RT Turkey Run 5 Miler
Saturday, November 25, 2006
2006 RT Turkey Run results
2006 RT Turkey Run photo slideshow
What a beautiful day for a race! Much like last year's Lil Rhody Runaround, we had unseasonably warm weather for November - so much so that I was wishing I'd brought some short-sleeved shirts with me to run in!
This was the last of 5 races this year at Mendon Ponds park - a beautiful place to run and ride! it may also have been my last running event for the year, since it's not clear if I'll be doing Gail's Trail Run on the Leatherman's Loop course at the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation on December 10. If so, it was a great venue for my last running race of the Year of the Crashed Turtle. Ann also came out to watch this one, which was a nice treat.
The RT Turkey Run 5 Miler follows the park roads for 2 miles, then covers about a mile on trails, and then finishes with 2 more miles on the roads. There is a fair amount of up and down, since Mendon is a hilly park, including the so-called "Cardiac Hill" a little ways into the trail segment. The race field was fairly small - about 80 runners overall - which in some ways was tough (not too many people to judge my pace against - and to chase!) and in some ways was a refreshing change from some of the crowded runs I've done this year.
We started out with a bit of uphill followed by at least half a mile of downhill, which did wonders for my 1st mile split - 9:24! (That also told me that, as usual, I'd gone out too fast!) Slowed down a bit for the next mile, and hit the trailhead at about 21 minutes. Running on the trails was a wonderful break from pavement, and reminded me of how much I love running in the woods, even if it's slower. Over the course of the trail leg and the initial return to the roads, I was passed by several runners, but when I hit the 4 mile mark at 43 minutes, I realized that all I needed to do was run the last mile in 12 minutes, and I average 11 minute miles for the race... a great pace in my book! So off I went, and after cresting the last hill I really pounded out the last half mile, passing all those folks who'd passed me earlier to cross the finish line at 54:24, just barely breaking 11 minute miles for this run (my fastest pace yet since The Crash!)
Some days running seems effortless and others my legs feel like they're made of concrete... this was one of the latter. My calves never really loosened up, and my legs definitely took a beating going at that pace over mostly paved roads. I'm reminded of one of Dean Karnazes stories in Ultramarathon Man, where he tells his middle school track coach that his advice to go out hard felt pretty good and the coach responds that he clearly didn't go out hard enough, because it's supposed to hurt like hell. I ran at a tough pace for me, and there is no question that it hurt. But I'm still glad I did the race. It was a great way to spend a gorgeous Saturday morning.
Next up: a slim possibility of Gail's Trail Run, a 10K fundraiser for pancreatic cancer research, in early December. And definitely the I Love Woodford 3.5 Mi Snowshoe race in mid-December! (Maybe we'll even have some snow before then, so I can get in a bit of practice!)
JMH
2006 event totals
snowshoe - 3 miles, 59.5 min
running - 129.4 miles, 31 hr 39.5 min
riding - 52.4 miles, 4 hr 8 min
