Turkey Trot 5k Recap (Katie)

My goal for this 5k was speed. I was curious to see how fast I could go and was hoping to set a new and official PR. My hamstring injury prevented me from doing many speed workouts in the lead up to Thanksgiving day, but I managed to get in some good, non-running workouts and a couple good runs so I was feeling pretty confident though unsure of how fast I could actually go. I had a dream a night or two before the race where I just literally could not run fast. It was like I was being weighed down and could not get my body moving. Luckily, that was not the case during the Turkey Trot.

It was a cool, sunny morning with a decent breeze (and thankfully no snow on the ground). Cold enough to wear gloves during the entire run but not so cold that my body wouldn't warm up. I decided to run with my friend, Tiffany. We run together a fair amount and I know she has a faster pace than me so as long as I aimed to keep up with her, I figured I could accomplish my goal of coming in under 30 minutes. We were in the very front of the line when the race started and Tiffany was off like a shot! So as planned I followed and caught up. However, I realize in hindsight that this starting pace was far too fast for me. Within the first half mile, I was winded and regretting starting so fast. Though I was uncomfortable and breathing hard, I still did my best to keep up with Tiff. A little over a mile in, the gap between us grew just a little bit as I needed to catch my breath. However, at nearly 2 miles in, she started having some issues with breathing (turns out she didn't eat dinner the night before and was not fueled or hydrated properly) and had to walk for a few seconds. This turned out to be a good opportunity for me to walk and recover a little. We started back up but she had to stop to walk again because of the pain in her chest. I knew I couldn't stop again or my time would be slower than desired so I decided to carry on to the finish line alone. I finished feeling well and my official race time was 27:29 (8:51 pace)! (Don't worry, Tiffany came in only 1 minute behind me and is fine) I am very proud of this time and my new PR! I feel like I learned that I need to pace myself a little better and maybe speed up at the end instead of the beginning, but overall I feel like I did a good job!

Holly, me, Tiffany and my sister, Annie
(It was Holly's first 5k, way to go!)

My husband and I
(Proud to say that my hubby-who is not a runner- had a time of 29:51)

The one pic of me finishing - not great, sorry

Also, my sister and I made the local news. If you're interested check it out here!