On Thanksgiving, I ran the Medford Lakes Turkey Trot. I ran it last year and enjoyed the course. Plus the race organizers are friendly, so I wanted to come back. Until recently there wasn’t a “big” South Jersey Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot.
This year the Medford Lakes turkey trot had about 1000 people. Medford is one of my favorite New Jersey towns, slightly woodsy and probably filled with plenty of wild turkeys…perfect for the day.
My husband and I arrived around 7:30 for the race at 8:30. To my surprise, I achieved one of the greatest accomplishments in racing history. Somehow in the 1000 person race, I was number 1. This is a race number that will be on the fridge for a very long time. Even though I was tired from the Philly half, it’s hard to be sad when you are race number 1.
We warmed up, easily got to the bathroom and made it to the start line by 8:30. Before we knew it, we were off. I never saw my husband after the gun went off. During the first quarter mile, I found myself as 10th women overall. I thought, woah this year got competitive. I said I would be happy under 19, but my dream goal was 18:35 (6 min pace). Last year I ran a great race of 18:48.
We hit the first mile in 5:56. It was a little bit faster than I anticipated and I wondered, would I regress and positive split? I was fourth women at that point and was running with a pack of males.
During the second mile, I kept waiting for my husband to pass me. I knew he was in much better fitness, so it was troubling he hadn’t run past me.
I began running closely to the third place women. My legs didn’t feel bad, but I could feel the Philly half in my legs too. I felt as if I was working hard but still had gas left in the tank. I hoped I would be able to hold under 6:15 for the last two miles and told myself I would be happy with that. I crossed mile 2 in 6:02 and found myself as second women overall.
I could see the first place women about 15 seconds in front. I knew I wouldn’t be able to catch her but it gave me something to focus on. As we winded through the woods, I found myself running alone. Someone chanted: way to go number 1. I wasn’t first but it was motivating. I became more confident and I was able to crank another 6-minute mile. We made the last turn and I crossed the third mile in 6:00 exactly.
The last .1, I just focused on the end and crossed in 18:30 by the chip time. At the very last second, I saw my husband, and I realized he was over and done. He ran a 17:15 which is his fastest since joining the Air Force 5 years ago. He had been in the lead pack the entire time which is why I never saw him. Honestly, I’m more excited for him than me.
Thoughts:
I’m happy with my race, especially after Philly. It’s my fastest 5k post injury, so I can’t complain about that. In fact looking back it’s one of my fastest 5ks in 2016. The only two 5ks I’ve run faster have both been PRs (at the time).
The Resolution Run (18:22) in a prom dress
My Current PR: The Flower Show 5k (18:13)
Questions for you:
Did you run a Turkey Trot?
How was your Thanksgiving?
Nice work Mr. & Mrs. Lolz!
You are incredible…to run that fast in a prom dress makes you one of the coolest people I know! 🙂
We did our own turkey trot at 6:00am on Thanksgiving morning. We had about 10 runners show up and got in a nice 7-mile run. No medals, but we had a nice time and felt a little less guilty about eating the rest of the day.
I did a 15k turkey trot to ease the guilt of feasting later in the day. The race also ran near my house so that was a plus. 🙂 congrats on such a fast time! I wish I could be that fast.
Congrats on a great race and placing! I didn’t turkey trot because I am dealing with an injury but will hopefully be able to do a Christmas race, at least. Glad that you and Tim were able to race together and both do so well.
You two rule! Awesome job. What shorts are those in the picture? (I went for a run in the morning, no race. Thanksgiving was quiet – drove to Cape Cod for the day).
They are Saucony bullet shots 🙂
Thanks! I’ve been wanting to try them (from Tina Muir’s influence 🙂 ). I love saucony haven’t tried their clothes.
Such a speedy power couple!
So stoked for you!
You two might be the fastest couple on the internet. Well done!
I ran my own personal turkey trot on Thanksgiving and felt good. I ate a lot of turkey later that day, so it was needed! Wouldnt it be cool if a shoe company would come out with Turkey Trot themed shoes?!!!
Great job speedy!!
Nice, fast 5k! I did run a Turkey Trot. About a 20 min and some change which is 2 minutes faster than I was a year ago! Still chasing that sub-20…I’m giving up marathoning next year for 5k speedwork. I’ve never actually trained for fast, short distances. What’s your biggest tip?