LaGrangeville, NY: 25K Turkey Trot

Bradford and I awoke at 6am this morning so we could drive an hour and twenty minutes north and endure a 15.53 MILE race in temperatures peaking at 28 degrees Fahrenheit at starting time (8:30 am). Armed with my hydration belt, race number, and my new long-sleeved awesome technical shirt locked securely in the car, we trudged to the back of Arlington H.S. to meet our fate.

And along the way, we overheard conversations of mid-40 year old women discussing their upcoming ultra (after completing 2 marathons in 7 weeks), we saw an approximately 11 year old kid toe the line, we read tons of "marathon" shirts, and most insanely, we saw a guy who intended to run the entire 15.53 miles BAREFOOT.

Right. I had sneaked a peak at the race results from last year, and everyone who ran had SICK times. My one goal was simply not to be last. I didn't want to be the person causing some volunteers to miss family time on Thanksgiving because of my slow-poke straggler ways.

We began. And quickly found ourselves at the very back. People took off. Crazy.

And then, the HILLS.

This "race" was almost entirely uphill. With sick, twisted, mountains at mile 6 and 8. Then, right after mile 12, came the steepest, most grueling, epic mountain road ever. It was the only time we walked. We were not alone. Everyone, except this one guy who looked about 70, walked. The 70 year old cruised straight on up. Kudos, man, kudos.

I ended up naming other participants along the way. We had Becky, Jess, and Bob. It kept me going. We ended up passing a bunch of people, but there were way more people ahead of us. Old man and old lady crushed us for sure, because we saw them pass us, and then kept them in the horizon. "Jess" annihilated us, we barely beat "Becky" and "Bob" was behind us, then ahead of us, and then finished about two minutes behind us in the end.

The last few miles were a blur of, hey, we've never run more than 13.1 before. High five. And then eventually, finally, we crossed the finish line, holding hands raised above our heads (Brad's idea) and smiling like we just cured cystic fibrosis.

They handed us a zip lock bag with a banana and two cookies, and a Poland spring. Then, without pomp and circumstance, we headed home. The shower was glorious.

Oh, and the time? Considering all the hills, I was very happily surprised with 2 hours and 31 minutes and about 34 seconds. Which looks like: 2h31:34

I for one cannot wait to demolish the turkey, squash, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, and pie that awaits. And sit and watch football. Ah, that's what I'm thankful for. New picture! This picture was taken at the very end of the run. As you can see, I'm smiling. This is why they say looks can be deceiving. ;)