Prospect Park Turkey Trot Race Recap

After taking three weeks off from formal race training, I did not have any expectations for Thursday’s Prospect Park Turkey Trot.

Since I wasn’t treating this race as a goal race, my race preparations included four intense workouts Monday through Wednesday, an impromptu date night with Bo on Wednesday night and only 6 hours of sleep. Needless to say, I knew I wasn’t going into the race with fresh legs or a perfectly fueled body.  In fact, when I checked my race history on Athlinks, I laughed at the idea of trying to PR when I saw that my PR was a 9:05 or 45:27, which I ran back in the 2006 NYRR Holiday 5 Mile race.

I quickly sipped some coffee and ate some oatmeal and a banana before leaving the house at 8:35. Since the race started on the opposite side of Prospect Park from us, I opted for a $6 Uber versus a 40-minute subway ride. I arrived at Prospect Park by 8:45, leaving me 15 minutes to use the bathroom and walk to the starting line with the other 2,500 runners.

The weather was absolutely perfect – sunshine, blue sky and 45 degrees. I wore my Lululemon Speed Tights, New Balance Seamless Hoodie, a sports bra, and my New Balance NYC Vazee Pace.

The race, which while timed is more of a fun run, did not have official corrals. Instead, a mass of us gathered on Center Drive, near the start, flanked by leave clad trails. I warmed up to Justin Bieber, going through dynamic stretches while waiting in the mass of runners, before switching to Spotify Run for the actual race. I’ve enjoyed using Spotify Run during my last few runs as it keeps things interesting, by surprising me with songs that match my tempo. 

Right at 9 AM the crowd started to move forward, signaling the start of the race.  The first mile was jam packed, forcing me to swerve a bit in order to get around the slower walkers and runners. As soon as I passed them I headed for the left side which I hugged for the remainder of the race.  The entire race felt as if it was a perfect race day – I was able to power up the hills, pass people up until the finish line, and was smiling ear to ear. This was exactly the race I needed to end the Fall race season on a high note. There were volunteers along the course cheering and giving out water, there was good signage, and the official race results were sent out via email within hours of the race!

I didn’t wear a watch for the race but below you can see the splits from my Nike+. While it isn’t the most accurate in races, it at least allowed me to have a sense of my pace.  The slower pace during Mile 3 is due to a water stop, the steepest hill and a loose shoelace. I didn’t want to run out of energy and therefore made sure to push myself in the early miles but still leave some gas in the tank for the final miles.

Mile 1 8:35

Mile 2 8:35

Mile 3 8:50

Mile 4 8:15

Mile 5 8:02

Final: 8:31/mile pace – 42:36 (official vs Nike+ time of 8:25) —>A FOUR AND A HALF MINUTE PR!!

I love seeing the lower paces in mile 4 and 5, proof that I could have run an even faster race AND that I should have another PR in me for this weekend’s NYRR Jingle Jog which is a 4 mile race in Prospect Park.

I was greeted by an adorable medal and water as soon as I crossed the finish line. A sweet spectator snapped a picture before I quickly headed back towards Carroll Gardens for a day of cooking.  I fully believe that this new PR was made possibly by a strong training base combined with a month of agressive cross training. There is no doubt that Bar Method, Fhitting Room and the 28 other ClassPass classes Bo and I have taken together have made me a stronger, leaner runner!

Now, let’s see if I can crush my four mile PR (35:51 or 8:57 pace) during this Saturday’s NYRR Jingle Jog! 

Your turn: Did you run a Turkey Trot this week? If so, how’d it go?