Turkey Trot 2010

Due to a busy Fall work schedule, and a hamstring injury suffered doing 400-meter repeats
at the track in August, I have not run a race since the Avalon "Run From The Sun" 5-K in mid-July.

I finally had a Saturday morning free, and competed in the 20th annual Somerset County
Park System's Turkey Trot 5-K at Colonial Park in Somerset November 13th.
It's rare when I pre-register for a 5-K, but I did this time when I heard the weather would be
unseasonably warm for late fall, which is the way I like it.

Sure enough, the day before the race, I could barely make it down the stairs due to a tight achilles on my right leg, the same one that suffered the hamstring pull in the summer (all probably related, I know!).

As is tradition, I didn't run the day preceeding the 5-k, but lifted weights and stretched the achilles between each set. Magically, it did start to loosen up!

The morning of the race, it still felt good, and my warm-up was fluid and easy. As I ran the Avalon race in 20:12, anything under 20 minutes would be considered a good race for me, right now.

This is a low-key gathering, and there are no splits given. I glanced at my watch at the mile point, and thought it read 6:27, slower than I would have liked. I felt strong, though, and started picking off runners, one-by-one.

I missed the two-mile marking, but felt mentally focused and was still passing people at a steady rate. My strategy was to stay fairly strong until the last turnaround on this figure-eight course, which was about a half-mile to the finish.

Picking it up more, and breathing heavily, I passed a middle-aged runner and felt I probably was in good position to win my 50-59 year age-group. There was a high-school runner just ahead of the middle-aged guy, and I picked it up to pass him as well, about 400 meters from the finish line.

About 100 yards from the finish, you turn left, and sprint up a small hill in the parking area. With way more spring in his legs, the high school runner did catch me, but I crossed the line in 19:53, good for first place in the 50-59 division, and 17th in an overall field of about 400. I won a 15-lb (frozen) turkey!

I felt encouraged with my effort, and it was a good way to come back from my minor injury, and finish the racing season for 2010. Now, I'll be mostly hitting the treadmill for speed work,
and preparing for the Rutgers Unity Half-Marathon in April. At least, my head is in the right place!