I was happy to convince my family to run the turkey trot with me again this year, well almost everyone. Hubs has an old ankle injury that we are trying to repair and so is in a boot. He ran race support and tried to catch Grayson at the finish. This is one of the largest 5Ks in Anchorage, which is odd when you look at the icey conditions. It was warmer this year than last but still pretty biting cold. I still miss the turkey trot in Maryland and running with my extended family, including my uncles who got my brother and I into running. I tried to get the boys to start further up but we all were trapped in the pack for the first quarter mile. After that, they decided to dodge traffic and run their own race. They got to meet Ms. Alaska before the race. We also ran into Tina who is one of the most energetic and well known Alaska racers. My favorite part of the race was stopping to see the reindeer (I bet no one else's turkey trot has that)! Grayson said he would have stopped and gotten his picture with the reindeer but it was too cold to wait on me. Conditions were actually slightly better than last year at least temperature wise, and I had the added slight confidence of YakTraks so while no PR, I did run faster than last year by over five minutes.
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Time to get caught up on my posts from this year. Not as many as in years past but lots of scenery and spent New Year's Eve running under the lights. So here's a recap of the races that rounded out my not-so-fast year. 29 July - Running Free 4Miler 12 Aug - Derby Dolls Dash 20 August - Skinny Raven 1/2 Marathon and Anchorage Mile (19 Aug) 23 Nov - Turkey Trot 9 Dec - Colony 5Kish 31 Dec - Resolution Run Running Free 4 Miler....Hills and a Little Off Roading
Derby Doll Dash 5KThis was an unplanned spur of the moment race. I think I am just seeing if I can push through the plantar fasciitis, even though I limped back to the car after last weeks race. I am glad I did this one. It was a really small races, and I even won an award for the craziest outfit (and sadly wasn't even trying). I learned a lot during this race: 1) 5K in Alaska, doesn't mean it's all a road race. 2) Derby girls know how to have fun 3) There's an exercise group called kangaroo ing? Impressed by these ladies running in their roo shoes, I don't think I could even stand in them! They were a great group and this was a small race that I will support again if timing works for it. Free race photos on their FB page. Skinny Raven 1/2 Marathon and One Miler Day 1 - Packet Pick up and Anchorage Mile This day just seemed a little off. Packet pick up was nearly empty and I got there way earlier than I needed, but 1 mile around Delaney Park....yes! I ran in the slow heat, which felt like the right placement for me. It was great to meet and reassure other runners who were running their first long races the next day. I ran one of my fastest miles, probably something to do with people watching you run the whole way and/or just being relaxed. By the time I got home my foot was seething in pain from the plantar fasciitis. I could barely walk, but made the decision to go back and run the half the next day. I added new orthotics to my shoes to see if it would help. This was also my first race to start to get plugged in with the RWB chapter. I met Tina at packet pick up and she saw my RWB headband and introduced herself. Day 2 - Skinny Raven 1/2 Marathon Best port-o-potty line EVER. After years of DC area races and never knowing if you are going to make it through the line before the race starts. The lack of line for this port-of-potty caused me to fall in love with Alaska races all over again. I have been stuck in that line or in the potty when the National Anthem started on multiple occasions so this is a much welcomed difference. The National Anthem was sung by an RWB member and then we started off on this chilly rainy day. Race conditions had been near perfect for the miles, for the half, not so much and my motivation quickly weaned. My foot, however, felt better after some icing and the half than it did from the mile...so that's a promising sign. I ran a while with a fellow Back of the Packer and then met another Back of the Packer (FB group) at the finish, who wouldn't let me give up and pushed me through.
Turkey Trot - Alaska StyleIcy streets and chilly weather dominated this race. The coldest conditions that I have every run in. Even so, I was slightly over dressed with tights, hiking pants, a long sleeve t, my cold weather UA jacket, and an UA swacket. Gloves, hat and ear warmer finished off my ensemble. My fingers and toes were the only things that over chilled and wool socks were purchased after this race as well as running gloves. I started the race with one of my teaching pals who was home for the holiday. I knew he would leave me in the dust and I struggled to stay up right for most of this race. About every five steps I'd slide. My biggest oops happened right in the home stretch as I entered the convention center to finish the race, about five steps before the carpet I went sliding pretty good but was able to catch myself. Otherwise this would have been a catastrophe. My plantar fasciitis is still bothering and I struggle to walk after the run, but was happy to not break my tradition of running a Turkey trot. I do miss running with my family back home though! Colony Christmas 5kish
Northern Lights Resolution RunPlease excuse the abundance of pictures. G-man decided that he wanted to run this race with me, and I was able to sign him up at packet picket on Friday. I am thankful that I signed him up early as the race start ended up being delayed by 10 minutes due to late registrations and packet pick up. Parking for this race was about a half mile or so from the start. There are port-o-potties available and propane heaters positioned around the Atwood Center court yard. The light stations were really cool to run through. This was the slowest 5K that I have ever run. Partly due to the abundance of pictures and partly because a lot of this race takes place on snow pack which is difficult to run on. We were fortunate though that the weather warmed up to the upper 20s for this race. Poor G was slightly over dressed and his cleats wouldn't stay on his shoes. I thought he was ahead of me, but when he caught up with me I had one little frustrated kiddo. We talked about how this race was for fun and not the conditions to push a PR. I ended up carrying his cleats, and then my head lamp which kept bouncing off my head. We did a little running, a little shuffling, and some photo ops but made it through and there were still plenty of people behind us. We stuck around for the after party (or what was left of it when we finished). G had a lot of fun trying to catch a prize, but we were a little disappointed by the fact that the hot chocolate was all gone by the time we finished. We were able to download race finish photos for free today so that sort of makes up for it. Oh and today I am so sore, running through snow at the back of the pack is tough. I missed my New Year's Day work out. |
JK McDowellLong time back of the pack runner, science lover, Christian, educator, and mom. Archives
July 2019
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