Running a crowded Turkey Trot and workouts
Hi everybody! How are you? I’m coming to you from Carmel, California. Dave and I stayed here last night and got to explore the area yesterday, which I’ll tell you more about soon. First of all, holy December. How are we already into the last month of the year so quickly? There has been so much change in my life this year, and there’s a whole lot more to come. With just three weeks before Dave and I head off to Florida for the holidays, I’m sure this month will go by even quicker than the rest. Here’s to a great December to you and yours!
We’re coming off a lovely trip to San Diego for Thanksgiving, a night in L.A. and a night in Carmel, so we’ve been allover the state in the past few days. I have a lot of fun to report on, but I’ll start with a story and my usual Monday morning talk about fitness.
A very crowded race course at the Coronado Turkey Trot
On Thanksgiving morning at 8 a.m., Dave, his family and I ran and walked the first annual Coronado Turkey Trot 5K. If you’re not familiar, Coronado is an island off San Diego, which is home to a naval base, a cute and walkable downtown and some super nice houses, on streets lined with palm trees and well-manicured lawns. Dave’s parents relocated there from Florida earlier this year, and we can now understand why they are in love with their new hometown.
To support the local hospital, this year Coronado put on a 5K family race in a park along the San Diego Bay. Although we all had a great time participating in this race and breaking a sweat for a good cause, let’s just say that the race has a few kinks to work out.
For instance, Dave used his Nike app to map our run, and it said we only ran three miles, in what should have been a 3.1-mile race to make it a full 5K. Secondly, the start of the race was a royal cluster, because everyone was standing in a little playground area scrunching under a small race start sign, with both walkers and runners mixed up. Thirdly, the course took place on a sidewalk along the water, and once you ran down .75 miles or so, you ran right back to the start and did it again, so two loops. This meant that faster runners were going against the grain of all the walkers and slower joggers. We were literally dodging people from all directions. A small child ran into my legs as I hopped on the grass to avoid a walking-with-stroller family, and it was completely not my fault. We laughed it off, and hopefully the child did too. Fourthly, in order to finish the race, we were instructed to take a “victory lap” around a circular area, and I’d bet half of the runners didn’t take it because the terminology didn’t really make us think it was required. We did ours of course.
Shown above from top left: A before-the-race shot of Dave and me, my medal, a look at the crowded start and finish line, and two post-race shots of us and the whole fam with our medals.
Breaking my own record while trotting
Do you want to know the best part about the Coronado Turkey Trot 5K? I ran my best time ever in a race and was in fifth place for my age group, coming in at 23:59. While this is not exactly a record-breaking time, I never run-just-to-run. I do some running in the BODYATTACK classes I teach, and I’ve been getting on the treadmill for a short amount of time while attending some recent Barry’s Bootcamp classes, but running is not my thing. In the past year, I’ve only run-just-to-run two times: Last year’s Turkey Trot in San Francisco and one long six-mile run with Dave outside on Memorial Day weekend. That’s it. So to get out and participate in a race like this, even just for fun, I was happy with my time being under 24 minutes.
Dave and I ran side-by-side the whole time, and even though he is much faster than me, he stayed back at my pace and helped me push it at the very end, when I was ready to knock over another kid and walk it through the crowds to grab my banana and water. But I crossed that finish line with a good clip and even put a smile on for the official event photographer.
The race was a little bit of a mess, but we had a fun time, the views were gorgeous, and we all walked away with some finisher endorphins. I’m glad we did it, and I bet the folks who organized it will get things together next year.
On to the weekly workout recap
Now, in addition to this little spastic run, I also did a couple of regular workouts last week. Intentionally, this week was much lighter than usual for me due to some travel and the holiday, and I enjoyed it. Let’s get to it …
Weekly Workouts
- Monday – Taught one-hour BODYATTACK class, foam rolling
- Tuesday – Taught one-hour BODYPUMP class, attended one-hour Barry’s Bootcamp Butt and Legs class, foam rolling
- Wednesday – Rest day
- Thursday – Ran a Turkey Trot 5K
- Friday – Went on a 20-minute jog outside
- Saturday – Rest day
- Sunday – Rest day
What was good about my week of workouts?
Rest! I needed it. It’s always good to have a week to breathe, and this one was great for me. I had three full rest days and stayed out of the gym since Tuesday. And I was really happy with my time in the 5K, regardless of the course deficiencies.
What could have been better in my week of workouts?
Nothing. My body wanted a break, so I gave it one. It was nice to give my voice some time off from teaching, my muscles some time off from lifting, and my sneakers some time sitting on the sidelines. I plan to do this again over Christmas week just to recharge.
Alright, friends. Have a great start to your week! Dave and I are driving back to San Francisco today, and I’ll be home in time to teach my evening BODYATTACK class. So I’ll see you tomorrow. Go off and get your December started right.
Questions of the day
How was your weekend? Did you do any working out over the holiday? Have you ever run a rough race course?
Holy moley! 23 minutes for a 3ish mile run and you don’t run frequently? I think Barry’s bootcamp is going to need to be added to my list. Glad to hear you guys had a fun weekend and Thanksgiving! I ended up having quite a few rest days like you, but now that Monday has arrived rest time is over! Have a great week!
Hi Jenna! Rest was needed, but I’ll be back in the gym this evening. And thanks, I keep my cardio up with teaching a lot of classes, but running is just not my thing. Have a great week! 🙂
Congrats on the PR! I had crowded races, especially 5K’s because the crowds never seem to break. The Turkey Trot I ran in this year had 8,000 in one race and 12,000 in another. Luckily I was able to make my way to the front so I didn’t have to deal with a lot of bobbing and weaving. Congrats again!
Hi Sara! Thank you! And right back at you for your two races in one day!
Way to go on that race! I’m heading to Carmel next week! Too funny! I hope you have a blast!
Really? For what? Where are you staying! I’ll be writing a little recap this week so be sure to check it out! 🙂
I’m going for a press trip! It’s at Holman Ranch with some events all over the city. I can’t wait!
Good for you on the 5k! That’s awesome. Glad you took some needed rest days. Safe travels and have a great Monday. 🙂
Thanks, Lauren! Can’t believe it’s December already! 🙂
So fun you spent time in Coronado!! That place is so fun, especially around the holidays! Unfortunately we never made it up to Carmel when we lived in LA…..heard it’s a beautiful place!
Hi Marielle! It’s SO cute here and not at all what I expected. I’ll have a full recap for your soon so you can get a better look. Hope you had a great weekend!
Way to rock that 5k girl!
I enjoyed some extra rest days this past week too, and it was glorious! My body needed it for sure. Now I’m excited to get back to it this week!
I know! I’ve got BODYATTACK in a couple hours and it may be a bit rough!
Way to go on the PR despite the crowds. It can be really challenging when races are chaotic like that.
Hi Jen, It sure can. But at least I got a little active on the holiday, so it was worth it. Hope your Monday is off to a great start! 🙂
Wow – that sounds like a reallly unorganized course! Have you ever done the Orlando turkey trot? I always feel like it takes forever to get into my run because there are SO MANY people and we run on brick roads, which is not my favorite running surface. It is pretty organized for how many people run it though.
Hi Christa! No, I never did the Orlando one because I always went away for the holiday. And brick roads can be scary for the ankles. I did the Winter Park Road Race 10K once, and it was fun to see people sitting in front of their homes, but once again, not a fan of the bricks either. Happy Monday!
Ahhh I love the rest too! It’s been hard for me to accept that I need rest. LOL! When I’m on a fitness mission, I just go go go…..so this is important for me too!
xxoo
Kris
Hi Kris! Absolutely you need some rest. I enjoyed my days off, and know I needed it. I plan to do it again at the end of the month too. Have a Happy Monday! 🙂
Dang girl, you smoked that 5k! Awesome job! Even if it meant taking out a small child, hehe. 😉
Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. His parents should have had him under control. 🙂 heeheh
Awesome 5K despite the craziness! I’m with you — I rarely just run these days (I prefer bootcamps and Barry’s any day!) so I’m curious to see what my time would be. I also rested a lot more this week due to being under the weather and it was glorious 🙂 Glad you’re having a great trip!
Hi Lauryn, Yes, running just to run isn’t for me. Maybe one day though? And glad you got some rest. I hope you feel better soon! 🙂
I ran a Turkey Trot up here in SF and it was only 3 miles too! They all need to make sure they get that .1 in. Congrats on 5th place! Awesome push!
Hi Jane! That’s funny! Which one did you run? I ran the LifeTime Trot that started at AT&T last year.
I went on a long walk with my mom on Thanksgiving morning, but that was it. My body needed the rest as well.
Hi Lizzie! Rest is so important. I hope you enjoyed your holiday:)
I can’t wait to hear all about your little vacation you guys are having! Unorganized races drive me crazy, but I guess it was their first one so it’s understandable. Great job on your PR too!
Thanks, Katie. I definitely prefer organization, but I guess I’ll cut them some slack because it was the first one. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving:)
Congrats on the race time! That’s fast! You go, girl!
Thanks, Ruthie! Maybe I’ll run a race again in another year and do even better. hahaha 🙂
That’s a great time!! Yeah, it sounds like that race could have run a little smoother. I experienced the same thing with my 5K portion of the Drumstick Double… I guess I need to do a recap! I spent most of my time dodging walkers than I did running. It was pretty frustrating. Have a great time in Carmel!
Thanks, Heather. I’m back in the city now. Ohhh how holiday weekends go by so fast. Hope you had a good one! 🙂
Awesome finishing time! I also ran a pretty crazy turkey trot as you can see from my latest post. I didn’t run into any kids, but that’s because I was trying so hard not to!
Hahahha Kristen. I guess we have to know what “family race” means. Good work on the race:)
looks like a fun time!
Sure was. Thanks, Caralyn. 🙂
I am not a runner at all, but since I’ve become more active sometimes I feel like my body craves it… Honestly I think getting a shiny new pair of kicks would motivate me. Although right now all I can think about is taking a nice stretchy yoga class… this rain is making my joints ache! LOL.
Rain, rain, go away! And you should totally get some new kicks to motivate you to run. I think running every once in a while is so good for you, but I prefer to get my running in the class setting instead of outside on my own. I need some yoga right now too!