I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving and was able to share it with friends and family! We have so much to be thankful for, it’s nice for a special day to be reminded of all the wonderful things in our lives.
Now, I’ve promised a 2013 Turkey Trot recap, so here we go.
So much to be Thankful for! Thanks to Jon, Ellie, Cindy, and Dan for coming out to support us!
As many of you know, I had been training for this 5k race since the beginning of October when I started running again, and I was really excited to be able to run the whole thing, and prove that I really had been making progress.
We ran the race in Baldwinsville, NY, a suburb of Syracuse, a city known for its lake effect snow squalls. We woke on Thanksgiving morning to a blinding blanket of white out the hotel window, and I think from that moment on, I was done. My parents and I bundled up and got ready to run out in the snow anyway, and my first step outside took my breath away. It was 17 degrees when we left for the race, and snow was still falling.
There were about 1500 people running the race, and I guess I’m just happy I didn’t come in last. After running a slow first mile, I pretty much gave up completely, and walked most of the rest of the course, running intermittently. We finished up, and I was in a terrible mood, upset with myself for not being able to push through it, and frozen on top of that.
What I learned:
When I don’t want to do something, I won’t do it. I get stuck in my head and its almost impossible to pull me out of it. Similarly, if I decide to not like something, I will pretty much have a terrible time. I will work on that.
I need to train on hills. My runs through Cambridge are pretty much flat. The course through Baldwinsville was mostly hills, I wasn’t prepared and I psyched myself out.
I’m not great at exercising in the morning. My idea of a perfect morning is sweatpants and coffee for hours. Retraining my body to acknowledge morning as the beginning of the day, could be something that will help me in future races.
Jon and Ellie held the sign for this race!
I’ve made incredible progress over the last year and specifically the past couple months. I never would have ran in a 17 degree snow storm, ever, in a million years. But I did, I will keep doing it.
Good for you, Adrienne! If there’s a chance you, or anyone in your family, is aiming for the Freihofer’s run in Albany come Spring, count me in. I need some motivation to get back into regular running. No snow! ~Beckie’s Mom
Yes! We will likely be doing it!
Hooray! I’ll get to work on the running.