Dana Point Turkey Trot Race Report

I love Turkey Trots.  I ran my first one in 2008 and vowed to run a race every year on Thanksgiving.  The mood is festive; people are smiling and often in costume.  You get a huge sense of accomplishment, especially when you go for that piece of pie!  The Dana Point Turkey Trot is no exception.  It is a lot of fun and they offer a 10k, which is a bonus when many Thanksgiving races are 5K.  This was the second time running this race and it didn’t disappoint.

It was a chilly morning.  It was in the high thrities…BRRRRRR.  We were spending Thanksgiving with my inlaws again and they live just under a mile from the start line.  I ran down there and it was a nice warmup.  It was really cold and it felt good to get things moving.

I picked up my bib, shirt and goodie bag.  I was so glad that they had a bag check.  I wasn’t sure what I would do with my goodies if they didn’t have it.  As I waited to check my gear, I started regretting not bringing my own stuff from home to keep me warm.  It would have been nice to have a sweatshirt or something to check.  As it was, I was wearing a long sleeve shirt, capris (as my calves froze, I started to wish for my longer pants), arm warmers, a fleece vest and my trusty cheap Target gloves.  My outfit actually turned out to be just fine and by the end of the race, I had stashed my arm warmers and gloves in the back pocket of my vest.

After using the porta potty (with very short lines), I made my way to the start.  It was crowded, but I expected that.  Last year it was really packed and probably the most congested race I have run.  As I tried to make my way toward the front, I was stopped.  I was told that wave one was full and I would have to go with wave two.  No problem.  I would rather run in the front of wave two than the back of wave one.  I was thrilled that they started the runners in waves.  It was sort of random with no real signage or sense of organization, but I didn’t care.  It definitely cut down on the congestion of the race.  There is a spot in the first couple of miles that gets very narrow (it is split for returning runners).  It was really tough last year.  This year was so much better during that stretch.

I am always amazed how easy it is to run fast in the first few miles of a race.  When I try to run eight minute miles on my own, it feels like a Herculean effort.  In a race environment, it seems like the easiest thing in the world.  I was pleasantly surprised when I saw my first split comfortably under 8:00.  I had been fighting a nasty cold all week.  I skipped my runs on Tuesday and Wednesday because I was miserable.  I spent most of Tuesday on the couch.  Wednesday night, I was wondering if I could run the race the next morning.  As I cruised through this race, I wondered if I felt good because of adrenaline or if I had willed myself to be better.  If it was adrenaline alone, I would have felt worse later that day and I felt fine.  I honestly think I may have sweat it out during the race.

This is such a beautiful course.  It goes through Doheny State Beach and along the ocean towards Capistrano Beach.  We turn around and then head back to the Dana Point Harbor and go into the marina.  The course runs along a spit separating the harbor from the Pacific Ocean.  The only hills were on the bridge going over the harbor.  Did I mention there wasn’t a cloud in the sky?   
 
I felt pretty good throughout the race.  In the fifth mile, I started feeling a little tired, but I knew I was almost done and kept pushing.  I had an odd sensation going over the bridge the second time.  The sun was to my right, as well as the runners going into the harbor.  The shadows they made across my path made me dizzy!  I felt like I was on a treadmill or something.  I had to focus on the area ahead instead of the ground right in front of me or I started feeling a little disoriented.  Luckily, it is a short stretch and by the time I turned onto Harbor Drive, I was back to normal.

I didn’t pay all that much attention to my Garmin.  I looked down occasionally to make sure my splits were right around 8:00.  My goal was to break 50:00.  I should have paid closer attention.  I knew my splits were going to average under 8:00, however, I forgot about the inevitable extra mileage that I always run, especially on a crowded course with a lot of turns.  I wasn’t really looking at elapsed time.  Had I looked at that, I would have started my kick sooner.  I finished the race strong; I still had juice in the tank.  I remembered to stop my Garmin a few seconds after I crossed the finish line.  It said 50:03.  No!  Could I have stopped my Garmin 4 seconds after finishing?  It would be close.

I picked up my bag* and hung out a bit. I went to the results tent to see what my time really was.  I was hoping to see a 4 at the front of the number.  Alas, my time was 50:00!!!  One second?  That is all I needed to break 50:00??  So many things went through my head:  I could have started my kick earlier, I could have not walked those few steps at the water stop, I could have pushed it a little harder in the middle miles.  But the good news was that it was a PR! My last 10K on the 4th of July was 50:23  Twenty seconds isn’t a lot and the 4th of July race was a harder course, but I’ll take it!   A PR is a PR, especially when I didn’t really expect it.


I ran back to my inlaws’ house (making the total run a little over 8 miles) and spent the rest of the day with my family.  We went for a nice two mile walk down to the beach and enjoyed the beautiful day.  There was no wind and the surf was as calm as I had ever seen it.  It was still chilly (so we couldn’t take advantage of the lack of waves to swim), but it was super pleasant.  What a great way to spend Thanksgiving!

No, that isn't a lake or pond somewhere.  That is the beach mentioned in the Beach Boys' "Surfin' USA."  Not much surfing going on here.

Happy Running.

Results:
Time- 50:00
Overall: 743 out of 4049
Women- 170 out of 2228
F 40-44- 16 out of 311




*The bag check was better than Long Beach, but still not the best.  We had to wait a bit to get our bags, but most spirits were pretty high and runners were patient.  I think I recognized one of the girls as having worked at Long Beach.  If so, that girl is brave.  I made sure to smile and thank all the volunteers.  It would suck to volunteer on Thanksgiving only to be treated badly by impatient runners.  I am not sure why it took longer than it should.  I think, in this case at least, their space was pretty small.  Although the bags were clearly divided by bib number, it took a while to dig through each bin to find the correct number.  At races where the bag pickup went fast, they had the bags spread out more so you had fewer bags to look through to find a specific bag.  The Rock-n-Roll events organize by last name and then by bib number.

A 10K, a 5K-- trottin' turkeys, a PR and a wonderful day

My day started out as I woke up a 5:44, a half hour past my alarm.  Oops!  I had planned to leave at 6 for the Dana Point Turkey Trot, and I take a while to wake up.  I made up my Zip Fizz, got dressed and luckily my body "woke up" before I left the house.  My inlaws live less than a mile from the starting line.  It was so nice knowing that I could take my time and not worry about parking.

I left the house with my drink and my Luna Bar.  I immediately second guessed my wardrobe choice.  I was wearing a short-sleeved top, arm warmers and a running skirt*.  I debated going back for my gloves and changing into tights, but thought that it might warm up when the sun rose higher.  I was right and after a being pretty chilly before the race, I was perfectly dressed after all.  I jogged down to the starting area to warm up.

I was meeting my friends, who had my bib and chip.  They were registered for the 10K and I was registered for the 5K.  Unfortunately, by the time I was committed to register, the 10K was sold out.  This was their first 10K and Kelly was hoping to run it under an hour.  I decided that I would help her do just that**. 

We started out weaving through the crowds.  Kelly was understandably anxious to move around the other runners, but I warned her not to add too much distance by zigging and zagging and not to start out too fast. We would zip into an open spot, get into a groove and then come up on slower runners.  There were several walkers (and they surely didn't look like they were just stopping for a rest).  My question is: when there are two 5K races and a 10K race, why would you choose to walk in the 10K?  And why would you stay right in the middle?

The road got pretty narrow for a bit and it was pretty crowded.  We were running along the ocean (I really wished I had brought my camera!) and turned directly into the sun.  It was very difficult to see.  At one point I was just trying to focus on not running into the woman in front of me.  Suddenly... BAM... I ran into, and tripped over an orange cone.  OUCH.  It actually broke the skin on my shin.  I was lucky I didn't completely fall down and/or take out the previously mentioned woman in front of me.  It stung for a while, but it was just a flesh wound.  My shin is actually pretty bruised and sore right now.  That was some cone.

I kept a good eye on my Garmin and tried to keep Kelly from going too quickly.  We had a nice pace and she was actually able to chat at times.  It was hard keeping the pace consistent, however.  The course narrowed and widened and the crowds never really cleared.  I was keeping the commentary going, pointing out various things along the way (such as a bikini clad woman on a paddle board in the waterway)..  I know how it can be in your first big race, not paying attention to anything else but running.  It was absolutely gorgeous down there.  We ran by the ocean and through the harbor and marina.  I had a huge grin on my face.  We both commented on how much fun it was.  Kelly mentioned that she felt spoiled having her own personal pacer.

I checked in with her from time to time, making sure she was feeling ok.  For most of the race, she felt like she wanted to go a bit faster.  She was worried that she wouldn't finish under an hour.  I told her I would do whatever I could to get her there on time.  We picked it up just before the last mile.  I said to her, "you can do anything for nine minutes!  Push through to the end!"  In the final stretch, I could see the mile 6 sign and knew we would be making the one hour goal.  She said, "this isn't fun anymore."  "Yes it is," I came back with, "you are almost there!"  She asked me if we would make it under an hour.  I replied, "only if we hurry."  "Are you lying to me?"she asked.   I just smiled.  We sprinted in with a time of 59:20!!!***

I think she left it all out there.  She could barely celebrate at the end.  She was tired and thirsty (we ran right through the water stops).  I was so proud of her!  The good news is that when I saw her less than an hour later after my 5K, she looked great and was completely energized.

My official race was starting shortly after we finished.  I handed Kelly my sweaty arm warmers (ah, true friends) and went to the start area.  I wasn't sure how I would do in a 5K.  It really isn't my distance and I have only run two 5K's in the past.  I couldn't even remember what my PR was.  I knew I wanted  to run something in the 24's, but after a decent 10K and a crowded field, I wasn't sure how I good a pace I could keep up..  As the gun went off and we started moving, my phone, that had stayed snugly in the pocket of my running skirt during the past 6+ miles, fell out.  A runner handed it to me.  A hundred yards past the start, it did it again.  Grrrrr....  Forgetting about the option of sticking it in my bra, I decided to hold it.  I also came to terms with the fact that I probably wouldn't PR (stopping and going back to get a fallen phone is not conducive to a good time).

That first mile felt even more crowded than the first race.  I think because I started about halfway back, I was with a lot of walkers and strollers.  I felt like I was passing people like crazy and doing quite a bit of weaving.  My number one goal for the race was to run it under 8-minute miles****.  Unfortunately, the first mile was quite a bit over that (8:20) due to the crowd (and the few seconds of phone retrieval).  I was able to pick up the pace in the second mile.  By the last mile, I was hurting.  Right around the spot where Kelly announced that she wasn't having fun anymore, I felt exactly the same thing.  I stopped marveling at the scenery and wanted to finish it.  I pushed as hard as I could.

I finished and stopped my Garmin, which said 25:15 (I think my time was a few seconds faster than this).  I was a little bummed.  I really wanted to finish under 25 minutes.  I had it in my head that my PR was 24 and change.  When I got home and looked it up, I discovered that my PR from last Thanksgiving was 25:33.  I PR'd after a 10K warmup!!!!!   Where I was ok with my performance immediately after the race because I knew I ran strong, I am delighted now, knowing that I PR'd while running my seventh, eighth and ninth miles!!  After checking out the results***** I am excited to say that I broke the top ten for my age group!!

After meeting back up with my friends, I jogged back to my inlaws' to spend the rest of the day with my family.  Ten quality miles in before breakfast, you can't beat that!  You know, living in Southern California doesn't suck.  I ran a gorgeous sunny course along the ocean and marina and then took my kids swimming.  It was over 80 degrees by the afternoon.  

 

*it happens to be the same outfit I wore at the Carlsbad Half Marathon where I had my best race ever.
**Please note that I am not really in favor of running as a "bandit." However, I was perfectly willing to pay my fee and help the cause; they just wouldn't let me. I knew I wouldn't get an official time, so helping my friend would be a fun way to get a longer run in.

***10K splits (per the Garmin):
1- 10:07
2- 9:09
3- 9:41
4- 9:29
5- 9:29
6- 8:42
.34 (we weaved a lot and didn't do great at the tangents)- 2.47 (8:13 pace)

****5K splits (per the Garmin)
1- 8:22
2- 7:44
3- 7:49
.18 (I was a bit better with the tangents, but still had quite a bit of weaving)- 1:19 (7:12 pace)

*****Results:
gun time- 26:12
chip time-25:10
overall- 265 out of  2560
female- 45 out of 2560
female 40-44- 10 out of 180