Boy finished 4th in 1 mile run.

soupcan Nov 24 2012 02:53 PM Re: Turkey Trotters

You guys are too fast for me. Nicely done Lunchy.

themetfairy Nov 24 2012 04:37 PM Re: Turkey Trotters

soupcan wrote: You guys are too fast for me. Except for me....

John Cougar Lunchbucket Nov 25 2012 12:49 PM Re: Turkey Trotters

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Very cold this morning -- much more than I expected, so I had to borrow gloves and a hat from brother in law. This was a 8K near my relatives here in Fairfax. Fun course on trails thru the woods, but they changed it from a year ago messing up my plans to "visualize" myself to a better finish than last year. The last mile is all uphill, diabolical. Got off to a slowish start as my foot was a bit cranky but started picking off enemies after a first mile warm up. Crossed in 38:43, 7 seconds worse than last year. Eh! Boy finished 4th in 1 mile run. Wait, I was going by clock time, turns out my net time was 38:31, an improvement of 5 seconds from last year. Whoohoo