Turkey Strut 5K

Today Javi & I ran the Turkey Strut 5K in Winston for the first time.  (Also, this marked 12 races for me in 2015, and it was the 37th lifetime race–my lucky number).  We had a great time!  Picked up our packets yesterday at Fleet Feet’s new location off Stratford Rd, and had our baby-sitter come bright n early at 8 AM.

We both decided to wear the race shirts because 1) they were cute! and 2) it was a bit chilly (I had planned on wearing a tank, but it was about 35-40*).  J decided on long pants, and I wore my fave compression capris that I’ve had since ’09 or so 😉  I couldn’t find my Lululemon headband, so I settled on a wintery white one that kept my ears warm.

Kids let us sleep in until a bit after 6:30 (ha!), so that was a glorious 9 hours of sleep that I desperately needed.  Been fighting fatigue since the time change nearly 4 weeks ago.  I had a PB&J on toast with half a banana at 7, and skipped the coffee until after the race.  I had no more GU packets so I just drank Gatorade and hoped for the best.

Even though we both ran at the Moonlight Madness, it was different races {1 Mile for him, 5K for me}, so today marked our first race together since the Weinstrasse Half Marathon in 2010!  And it was Javi’s first 5K! (That’s right, he ran a half as his first race ever!)  I really enjoyed sharing the event with him.  We arrived at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum area early, so we scoped out good parking and bathrooms, then sat in the car for a bit.  Thankfully I’ve had no stomach issues recently.  I don’t know if it’s lack of nerves–been running with no pressure for times or placing–or a lack of humidity.  Either way, I’ll take it!

The bathrooms ended up being nice and clean, with no lines, so yay for that!  Around 20 minutes pre-race, I did my warm-up routine of lunges, toy soldier kicks for the hammies, and leg swings.  Then Javi & I did 2 laps around the parking lot, which equaled half a mile, and I realized we hadn’t run together like that for YEARS (we train separately).  I felt grateful to share a run with him again, as it reminded me of wunderbar times when we ran together in Germany.  Next, I did 2 sprints of 10-15 sec each, to try to wake up my legs, hit the bathroom one more time, and stretched a tad more.  My right hammie wasn’t hurting, but it was sort of “twinge-y” and had a little ache.  I massaged it, and it was fine for the race.  Right now I’m icing it, just to make sure it’s good.

I tried to meet up with a friend and her fam, but couldn’t find her, so J & I headed to the start line.  At 9 AM, we were off and running!  I wasn’t close to the start, so the first few minutes were slower than I wanted, as it was crowded with 1,500 runners or so, not a wide lane, and gravel.  I just bided my time, and once we got to the open road, it was fine.

Here’s the course:

We had a nice downhill (which I knew would be brutal coming back!), and I settled into a nice pace.

Here I am (on the left), throwing the peace sign, near mile 1:

My strategy, like the last 5K, was not to check my watch and just run by feel.  I felt strong and fast, and the first mile blazed by.  Out of habit, I glanced at my watch and saw 7:38.  Perfect… keep it up, V!  I find the “positive self talk” to help me a lot.  The 2nd mile mantra was “Fierce” and I still felt great.  The turnaround near mile 2, I got cut off by several people, so the course was a bit more crowded than I’d like.

I couldn’t help myself, I saw 15:30 or so after mile 2, so I knew I could get in the 23 range if I could keep the pace.  Once we made the next-to-last turn, I cranked it up a notch, struggled up that hill, passed a few folks I had my eyes on, and rounded the last turn.  The last bit is always the best–that struggle to go as fast as possible, lungs and legs burning, but trying to give it everything and leave nothing in the tank.  I crossed in 23:34 and felt amazing… since my watch read 3.12 miles, that meant a new PR!  7:33 Average pace.  Progress!

I grabbed water for me & J, then waited for him.  Saw my friend’s husband and son cross, then Javi came in at 33:03.  He’s had some calf issues, so I knew this time meant he struggled a bit, but he was happy.  His first 5K ever, so that means a PR for him too!  I ended up 6th in my age group of 100+ women, and J was 51st in his age group of 70+ men.  We got our medals (very cute & fun!) and went to grab our Gatorade and my coat from the car.

The race had some great snacks (chips, pretzels, cookies, etc) plus hot chocolate so we grabbed some (aka pigged out a bit).  We finally linked up with my friend and her fam:

T & I are running together next Saturday at the Mistletoe half marathon, with a few other friends.  None of us has trained well, so it’s more of a (long) fun run, and not a competitive run.  It’ll let me scope out the course, and perhaps next year I’ll try to run it competitively.  I love living in the Triad because there’s so many races and events, and so many people who love running as much as I do!

Here’s my stats:

But regardless of race results, today I am thankful.  My family is happy, healthy, and safe, and the boys keep growing and learning and bringing joy to our lives.  This year has been challenging, busy, and stressful, and yet running makes it bearable for me.  I am thankful that my body is strong and resilient, and so grateful for my health.  I don’t want to take any of this for granted, ever.  I hope that you and your family have a wonderful day, and enjoy each others company.  Let’s be present, and put down the phones, turn off the TV’s, and soak up the moments.

*Christmas card spoiler alert!*  HAPPY THANKSGIVING from me and my family!