Friday, November 23, 2012

A Pace Report: The Turkey Dash 5K



I set out to pace my buddy Pappy and run with Best Friend at the Turkey Dash in Avon yesterday.  It was so nice to not have to worry about racing too hard as it allowed me to enjoy my Mexican dinner on Wednesday as well as my Breckenridge Christmas Ale with my buddies Jon, Amy, Chien and Jaime.

Yes. I cheated on Great Lakes Christmas Ale.  I'm sorry, GL.  It was tasty.  You're still my #1.

Anyway, I headed out with Best Friend and my parents because my mom was running too, of course.  I wore my sparkly yellow skirt just because.  There was a guy in complete Native American chief garb including a well-stocked supply of bows and arrows at the start.  Some people were definitely more creative than I was...

Pappy wanted to go for about 9 minute pace, but I told him I wanted to sneak him in under 9s. :)  BF wanted to run 10 minute miles since it "was cold." I told her it wasn't cold and she should run with us, but she was insistent.  I told her we'd start slow and maybe get faster after that, so hopefully she could just hang with us.  She's a former soccer player so I know she's a tough chick.

Anyway, we went off and it was a total cluster for the first 1/2 mile or so. I tried not to go to fast (always a challenge for me) because I knew Pappy was depending on me not to screw up.  BF wanted to slow down a bit so I ran with her but she instructed me to go on ahead.  So, I ran up to Pappy with the goal of getting him in under 9s.  

The first mile he ran an 8:54! Yay, Pappy!  He didn't even seem winded.  He could still answer my questions and talk a bit, so I decided to pick it up just a *teensy* bit.

Action shot mid-race! Go Pappy Go!

Our second mile was an 8:43!  He was still doing fabulous.  I asked him if he wanted to know his pace and he said no, which was probably good because I didn't want to freak him out.  

I tried to just keep talking and tell him how much he was kicking butt and how he was definitely going to PR, it was just a matter of how much (his previous PR was a 29:09).  We turned the corner and hit mile 3 in 8:32!  Then I told him to kick it up with whatever he had left.  He crossed the line in 27:17!  YAHOOOOOOOO!  I was very proud of him. :)

I turned around and headed out to find BF and she was like 20 seconds behind us!  She did awesome and if I had known she was that close I would have gotten her before.  She really ran a fabulous race and I think I might have even talked her into the Reindeer Run.  Yay!

Went out to find my Mom and found her earlier than I thought and looking really strong!  We ran in together and I believe she had a PR--unofficially I think she snuck in under 34 minutes!  YAY Mom!
My Mom (or is it my sister?!) and I with BF at the finish

All in all, we had a great time and I enjoyed helping everyone else reach their goals!  Now, hopefully I can reach mine next weekend. :)

It was 61 degrees and sunny so after I had the Turkey prepped and ready to go, I simply HAD TO SNEAK OUT FOR A RIDE.  There was really no question about it.  I jumped on the QR CD0.1 and did a quick 17 miles along the lake where I was very irresponsible and took a few pictures:
ARE YOU SERIOUS, THANKSGIVING?! I get to ride in this?  This is a HAPPY face
About as daring as I got while I rode.  Look at that sky!  Me likey

Now it's sunny but a little cold, and tomorrow we're supposed to have some snow, but I don't care.  I got to get out not once but TWICE on Thanksgiving and I definitely earned my fair share of pie!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!




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