01 December 2014

On your mark, Get set, Go!

Ok, kiddies.  Turkey day is behind us, the last whistle has blown, the rush for the best Black Friday deal is past.  Time to get ready for the month of candy canes and endless holiday sales in the rush towards Christmas.   

Thanksgiving went off pretty good for us, if not fairy quiet/sedate.  I survived the run, turkey dinner, and even managed to avoid any mall shopping on Friday 


I decided to jump back onto the weekend 5/10k run wagon to prep for the half in January.  I haven't done a Turkey Trot in quite a while so this one was a blast from the past.  Back in the stone age when we lived in Dallas, there were only a handful of runs of this type on T-day and choices were limited.  Today, you cannot throw a stick and not hit some kind of 5 or 10K around town.  Instead of doing the larger Houston run down near the Galleria, I chose the local one that has been held for the past 29 years.  A sweet little run.  Well organized, well staffed, great lay out.  A nice flat, 5 mile fast course through a residential neighborhood alongside of a golf course.  Weather was spot on perfect.  I think we had almost identical conditions as Abby's run, just not as dry (humidity).  One nice aspect was that the run was a lot less crowded than the marathon in January with only 1600+ (a record for this trot) but it was nice to run in a smaller pack.  Honestly, I haven't been running as much as I used to.  I've been sort of been slacking off and been lacking the proper motivation but I am working to get back into a rhythm.  

I crossed the finish line in the middle of the pack with a mediocre pace.  There are a number of old farts out there in my age bracket that are much faster than I, so I was not expecting to take home any trophies, just some generic race swag.  The race was organized by the local running store (Finish Line Sports) and sponsored by the local hospital and this was the 29th running of this race.  One of the awards they handed out post race was for a guy who has run in every one of the 29 races.  In my mind, that's a pretty impressive track record.  As a side bonus I did score a nice deal when I registered on Monday.  This is one of those stores that specializes in running gear/clothes and they do carry the latest line of shooz for the serious hoofers.  I don't changes my shoes as often as SOME people (don't run as many miles plus I'm too cheap).  Normally, I look to get new shooz at the health expo prior to the marathon in January, but I spotted a nice pair of treads sitting in the sale pile.  Last year's Nimbus 15s designed with the NYC Marathon logo, they were my exact size, fit like a glove and were half price.  How could I say no? 


  

5 comments:

ShadowRun300 said...

New shooz! Maybe they'll be just what you need to get back into the groove. Would love to hear a review after you've put a few miles on 'em.
Good to know you had a nice Thanksgiving and were able to avoid the malls. And your trot sounds like it was lovely. Perfect weather, perfect distance. And probably a new shirt for your collection?

Riot Kitty said...

Nice! It always feels GREAT to run in new shoes, doesn't it?

Rock Chef said...

Congratulations - I always feel a bit guilty when I read about people running like this - but I get to cycle every day so it soon wears off.

I did have one thing - I hope the race is BEFORE dinner :-)

terri said...

Yay for you for making the run! And the new shooz look great! Don't you just love a good deal?

Abby said...

Nice job on your turkey trot! Sounds like a fun time. Admit it - it was fun to be out there racing! I know I don't realize it much until I'm in the thick of it, how much different racing is as opposed to just out running - that sense of camaraderie and mutual pain.

Nice shooz too! Half price Nimbuses... Nimbi??