On Thanksgiving morning I ran the Seven Summits Turkey Trot 5K for the third year in a row. When I run the same course multiple times I love comparing my splits and stats from each race:

Comparing races is even more fun when you run a new personal best!!! 😄

Matt and I arrived at Wilson Farm Park about an hour before the race started, just in time to get a good parking spot and admire the view across the park. It was 39° and sunny… perfect conditions for a 5K.

After a year of consistent speedwork and interval training and some faster race performances this fall I went into Thursday’s race believing that I was capable of running a PR. The race got underway just after 9AM and I crossed the starting line with 842 other turkey trotters, eager to see how the race would turn out!

Where’s Annie?

Run the first mile with your head…
In 2014 I clearly remembered wishing that I had started the Turkey Trot faster to take advantage of some early downhills. With that in mind, this year I pushed myself a little more than usual in Mile 1 and was happy to see a first split of 7:20.

The second mile with your focus…
As the second mile began I focused on my running form and cadence and was surprised to realize that I still felt comfortable and in control. The course wove back towards the parking area and I saw Matt cheering me on. (I couldn’t hear him over the tune of Elle King’s Ex’s & Oh’s , though.) After what felt like a strong second mile I was thrilled when my watch beeped a 7:22 split!

Right around Mile 2

Smiling at Matt

And the third mile with your heart.
I got a spurt of energy after seeing my second mile split and entered the final mile feeling optimistic about my PR chances. Then some gentle uphills began and I realized how tired I was! I felt slow and kept checking my watch to check my average pace for the final mile.

On the fly, I had calculated that I needed to stay under 8:00 in the final mile to get my PR… it was going to be close! I somehow found some extra speed and was relieved when my Garmin reported that I had completed mile 3 in 7:51.

The final tenth of a mile was an absolute blur. During most of the race I had been just behind a man pushing a double stroller (wow!) and as the finish line came into view he picked up his pace with an impressive kick. I decided that I had a kick left in me too and went with him. We were neck and neck for a few seconds before I blasted by him in what felt like a dead sprint. (In the man’s defense, he had to slow down slightly to safely cross the timing mats!)

I could not see the finish clock through most of the homestretch. I had not looked at the total time elapsed on my watch so until the final moment of the race I did not know if I was going to PR. Then the clock came into view and it was in the 23-teens!! I zoomed across the line and stopped my watch at 23:16.XX. An 8 second PR!!

According to the official results, my clock time of 23:21 was good enough for 113^th overall, 35^th female and 3^rd in my age group! Bizarrely, the official results display my chip time as 22:45 which I know is wrong, so for the sake of my PR I’m saying that my time was 23:17 since that’s what I had on my Garmin. Strange that the chip time was so off but I am quite pleased with my new PR nonetheless!

My next race is TONIGHT!  At 6:30PM I’ll be running the Jingle Elf 2 Miler to help kick off the Christmas Parade in West Chester, PA. This is another repeat race for me… I’ll find out soon if I can beat last year’s 2 mile PR!

Miles since last post: 88.6
Days since last post: 19
2015 MILES: 1592

Past Races:
• November ’15: Trinity 5K (11/7)
• October ’15: BAAR 5K (10/3), Double OyVey 10K (10/25) [10K PR], Boo Run 5K (10/31)
• September ’15: Run-A-Muck Trail 5K (9/19)
• August ’15: Boxcar Mile (8/13), Pickle in the Streets 5K (8/27)
• June ’15: Media 5 Mile (6/19)
• May ’15: Broad Street 10 Mile Run (5/3) [10M PR], Rocky Run Trail 5K (5/15), Victory 5K (5/17)
• April ’15: Tyler Trail 10K (4/11) [10K PR], Empower the Children 5K (4/18), Haverford Twilight 5K (4/26) [5K PR]
• March ’15: Athlete’s Closet March 5K (3/7), St. Pat’s 5K (3/14), Granogue Trail 10K (3/21), Pickle Run #3 (3/28)
• February ’15: Athlete’s Closet February 5K (2/7), Pickle Trail Run #2 (2/21)
• January ’15: SRA New Year’s Day 5K (1/1), Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/3), Pickle Run #1 (1/17)
• December ’14: Jingle Elf 2 Mile (12/5) [2M PR], Brian’s Run 5 Miler (12/7) [5M PR], Athlete’s Closet Holiday 5K (12/14)
• November ’14: Trinity Berwyn 5K (11/1)  [5K PR], Metal Run 5K (11/8), Seven Summits Turkey Trot (11/27)
• October ’14: Martin’s Run 5K (10/5), Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/18), Bark in the Park 5K (10/25)
• September ’14: Talk 5K Trail Run (9/13), Run A Muck Trail Race (9/20), Haverford Township 5K (9/27)
• August ’14: Riddlewood 5K (8/3), Radnor Red Steeplechase (8/17), Pickle in the Streets 5K (8/28) [5K PR]
• July ’14: Cam’s ‘Moonlight’ 5K (7/10), Swarthmore Independence Eve 8K (7/18) [5M PR]
• June ’14: Radnor Conservancy 5K Trail Run (6/1), Media 5 Miler (6/20)
• May ’14: Elwyn 5K (5/3), Run for Victory 5K (5/18) [5K PR], Rocky Run 5K Trail Run (5/30)
• April ’14: Las Vegas Security 5K (4/3), Rick’s Run 5K (4/19), St. Tim’s 5K (4/26)
• March ’14: Athlete’s Closet March 5 Miler (3/1), Color Out Cancer 5K (3/30)
• February ’14: Athlete’s Closet February 5K (2/1)
• January ’14: Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/4)
• December ’13: Athlete’s Closet December 5K (12/14), New Year’s Eve YMCA 5K (12/31) [5K PR]
• November ’13: Trinity Presbyterian 5K (11/2), Turkey Trot 5K (11/28)
• October ’13: Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19), Oy Vey 5K (10/27) [5K PR]
• September ’13: Run-a-Muck 5K (9/21)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)