Mount Vernon Turkey Trot 5K: race report

I found this race a few weeks ago when I was not yet running but looking for "test" races to come back to.  I was lucky enough to convince Kirstin to join me for the first Turkey Trot of the year!


We showed up pretty close to the start of the race.  It looked like competition was going to be pretty fierce in the 18 and under division, but as Kirstin and I were competing on our own division - the "walk 2 run 4" division - we weren't too worried.  We started off walking and chatting, and our walk 2 run 4 plan quickly turned into a "my HR is low, let's run" slash "this is a big hill, let's walk" plan.  But it was a gorgeous morning and I had a blast walking, running, and chatting.  I actually have no idea how much running I did overall, because this graph isn't very helpful: 

But I think the best part of the day was the spending time outside with friends, doing a little running and a little gabbing.


Total: 3.14 miles/33:17/avg. pace 10:39

Once the race was over, we headed over to an old diner I remembered from my days working at Mount Vernon, and it was just as greasy and grimy as I remembered.  After breakfast I had to head home to finish up work on the last big project of the semester, but I did get a chance to go to the gym later in the day and was feeling so good that I hopped on the treadmill for another few miles.


Total: 3.25 miles/32:00/avg. pace 9:50


After all this running, I still felt great.  Both my knees and IT bands felt gently used, but not sore or painful.  I did try and focus on running with a shorter stride, and surprisingly enough, my hip flexors have bothered me MUCH less in the past 2 days.  I think it could either be my stride adjustment or the severe PT beating I took on Thursday (or both).  Either way, running with less pain is always a bonus for me!