Turkey Trot "Race" Report

On Thanksgiving the family and I participated in the Green Valley Turkey Trot.  I ran five miles.  Jen and the kids walked a 5K.  Barring my recent health junk, it was a great event.  Plus we all went into turkey dinner with a calorie deficit.  How great is that?

We missed the pre-registration night so we decided to get there as soon as registration opened the morning of the run.  So we got there, paid the entry fee(donation) and got our shirts. But wait!  no bib?  Nope, there was no bib, no official time, and no starting or finishing line! Although we weren't aware of the latter until race time.

So there we are with about 45 minutes to kill before the run started.  Since it was a local race, one of the local Zumba instructors (not Jen's) was leading some warmup routines.  Of course, since Jen's become the resident Zumba expert, we sat around critiquing her routine and trying to stay warm.  Then about five minutes before the run was to begin, the run director started making some announcements.  Once he was done, everyone just started heading down the road.  No official gun start.  No official starting line.

I took off at a slow pace with a planned 1:30/1 interval.  Shortly after starting, I ran into some of my Fleet Feet Friends but they were doing a different interval so I didn't stay with them. The run was through a nice area with rolling hills and pretty homes.  One large 5 mile loop.

Normally, it takes about a mile for me to settle into a breathing rhythm and get into "the zone".  I never settled in on this run.  I felt perpetually in that awkward first starting a run feeling, and I was tired as heck from the get go. The run was nice, relaxing, and a friendly atmosphere, but I struggled with my energy and ended up not having a good run.  I finished, but with several extra walks.  It was by and far the worst "race" I've done these last two years.  Still, I finished in just over one hour. There was no finish line.  No definitive finish.  It just sort of ended at the same corner as it began.

After finishing, I found the family and we headed home.  I was tired and feeling rather crappy. We got home and had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving at home with Wii games, movies, and yummy food.

HEALTH UPDATE:

Yesterday I had a followup visit with my doctor. My blood pressure has been excellent so that's good.  But we discussed in depth (well as in-depth as can be with an always rushed doctor that sees patients for about 15 minutes tops!).  We discussed thyroid issues and he explained some of the things I wasn't clear on but he also ordered some further thyroid testing at my request.  In addition, he ordered a sleep study because I'm a heavy snorer and he thinks the fatigue may be sleep related. 

I did get a 2 mile run in yesterday before heading to the doctors.  It wasn't great, nor was it even good, but I got out there.  The weather was in the upper 60s/lower 70s and it was a gorgeous day out.  I tried enjoying it, but the struggle of no energy was enough to classify it as a crappy run.  I sure hope things get cleared up soon.