Happy Thanksgiving!
Today marks my 13th (last probably last) race of 2010! And it was the first race I went to completely alone! Not that I minded, but it was weird not having someone there to wait with and chat with and meet at the finish line.
Last year I ran the Troy Turkey Trot, and this year I decided to run the first Our Towne Bethlehem Turkey Trot! For one, it is way closer to where I live than Troy, and for two, there are less people running and I had a better a chance of PRing!
I woke up early to the sun coming up in my backyard. Gorgeous!
And I had some apple cinnamon waffles for breakfast.
I got to Delmar about an hour early to register for the race (I did day of registration), and do a two mile warm up.
Warm up
Mile 1 – 10:26
Mile 2 – 10:00
Time to race!
The course was flat, but kind of boring, It went through a residential area off of Delaware Avenue. I didn’t bring my camera with me, so I have no race photos.
The race
Mile 1 – 8:08
Mile 2 – 8:24
Mile 3 – 8:18
Mile .03 – :14 (the course was short?)
Total elapsed time – 25:05 (new 5K PR!)
Average pace – 8:16/mile
Average speed – 7.2 mph
After this race, I’ve decided I’m not a big fan of the 5K distance. I push myself hard during the race in order to PR. and I end up running so fast I feel uncomfortable! I was dying by the end, mostly because I’m not used to running for speed! But I’m happy with my time!
I think I was the only one wearing the hideous fluorescent green Stockade-athon shirt! ha.
I felt good enough at the end to run a few cool down miles, so I ran around Delmar some more.
Cool down
Mile 1 – 10:01
Mile 2 – 9:52
Mile .39 – 3:58
Total for today: 7.3 miles
Then it was time to come home and help my mom and get the side dishes ready for Thanksgiving dinner!
Green beans and goat cheese
Orange cranberry sauce
My mom made apple cornbread stuffing.
and roasted acorn squash! I put the stuffing into the squash and it was INCREDIBLE!!!
My dad with his wild turkey!
Mulled wine that I got at the apple fest…best served warm!
My plate! Yes, I ate a little bit of the wild turkey. Honestly, it didn’t do much for me. I felt good about eating it, but the taste was a bit dried out. I guess wild turkeys don’t have a lot of fat on them, so the meat tends to be a bit tough.
Me and my sister.
Grandma!
Then it was time for dessert!
Pumpkin date nut bars
Carrot pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting (that I made from an organic cake mix Chris got me in San Fran!)
My mom made an apple pie, requested by my dad!
My grandma brought pumpkin pie and chocolate cake.
My uncle brought dessert wine, from the Finger Lakes! And he didn’t even know about my Green Challenge! 
For dessert I chose the carrot pumpkin cake + some chocolate cake! I also had a bite of pumpkin pie, which confirmed my distaste for it. For some reason I love everything pumpkin, but pie! I think its a texture thing!
I had two small slices of the carrot pumpkin, it was so moist and delicious!!! Yum! I saved the rest of the cake for Chris, so he can try it! Dessert was excellent and in my opinion, the best part of Thanksgiving!
This year I’m thankful for:
- my wonderful family
- my awesome boyfriend
- my friends (+new blends!)
- my crazy cat
- my ability to run and enjoy it
- races!
- incredible food + drinks
- life!
Happy Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for?
Oh you have to do 1 more. In 2 weeks we race under the lights in Washington Park!
I wanted to run that one but I have plans that night. darn!
Maybe next year.
Nice day of running! It’s always good to add on to those 5k’s
Congrats on the new PR and you’re Thanksgiving feat looks pretty good! I’m thankful for having so many races close to me, the ability to run, family and life!
Looks like you had a great Thanksgiving! Isn’t it crazy how every holiday it seems like we get an over abundance of desserts! Not that I’m complaining or anything
Congratulations on the 5K and looks like a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Looks like you had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I am thankful for everything good in my life…family, friends, my health and of course my crazy cat too!
Great job on your 5K! You are super speedy! What is your secret? Weight training? yoga? I am looking to drop my 5k time to 25 min and my 10 mile (Adirondak Distance Race) to under 90 min. Now that I know I can do the distance, I want to work on speed. I feel the need for speed in 2011!
(Opps, this is the 2nd time I posted this, so you can delete one of them!)
I have no secret! All I did was a few sessions of speedwork a few weeks before the race, and just ran my heart out the day of. It hurt! haha. I’m not meant for speed, I prefer distance!
I will have to try some speed work. Do you make up your own plan or is there one online that you follow?
I perfer distance also. You may enjoy the Adirondack Distance Race in Lake George in late June. 10 mile race from Lake George Village to Bolton Landing. It is hilly but nothing too extreme. This race inspired me to do my marathon.
I made up my own mostly. I got on the treadmill and did a warm up for 1 mile, then ran at 7.0 MPH for a quarter mile followed by a cool down jog at about 6.0 MPH..and repeated that for about 3 miles. Its not too bad!
Congrats on the PR! A 5k is tough after doing so much distance running. There’s no time to recover if you struggle early, and if you start off too fast the last half mile or so can be brutal.