Turkey day race

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. My day was filled with fun activities, visits with friends and family and loads of turkey day food. Racing made me extra hungry, so I hope whoever goes back for that last piece of pumpkin pie doesn't mind that most of the outer crust is missing. I had a late night craving, and I have a thing for pie crust. It's the best part of the pie. Mmmmmm.

In the past, Thanksgiving was always a nightmare for me. I still instinctively get a little uptight on the holiday, but I keep reminding myself to put my recovery first. Fortunately, I'm not as preoccupied with food and weight, so it makes eating with others more enjoyable. Years ago, I simply avoided the holiday. Sometimes I would spend time with a friend who had eating issues too, and we would get sushi and rent movies, a safe way to spend the day. I'm happy to report that my family is very understanding about where I am and where I have been. Nobody comments about my food intake or fusses about the way I eat. After the race, I felt like I needed a snack, so I ate shortly before our big meal. As a result, my Thanksgiving lunch wasn't Supersized, but I was glad I could still join everyone at the table. That wouldn't have happened when I was sick. These days, I need smaller, more frequent meals. For me, yesterday was more about spending time with people than cramming large globs of food in my mouth in one sitting, though I did have quite an appetite later that evening. Overall, it ended up being a lovely day.

The turkey trot I ran was fun. I haven't raced since the shootout, and I sort of forgot how to push it again. Unfortunately, I went back to my old pattern of falling asleep in the middle of the race, not sure if my pace was fast or slow. It was slow. No wonder I felt so good during those middle miles! My confidence needs a boost, because I don't seem to have the courage to up the pace, even when I can feel I have the energy. I think it has something to do with not being sure how much I can handle. I know I ran hard, but I recovered a little too quickly at the finish line. It ended up feeling more like a tempo run than a race. Plus, there were moments after I would surge in which I settled back down to a more comfortable pace, not really racing like I did on the cross country course in September. I need to get past that and start to believe that I can keep the faster pace until the end. I guess I'm afraid of bonking. I am not a good judge of pace or distance right now. A 5K seems both waaaayyy long and far too short!

For my next race, I should probably rest a little bit more before I toe the start line. With all that has gone on with my foot recently, I wasn't sure if I was going to race until yesterday morning, so I didn't plan my week accordingly. I did some solid workouts early in the week. In the end, it was just a so-so race. I was glad to catch up with old friends after and super stoked that I won a prize, even though I only got 4th in my age group. In Boulder, a turkey trot brings out all kinds of stellar running talent, so 4th in any age group is not too bad. Still, there's plenty of room to improve on my time, obviously. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I ran 22:47. I'm going to blame the big huge headwind all of us had to face several times during the two-loop course, even though I don't think that's the main reason I didn't run faster. I'm just glad the lady in the Vibrams didn't pass me and relieved that nobody in a turkey costume was ahead of me either. In more good news, my foot held up OK. It was sore but manageable.

I would give about anything to have this amazing warm and sunny weather continue through the winter. let it snow in the high country. I'm happy with the sunshine down here. Can I get an AMEN?





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