November 22, 2014

Turkey Trot plans

I completely forgot to mention this yesterday, but Renee told me about a little encounter she had at the airport. She ran the NYC Marathon a few weeks ago, and while she was at La Guardia airport, she happened to bump into her high school cross country coach. She didn't think he'd remember her, but she stopped and chatted with him.

Well, it turns out that her high school cross country coach was Kevin Hanson--as in "Hansons Marathon Method"! I've been raving about the Hansons Marathon Method a year and a half, and I'd talked to Renee about it several times. She'd never realized that the "Hanson" part of the method was in reference to her high school cross country coach!


Yesterday, Nathan came over to pick up his pie. I was glad to get it out of the house! But he mentioned that he's going to do the Thanksgiving day Turkey Trot in Detroit, and asked if I would be interested in doing it, too. I've never actually done a turkey trot! Jerry is off work that day, so it would be easy for me to get away (not having to worry about child care).

Nathan said he's doing the "Drumstick Double", which is a 10K followed by a 5K. You get three medals for doing it--one for each race, plus one for doing both. I was tempted, until he told me that the 5K starts exactly one hour after the 10K starts. That means I'd have to run the 10K and make it to the starting line of the 5K in under an hour.

A year ago, that wouldn't have been a problem at all! But my pace is so iffy right now, and I haven't actually raced a 10K in a long time, so I have no idea what I could do. But there really is no bigger motivator to run fast than knowing I have to finish in a certain amount of time so I can do the next race. So I ended up registering for the Drumstick Double this morning.



I'm really nervous! I'm not worried about the 5K, or the number of miles--but my pace for the 10K is what concerns me. To finish under 60 minutes, I'd have to run a 9:39/mi pace. I'm sure I can do that, because my recent half-marathon pace was 9:44; and when I just ran 5.5 miles with Dean, our pace was 9:24. But I need a few minutes as a cushion in order to walk from the finish line to the starting line of the 5K. Ideally, I would finish in about 55:00, which is a pace of 8:51. Possible? Perhaps. Likely? Not really.

According to the McMillan race calculator, and based on my most recent half-marathon time, I should be able to run the 10K in 57:33 (a 9:16 pace). McMillan has always been pretty spot-on for predicting my times with races half-marathon-distance and under. So this is probably what I should aim for.

Even though I'm nervous, I like having this challenge. I kind of miss racing (where I actually push myself hard), so this will be a good indicator of where I'm at. I'm going to try my very best to hit sub-9:00's, and if not that, I'll aim for 9:16. I think I should be okay as long as I hit 9:30's or so. I'm sure the 10K is going to take everything out of me, so it's likely my 5K time will be very slow. ;)

I really like the idea of kicking off Thanksgiving with a Turkey Trot! Thanksgiving dinner has never really been a huge temptation for me (except for the sweet potato casserole--love that stuff!), but I am planning to make a pecan pie to bring to my mom's. Pecan pie has about a million points per slice, so running 9.3 miles that morning should cover some of it!

Anyone else running a race on Thanksgiving morning?

13 comments:

  1. This Drumstick Double is certainly challenging. For slower runners it is really a 15K since there is no time to rest in between races. I don't think you will have any problem whatsoever finishing the 10K in 55:00 minutes especially after that recent 9:24 run. You are faster runner than I am. I managed a 10K in 55:48 a couple weeks ago after a 5:03 marathon in October and a 2:19 half marathon in September.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That sounds like so much fun! I bet you will do just fine and rock both of the races! We're doing an unofficial thing we're calling the "Pre-Bird Promenade", it's just going to be a 3 mile walk with me, the hubby and our greyhound!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You are going to do great! You can totally finish in plenty of time for the start of the 5k! I wish we had something like this around my home town. Sounds exciting!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This will be my second year doing a Turkey Trot (5k) - last year was freezing but still a lot of fun! It looks like it will be a bit warmer this year for us, so I'm 'thankful' for that :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'd actually like to be able to do a race (5k only) but I've got divorced parents so my Thanksgiving entails driving a lot! My dad lives 2ish hours away, but luckily my mom only lives 20 minutes.....Still that's at least 4 hours of driving. Barf. Good luck on the race though!! and hope you enjoy your pie.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That sounds awesome!
    I'm doing a 5k Turkey Trot in my parents' town with my brother and his girlfriend. They run around a 21-minute 5k, and I run a 29-minute 5k on a fast day. Since I've just raced a half marathon ("just" as in two hours ago), I'm unlikely to have a fast day on Thursday. I told them they'd have to wait ten minutes for me, but I don't think they realized I wasn't exaggerating...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sounds fun! I wish there was a Turkey Trot near my home but that's not the case. The husband and I will just have to go do our own before chowing down.

    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am entering my first Turkey Trot here in Alaska! I originally did it because I wanted some motivation to start running outside in the snow for the first time! Unfortunately we don't have any snow yet, so I guess I'd better add another race later this winter!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am participating in a virtual 5K Turkey Trot. This will be my third year getting up and running before I begin my thanksgiving preparations and I think it's becoming a tradition.
    We host Thanksgiving in our home, so there is always stuff to be done, but I've found getting that run in gives me time to think about all I'm thankful for and also helps me get the metabolism burning for what les ahead on the dinner table. lol

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have a 5k on thursday, a 4k Friday and 2 5ks over the weekend. Plus I organized a beer mile for friends for Friday after our 4k. My favorite running weekend of the year!!!

    I would love to do something like that double but there is no way I would be able to as I am a slower runner....part of me is mad for the slower runners in your area I won't lie :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm doing a 5 mile on Thanksgiving Day. It will be my first race since tearing my hamstring last July and am quite nervous about being able to finish. I have the okay from my PT, but the longest run I have since July is 4 miles.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm doing a 5k turkey trot thursday. That's disappointing that they do the 5k after the 10k, and start it an hour after! I'd love to do something like that, but my 10k time is about 1:15 right now. No way I'd make it back!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'll be running the 10K. I have friends signed up for the Drumstick Double but it's just too fast for me. Maybe I'll see you fly by me!

    ReplyDelete

I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

Featured Posts

Blog Archive