Turkey Trot 5k (19:23)

16 Comments

The question of the month is how many Turkey Trots can I do in November?  With the amount of racing I’ve been doing…I’m not sure.

Each month, the base holds a race. I’m not normally able to attend due to work but last Wednesday I was already on the base. It made sense just to do it. I needed to do a workout, and running races are always fun workouts. I like base 5ks because they are normally on the lunch hour on either a Wednesday or Thursday. The entire 5k and any awards given out are completely done in less than hour. The race started at noon, and I was showering by 12:50.

Last Wednesday morning I had negative motivation.  My legs hurt, I was tired and I didn’t want to run at all.  If the base 5k wasn’t that day, I’m not sure I would have been able to motivate myself to do any speed work.

I had gotten a deep tissue massage the Monday evening before. I could feel my legs. My goal was to do one last hard effort before Philly. I planned to race with how I felt for the day. That’s normally how I race. I don’t go in with an exact pace idea; I just run with how I feel for the day.

We lined up, and the race was off right at noon. Immediately after starting the race I knew how windy it would be. I started off behind several men. Since we were running on the sidewalk, it was impossible to pass anyone. I knew once the road opened up, I would have more room. As soon as we turned a corner and the road opened up we were hit by a huge wind gust. I found myself running in stride with another male. We ultimately ran the entire race together. We ran mile 1 in 6:10. I was quite surprised by how fast we were moving and knew I would not be able to maintain that pace.

During mile 2 we ran by a flock of wild turkeys. Most people know that I’m terrified of turkeys. I don’t care for birds in the slightest. We ran onto another road, and the wind was whipping around. We didn’t have a headwind but more of a side wind. My legs hurt and mentally I had checked out of the race. I hit the second mile in 6:22. I thought: well at least I’m still on track to run a sub 20 minute 5k.

The third mile felt as if it took forever. I think part of the issue was you could see the finish line during the entire mile. It felt like we were circling the finish line.  I was still running with the same man, although one guy ran by us like we were standing still.

By the time I knew it, I saw Tim finish, and then I looped back to finish myself. I crossed the line in 19:23 and as the first female overall. I reached a life goal of winning a turkey from a turkey trot. Yes, I will be attempting to cook it on Thanksgiving.

A turkey that I won
The turkey

Thoughts:
To be honest, I felt awful. My legs were sore from my deep tissue massage. I’m surprised I was able to run that fast. I nearly stayed at home and powered through mile repeats, but I’m glad I went out there.

Questions for you: Do you have any Turkey recipes? How should I cook it? 

16 Comments

  1. Congratulations on winning a turkey at a turkey trot! I hope cooking it goes well and that you and Tim have a wonderful Thanksgiving :).

  2. Congrats on the turkey trot win! Now we want a post on your cooking abilities. Happy Thanksgiving

  3. You should deep fry your turkey. I’ve also brined them and cooked them – Emril has a killer recipe out there for that. But, we deep fried our last year and OHMIGOSH. DO IT.

    Last year, I won a Turkey Trot 10K overall in Scranton and won a turkey. Like, I beat all the boys and the girls, ha! It was a small field, though. I also sometimes run the South Mountain 10 Miler, and if you win either overall your AG you win a turkey. I’ve collected on that a few times. There’s a local 5K on Thanksgiving that you can win a Pumpkin Pie if you run it – I’ve won a few of those, too. Tell me the prize is food and I will show you a PR. I think the only think I enjoy more than running is eating!

    1. I actually contemplated going that 10 miler I think. Deep frying sounds fabulous but maybe too advanced for me LOL.

  4. Good job on the 5k run, i always cooked in oven,i’ve always done that.
    Hope you and Tim have a great thanksgiving.
    If you guys are up to running There a turkey trot 5k in the morning at medford lakes
    Also hadden township 5k on Saturday.
    Happy running and holidays too you

  5. Nice job on a race you didn’t feel great on! I feel like that would be a tough time to motivate myself to go at because I’m a morning exerciser. I don’t like turkey so when I won a turkey at a race I donated it right after ha

    1. Normally I think it would be but I was on the go from about 6-10am that day. I ended up on base so I would have had to do my speed workout later anyways. I become so unmotivated as it gets later too!

  6. I love that this race prize is actually really useful! Unfortunately I don’t really cook so I have no advice, but good luck to you!

  7. that is so awesome you won a turkey!!! I used to bake the turkey but they never really turned out delicious. we started frying turkeys and have never looked back. as long as you get the equipment its really easy to do. i love turkey 🙂

  10. I won a turkey a few years ago, but admittedly have never cooked one! I love cooking but that is one thing I have always left up to other family members to do. Turkey slacker over here.

  11. Congratulations on winning a turkey, which I find tastes a lot better than a medal 🙂 I always wrap turkey in bacon, which helps keep it moist. Plus, you then have some crunchy bacon to eat..

  12. awesome that you won a turkey from a turkey trot. i’ve never cooked a whole turkey before but my favorite thing to do w/chicken is roast it with rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper and lemon. yum!

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