Turkey Trot Recap

River was still asleep at this point, so we left the rain cover on the jogger

Yesterday we participated in our local Turkey Trot (5th year for me!). It was cold (mid-30s), and the forecast called for a 30% chance of precipitation in the morning, but it never materialized. So the roads weren't icy (which I was a little worried about) and were mostly dry.

We bundled everyone up, which meant that River got the brunt of it. He wasn't running or walking, so I was worried about him staying warm enough. Though really, the rain cover for the jogger goes a long way to cutting the wind and keeping him warm. You can see how thrilled he is here:

He doesn't like his puffy coat because it's hard for him to move around. And I threaded his blankie through the straps of his car seat so he couldn't fully twiddle with it, which added to his unhappiness. I love the expression below: Are we done yet?

There's a smile!

Mr M pushed River in the jogger while Sunshine walked next to them. They weren't walking super fast, but Sunshine wasn't the last to finish in her age group, so that's encouraging. I'd love for Sunshine to enjoy races more, but in the meantime I'm counting on perseverance to win her over. River managed to sleep through most of the 5k. We'll work on him when he can walk further than 20 feet without falling over :)

I felt pretty good during the race. I was able to run most of the race, though I did have to walk some of the uphills in the last half. I just haven't done enough hill work combined with endurance. I am improving though. The fact that I was able to run as much of the race as I did is huge progress for me.

I haven't gotten outside as much as I'd like lately, and I feel like that has an effect on the quality of my running. I use the treadmill on a regular basis (5-6 days each week, 2-3 running and 2-3 just walking), but I don't enjoy it nearly as much as I enjoy getting outside. At least I'm still able to run though, and I'm still seeing progress.

I was able to run the race in 34:22, which is 7 seconds slower than this year's PR, set on the Fourth of July. It's also more than a minute faster than last year's Turkey Trot. It's not the fastest I've run the course (32:44 in 2011), but it's getting there. If I'd known I was so close to my PR, I think I could have squeezed 8 seconds off my time. Note to self: be more aware of past times and current PR.

2013: 35:35
2012: 37:58 (pushing Sunshine in the jogger)
2011: 32:44
2010: 35:05 (pushing Sunshine in the jogger)

I still feel like fueling before races is an issue. I really don't know how elite athletes can eat Paleo and get the carbs they need. Some do manage it, but I'm still working on it (and I'm not an elite athlete at all). I can only eat small amounts of sweet potatoes and white potatoes, and too much winter squash makes me want to gag. (Residual sensory effect from doing GAPS when I got pregnant with River and the extreme sensitivity of my nose. The fact that I can eat squash at all is huge progress.)

With November just about over, I have just one more race left this year: a 5k in the middle of December.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Turkey Trot 5k:                       34:22
Halloween 5k:                        35:26          ran in costume
October 5k Trail:                  38:05          second trail run

September half:                  2:51:01         first half marathon since getting pregnant

August 8.5 miles:                2:06:58         first trail run
August 2 mile:                     ~40 min?      Mud Run with Sunshine
2nd July 5k:                           35:27
4th of July 5k:                        34:15
June 5k:                                  38:11          Ran with jogger
May 5k:                                  39:23          Ran with jogger
April 5k:                                 37:40          Color Run
March 5k:                               37:33  
February 4.5 miles:            1:49:55          Mud Run
January:                              ---