Happy Thanksgiving! For the fourth year in a row, I kicked it off with the Pittsburgh Turkey Trot and I was plenty thankful it was not freezing and raining like last year. My nephew (and twice-Ironman I might add) ran too, and my dad drove us downtown. If you've ever been to Pittsburgh, you know about the craziness of navigating mountains, three rivers, bridges, and one-way streets. It was the first road race my dad had been to and when asked to describe it he said it was "a great mass of humanity." That is the truth. You can pretty much have a random conversation with anyone, walls are down, and people are happy and grateful. I love it!! No Black Friday event can compare to this. (Incidentally, my Black Friday will be spent with an early morning swim then ice skating with my kids. NO shopping.) My hamstrings were still sore from the gym Monday and I felt a bit stiff and clunky warming up. But for the first time ever, I actually followed a 5K warmup plan (thanks, Coach). I think that helped. Evan and I shed clothes and left them all with my dad, the sherpa/chauffeur/photographer. The National Anthem was sung, and with no real warning, the gun fired. Off we went. Quickly. I started at some kind of 6:10 crazy pace, and exchanged a quick glance with the guy next to me. He said, "Yeah, what am I thinking, I'm no Kenyan!" So we backed off. I wore my turkey feathers and hat with my Hokie shirt and enjoyed the encouragement of "Go Turkey" and "Go Hokies". I met a few alumni, Hokie parents, others in costume. It was reported that there were a knife and fork on the course. I looked for them for a photo-op but no luck. I'm pretty sure I PR'ed. According to my Garmin, average moving pace was 6:44 minutes per mile, compared to a previous best of 6:51 mpm. I am fairly certain this course ran long though as many of us discussed and compared at the finish that we came up with distances between 3.2 and 3.3 miles. Regardless, the race felt great, physically and mentally GREAT. It was the perfect ending to the season. (Garmin Data - of course I never remember to stop my watch after) Results -- 22:10, 1st/266 in Age Group. 86/2626 overall. Yes, this course ran LONG! Full Results By AG, Overall Results) I love the Pittsburgh Turkey Trot tradition and look forward to next year's! Great job, Pittsburgh YMCA and all the super volunteers!! I am hanging up the running shoes for a few weeks for some good recovery time. Right now, it's time for a nap to get ready for the feast :-) Pics - me and my nephew Evan, me and my dad, running, wilting (!), watching! (
