MCM Turkey Trot 10K & Fort Collins Thanksgiving Day 4-Mile Run aka "Will Run for Turkey"

Marine Corps Marathon TURKEY TROT 10K

My big running goal for 2018 was to run all of the races in the Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) race series in a single year. The MCM Turkey Trot 10K on November 17 *should* have been my last race in the series, but they added a new Medal of Honor 8K in December on the Medal of Honor golf course, so one race left in the series after this turkey trot.

The weather wasn't terrible for the run, either. With a start time at approximately 9:50AM (after everyone had finished the Turkey Trot 1 mile), weather in the mid-40s with no rain and little wind sounded wonderful!

Kayla decided to run this race with me, too, so I met her at the gym and we headed towards Marine Corps Base Quantico. I almost always use Waze for directions, but when I pulled it up leaving my house, it said it was going to take me almost 2hrs to get there, while Apple Maps was only taking 1hr 23min - I liked the second option better (both were taking the exact same route, too). Go back to sleep, Waze, you're not functioning properly today.

I'd never run this race before, so we arrived much early than I normally do for races. I'm sure Kayla was happy about that - she's much more timely than I am :) That gave us some time to walk around the small vendor area, grab a few free things (like sunglasses and chapstick), drop them off at bag check, take a photo with a giant inflatable bulldog, and even pet the animals at the petting zoo!

 

Anddddd we're off! I told Kayla before we started that this was supposed to be a pretty flat course. Their website even says "the 10K features the most original and wild Turkey Trot participant shirt. The fast, 6.2 mile course unfurls amidst fall foliage alongside the Creek aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico. The festive finish includes a petting zoo and award presentations of frozen turkeys and pumpkin pies." Race map:

This is important because as soon as we got going, it was incredibly crowded. I see Kayla dodging and weaving her way and she quickly moves out of my site. We are running along Russell Road and I see Kayla somewhat near the turnaround point, as she is already heading back. So I'm thinking "she's only about 400m ahead of me - about 2ish minutes - and we aren't even 2 miles in. She's crushing this thing!" I'm pretty sure I wasn't even to 1 mile before the front runners were already on their way back. It's amazing to me how fast they can go for long distances. So here's the turnaround point between miles 1 and 2. I'm behind Kayla, but I'm ahead of some folks, too. There's that at least.

This race has the strollers all start at the back of the pack. I started about midway. So I'm feeling pretty jealous when the stroller dads and stroller moms come jogging past me, PUSHING A BABY, and don't even appear to be struggling. I envision the conversation for the couple on the right as follows:
  Man - Sooooo, who's pushing the stroller this weekend in the race?
  Woman - Is there any question to this?
  Man - Got it. You want to push your own child.
  Woman - HELL NO. She's gotta slow you down so maybe I can keep up with you!

Okay, that's how the conversation would go if Michael and I had a kid, he ran faster than I did, and I wanted to run a race side-by-side with my husband. All of these things are FALSE. But just imagine how fast these stroller parents must be without the stroller. I can't even fathom pushing a stroller - making my own body move is a struggle at this point. 

The T-Rex is back again (maybe the same person as the marathon last month, but probably someone different). This time with a sign that says "went extinct waiting".

Not only did the stroller parents fly past me, little kids were running SIX MILES faster than I was! But man, it was cute to watch all the kids running with their parents. The kids would dart ahead until the parents yelled out "wait!" or until they needed a break and then they would walk a little bit before sprinting again. I was trotting along with the run-walkers at this point. Run-walking is usually where they will run for a set amount of time (say 1 minute) and then walk a set amount of time (say 1 minute) and keep at it for the entire race. You can change the ratios (1:30/1:00, 2:00/1:00, 4:00/1:00, etc.) but this has never been appealing to me. I wouldn't be motivated to run again each time the buzzer beeped. More power to these "spralkers" as I call them ... aka "sprint-walkers".

I also didn't mention that there were definitely HILLS to this course and it was not completely flat like I'd told Kayla. Right after mile 5, there was a guy at the timing mat that says "it's just a little hump and then smooth sailing to the finish!" Little hump my butt! It was a hill, a gigantic freaking hill. I kept thinking of this photo I'd taken before the race started: FINISH STRONG. I ran the entire hill! I was super proud of myself. So WARNING: this video is motivational, but slightly sad, and still makes me cry. But when I think about FINISH STRONG, I think of this video. If you want to watch it (2.5min), here it is: YouTube Nic Vujivic.   

 

As I'm coming down the hill, I see this poor couple where I'm not sure if it was the girl's first 10K/race/or what, but her boyfriend/husband/friend is running backwards, saying things like "you've got this!" "we're almost there!" "keep running!" when clearly she wants to walk for a second. He says a few more motivational things and she snaps at him, before I move ahead out of earshot. This was a flashback to one of the only two races that Michael and I have run together: Moonlight Fireball 5K in Knoxville, TN one Fourth of July weekend. It was SO hot, even though the race was at night, and I am pretty sure I had heat stroke. Michael is turned around backwards, just like this guy, spouting off something about not walking and to keep running, etc. and I flipped out on him. We never ran a race "together" (aka side by side running) after that LOL.

Found Kayla waiting for me at the finish. She crushed her race and got a new PR (personal record). I finished about 2min faster than the Across the Bay 10K a few weeks ago, so I was happy, too.

This also qualified me as a Distinguished Participant (the medal I got today) with MCM, since I ran the Historic Half in May, the Belleau Wood 8K in June, the Quantico 12K in August, and this Turkey Trot 10K!

Fort Collins Thanksgiving Day 4-Mile Run

The day after the Turkey Trot, I flew to Arizona to spend a few glorious and relaxing days with my friend Amanda at Cibola Vista Resort & Spa followed by a flight to Colorado to visit my sister-in-law and see more of Michael's family for the holiday. Decided to partake in the Fort Collins Thanksgiving Day 4-Mile Run on Thursday morning, Northern Colorado's Largest 4-Mile Family Event. Especially after my brother-in-law, Austin, went running a few hours earlier, and the temps were below freezing. At least they were above 32 for the start of the race! Took a Lyft downtown, signed up and grabbed my bib and awesome long sleeve tech shirt, and headed to a nearby local coffee shop for a pre-race caramel macchiato.

I hadn't really taken into consideration the elevation in Fort Collins (5,000 ft), so my lungs felt like they were going to explode the entire first two miles of the race. But the views of the mountains were beautiful! I lined up with the 11min/mile group, and when I was crossing the start line, the announcer said barely one-quarter of the runners had even started - WOW, this was a gigantic race.

Adding to my previous list of people that have passed me during a race (stroller parents, little kids, pregnant moms), today we had kids on scooters, little tiny dogs in sweaters, a guy in a banana suit, and a couple wearing blow up turkeys. Everyone was super festive, which I loved!

 

Right around the start of mile 3, there was a fire station. I thought of my dad and how much I missed my family today, but there's always little reminders like this so you can remember other family memories. It took my mind off my lungs burning and wanting to explode from my chest. 

I kept that blow-up couple in my sight the next two miles - one mile to go, and I can still see them!

Quick pit stop to get a selfie with this awesome group of folks that was cheering for everyone at a couple different spots along the course. I loved their onesies.

I finished right behind the blow-up turkey couple and grabbed a photo of these motivators! 

And a quick post-race selfie while I was waiting for my brother-in-law Mark and his wife Fiann to get out of church. 

My Nike running app even awarded me with a "Turkey Trot" for running a 5K on Thanksgiving Day.

Although it wasn't fast, I'm pretty sure this is one of the first races where I've run negative splits on the second half! When I could finally get some control over my breathing and not feel like my lungs were on fire, it wasn't a terrible race. 

Met up with Mark and Fiann and my niece Kira back at the Starry Night Espresso Cafe for some post-race coffee and a yummy acai bowl before heading back for Thanksgiving dinner. 

All in all, good races, great memories, and WILL RUN FOR TURKEY.