Thanksgiving morning is the perfect time to get a little fitness in before you put a lot of calories in AND have fun! The race was low key, very organized, and a great value. With packet pickup at the La Crosse Center there were plenty of bathrooms, a warm place to wait, and plenty of parking.

It was a chilly morning, and I had just got new shoes in the mail. I couldn’t not wear them!

The La Crosse location started right behind the La Crosse Center along the mighty Mississippi. I got there just in time to get my stuff, visit the bathroom, and get in the wave before the national anthem. Since I didn’t have a ton of time I chose to run with only music and no watch or Runkeeper to give me my time or pace. That was great until a bit in when I really wanted to know how far I had ran.

I won’t lie, my body was hurting this am. I felt so stiff and tight. My lower back and hips were so tight I felt like I could hardly lift my legs. My pace felt hard and I felt dead legs. I slowed my pace a bit and began to feel a bit more relaxed as my body slowly warmed up.

By mile 3 I felt ok. I still felt like I was barely moving and dragging the whole race. If I needed a sign to do more stretching and cross training, then I got it. I need to take the next month to properly recover from my November races and get ready for proper marathon training in a month.

I crossed the finish line with no idea my time or pace; I estimated maybe 9:00/mile pace. I did some light stretching and headed over to get my pumpkin pie.

Even though I didn’t feel great this race, I would love to make it a turkey day tradition. Cute shirts, pumpkin pie, turkey day, and great race logistics all for $18. I’ll take it!

Oh, and I was surprised to see my time and pace online later in the afternoon. Maybe that’s why I felt blah. Maybe running without a watch or running app is a good thing.

Festival Foods Turkey Trot 5 Mile
Time: 39:15
Pace: 7:51
Overall: 179/991
Gender: 59/570
Age Group: 2/20

Happy Thanksgiving!!