Race Recap: Chester County Turkey Trot 5K 2014

Last recap of 2014!  Finally!

Chester Country Turkey Trot 5K
November 27, 2014



My 2014 race year ended with an unexpected bang - a new 5K PR!  I have been doing this race for several years now - you can read last years recap here.  It's such a good way to start the morning and burn some calories.

The race takes place at the local high school.  It is supposed to run on the roads around the school, but it had snowed on Wednesday night and the roads weren't in great continue.  They re-routed the course to be 100% on the high school property.  Ends up being a 2 loop course which isn't as great as the 1 loop course, but it works!

It was really cold that morning so I tried to stay in the car as long as possible and only headed to the start 5 minutes prior to the start time.  But then the start got pushed about 5 minutes, so ended up being more like 10 minutes.  By the time the race started, my feet were popsicles.

I wasn't sure what I would do with this race heading into it.  Would I race it?  Take it easy?  Philly had been the weekend before and my legs had felt like lead.  In the end, it literally was decided in the first mile. 

When they hit the start gun, I was cold and tight.  I figured I would take it easy... but as the mile went on, I started to loosen up and feel good.  My pace picked up and I decided in that moment I would race it.  I started to push my legs to see what they could do. 

The first mile was just about an 8 minute mile and it just dropped from there.  By the time I hit the last 0.1, my legs were burning.  But I just pushed through it.  I refused to give up. 

The end was tough, but I was so glad I pushed through the pain.  My finishing time was 22:57 - the first time I've ever gotten under 23 minutes!  Final pace was 7:23 - holy cow!

In the end, this race was a great way to end my 2014.  I closed the year out with new PR's in the 5K, Half Marathon and Marathon.  It was a great 2014!

Results
Official: 3.10 mi, 22:57, 7:23 pace
Garmin: 3.09 mi, 22:57,  7:26 pace

Can't wait to continue my Thanksgiving tradition next year!

Even though it was freezing, I was proud to wear my Oiselle singlet!