I have been running turkey trots/Thanksgiving race since the early 1980s, and if my counting is correct Thursday’s 10K in Minneapolis was my 27th. I enjoy these events, which have become hugely popular with some very large events, into the 10s of thousands in some places, and it now it seems that every town or community has its own local turkey trot.
I chose this one because it would have a relatively fast and certified course. Two laps around Lake Harriet, southwest of downtown. The course is flat most of the way, but there is a decent hill at 1 and 4 miles, and a smaller incline just before 3 and 6 miles. Enough to keep you honest.
Training since the marathon has been a gradual add-on of miles without any workouts other than a tune-up fartlek last week at a local park.
We have had pretty warm weather this fall, and prior to last Tuesday only a few days when it was below freezing overnight. That changed on Tuesday night with a fast moving front that dropped a few inches of snow on the ground and brought the temperatures down into the 20s. We got an instant winter, but unlike Colorado when it gets cold here it tends to stay that way for weeks or months at a time.
Get used to it.
Thursday dawned clear and cold at 25 F and 8-10 mph winds, bringing the windchill down to about 15. I was concerned about ice on the course and spent 45 minutes doctoring my oldest pair of super shoes (Vaporfly 3s from 2023) with a half dozen hex spikes on each shoe.
Making my way to the start area from a nearby side street was the most difficult part because the streets sidewalks were mostly ice covered and I was glad to have the hex screws in my soles. However, the course around the lake was in fine shape, with nary an ice patch. So I opted to go spikeless.
I layered just right, with tights and compression socks underneath, a merino wool shirt long-sleeve and my old Alaska Salmon Runners singlet and arm warmers. Ski cap and running gloves. I was just about right for temperature management.
They sent us off at 8-sharp, I was in about the 3rd row with nearly 1000 runners behind me. The first mile felt okay, not too fast not too slow but hitting that first hill I got kind of gassed and knew I would be able to hold this effort. Crossing the mile in 6:28 (6:23 GAP) should be about right for a 10K–but more mid-season. Twenty five days after the marathon I’m not yet ready for prime time running and I eased up. A few runners passed and the group I had been with pulled away. I settled into what a month a go would have been a moderate tempo pace. This was more like threshold, a pace I could hold on for an hour.
Did not feel the wind much for the first two miles but as we rounded the north end of the lake we got some headwind. I was not really close enough to draft much. Passed 5K in just over 20:20, so not near my pre-race goal of sub 40 for the full 10K. However I was maintaining okay. A woman passed me (1st woman) soon after but I caught up to a teenage runner who had fallen back. On the far side of the lake I did try to pick it up some but it wasn’t enough to speed up my splits or drop the runner. An older guy (not in my age group) caught up with about 2K to go and pulled away swiftly the youngster went with him so I was in no man’s land into the wind, nevertheless holding on okay. I wasn’t slowing down, they were just speeding up.
As we near the end of the lap, we had to turn right to extend the distance to a full 10K. I picked up the pace with about 500 m to go and carried it in. A masters runner caught me in the final stretch but I did not mount a counter sprint. Just took it in. Splits (remarkably close the mile markers on the course for once!) were 6:28, 6:40, 6:40, 6:35, 6:37, 6:40. I have a good baseline for upcoming tempo runs weather permitting as temps are dropping and snow is falling.
My first turkey trot in Minnesota was a success. The goal for these is to run hard but not too hard, and have some fun but also get a decent workout from the effort. Success. I’d go back.
Background and Training. This was my second attempt at the NYC Marathon. I ran it in 2009 with a bum knee that gave out on the Queensborough Bridge, and by 18 miles I could not run another step. It has been my only DNF in more than 40 years. The damage to my knee from that mishap nearly ended my running career and it took me out of running for about 18 months.
I signed up this year not just to complete some unfinished business but it also was the Abbott World Marathon Majors masters championship race for 2025, and because it was a huge bucket list race that I have wanted to do for decades, going back to the late 1970s when I was in college. I did try to get in for 2021 and 2022, but got froze out on the internet pile up with so many applicants filing at the same time.
For training since early July I averaged 62 miles a week, ranging from the high 40s (for race taper weeks) to mid-70s, with two or three threshold (dialed back to LT1 for the most part) workouts plus a long run every week or two through July and August.
Training block.
By September I was doing a more more traditional schedule with a weekly 10K-5K pace workout and tempo run, and long run. I got in three 20+ milers and a bunch of 16-18 milers since early July. It was a pretty good build, although I sometimes felt that I should have done more volume and fewer races if I had really wanted to prepare for the marathon.
The September-October races went well, I ran 1:24 for the half, 1:04 for the 10 mile, and wrapped up with ~18:50 for 5K (19:07 for 3.16 miles) a couple of weeks ago. These could arguably point toward a low or sub 3 marathon, but I was not all that confident on breaking 3 this time out. I could just feel it in the long runs, 6:50-55 felt too fast. However, I did feel that 7:00 pace or a bit under would be an achievable goal.
There were no glitches during the training block, although my knees did get a little sore over the final month and I wore a patellar strap to help with that. In the final week I had a couple nights of bad sleep before the trip, waking up at 2 AM on Friday, several hours before I needed to for our early flight, and that got into my head too much.
Flying into the city on Friday morning, with Verrazzano Narrows Bridge and Brooklyn under a gray sky.
Travel. We traveled to NYC on Friday and breezed through bib pick up. You actually had to schedule a block to get your bib and that spread out the crowding so there were no long lines. However, the wind howled all Friday night and into the morning enough shake our building and whistle through the windows so I did not sleep great on Friday. I was utterly boring on Saturday, only venturing out for a shakeout run in Central Park and for dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant.
Central Park shakeout run.
Race Day. I slept better than usual for the night before a marathon, waking up at 3:30 but did not get up until 4:00, and arrived to the ferry terminal at a bit after 5:00 and took the 5:30 ferry to Staten Island. We arrived at the athletes village at about 7. It all went pretty smoothly. I tried to relax and stay warm, gnawing on bagels (2) and taking in some caffeine and fluids. Visited the porta johns more times than I can ever recall before a race. But the lines weren’t bad, they were set up very well for that.
Athletes Village on Sunday morning.
Made it to the packed start corral with a healthy 6 minutes to spare but got kind of chilly waiting for our move up to the bridge, I should have kept my sweater. I was dressed in half-tights, a singlet, and had a pair light gloves.
The Five Boroughs. We lined up and a few minutes of announcements the cannon fired. It took about 40 seconds to get across the line and we were off. The Staten Island section was brief, before we got over the water. The first mile was slow because it climbs the massive bridge, second mile fast because it drops 120 feet into Brooklyn, and third mile just about right, and I was 21:30 at 5K. I kept having to hold back, because every time I checked my watch my saw the pace creeping in to the 6:40s. The group I had started with pulled ahead as others caught up and passed.
I still was under 7:00/mile pace through 8 miles but had been feeling too warm in the half tights, so when I saw Tamara and my cousin I peeled those off to my split shorts but had to dig my gels out of my pocket and would carry them by hand for the rest of the way. That pit-stop cost about 40 seconds, but I think it was worth it in the end.
Brooklyn was crazy! It was 10 miles of nearly continuous scream tunnel, with the Hasidic section of Williamsburg being the only quiet interlude. Hardly anyone was out, I remembered more activity in 2009. Once we got back into the other neighborhoods, where it was more lively, it was a mixed blessing. Surely raucous and fun, but people were getting wild sometime darting into the field of runners or crowding onto the street so much that we slowed considerably. And some were setting off confetti poppers practically in your face. And some narrow sections had a bit of a Tour de France feel with people in the streets reaching out and hollering. On few occasions it narrowed so much the entire field had to slow down to 7:20 pace for a block or two.
My legs started feeling tight at about 10 miles, not always a good sign in a marathon! I would prefer not to get heavy legs until at least 15.
I crossed the half marathon in 1:32, so with that 40 second stop, I was holding that 7:00 pace. I was not feeling too bad, but still had 13 miles to go!
The short section in Queens was almost as rowdy as Brooklyn they were really loud, but the street was wider than some of those earlier sections. The Queensborough Bridge was a respite from the noise and mostly you could only hear was the pounding steps of the runners and a lot of heavy breathing. I started to pick off lots of faster starting runners, and that continued for most of the rest of the race.
1st Avenue was packed 10 deep with people on both sides, for miles, but it was maybe not as noisy as I remember. Still there was a lot of enthusiasm. I passed the infamous 18-mile point with my knees in reasonable condition and relished that from there on I would be setting course PBs.
However, the miles were getting tougher. My splits for miles 19-20 had slowed to 7:10-15 pace but overall was still at low 7. I think the miles in north Manhattan and the Bronx were the toughest of the day. I split 20 miles at 7:01 or 7:02 pace. However, the next few miles were the toughest of the day and even though my effort level was increasing I dropped to 7:20s. By 21 miles, rather than passing people I was just maintaining position, passing some but getting passed. I saw my wife and cousin at 35K and that cheered me up.
A face in the crowd at 35K.
Even though we started with a long climb after returning to Manhattan, turning onto 5th Avenue was a boost and I started passing more runners again. This is where the race for the medals really played out. I passed two or three other age group competitors over the final 3 miles.
Carnage on the course was beginning mount, as runners suddenly stopped or veered in front with some ailment or another. I had to do some dodging and start-stopping.
Central Park was a blast and I was able pick off many dozens of runners, although my pace had not picked up. Turning onto 59th Street felt great, knowing I had less than a mile to go. I put in all that I had and crossed in 3:06, a few minutes over goal time but I felt that it had been a solid effort. I didn’t think I had placed well in the age group rankings but was just happy to bring home a finishers medal and satisfaction of finally finishing this great event.
Half mile to go!
Post Race. I stumbled around for about a half hour, huddled in a NYRR insulated poncho, before finding my family. The restaurants were too crowded to get a meal, so we just headed back to my cousin’s place.
New York City Marathon finisher medal (right), which I waited 16 years to earn, and the bronze medal for the Age Group World Championship.
Later in the day I learned that I had finished 3rd for the World Marathon Majors championship (but 4th in age group, because the overall age group winner did not sign up for the championships) and was in the top 100 overall for age grading. That could not have gone better. But more importantly I am simply thrilled to finally have had the full New York City marathon experience.
I have now finished all three World Marathon Majors in North America (Boston 2018, 2022 and Chicago 2023). Not sure if I’ll ever go for six or eight or wherever they land with new additions to the tour but this is good for now.
Now. Rest. Rehab my sore knees, cross train, and get ready for winter–then 2026. No marathons planned. I want to focus on the half and under next year.
rrunnin234 