On Thanksgiving, I ran a local turkey trot. It’s one of my favorite races, and despite not feeling great, I still wanted to run. This year my calves were extremely tight, and my food poisoning was not making my motivation any better. During my warm-up, I had to stop 3 times for 3 miles to use the bathroom.
At the start, I just hoped I could make it from the start to the finish without stopping. Not something I had much success with it at the Philadelphia half.
My local running club was wearing turkey tutus, so I decided to join in too. We all lined up, and by the time we knew it, we were off. My friend, Erin and I had planned to run together and see how it went.
The first mile is crowded, and we were surrounded by a ton of people including many high schoolers. One high schooler elbowed me around a turn, and when I didn’t take it, he cursed me out. I laughed out loud and just passed him and never looks back. We hit the first mile in 6:07. I can’t say I was overly thrilled with it, but you have to race where you are.
The second mile began to spread out and Erin and I were passing a bunch of people feeling decent. She had also raced the Philadelphia half so wasn’t feeling the best either. We could see the first and second woman just 10 seconds ahead. We crossed a few roads and hit the second mile in 6:17.
The third mile became gritty. Both Erin and I were struggling but just pushed forward. We passed two younger kids. The last mile takes several turns and goes around the school. We both kicked as hard as possible.
I crossed the finish line in 19:02 and as third woman overall and Erin crossed in 19:03. It’s great to have someone to run with. Erin has beaten me in several races, and we are in about the same fitness.
It’s not my fastest time on the course (last year I ran 18:30), but it’s important not to compare yourself to anyone, including yourself. I know once my food poisoning passes out and the fatigue runs it’s course I’ll be back to feeling good and racing where I was in October.
Photos via Matthew Renk Photography
Questions for you:
Do you have someone to race with?
Did you run on Thanksgiving?
Congratulations on placing in the turkey trot and having someone to run with (I love it when I am in a race and have someone close to me that helps push me to a better time). Sorry that your stomach is still feeling off, and I hope it gets better soon. You have the right attitude about just enjoying it and knowing the times will be better when you’re 100%.
I love that you didn’t take any crap from that kid and then passed him!! Way to go!