Trotting to a new PR

Heading into the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning, I thought I might have a chance at a PR. The old one, 46:01, didn't seem too hard to beat.

I headed down there with Matt and my fabulous sister-in-law Maggie. We met up with many CTC friends at the registration site. Before I knew it, it was time to line up for the run.

I probably should have lined up a little further ahead, because I got stuck behind so many people at the beginning. I found myself rabbiting around groups of people at a pace that was probably a little fast for me. But, after the first mile, I found some clear space.

I felt pretty good for the first couple of miles until we got into the sunshine. Wow, was I over dressed, but I'm not complaining because it was a lovely day! I quickly stripped off my gloves and stored them in my shirt which made it look like I had a third boob. Hee hee!

Between miles 2 and 3 were the hardest for me, but once I got past mile 3, I knew I just had to hang on to get that PR.

The last mile included the trip up W. 3rd that always seems to be a part of downtown races. Unlike past years though, we just had to make a left onto Lakeside and run into the finish line. That last mile was definitely my fastest making me believe I had paced appropriately. I came to the line with a new PR of 43:42! Now, I just have to figure out how to hold that pace for 8.1 more miles. Baby steps, right?

After the race, I headed back to find Maggie and Matt. I found them at the top of the W 3rd hill. Matt was telling Maggie that it was time to put on the jets. She told him "not this time", but she kept getting faster. By the time she hit the finish line, I could barely keep up. She also set a new PR by almost 2 minutes - and it was her fastest 5k per mile pace too. Great job Maggie!

After, Maggie and I declared that we had earned our Thanksgiving Day pie. We both wore our Turkey Trot shirts to dinner to celebrate our new PRs, plus it was festive! And, we enjoyed my terrific mother-in-law's feast along with that pie!

Breakthrough

Folks, I think I have finally made a breakthrough with my swimming and I couldn't be happier about it!

I went to a swimming clinic on Sunday hosted by a married couple (we call them "the kids"), who used to swim for Case while in college. Anyway, the drills they used really addressed my particular issue. Apparently, I was swimming like a barge and not a sailboat; i.e., not enough rotation. Once I knew that, I've really concentrated on it and my times have come down dramatically!

I might even have to start wearing a watch again to keep closer track!

In other news, I am very excited about going to see Twilight on Tuesday night with e-Speed. I admit to having the reading tastes of a 16-year-old girl and movie tastes of a 12-year-old boy. : )