Happy Thanksgiving! Rich and I

Happy Thanksgiving!
Rich and I ran the Turkey Trot this morning up by the Galleria. I’ve run this race every year that I’ve lived in Houston (which is also every year since I started running, since I started running about six months before I moved here). Today was my 4th Uptown Turkey Trot. In 2002 and 2003 I ran the 5K, and last year they added the 10K. I did the 10K last year and repeated it today.
I saw both Cassie and Manny, but only during the race (and I missed Jen entirely — such is life when the race draws more than a thousand people). I first saw Cassie right around mile 2 as she returned to the course from what looked like a port-o-potty break. 😉 She jumped back into the race about 50 feet ahead of me. Then I saw both of them just after they’d passed the turnaround, and just before I reached it. Manny was a minute or two ahead of Cassie, who was a minute or two ahead of me.
Overall I had a good race, finishing in ~1:06:30 plus or minus a few seconds (I didn’t start my watch exactly right). This is almost the exact same time I clocked in this race last year! Average heart rate was 189. My legs didn’t bother me too horribly, though they were definitely tight and warranted a few walking breaks. More troublesome is the fact that now, an hour after finishing, my left Achilles is in some pain. It didn’t start hurting until after the run. Hope it will be ok.
I love doing the Turkey Trot, and it’s become a bit of a tradition for me. My only complaint is the course structure — because both races finish finish in the same spot, and because the 5K started almost 20 minutes after the 10K, I had to run the last 2 miles while weaving my way around walkers, who had stretched across both lanes. I actually ran from mile 4.5 to 5.5 on the sidewalk; it was a bit removed from the road and thus was clear. Other 10K runners had the same idea. The race really needs some cones or volunteers stationed along the last mile and a half to encourage walkers to stay to one side of the road so that runners can get through. I doubt the walkers slowed me down by more than 20-30 seconds, but it was annoying.
Now that I’ve burned off my 600 calories for the day, it’s time to replace them with lots of turkey, sweet potatoes, and pie! Mmmmm. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!