CU Turkey Trot

"Sometimes a slight pace change is all you need to snap out of a mental or physical funk." - Mark Plaatjes, 1993 World Marathon Champion

Approximately 1000 runners and walkers gathered at the University of Colorado track, Potts Field, for the annual CU Turkey Trot 5k sponsored by Boulder Road Runners. This is a low cost ($10), no frills event to raise money and collect canned food for the Community Food Share.

The race does two loops on traffic free roads at the CU Research Park, with a finish on the Potts Field track. The most impressive part of Potts Field is not that is the home of the CU XC team, but the amazing mountain vista that one gets during the final turn into the home stretch. Alas, I did not bring a camera with me so no pictures from this trip.

I was wondering how my race would go today and whether altitude would affect my result. It sure did. I got off to a strong start and did the first mile in 7 minutes flat. However, while my legs were fine, my lungs were gasping for air and I could do nothing but slow way down. The second mile went in 7:50 and I finished the 5k in 23:29, which is 94 seconds slower than my PR. I did not leave anything on the course as I had a record number of post race dry heaves (fun). I'll get a good comparison of mile high altitude versus sea level when I do the Reindeer Run 5k next weekend.

I ended up in 219th place and 23rd in my age group. While he did not run, I did recognize Mark Plaatjes at the race. Mark won the 1993 IAAF World Track & Field Marathon race and so I posted a quote from him that I found online at Ohio Runner.

One nice thing about the run today is that I got a very hard aerobic workout without pushing my legs too hard. After the 5k, there were kids races on the track starting with 2 years and under. Watching those were fun. Kids love to run. I love to run. I guess that makes me a kid.

Happy Thanksgiving.