Turkey Trot 5K

This morning I ran the second-oldest road race in Delaware, the Newark Turkey Trot. There was snow on the ground and the Weather Channel reported that it was 30 degrees, but felt like 18 with the wind and clear skies.

It was brutally cold and I couldn’t really feel my feet for the first mile or so, but then I warmed up, and by the end of the race, I had taken off my gloves and scarf, and felt quite comfy.

It was a great time–though there was one point when snowflakes were blowing off of the trees into my face and I watched an 8 year old pass me that I thought, This is voluntary. What was I thinking?

Especially biting (haha) was the fact that last Saturday was nearly 70 degrees. Who knew it could change so quickly?

James and the girls had planned to come to watch me race, but it was so cold that I released them from their promise to attend. And I’m glad that I did.

My goal was to run the whole thing, even the hills (which I am SO not used to running!), and come in below 30 minutes. My time crossing the finish line was 29 minutes, 30 seconds. So I did it! I was 254th/nearly 1,000 runners. Not too shaby!

These are the serious runners. I think I was probably at least 50 yards behind them at the start. And the winner (#746) had crossed the finish line more than 12 minutes before I did!

I’m checking the schedule for when I can do the next one. It’s a lot of fun. Especially when it’s over.