Pensacola Turkey Trot 5k & Athlete Focus

Though last week's running did not go as intended, I tried to make up for it by doing a long run anyhow. With that being said, I only ran 3 times to keep from completely killing myself with going so far above the 10% rule. Boy, did I break it this week! I ran slow in the 11 miler to try to head off any possible injuries I may incur and it seemed to help. The last of the three runs was a 5k race. And, being a race, I used it as my speedwork for the week.

Saturday started out being quite a dreary, misty morning. Decisions came on us fast starting with what to wear. The temp gauge read one thing but it felt so much colder than that! I mean, I was hunkered down under a blanket going over there. By the time we got ready to embrace the Starting Line, I had changed shirts 3 times!! I'm so glad I ran with the one I did.

About the second mile, the rain began. My body had heated up and I could use what little bit of cool rain that found itself against my skin. It was so light and refreshing. It wasn't long before I touched my hair and knew I must have looked horrific...wet, wet, wet!! Not having my curly hair now, I could just imagine how I must have looked. Thankfully, I was over halfway finished. When I saw the Finish Line, I felt stronger than during the race and I was able to run faster and faster. I passed several people during the last mile and many toward the end. When finished, I went to the truck to get my camera and in hopes of catching Kent as he came within the block of finishing. The truck was parked in a lot between the last two racing streets. Being drenched, I grabbed the camera, trying to keep it dry, and headed to the nearby corner. I really wanted to get some real action shots of him. One thing I noticed is how much support everyone gave the participants, even the police officers. Here are some action shots of him at this point. Notice the support.





Here he is coming across the line. Check the race supporters clapping on the left. By the time he got there, he was completely drenched! There were the most racewalkers, I mean, FAST suckers, I've seen to date.

The post-race activities were fun. There were bagels, coffee, turkey chili, fruit and drinks. The warm coffee was quite welcoming as we cooled off pretty fast. Again, I was impressed with the encouragement everyone received that won awards. Whether they knew you or not, they whooped and yelled for everyone that won a medal, even the children. It was so much fun and you felt so much a part of everyone else. Here is a picture of us looking like wet rats. At least, we fit in with everyone! We were all rough looking characters at the end.


When the results came out, we were surprised to see we both had won something. There were 507 runners and 88 walkers- 2 races, 2 minutes apart!! A pretty good turnout considering the weather. He won 2nd place and I won 1st place. I hated I didn't get GM cause all the overall winners got turkeys and awards! But, there was no way...that girl was FAST and I'm carrying 13 pounds too many (that means a lot more wind resistance, ha)!!! Okay...that's another story.



There was a group of young men that "dressed" for the holiday: a pilgrim and several Indians. They woo, woo, woo, wooed throughout the whole race and the pilgrim kept his hat on the whole way. It was quite windy going east but thankfully, we didn't go that direction for long. It was fun to see and hear. On top of that, I think only one was wearing running shoes; the others were costume appropriate shoes. Don't know how they did it.


The next pictures are of two real sweet ladies. The first one is Inge. She had a very strong accent and had run several half marathons. She was real interesting to talk to. This picture is really not a good one. She was beautiful in the face; my photo skills are poor at best!! She's 65. They are headed to the Keys with racing all along the way heading to one there.


The next photo is of Gay. [Again my photo skills are terrible; she looks great.] She's 78 and lives in Pensacola. We've talked with her and her husband several times at different races we've run down there. They are amazing!! They're so active and seem so in love. I hope we'll be that way. She's a very kind lady, too.


I am amazed at the older ladies that run in the Pensacola area and are in really good shape. I'd venture to say that they are not on medication or very little. Folks, stay active. I'm blessed to have met several ladies that are strong beyond their years.

The Turkey Trot 5k course was great...fast and flat!! We LOVED it and hope we can put this on our schedule to do again next year. I hope you recall the great athletes I focus on from time to time, Inge and Gay this time. They should encourage you to keep going when you have those "down" days. Now, get off that couch and...

Run4It