Welcome! I’m Caroline
follow me
Subscribe By Email
Search The Little Things Blog
Follow Me On Bloglovin’
Categories
Archives
“Eventually you learn that competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit.” -Sheehan
I’ve completed my 2nd race! Through reading other blogs, I noticed many people doing Turkey Trots last year. It sounded fun, so I’ve been on the lookout for one since September. Last week, through my work email, came an announcement that the place I work would be hosting a Turkey Trot for the community. WIN! I ran my first 5k one month ago, and since then I’ve not come close to hitting the same time on my training runs (32:45). I hoped to beat my time in the Turkey Trot!
Luckily the race wasn’t TOO early, so I set my alarm for 7:45. I quickly consumed about 6 ounces of juice and a Luna bar before getting dressed quickly. My ankle was bothering me a bit, so I grabbed an ice pack and iced it on the 20 minute drive to the race. It was about 35 degrees when I got there, and quickly registered and starting walking around to warm my muscles up. I tweeted nervously (thanks for those that responded with great words of encouragement!) as the 1 mile fun run finished.
I created a new 5K run playlist, and I was excited to listen. As I stepped up to the starting line I hit start on my Runkeeper app on my phone, and the playlist began.
Random? -Yes. Fun?- Absolutely
Then I was off! I knew I was running a bit faster then usual, but I was ok with that. I wanted to push myself, and I knew I could do it. When I hit the 1st mile mark, my phone told my time was 9:20! I started to feel a little worried, as this is about a minute faster then my fastest mile time previously. I haven’t run a sub 10 mile in years! Hoping I could maintain a similar pace, I kept running. Once I hit mile 2, I thought a sub 30 5k was in me, and I pushed it hard.
The last mile I just wanted it to be over. I was running miles MUCH faster then in training, and I was feeling it big time. My last mile I slowed a bit, and realized that I probably wouldn’t finish in under 30 minutes. I still wanted to beat my last 5K time of 32:40 (ish), so I kicked it towards the end. As I crossed the finish line someone yelled 30:48! While I didn’t get my sub-30 5k, I beat my best 5k time by 2 minutes, and I was elated!
I grabbed a banana and a water, and found some space to stretch out a bit. I felt GREAT. And now I know that a sub-30 5k IS in me, and I have something else to push myself towards. For a girl on medicine that makes it difficult to run, and believing for years that this was never possible, I’m really proud of myself. The course was also much more hilly then the one I train on, so the fact that I pushed myself in an environment I wasn’t used to and was ABLE TO DO IT is great.
Yes, I got 60th place. I’m OK with this considering an entire cross country team ran the race as well. The place I get doesn’t matter. I’m not racing against anyone else. I was running against my previous 5k time, and I DID IT!
Now it’s your turn: Have you ever run a turkey trot before (or are you planning to in the next few weeks)? What’s one thing you did that was an accomplishment for you this week, whether it is “big” or “small”?
Congratulations on your PR!!! You’ll kill that 30min 5K next time 🙂
Awesome job! I’ve never done a turkey trot, but I’ll probably run a 5k on my own on Thanksgiving morning.
congrats on a great time! was hoping to do a turkey trot this year but sadly that won’t happen since i’m on the injured list