Race Report: Palos Park Rec Dept Turkey Trot 5K (and a PR)

It's November! And if there's one thing the running community loves, it's a Thanksgiving themed race.

Seriously though, what's up with that? Is there any other holiday that has so many related races? Is it because the weather is perfect for running? (Probably.) Or that running excessively is the perfect antidote to the gluttonous nature of Thankgiving?

My co-worker is a runner*, and recommended today's race.

She runs, and does 5Ks, but whenever I suggest doing a half marathon, she is uninterested. Says she doesn't have the endurance. But who does, without training? Anyway, it seems so foreign to me to be a runner and not want to torture yourself with training for and finishing at least a half marathon. But perhaps I am the crazy one.  

Today's race did not disappoint. For $18, we had free parking next to the start/finish and a lovely race through a pretty residential neighborhood with lots of fall color while 100,000 other local runners (or so it sounds from the complaints on Facebook) were clogging the streets of Chicago in the name of chocolate. We had no course congestion. There were probably 100 or so finishers in our race.

However, despite the small size, they did 5-year age groups, and TROPHIES.

My co-worker ended up winning our age group (F25-29). But guess who placed second (in our age group)?

25:59 gets second in an AG when everyone else is downtown running for chocolate

I'm going to try to milk my last months is this age group as much as I can. I know once I hit 30, I'll need faster times to place. 

The Sailor placed third in his age group (M30-34). Not bad considering on our way to the start he said he was just going to "take it easy." Lesson learned: American soldiers never truly take it easy.

29 and some change gets third in his age group

In addition, we got some festive long sleeve (cotton) shirts and finishers ribbons (like what you got in elementary school for perfect attendance ... I fully intend to hang it with my other race medals). AND they did a raffle with tons of donated stuff from local businesses, and I won a $15 gift certificate to a local pizza place. The overall winners got frozen turkeys, of course.

Not bad for $18 registration fee, eh?? (I'm looking at you Hot Chocolate racers.) (Although, yes, I will admit I ran the Hot Chocolate 15K last year and I love the brown hoodie I got for it.)

Yes, I wore this to the movies

Oh, by the way, I PR'd. 25:59. Pace was 8:23. So that's 21 seconds off my last PR. Not bad considering my weekly mileage has dropped since my last half marathon (on October 1). I've been trying to push my pace during my last few runs, knowing that my next "long" (over 10K) race probably won't be until May 6.

By the way, the movie we saw was Tower Heist. The Sailor picked it. It was predictable and exactly what you expect, but that's what we were in the mood for. It's funny to see Ferris Bueller and Zoolander with gray hair though.