A tale of two turkey trots (Part 1)

Twas the eve before Thanksgiving and 60 degree rain poured about, an unseasonably warm day in New Hampshire, no doubt. The racing flats were placed in the entryway with care, in hopes that the cold front would stop in midair.

Unfortunately, no amount of thanksgiving-tainted Christmas poetry could change the weather forecast for the turkey trot that I raced this year. Back in August I had decided that my long-term goal would be to break 5 minutes in the mile by the time I turned 25. At the time I had just taken nearly a month off of running to study for the GRE and apply to PhD programs (and escape the Baltimore summer heat), so I was in desperate need of an aerobic base. I thought the best - and most motivating - way to get mileage up was to train for a 5K. Last year I ran the Portsmouth Turkey Trot with my family. My mom was in a neck brace but took it off to run. My dad had thrown out his back the day before but ran anyway. I had done about one speedwork in the past three months but still managed to set a road 5K PR. My brother bailed on us but we gave him crap for the past 365 days so he ran it in 2013. This year he's in the midst of a 50 day running streak. They make me look a little more normal, huh?

This year, I had hoped to be in (just barely) sub-19 shape, which would be a roughly 25 second PR from my track 5K. Based on my speedwork I feel like I have the fitness to at least attempt sub-19 right now. I worked my repeat 800's down from 3:00 to 2:53ish (which was my criteria for "in shape") and in my tapering 400 workouts I was consistently 75-77 on my own and not on a track, also a good sign. Therefore, it was rather disappointing that the weather decided to work against me at this turkey trot. Not that I'm making excuses, I'm still happy with the 20:23 that I ended up running, but something about 20 degree weather with 25mph winds doesn't make for a fast day. It came down to frozen limbs and lungs holding me back, but I still managed to pull out an age group win meaning I walked away with a Dunks gift card and a necklace from a local jeweler. Not a bad outcome by any measure.

My crazy family:

Kevin: (the guy in the "LOCO" singlet, center, with me off his shoulder) 

Refuses to run in pants. Ever. 

If it's minus 10 degrees he wears two pairs of shorts.

Linda: (on right) My 54 year old mother who finished only 30 seconds behind me and won her age group.

Mickel: (center, LOCO singlet) My dad and exercise-induced asthma partner-in-crime.

Me: Competing with the turkey mascot for puffiest outfit of the day.

I ran track with Rachel (middle) in high school.

Until next time,
Robyn "Doesn't like cold but is from NH" Runner