Green Valley North Turkey Trot Race Report

Happy post-Turkey Day to my three readers, whoever you may be. I just returned to Baltimore from my parents' house in WV, laden with leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, and corn pudding, among other things. Thanksgiving dinner was a great reward after a nice 5 mile run in the morning. So, let's get down to business.



When I found this race online, the website was very basic and that made me think that perhaps this was going to be a low-key, small affair. I was looking forward to that aspect because the Baltimore Running Festival and the Zoo Zoom had been pretty large. The race was also scheduled to begin at 9 AM, which is about an hour earlier than most other races; two hours earlier than others! This, coupled with the haphazard way of registering (no online system; you had to print the form and then mail that in with your donation) and the fact that there was no pre-race packet pickup, led me to believe that this race might also be lacking in the way of sound logistical planning. But I was willing to work with that for the chance to run.



So, I decided to get to the race early, right when registration was set to begin at 8 AM. I found it without much trouble and lo and behold, there were people everywhere! People were parking in lots more than 1/2 mile away from the actual tents! Luckily, I found a spot a little closer in another lot of a church. By 8:15, the lot was full. Obviously, this was a bigger deal than I had thought and most of the runners probably were repeats since the website was so crappy. I initially wore just a short sleeved shirt and shorts. And even though it was about 60 out by that point, the breeze was making it feel cooler. Luckily I came prepared with a long sleeved running shirt, so I changed and felt much better. I was a little hot on the course, but nothing terrible.



Anyway, I went to the tent where people were registering to sign in. However, when I told the woman at the table that I had pre-registered, she simply gave me my t-shirt and some orange wrist band like the Live Strong band and sent me on my way. So much for getting a head start by pre-registering. Moreover, the tents were set up in a neighborhood, basically on someone's front lawn, which was not only weird, but made everything cramped. I rolled with it though and took my shirt and band back to the Jeep to finish my Clif bar and Gatorade breakfast. I returned around 8:30 to see that the crowd had doubled! I took this opportunity to run a 1 mile warm up, returning around 8:45. I stood around for another 10 minutes before the race organizer got up and talked about this being the 24th annual turket trot, etc. Wonderful except that by the time he was done, it was after 9 AM. Late. Then he says, "There's no water on the course, but we have plenty of water in the tent so grab a bottle before going out."



First of all, it's absurd not to have any water stations on a 5 mile course. At a 5K, this is acceptable since you should be able to run 3 miles without absolutely needing fluid. However even here, I have run 5K's with a water stop. Anyway, I went to the tent only to find NO MORE WATER! Actually, there was no fluid left whatsoever. Of course I saw some dicks with two bottles, but that sort of idiocy is par for the course at these types of events. So at this point I was pissed because I had left my Gatorade back at the Jeep. I could have used that for the race!



I started walking to the starting line of th race along with everyone else (the director said there were about 1500 people either running 5 miles or walking 3 miles). The guy had also said that the course was clearly marked, so I was not too worried about that. However, we walk and walk and walk and finally, after walking another 1/2 mile, come to a point where there are two signs. One points right and says "Turkey Troy Walk" the other points straight ahead and says "Turkey Trot". Awesome signage. At this point I decided to take matters into my own hands and started my Garmin at that sign pointing straight ahead. I would run 5 miles and call it my race. So that's what I did. I was near the back of the pack thanks to my vain search for water, but that was fine since there was not official starting line, timing system, numbering system or finish line. Nice.



The course was extremely hilly, with a big hill coming about 1/2 mile into the race. I kinda figured that it was hilly from the drive in and took it slow going out, knowing I'd be running well over my Zoo Zoom time of 45 minutes anyway. There was a guy just in front of me who took off right when I did and ran fast since the course began on a downhill. However, I saw him start that first big hill ahead of me and saw him start to walk almost immediately. In fact, most people I saw were walking the hills, a sign that they were not experienced runners (or at least marginally experienced, as I consider myself), or that they had gone out too fast. I ended up passing him on that hill and never saw him again on the course.



Overall I ran well for never having hit hills quite like that. My average pace was 9:47, which is slower than I would have liked, but acceptable considering I took the hills much slower. In fact, at many parts of the race I made myself slow down so as to conserve energy for later in the run. I could also tell that most of the runners had been in the front of the pack because I was passing mostly people who were walking and exhausted. But I also think most of the real runners were repeats and probably knew the drill for this ramshackle race going in and got in front to get going before the crush arrived.



I set my Garmin to alert me each mile so I knew how far I had gone without having to constantly look at my Forerunner. I only checked it for pacing data to keep myself from running too fast between the hills. At one point I was running close 8:00 min/mile, which was way too fast for that course for me. Thanks God for my Garmin! Anyway, as I said there was no finihs line, and people were stopping where the tents were, which was actually about six tenths of a mile shy of 5 miles. I kept going and got my 5 miles in. Below are my per-mile splits:



Mile 1: 9:39

Mile 2: 9:42

Mile 3: 9:41

Mile 4: 10:06 (took a 15 second walking break after a huge hill)

Mile 5: 9:47



I was remarkably consistent in my pacing despite the hills, which I am very happy about. I am almost certain that is because of the Garmin pacing data I was receiving the entire time. Since I knew how far I had gone and how far I had yet to go, I could also ration my energy more efficiently. There were no signs on the course saying what mile you were at, so most people had no idea how far they had run. One lady stopped me as I was passing her to ask me what time it was and how far we had gone. I didn't mind that; I remember how I felt at the Zoo Zoom not knowing where I was on the course and how that screwed up my racing approach.



After the race I didn't stick around because A.) I had to get going so I could make it to WV in time for Thanksgiving; and B.) I wasn't interested in walking to the tents only to not find any more fluids. By the time I was done, I was parched! So I returned to the Jeep, guzzled the rest of my Gatorade and drove home.



Overall, I was pleased with my race. I ran those hills at a better and more consistent pace than I would ahve thought going into the race. However, the lack of logistical planning turned me off from the beginning. If I hadn't had my Garmin, it would have been a shitty race. As it was, without the water and with the haphazard style of presentation, it was pretty low rent. I won't be doing that turkey trot again next year and will find another race on Thanksgiving.



I love my Garmin, though. Here are some other fun data points from my run:



Lowest elevation: 553 feet above sea level



Highest elevation: 706 feet above sea level



Total calories burned: 749 (thanks to those hills, I suspect)



Greatest rise/fall: Elevation increased from 583 feet to 697 feet in a third of a mile.





As for this weekend, today was a total rest day on my training schedule. Normally, I'd do cross training tomorrow but since I have to pick up Annie from the airport on Sunday morning, the normal day for the long run, I am switching the two and doing 5 miles tomorrow morning and cross training on Sunday morning after picking her up. I've decided on a basic course to follow and will post that tomorrow using the ever-useful MapMy Runs.com. Below is the course for the Green Valley Turkey Trot.