Turkey Day Run Again

Last year was my first appearance at the Mayor's Turkey Day Run in Kenosha. I managed a PR (47:28, about 7:40/mile). Will this year be as fruitful?

I was very optimistic that I could set another personal best. The source of my confidence was my performance at the 10-mile Lighthouse Run in June, where I finished in 1:14:39 (about 7:28/mile). If I could keep that pace for only 10 kilometers (about 6.22 miles), I'd shave a minute off last year's time. So, I planned to go out at about 7:30 pace and see how I felt.

At the start, I was a bit too far back in the pack, so I had to weave around some walkers and slow runners. Oops. At least I didn't make the mistake of starting too fast. I quickly reached runners going at my target pace, and I cruised comfortably through the first mile in 7:29.

I continued to feel strong in the second mile (7:18) and kept fairly close to pace in the third mile (7:34). I once again counted the runners at the turnaround point. There were about 90 ahead of me.

Still feeling great, I picked off runners in the fourth (7:19) and fifth (7:27) miles. I hadn't sped up that much, but others were getting a little tired. With plenty left in the tank, I dropped the hammer in mile six (6:55) and kept it going through the last .22 miles to the finish (1:19).

The results show a finish in 63rd place in 45:21, taking 2:07 off my previous personal best. This also means that I passed more than 20 runners in the second half! I also improved my age group position from 13th to 8th.

I don't know if I'll even be in town next Thanksgiving, but if I can fit this run into my schedule for a third consecutive year, I'll try and break 45 minutes. Onward!