Thursday, November 17, 2011

Gobble? Gobble?

To race or not to race that is the question....


I really loathe the Turkey Trot.  Its a bazillion people, mostly families, with Grandma, PawPaw and baby strollers.  If you want to have a good finishing time you have to line up with the local elites at the front and even then you still get people in front of you or beside you who clearly shouldnt be.  And I do realize that I am one of them, but if I start back where I should be, it would take me all day and all the weaving in and out just totally defeats the purpose (for me).

I think the last time I ran this was in 2009, and I only did the 5K (1st year it was timed).  It would have been an easy PR, but since they called the course short (by many of the local elites complaining) it ended up being a 3 Miler instead of a 5K.  And yes my Garmin showed short as well; they had marked one of the turns a street too soon.  My time was 25:50.

Now they have changed the Start and Finish lines and from what I heard about last year was it was a mess at the 10K/5K merge.  The 5K starts a half hour later, which means if you are running the 10K its a cluster ...  I dont know if the logistics have been worked out this year, which is why I am so hesitant to commit...

But the weather...oh the weather...it looks to be perfect for a short race distance and a possible PR..maybe at either distance I chose.


I would like to do the 10K since I can't even remember the last time I did a 10K (or a 5K for that matter), and I would like to PR.  The 10K is also more appealing for the price and just the headache of dealing with all those people...

What say you?


5 comments:

Tricia said...

Interesting, I love turkey trots for the reason you hate them. Its a chance for families to come together and do something actie. Sure, they could do it on their own,but its a nice chance for others to experience festive race day atmosphere and get some exercise in.

But I agree, next to impossible to race them so I just adjust my expectations and look at them as a family outing instead. I'll be doing one this year, walking instead of running due to this knee, and I'll have a baby jogger :)

JunieB said...

I agree in that respect as well Tricia. I just wish they lined up correctly. :O)

And I wish I my family was interested in doing something like this because I TOTALLY would walk the whole thing with them if need be!

Hope that knee gets better and that Houston stays on your calendar!!

TX Runner Mom said...

I only do Turkey Trots so I can burn some calories and earn my tiny sliver of pecan pie! I agree though, the Turkey Trot is a complete and utter mess! But, since we started this tradition of staying downtown the night before and watching the big parade, I have not done one. And, there's even a good 5-mile race in my hood. Maybe when the kids outgrow the whole parade thing....

Anonymous said...

Sugarland Turkey Trot has none of the problems described above...including the registration fiasco. It's a 10-15 minute drive on a non-traffic day (the same amount of time you may drive from close by and spend finding a parking spot at this highly congested area) The possibility even exists of a trophy. Good luck.

Junie B said...

Thanks Anon! I always forget about that one! I looked it up and its a 5 miler huh? Its kinda hard to make out exactly where the Start/Race Day sign up is, but I will look at different links to see if I can figure it out! :)