Turkey Trot 10k recap

Like so many others, I ran a 10k yesterday to celebrate Thanksgiving. Just kidding, I didn't do it to celebrate Thanksgiving, I did it because the race was cheap and in my area. There are a couple of big local races- one is a 5k in downtown Minneapolis sponsored by Lifetime Fitness, another is a 10k around Lake Harriet, and the one I ran was an inaugural 5k/10k in St. Paul. I will never do the Lifetime Fitness one- it is pricey, crowded, and they don't keep results. Sorry, but what the heck is the point of racing if there are no results? No thanks. I've done the Lake Harriet one before and actually really liked that race but since another one was offered in St. Paul and is closer to home, of course I'm going to pick that one!

Anyway. I ran the Turkey Trot Saint Paul. As I mentioned, the race was really reasonably priced ($35 since I signed up a couple months ago). So that was a plus.  However, packet pick up was the night before at the Crown Plaza in St. Paul- terrible idea. First of all, downtown St. Paul has a lot of one way streets and limited parking. I probably drove around for 15 minutes before finding a place to park. There wasn't much to pick up- just the bib and t-shirt, and socks, for the first 2000 registrants. You were supposed to look up your number ahead of time but they did have all the numbers printed off in case you forgot or didn't do that.

So race day was clear and cold. It started at 7:30 am and I think it was about 24 degrees. I didn't do much of a warm up for the race- I misjudged how long it would take me to get moving and get to the start, so I only had about 15 minutes to spare. One major positive about the race was the number of porta-potties. There were a lot. No complaints there!

The race was held on Shepard Road, from the Science Museum to a spot 3.1 miles down the road, and back. Not necessarily the most exciting or scenic course, despite the river being right there. Shepard road is two lanes each way so it was kind of like running on a highway. There are also some long, gradual hills, which weren't too terrible. There were pacers for this race, including a pacer for 40:00. I started close to the front of the race and figured I'd take it easy for the first couple miles and try to push the last two.

At about mile 1 I found myself in a good rhythm and running with some guy (we'll call him B because I think I heard someone cheer for him and I think the name they yelled started with "B"). B and I ended up running pretty much the entire race together, which was really nice! I love finding running buddies during races. It is way easier to run with someone.  At about mile 2 we got caught by another girl and guy but stayed with them as a nice little four-some until about mile 4. There was a pretty good hill at that point and the two that had been with me and B dropped off. After one more little hill at mile 4.75 the race was pretty flat or slightly downhill, which worked well for my plan of pushing a bit. B out kicked me at the end but I still ran 40:29, which I think is a PR. 

Splits:

Mile 1 6:36
Mile 2 6:32
Mile 3 6:30
Mile 4 6:31
Mile 5 6:31
Mile 6 6:22
Mile .2 1:26

No photos of this race but here are some other cool pictures:

Tailgating before the Gopher Game- Bloody Marys. We had to stay warm somehow!

Luther fans at the DIII Central Region Cross Country Championships.  Please note it was about 30 degrees out.

I believe these are St. Olaf fans, giving Luther a run for their money in regards to "crazy accessories".

 

A pack of men.

The men's winner. Now that is a finishing sprint. 

I have found that some people do not like Bloody Marys. Do you? What fixings do you add? For our tailgating we had beef sticks, pepper jack cheese, pickles, celery, lemon wedges, and worchestershire sauce. I have to admit, they were phenomenal.