Turkey Trotting

I ran my first Turkey Trot yesterday. I ran it with VTR (well, we were on the same course at the same time, just separated by about two minutes) in his hometown. Up early I headed south and met up with VTR and his father and we headed to the race. I wasn't sure what I was shooting for, though in the back of my mind I was hoping to go sub-23.

I'd had a crazy day at work on Wednesday (stressed and awake at 2:30 AM I went to the basement at 3:15 and started working and didn't finish until 9:15 PM -- good times) and was tired on Thanksgiving Day. VTR and I were near the front of the starting pack and that was sort of crazy. All these folks started blazing out along he first quarter and then pulling up exhausted . . . 3.1 miles is further than you think. I'd never run the course before and wasn't sure where I was until I saw the timekeeper at mile one. I ran the first mile in 7:11 and knew why I didn't feel that great. I calmed down a bit and fell into a good rhythm through the the second mile and while I felt that I was slowing I had a pretty good finish. We finished on the HS track and it was cool how nice that rubber surface felt and how much it helped propulsion. I finished in 22:49, by my watch, which is a 7:21 pace, so pretty consistent really. It was a hoot.

I got in 31:55 this evening and felt really good. I'd painted for about 3 hours today and wasn't totally feeling it, but once I got out there I enjoyed myself and it was a nice evening. Has anybody noticed Jupiter and Venus in the sky? Look to the western sky around sunset and you'll see them, the two bright lights nearly on top of one another, about 30 degrees or so above the horizon. Venus is larger and brighter since it's closer, but Jupiter is pretty darn bright too.