Apex Turkey Trot Race Report

This morning I ran in the Apex (NC) Turkey Trot, which started and ended at the Apex Community Center. The path went around a 50+ acre lake, and was quite pretty! The fall leaves made it even prettier. The race started at 10:00, still plenty cold, but I was thankful that it didsn't start any earlier! (I wore leggings and a couple of short sleeve t-shirts, and felt comfortable, temperature-wise, in no time.) It was a fairly flat trail, for which I was thankful! The worst hill was near the end, and it wasn't that bad. There were signs at each mile, but no one giving splits, which I missed. (I know, I know, I need to wear a watch!)

At the end of the race, I got a high five from a big 6-foot turkey, who beat me! The Chick-Fil-A cow was at the start of the race, but I didn't see him at the finish line when I got there. Perhaps I beat the cow! ;-)

I was pretty excited to cross the finish line in 40 minutes, 13 seconds, a new personal record! This is also the first time I've averaged under 13 minutes per mile, and that's a milestone too. I am a little disappointed that I didn't break the 40 minute mark today, though. While I was mainly hoping to beat my last race time of 40:54, finally getting below 40 minutes would've been sweet! Oh well, maybe next time!

Both of my feet held up well in this race, but my right leg started bothering me some, on the outer part of my knee, plus down the outer part of my leg a little. Will take some more ibuprofen and see how it feels tomorrow.

Laura, my niece, wasn't able to run with me as planned. I missed her, but George came along for moral support, and that was great! I also made a point of chatting with several other runners before, during, and after the race, and that added to the fun experience. Runners are a friendly bunch! :)

I've enjoyed having two races (and two PRs!) this month. I need to sign up for another one soon. There are a couple in December that I'm thinking about.

Are you a race runner? If so, what's your next race?

UPDATE: Official results have been posted, and I finished 235th out of 244 running in the competitive devision (using chip timing). I finished 11th (and last) in my age group.

Pre-Race Day

This morning I overslept again, still feeling a little sleep deprived, so I did a 30-minute workout on the elliptical machine.

My next 5K is tomorrow, the Apex Turkey Trot. 5Ks are still a big deal for me, especially since I'm still working on improving my finish times and hitting landmarks. Tomorrow I hope to finish in under 40 minutes, and as I've learned from my weight loss journey, it's always fun to hit a new "decade." People in my age group tend to have finish times in the 20s to fairly low 30 minutes, so I'll feel like I've made even more progress when my finish time starts in a 3 too. Still, I'm excited about the progress I've made so far.

I was hoping my niece could run with me tomorrow, but she can't after all, as she's heading home early for Thanksgiving.

Look for a race report sometime over the weekend.

Training for another 5K

Well, I didn't exactly start training for another 5K this morning, as I only managed to do 30 minutes on the elliptical, due to continued weariness. But I did register for a 5K next month, the Apex Turkey Trot on November 17th! I'm excited to have this to shoot for and can't wait to get back on the treadmill now.

There's another 5K in Raleigh on November 10. I'm thinking about doing it too. Could I do 5Ks two weekends in a row?