Katy YMCA Turkey Dash

In the past couple of years, I've run the TXU Energy Turkey Trot in uptown Houston on Thanksgiving morning. The 2005 event was actually my first 10K.

This year I decided to run a 5K being held at the YMCA out in Katy. A cold front blew through the Houston area last night and the projected morning temperature was supposed to be in the upper 40s Fahrenheit. So the original plan was to wear a short-sleeved shirt and shorts. However, it turned out that the temps were in the lower 40s, so I kept my long-sleeved shirt on (over my short-sleeved shirt) and re-pinned my number to it.

After a short warmup and settling in behind the starting line, the race organizers announced that the race start was being moved 30 minutes later because the walk-up registration was so heavy. That was annoying, but I had enough time to fit in a few more minutes of warmup jogging and a trip to the men's room inside the Y as well.

Mile 1: 8:22
Finally the horn sounds and the pack took off running south on Peek Road. Even with the "heavy" turnout, it still looked like less than a thousand people, so there wasn't an excessive amount of "walker dodging." I saw a "1 mile" marker on the road and punched the Lap button on my Forerunner. It said "5:50"; I said "No way!" It turns out that this marker was the turnaround point for the Kids 1-mile course. Oops! A couple minutes later, I found the correct 1-mile marker and punched the button again.

Mile 2: 9:12
After the 30 minute delay (letting the sun rise some more) and then running hard for a mile, my upper body was feeling uncomfortably warm. I took off my long-sleeved top and tied it around my waist. As I was approaching the turnaround point, I could feel my throat starting to go dry. Maybe I shouldn't have bypassed the water stop. As we made the U-turn to head back north, I started getting a nauseous feeling on the right side of my body. I had to hold back a little or risk trotting out this morning's oatmeal.

Mile 3: 9:03
Last .1: 0:52
The nauseous feeling stayed with me until we had a half-mile to go. When I returned to the YMCA and saw the clock, I knew I had a new personal record. (Previous PR: 28:53 at this year's Fired Up 5K) It was a pretty good early birthday gift to myself, in my opinion.

I also think that the marathon training schedule, which has been pushing me to 30-or-more miles a week, has had some nice side effects!

I also thought it was amusing that the goodie-bag for registrants included a package of turkey stuffing!

Event: Katy YMCA Turkey Dash
Location: Katy YMCA, Katy TX
Garmin Forerunner 101 says: 27:30
Gun Time: 27:54.9 (chip detection mat only at finish line)
Place: 290/603 overall, 17/30 in M30-34 age group
Benefits: YMCA Partners Campaign