troyturkeytrot

Well, it’s come down to this. Our 10 week training program is over.

I was a little worried about enrolling in this program. I wasn’t used to running on hills. The runs were in Troy and I would have to deal with the 5 pm traffic. Would everyone be faster than me? Would I enjoy it? What if I couldn’t do the Saturday runs?

Yes, there were hills. I ran up some and walked up some. But I got better. They didn’t kill me.
I succeeded in getting to Prospect Park and RPI on time with minimal problems.
The runners were super nice. Yes, some were faster, some were slower. But you were never left behind.
I looked forward to my weekly group runs. I even went to them on my normal rest day (after my 10 mile race and 15K race on the previous day.)
Monday’s runs were more important. They included drills and speed work. Saturday runs were for distance and I usually ran more on my own. So I didn’t miss much only going on Mondays.

my first Saturday run & the last one

Even before I know how I will do on this 10K race, I can talk about the benefits of the program.

Meet new runners. New friends. Great conversations (about running, of course.)
New places to run –Prospect Park, around RPI, bike path near Knickerbocker Arena
Speed drills – I never do them on my own.
Hills – yes, they are necessary if you want to get faster and stronger.
Motivation – it’s more motivating to run with others.
Great coach (not to mention that he was young and cute.)

Coach Patrick is #2786

I am already planning to sign up for this training group challenge again as it is offered for the Freihofer Run for Women this spring.

Now the race…

It’s a big one…. it will be crowded.

The race starts at 8 am so it will be cold. Hopefully the streets will be cleared from the Wednesday snowstorm.

some forecasts say 6-12 in I hope they’re wrong.

Since Troy is hilly, I assume that the race will be too and you run over the Green Island Bridge and back. That’s all I know.

ttt

Our coach says to divide the race into thirds – first 1/3 – start out strong, second 1/3 – ease back, last 1/3 – kick into high gear. We’ll see about that. I do not have the stamina to run the whole 6 miles but I’ll do my best.

Race Goals:

A. PR (under 58:28)
B. Finish under 1 hour
C. Finish under 1:04:54
D. Finish happy and uninjured

Whatever the results, it should be a fun time and I am looking forward to running it with my training group (followed by a big dinner!!)

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Happy Running! Are you running a Turkey Trot this year?

There’s nothing better than a race before stuffing yourself on Thanksgiving.

I just read in this article about how popular running on Thanksgiving is:

In 2009, I ran my first turkey trot & I did it in Central Park in Schenectady. In 2010 & 2011, I did one in my hometown.

2011 in Delmar

In fact, the 2010 turkey trot was my 5K PR for 4 years until very recently. In 2011, that same race, changed its course. I was injured in 2012 and then last year, my favorite local turkey trot went NON-TIMED.

2013 in Delmar – No bib, no chip

Until this year, I ran 5Ks on Thanksgiving.

But this year, I am going for the big one…in Troy and a 10K. About 10,000 runners total with about 1,500 in the 10K.

I know nothing about the course except for the map below:

I participated in the Turkey Trot Training Challenge and enjoyed it a lot. Unfortunately I could only go to the Monday training runs. Nevertheless, running with a group at least once a week, definitely improved my pace. It also was helpful to run on hills since I tend to avoid them on my own.

The best part was meeting new runners.

I doubt this race will be a PR 10k due to the crowds and the hills but I hope to have a good race.