Mexico Beach Community Garden Turkey Trot

Galina, Rick, Reese, Les, Bill, Kathy, Leksi

We spent last week in Florida for the annual Thanksgiving reunion.  I didn't take my laptop and just enjoyed beautiful weather, running, family, and lots of food!  A total of 59 family members, descendants of Earl and Marie McElhaney were in attendance.  We were literally kids from one to ninety-two - one of Les' aunts is 92 and a great grandson is one!

We ended up with seven family members running the Turkey Trot.  Les planned to walk/run with his dad.  His brother-in-law, Rick, and nephew, Reese, are fast and would be done before the rest of us.  I thought I might try to run it at a fast pace and see what would happen.  I had no pace strategy since I didn't know anyone in my age group who was running.

While we were waiting for the race to start, our two nieces decided they wanted to run with me.  (The race organizers didn't charge for kids, unless the parents wanted to pay.)  We don't see them very often, so my plans went out the window and I decided to just enjoy the family time.  Of course when the siren went off, both girls took off sprinting!  I wasn't worried about it, I just ran my own pace.

About a half mile in I caught Leksi as she was taking her first walk break.  We finished the first mile in 9:07, but I was pretty sure that wouldn't last.  "This is long," occurred during the second mile, but I have to say the girl is spunky!  She walked and ran the entire thing and didn't complain.  I tried doing run two minutes/walk 30 seconds intervals but that didn't seem to work.  I switched my strategy to blocks.  Run two blocks, walk one block.  They were really short blocks!  We also spent time doing fractions - "how much of three miles have we gone now?"

The mighty fisherwoman, later that same day!

We had one more turn before the finish line.  I told Leksi when we made the turn to sprint to the finish line and she did!  Our splits were 9:07, 10:47, 11:51, and 7:51 for the final tenth of a mile!  We finished in 32:49.

Les and his dad finished in 50:26.  My father-in-law wanted to finish in under 52 minutes.  Pretty awesome for an 83 year old!

They only gave out the top finisher in each age group, but only went to 60+.  Bill was the only one over 80, placing fifth of seven in the 60+ group.  He beat out a 65 year old and a 73 year old!

Reese took third in his age group (19 and under) and was 7th overall finishing in 21:25

I took third in my age group (50-59.) This was the first time I've ever placed in my age group.  The winner was only a couple minutes faster than me, I think I actually could have won it if I was running on my own!  But I don't regret spending those 32 minutes with my youngest niece, she may never want to run with me again.

Rick took first in his age group (40-49) and was 6th overall finishing in 20:57.  I'm pretty sure beating Reese by 28 seconds felt pretty good! All in all, a pretty decent showing for our family!

This was a fun race, only in it's third year.  In 2013 there were only 20 runners and no registration fee.  There were 165 finishers this year.  We paid $15 this year for the no t-shirt option.  There were runners, walkers, kids, strollers, and dogs.  I think it's what a Turkey Trot should be!

Turkey Trotting? You Won't Be Alone!

I read an interesting article in USAToday yesterday.  Thanksgiving is now the most popular holiday for running!  According to data from non-profit Running USA, in 2012, there were 490 Thanksgiving-day races, versus 290 in 2008. And in 2012, there were more than 858,000 finishers — up 155% from 2008.

The Buffalo Turkey Trot is widely considered as the first race of its kind, and it's still run at 9 a.m. on Thanksgiving just as it was for the first time in 1896. That's the year Henry A. Allison beat out five other all-male runners in a 5-mile unpaved race in Buffalo, N.Y., according to the YMCA Buffalo Niagra. The event — thankfully now on paved roads and also accepting women — gets more than 14,000 participants yearly.

I thought the most interesting stat was this:  Thanksgiving is the day most people consume a traditional feast containing the same calories as 15 hot fudge sundaes!  Americans consume approximately 4,500 calories on this single day.

That also equals 43 bananas!

I'm pretty sure no one in the history of Turkey Trots has ever burned 4,500 calories before the meal.  Eat responsibly!

Weekly Review and Turkey Trot Plans

Two weeks post-marathon and I am feeling great!  This is the best I've done after a marathon.  I know I keep saying this, but cross training really makes a difference!

Right now we have seven family members signed up for the Mexico Beach Turkey Trot.  Pops (Les's dad) is 83 and has been walking faithfully on the treadmill.  The youngest is Les' nephew, Reece, who is 14.  He ran cross country this Fall and is speedy.  So I won't be the first family member to finish, but I certainly won't be the last.  I'm the only female signed up at this point, so at least I'll win my division in the family!

Frazz was spot on this morning:

My workouts went really good this week:

Sunday - ran 5.01 miles in 52:46, 10:32 pace

Monday - ran 2.02 miles in 27:31, 13:37 pace
This run happened after I signed Les and I up for the Turkey Trot.  "I need to run," my cycling husband proclaimed!

Tuesday - rode 12.59 miles in 1:19:37, 9.5 mph
This was a trail ride, my cycling husband got his revenge for Monday's run.  We saw lots of evidence of cattle on the trail and about 2 1/2 miles up saw a group of five.  They were grazing peacefully and never even mooed at us.

Wednesday - rested

Thursday - ran 7 miles in 1:23:40, 11:57 pace
I did a trail run for the first time in about six weeks.  I stopped my watch and took pictures along the way.  It was a beautiful morning!

Friday - ran 3.1 miles in 31:57, 10:18 pace
I did just a little bit of speed work during my second mile.  I've never raced a 5k before, so I don't know what kind of pace I'll be able to do next Thursday.  I'm not sure I really care.

Saturday - rode 9.43 miles in 52:24, 10.8 mph
Santa Ana winds are back!  It was 69 at 6:00 this morning and this was a tough ride!  Crosswinds and headwinds the entire time.

Total
Running  17.13
Cycling  22.02
Total  39.15

First Post Marathon Run and My Next Race

I finally ran yesterday and I was surprised by how well it went.  I did a 5 mile loop at a 10:32 pace and ran every step.  I am really trying to focus on running all the hills on my routes.  Yesterday's run had just under 400 feet of climbing.

As usual, Southern California skipped Fall and has gone straight to Winter.  At least Winter for us - lows in the 40s which is my favorite running temp.  So I'll be a happy runner for a while.

We travel to Florida next week for the McElhaney Family Thanksgiving Reunion.  We have several runners in the family, most notably Les' two nephews who ran cross country this year.  On a whim, I Googled "Turkey Trot 2015 Florida" and found a 5k Turkey Trot in the town where we'll be staying!  Les agreed to run it and we sent an email trying to get some other participants.  So my next race is the "Mexico Beach Community Garden Turkey Trot 5k" on Thanksgiving morning!

Is it turning cold where you live?  Will you run a Turkey Trot this year?