On Thanksgiving, my newphew Evan and I took part in the Pittsburgh Turkey Trot 5K. It was his first Pittsburgh "trot" and my third. The forecast was accurate for once - 100% chance of rain and 36 degrees. It was man vs nature, and we were not going to back down. The forecast also meant 100% chance that Grant and Spencer would not participate and I can't say I blame them.
Unfortunately due to the rain, I couldn't wear my turkey getup as the feathers are felt and would have quickly become a heavy sodden mess.
The race course was changed this year and we started from PNC field - the home field for the Pittsburgh Pirates. I was excited about that until I realized that the only part of PNC field we had access to was some dark loading dock/dumpster storage area!
|
Lovely conditions! |
The race started slowly, as they all do. I started my watch late and didn't capture that slow first bit. I hit a 6:56 first mile, then 7:05 for the next two, and finished the last bit at 6:50. The turnaround was close to the 2 mile mark so I kept wondering if they had measured the course wrong. I didn't want to turn it up too soon and discover the race was 4 miles and not 3.1 miles. When I confirmed the finish line was in sight, I sprinted and was glad to discover I had sprint left in me. And finally, I had thawed out!!
It was a fun run, not super speedy for either, but a good effort that made way for lots of turkey to follow. I ran a decent but not fabulous 22:46, 7:20 average pace, 79th out of 1341, top of the 40-49ers. The whole pack seemed pretty slow because I sure seemed to pass alot of people. Maybe they were all hung over or saving themselves for Black Friday!
Results here.