Saturday, November 22, 2014

A Case of the Turkey Trots

It's that time of year when I try to win one of these:
Two of my Lincolnwood Turkey Trot age group trophies (2012 trophy not pictured)
Yes, once again (tomorrow), it's time for the Lincolnwood Turkey Trot 10k, one of my favorite races of the year. What makes it so special? Well, the course is only a few miles from my house (15 minutes door-to-door) and has these awesome turkey age group awards. The hard part of winning one, however, is that the age groups are ten years (instead of five), so I have to fend off the young "turks" in order to claim my prize. That said, I actually don't expect to be in the top three this year. My mileage has been only about 20 miles per week since the Chicago Marathon, so this one tomorrow will be for fun.
Nearly empty Lakefront Trail yesterday morning
Six days after the race in Lincolnwood, I will be attempting the Schaumburg Half/Turkey Trot. I last ran it in 2010, so it will be interesting to see how it's changed since then. I believe there are now shuttle buses to the start line. Anyway, I am hoping for a decent finishing time, but have no expectations.
In the midst of my 10 miler yesterday
I'll probably try for a slow start, something like 7:20, 7:10, 7:00 and see how I feel. If I'm feeling okay by mile six I will start running in the sub-6:50 range and see if a sub-1:30:00 is in the cards. If not, I will back off and cruise through the woods with a smile! After a close call with my Achilles a couple of weeks ago (which necessitated about 10 days off of running), I should probably just focus on having fun at these races.

Is anyone else "turkey trotting" this week?

6 comments:

  1. Good luck at Lincolnwood! I'll see you at Schaumburg- I'll be there too!

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    1. Thanks! Very cool that I will see you in Schaumburg! :)

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  2. I'm not running Schaumburg, but I'll be out there cheering! Good luck, and I hope you get another shiny turkey :)

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    1. Hey, that's awesome that you'll be cheering me on! :) Thanks and I'll give it my best shot for a turkey! :)

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  3. Good luck this morning! I ran that one about 15 years ago! I ran the Schaumburg half last year. It was a good race, and I had my best time in years! So of course, I have nothing but good things to say about it...I will warn you about the congestion at the start but they do send the runners off in waves, so that helps.

    This week I'm running the Long Grove Turkey Trot 8k. I think it's going to be cold...

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    1. Thanks! Yes, apparently the Lincolnwood race has been around for 38 years, which is a long time. Anyway, glad to hear you liked the Schaumburg race. Hopefully, I can avoid the congestion, but since I'm not looking to PR, I will try and relax if I get boxed in a little! Good luck at the Long Grove Turkey Trot! Stay warm! :)

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