In the grand scheme of things, I have to admit to not being a morning person. Part of this has to do with my work schedule, which sees me finishing my shift at midnight, with one or two more hours before I succumb to sleep. So getting up around six or seven to run a race (and they're almost always held early in the morning) by itself puts me square into the discomfort zone. Add to that the fact that the humidity outside during this time of the day is usually very high, and so I already had a couple of strikes against me when I set out on the 2016 Turkey Trot 10K (6.2 miles) race, held annually in Gainesville at the Tacachale center off Waldo Road and 16th Avenue. Oh, I forgot to mention that I turned 60 last month and could stand to lose about 20 pounds...
This Turkey Trot was my third in Gainesville...back in 1974 and 75 I ran a couple of shorter races with the same title (naturally centered around Thanksgiving, too) in Davie, Florida. I am very familiar with the course, which is a mixture of dirt trails, pine needle paths, and asphalt roads that wind through and around the center, which provides residency and care for the disadvantaged. I felt pretty good physically this time around, in spite of the previously expressed reservations, as I drove into the place...the folks running this event were fantastic directing the parking, which went flawlessly. I paid the entry fee, got my tee-shirt (see picture), and pinned on my number...3443. I could tell that there seemed to be a high number of participants...later I found out that 430 finished the 10K race. I maneuvered myself before the start of the race into the midst of the throng, and when it began a little past 8:30, it still took me 15 seconds to even reach the starting line. And as expected, for the first two miles or so, I focused my efforts on trying to avoid being trampled or trampling others. Eventually, though, the crowd thinned and I was able to enjoy the experience more. Still, I had to go it slowly at first, and this was reflected in my final time...
My official time given on the race results website [link] was 1:01:13, more than four minutes slower than my 2014 time. In my gender/age group (m/60-64) I finished in fifth place out of nine...smack dab in the middle. For the entire finishing field, I was in 227th place out of the 430. I'm not disappointed with running the race slower than in years past...I approached it after all as a training run, rebuilding confidence about running longer distances. In that I was very successful. And since I am getting along in the years, I checked out where I was "age-wise" against the field: I was tied with two others for 28th oldest finisher out of 430...now that sounds a lot better than 227th...
Although it did dip into the 30s a few nights ago here in Gainesville, this November has been warmer than usual, and this was true today. During race time, the average temperature was around 65 degrees and the humidity a very uncomfortable 85%...I'm used to running outside when the temperature is a bit higher and the humidity a lot lower...
