There is only one day of the year in which one can have the opportunity of running after a guy dressed in a Turkey outfit. That day is Thanksgiving, that event is the annual Turkey trot.
Turkey trots continue to gain in popularity. I know of at least 3 here in the valley. It's a 10k (6.2 miles for you non-runners) and the idea is to burn some extra calories while chasing after a Turkey. Mind you, the Turkey runs pretty quick...usually coming in between 42-52 minutes.
This was my 3rd year participating in this event (wow, I can't believe I'm coming up on 3 year anniversaries with runnning). Anyway, I love this T-giving tradition. It allows me to clear my head of some pre-holiday stress and a few extra calories to prepare for the late day feast.
The forcast a couple days out called for an 80% chance of rain. My theory on running in the rain has changed drastically in the last year. I typically would have been the type of person who saw rain and said, "not for me." However, I've come to like it in some sick sort of way. I've mentioned before that I ran 18 in the rain last year. In my mind it is an expression of determination. It's easy to find an excuse not to run, but hard to drag yourself from a warm dry bed to show your love and dedication for a sport or goal. Again, this is just my mentality and opinion. Besides, this was my 3rd time running this race, and I didn't want to break this tradition because of a little rain.
As Jeff mentioned in his blog, he "melts" in the rain and avoids it at all costs. Therefore, I knew there was a high percentage that saw me doing this one solo. The night before as the rain came down, I sent a text to Jeff asking if he was up for a "run in the rain." Wow, much to my surprise, he said, "sure, what the hell." Nice!
The next morning, I woke up around 5:45 to the sound of rain. Not just a sprinkle, but buckets of rain coming down hard. I thought, "oh, this is gonna be interesting!" Headed out to pick up Jeff, the weather began to let up. Long story short, the drive out to Mesa consisted of little or no rain, but would this hold???
Once we arrived at Red Mountain Park, I noticed a lighter than normal crowd. Jeff registered, I picked up my stuff and we began to do some light streching and a few bathroom breaks.
Coming closer to the 9am start time, I noticed the crowds begining to appear...still no rain. Actually, at this point the clouds began to part and the sun was shining....dare I say it was getting warm.
We planted ourselves about a quarter of the way back from the start and waited. My goal going in was to enjoy the run and let my legs fill in the rest. No goal time in mind. Yeah, I'm getting faster, someday I'd love to beat the Turkey, but I don't think I'm quite there yet.
After the gun, we set out around a 9 min pace. Things felt good, sun was out and I was begining to dread wearing a long sleeve shirt. By mile 2.5, I was in a great stride, crusing at a 8:30 pace or faster.
I opted out of the first 2 water stations as we made our way down Brown towards Power. I had lost sight of Jeff by this point and figured he stopped for some water. As I made the turn on to Power Rd, I noticed the Turkey up ahead. That was all the motivation I needed. All of a sudden, I went from no goal, to a big one....beat that bird. About 50 more feet and I found myself passing him.
There was gonna be no way I was giving that lead up. I was hauling at around a 7:30-7:45 pace. My body was feeling it and my heart rate was up. Around mile 4.25 there was a water station. I GU'd up and grabbed a cup of water for the final 2 miles (all the while making sure that Turkey did not pass).
Coming out of the residential area past Brown, I could see the park (and finish line) up ahead. I had pushed my body beyond it's comfort zone and it was pushing back. However, I knew I had a little more in me....finish strong!
I did finish strong. I came in at 49 min and most importantly, I BEAT THE TURKEY! He finished in 52 minutes. Unfortunately, they had run out of the certificates that said "I beat the Turkey". Oh well, I did it. Unfortunately, I also set a personal expectation....guess I'm gonna have to do it again next year.
Jeff and I took some time to cheer on a few finishers, and take a picture with the turkey. As we were leaving, it started to rain. It was like Mother Nature took the time to enjoy the "trot". Thanks!
| Route: | -- | Elev. Avg: | 1515 ft |
| Location: | Apache Junction, AZ | Elev. Gain: | +13 ft |
| Date: | 11/27/08 | Up/Downhill: | [+167/-154] |
| Time: | 09:01 AM | Difficulty: | 2.2 / 5.0 |
| Distance: | 6.19 miles | ||
| Time: | 0:49:46 | ||
| Speed: | 7.5 mph | ||
| Pace: | 8' 02 /mi | Heart Rate: | 164 bpm (Avg) |
| Calories: | 944 | 185 bpm (Peak) |
Elevation (ft)
Pace (min/mile)
Heart Rate (bpm)
Heart Rate Zones
| Zone | Range
(bpm) | Time
In Zone | Distance
In Zone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 5 | 169 - 188 | 0h 19m | 39%  | 2.53 mi |
| Zone 4 | 150 - 169 | 0h 26m | 53%  | 3.26 mi |
| Zone 3 | 132 - 150 | 0h 03m | 7%  | 0.41 mi |
| Zone 2 | 113 - 132 | 0h 00m | 0%  | 0.02 mi |
| Zone 1 | 94 - 113 | 0h 00m | 0%  | 0.02 mi |
| (none) | out of range | 0h 00m | 0%  | 0.01 mi |
| Mile | Pace (min/mile) | Speed (mph) | Heart
Rate | Elev
Gain | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| actual | +/- avg | actual | +/- avg | |||
| 1 | 8' 35 | +0' 33 | 7.0 | -0.5 | 143 | +56 ft |
| 2 | 8' 01 | -0' 01 | 7.5 | +0.0 | 155 | -53 ft |
| 3 | 8' 05 | +0' 03 | 7.4 | -0.1 | 161 | +4 ft |
| 4 | 7' 55 | -0' 07 | 7.6 | +0.1 | 166 | -3 ft |
| 5 | 7' 59 | -0' 03 | 7.5 | +0.0 | 175 | +42 ft |
| 6 | 7' 42 | -0' 20 | 7.8 | +0.3 | 179 | -33 ft |
| end | 7' 11 | -0' 51 | 8.3 | +0.9 | 183 | 0 ft |
| Versus average of 8' 02 min/mile | ||||||
Posted from runtracker.runnersworld.com
Posts
2 comments:
If you would have ran a little further north past Mckellips that's where our new house is.
I can't believe you didn't tell me about this. For future notice I want all details of any race you are in that is a half marathon or less. I'm so disappointed....
Post a Comment