This year was the first year since Dawn and I moved to Charlotte in 2002 that we've done Thanksgiving at my parents house - Dawn usually hosts this holiday. My parents / our older dog Parker has been having lots of heart problems and we were unsure of what Dawn's plans were going to end up being, so we decided to do the day here in Hillsborough. The Turkey Trot in Charlotte was my first ever organized run in 2002 and its technically because of that race I started running 1/2 and full marathons!
Needless to say, I was disappointed to not be there to participate this year, particularly since I have athletes that I coach out there now. Nonetheless, as soon as I decided to come to Hillsborough, I looked for a Turkey Trot nearby and came across the Gallop and Gorge 8k in Carrboro, not far away! I had no plans to go hard at this race, but I think Stacey felt otherwise. I figured I'd just head out there and see what happens. The Charlotte Turkey Trot has always been a great way to gauge my years running improvement, and I've literally run a bit faster every year since 2002! I ran 35:39 there last year (43:50my first year) and Stacey wanted me to run sub 36 again today. I haven't felt very "fit" lately so I didn't really think that was possible.
This course was a bit flatter than the Turkey Trot and I'm happy to report I ran a 33:57 (6:48/mile pace)...an 8k PR by over 1:20! I felt great for the whole run and ended up finishing 7th overall....my best ever finish in a stand alone running race. Seeing the winner who ran 28:08 snaps me right back to reality that I'm still not very fast, I'm improving with every year and that feels good.
On that note, I took a huge nap, walked in the woods with my dogs, ate some delicious home-cooked appetizers and now I await the yummiest meal of the year! Happy Thanksgiving friends!
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