After my "success" in the Yarmouth Pumpkin Run, I decided that I would like to run a Thanksgiving race. I didn't want to run before Thanksgiving, because I would be out of town and running on Thanksgiving didn't appeal to me. I found a race in Gorham the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the Burn Off the Turkey 5k. I registered and couldn't wait.
DH had the day off so he stayed home with the baby and I headed off to Gorham. I pulled into the address given on the web site and was a little concerned. There was very little parking available and all the cars I could see there had a layer of frost. There was no bustle of activity I had seen at the other races I ran. I used my mobile browser and found out that I was at the wrong place. I could not find an address for where I was supposed to be so using my GPS was not a solution. I started looking for a place to ask for directions when I noticed that a truck was placing construction barrels along the road. I doubted there was construction on a Saturday, so I figured that I would follow the barrels to see if they lead to the starting line.
They did. There were plenty of cars (that were not frosty) and a bustle of activity. Packet pick-up was in a gym which was really nice because it was 25 degrees out. The runners were allowed to wait inside and I started some small talk with some other runners. About 10 minutes before the race started, some trainers from a local gym led a warm up and we were herded outside.
My goal this race was to finish in under 40 minutes, even if it meant a time of 39:59. I felt like I got off to a good start, I started in the middle of the pack so that only half of the runners would pass me. Which is what happened. There were a few girls ahead of me that stopped to walk not too far after the start. I breezed right past them thinking that even if they passed me later, at least I wouldn't have walked. There was also a girl with an orange knitted beret running ahead of me, she was keeping a pretty good pace, so I figured that I would try to keep her in my sight.
Around the first mile marker, Orange Beret stopped and walked a bit, as I passed her, she stopped to throw up. I left her in my dust, thankful that I was going to run the whole way and not throw up.
There was a water station at the half-way point. It was there that the group of walking girls ran past me and then Orange Beret passed me. She ran a little ahead of me and turned to look at me and started walking. At this point I was running faster intervals between the power poles and I took advantage of one of these to pass her. A minute or two later, she ran past me again, looked back and started to walk. So, I passed her again. This little pattern continued until just after the two mile mark. She must have figured that I was onto her little game and she past me and ran ahead and out of my sight. I realized then, that I could not see any runners ahead of me.
I picked up my pace and crossed a major street and I could see the pack again. I turned a corner and there were some of the race volunteers letting the runners know that we were close to the finish line. A few minutes after that, runners that had already finished were running and walking back along the course. I was getting close!
I was past by two more runners. I went around another corner and I could see the finish. The timer was a little bit out of my sight, but it looked like it said either 36 minutes or 38 minutes. If it was 36 I was going to make my goal, if it was 38 I didn't think I would make it. I decided to give it my all and went into a full out sprint. There were runners that had finished along the way and they were cheering. I think they gave me energy to keep up the sprint. I finished to cheers and congratulations.
I made my goal!
I finished at 38:58. Not only was this a post-baby (no stroller) PB, but it is also my overall PB, beating my 2009 Pumpkin Run by a little over a minute!
I went into the gym to cool down and got some food. I got in line for a sports massage and decided to stick around for the awards and door prizes. As it turns out, the ladies I was talking to before the race placed top three in their respective age groups. And, I won a purse.
This was a fun race and I am really pleased with my finish. However, I am afraid I my becoming addicted. I have been checking the Internet for a 5k to run in December. I have found a few, but they are on Sundays and I don't want to skip church to run.
I'll keep running though and maybe I'll come in at 30 minutes or under one of these days!
A picture of me taken by Maine Running Photos
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