9:30 AM - Got up early and headed down to Troy, NY with Emma and my brothers Jonny and Harry. Annual Turkey Trot fun! Jonn couldn't run because he had surgery on his hand yesterday, but Harry and Emma were signed up for the 5k and I was signed up for the 10k. I told Emm and Harry I would run the race with them. We found a parking spot and then jogged over to the start line around 9am so that we could use the facilities before the race. Kind of bummed we didn't get the size of shirts we ordered. This is an annual problem. Stupid race organizers ask what size shirt you wear and then don't order the size for you anyways! Grr. This was the largest field they've had. Over 6600 runners! We lined up a bit far back but it was still fun. Race conditions at the start were cloudy skies and temps in the high 20s to low 30s. I should have brought spandex, but alas I did not have any. We lined up and waited for the gun. THE RACE: (5k) - Bandito Fabuloso MILE 1: Very, very slow. We ran a 12 or 13 something. Blah! Started picking our way through the crowds and running on the sidewalk. Harry was keeping up fine! We were following Emm who was setting the pace in front. It is actually kind of fun to start towards the back and just race around slower runners. We did this last year to great effect because we arrived late to the starting line. MILE 2: This mile was much faster, right around 8 minutes. Pushed it and Harry kept pace and actually pulled me along! Really fun! MILE 3: We kept on pushing, even as the crowd thickened as we caught the stragglers falling back to us. Many of the 6600 runners are not even "Weekend Warriors" as a sub 21:00 5k will get you in the top 75 usually. We pushed all the way to the finish and I am certain our last mile was a sub-8:00. We finished with a "gun time" of 29:43 and 29:44. Emm got 1675th place overall, 78/283 in her division, and Harry got 1680th place and 292/532 in his division. I ran bandit. If I looked at our actual splits, I would put us around a 25:30 5k minus the incredibly slow first mile. FUN! THE 10k RACE - 10:45 am Race conditions: high 20s/low 30s, overcast skies. Note: should have worn spandex! Numb legs! I jogged to the car after the 5k and switched shirts quickly before hitting up the port-a-johns and getting in line for the 10k. The 10k is a championship race, but always much smaller, typically 500 or so runners. Today there were 752 finishers. Didn't know how to approach this race given my poor training this fall and especially given the goose egg "0" mileage last week! I was hoping to average somewhere near my 8:08 pace at Stockadeathon a few weeks ago. MILE 1: (8:35) Went with the flow for the first mile as we made our way out for the first of two loops. Ran the 5k course in reverse. Bittersweet because the long gradual downhill turned into a long gradual uphill x 2! MILE 2: (7:24) Way too fast! Got sucked along with a group and didn't watch the time! Oops! Made a decision to slow down before the 5k mark. MILE 3: Feeling pretty good as I made my way around the corner and the start of the second loop. I hit the 3.1 5k mark somewhere around 24:30. MILES 4-5: Hurting a bit. My fingers and legs were starting to get numb and I started to get passed by people that had 1. not run the 5k minutes before and 2. had saved some in the tank for the second loop. I just kept my pace honest and hoped for the best. Ran these somewhere in the 8's. MILE 6: Finished with little feeling in my legs. They almost hurt from the cold! Fading but that was to be expected with poor training. Finished with a smile though and picked off a couple people :D. Only a few seconds off my pace from Stockadeathon! Not bad! Total Time: 50:42 Total Distance: 6.22 miles Average Pace: 8:11 | 
