Race Recap: 2012 Seniors First Turkey Trot 5k

Running the Seniors First Turkey Trot 5k hosted by the Track Shack is easily one of my favorite Thanksgiving Day traditions, followed closely by eating pumpkin pie. This year was my sixth consecutive year running the 5k. (You can read about last year’s race here.)

After a couple of years of running solo or just with one other person, this year was back to having a full blown group of the people I love with me. D, my number one support system, was unable to run again so he and the pugs came to cheer us on, along with my sister’s boyfriend, who was fully equipped with a sign.

My loves up front: D and the pugs

My sister’s boyfriend, Adam, came equipped with signage

Before the race I had trouble finding my little sister, who had walked to the start with some of her friends. However, I saw the boys during the first mile of the race and asked if she had passed. They told me she was a few minutes ahead of me. I took off running after her.

You see, this was my little sister’s first 5k. I’ve been asking her to run one with me for the last couple of years and this year she finally agreed. I think it helped that some of her friends were going to run too. I had dreams of running this first 5k together, but when I couldn’t find her at our arranged meeting spot that morning I knew the only way I would run with her was if I found her on the course. I had no idea that my sister was going to kill the 5k and run it in 29 minutes. I never caught up to her. I was very excited to find her at the end of the race and hear she did so well. My newest running goal will be to be able to keep up with her during the 5k we plan to run the weekend before I get married. 🙂

My lil Sis Melissa (aka “Badass”)

As for my own race time, I was actually pretty impressed with myself. It’s been a rough summer and fall for running this year, so I was surprised to see that I ran the 5k (or 3.15 miles to be exact… I blame that on the weaving in and out of crowds) in 31:44 with an average pace of 10:03/mile. My personal best was about a minute less several years ago when I was chasing after my BFF Rox. That was before she realized how fast she really is and ran slow enough for me to kill myself to keep up.

Here are some pics from the race:

Gotta love the turkey hats!

Utensils (this one’s for Jill from JoggingJeans.com)

First mile

The pugs at the finish line

Fierce ladies

Besties: Rox (left) and my lil Sis (right)

After the race, we walked to a nearby corner store and got some bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches on a bagel and coffee. Mmm… they tasted almost like the sandwiches I used to buy at the bodegas in NYC.

When we walked up to the corner store, there was a girl sitting down with her bib on. D’s dad talked to her and it turns out she broke her foot trying to avoid a walker. Oof… how sad! Even though this is a very walker friendly race, I wish race directors would put a little bit more emphasis on walkers starting in the back and walking on the right side of the course to let runners pass. A lot of walkers probably have no idea, and I think the reminder could be helpful. I’ve also seen runners run right into walkers, so we all need to be mindful of each other.

PROS:

• Walker friendly race – You can bring the whole family!
• Great scenic course around downtown Orlando and Lake Eola
• Great way to start your Thanksgiving Day holiday

CONS:

• Walker friendly race – A lot of weaving around walkers
• Crowded – not the sort of race you try to PR at
• Untimed race

Did you start your Thanksgiving Day with a local race or exercise with friends and family?

Tags: orlando races, track shack race, turkey trot 5k