Turkey Trot '06

It was cold this morning when I woke up: 44 degrees. Still, I decided to go with shorts for my Turkey Trot, and I wore a long-sleeved t-shirt with a short-sleeved t-shirt over it; however, I was cold pre-race, so I had on a winter vest and my mittens, as shown here, and which prompted the snarky question from my husband: Are mittens really necessary?

Before the start, I handed off the vest and mittens (and dog) to my husband and the only other thing I needed to do before race time was pee -- but I was outta luck. 2,000 racers + 2 ports potties = long line. So I held it. But perhaps it was the secret to my success.

In the first tenth of a mile, I couldn't break away from the crowd, especially irksome were the gaggles of kids -- I know that 5Ks are often family runs, and a turkey trot is especially a family event, but good god, someone needs to teach those kids to get out of the way (I saw one kid running in his soccer cleats; that's just a recipe for a shin splint but I guess kids are all rubbery so he was probably fine) -- but I was able to get out on my own after the start and that was helpful. First mile marker: 9:17 (convinced it could've been an even 9 if not for the beginning crowd). Second mile marker: 18:17 (awesome, right on track). Finishing time: 28:25!

This is a PR for Jess! Fastest time ever! And to compare, it's nearly a full two minutes faster than the 5K I ran in September and it's a full 5 minutes faster than this exact 5K last year! (Of course, when I ran it last year I might've been slightly distracted by the fact that it was the day before my wedding because that was my worst 5K time ever.)

So, the moral of the story? I guess I should hold my pee -- the desire to finish and get to a bathroom apparently makes me fast. That, and the cold weather.