Day 2: Tempo Turkey Trot

Today's task: tempo run - 2 miles easy, 2 miles @ 7:25 min/mile, 2 miles easy

We had the whole family signed up for one of the events for Charlie's Race, which has been held on Thanksgiving the past couple of years and raises money for the families of fallen Navy SEALs and remembers the Normile family's two children who died in separate tragic accidents. I was running the 5k by myself and then the 1 mile with Brynn, so I modified this week's tempo run to accommodate the race. 

Today's outcome: 5k PR of 21:08 (6:49 min/mile) 

Awesome 1 mile run with my mini me (who took off too fast for me to realize I hadn't reset or started my watch, so I have no idea what her time was)

1st place 19-39 year olds

4th place overall female (that chick in blue came out of nowhere the last 1/4 mile and nabbed a 3rd place finish)

Let's not get too excited...this was a very small race (as you may be able to tell by a 19-39 year old age group!). But I've never placed in a race before, so to come in first felt pretty darn good. A win is a win, right? What felt even better was knowing I performed better than I expected myself to today. First off, the past few weeks have been pushing me into depths of exhaustion I'm not sure I've experienced before. My plate has been full, and my heart has been heavy. In addition, today's weather conditions were rather challenging...temps right around freezing (there was a thin film of ice covering the puddles in the street), and the headwinds for the second half of the race were stiff. I'm really excited about averaging a sub-7 pace for the first time ever in a race, and only the second time in my own personal history of ever. I may never run as fast as Ryan, but can sure as hell try to close the gap a bit! 

Here are a few race highlights:

Group hug...everything is more fun with the Smiths!

I love running with this girl.  Brynn, not the turkey.  She is all business, and she's completely focused on finishing.  She fired up the afterburners on the homestretch and earned herself a glazed donut and a medal.

This girl was a trooper.  She wasn't quite feeling 100%, and she was bundled up in the stroller for an hour and a half prior to her race.  But once that horn went off...pure joy.  I could eat her.

It's a major award!  I couldn't be happier with my trophy.  I mean, that shit lights up.  Fancy.

This race was exactly what I needed yesterday morning.  I woke up feeling incredibly sad, but a great run with my favorite people lifted my spirits and helped me face a tough Thanksgiving with a smile on my face.