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Comments: After we finished at the standing pee closets, the race emcee was screaming for all 8 milers to line up, which we were trying to do. The theory is for the 5k fun run/walkers to go off 15 minutes after the 8 milers, in an effort to avoid congestion. The 8 milers had blue bibs, and the walkers had white bibs (dogs had gold, if I recall). AND WE'RE OFF! Sort of. We couldn't get past the white bibbers who started when they weren't supposed to. I am not complaining, but it was pretty clear that nobody adhered to the bib color start rule. That happens every year, apparently. So, the first 3 miles were spent playing Frogger with slower people, walkers (some people started the run at a dead sprint and were walking by mile 2..but hey, to each their own), avoiding strollers, dogs and some crashes. Yes, crashes. People were falling down. I am guessing that may be one of the reasons for the 15 minute staggered time start that is suggested but not enforced. We got over the start mat 3 minutes after the gun and stayed WAY to the right to avoid the mass of humanity. Oh, and we wore our Ipods (kiss my asterisk White Rock) the whole race and not one person or animal was injured. Well, not due to us wearing them. Did I mention the white bibbers were supposed to start 15 minutes after us? But, I digress. Again. Oh, before I forget...if you are the brunette hottie who ran in front of my brother and I the entire race, please tell me how you can text message on your phone for 80 minutes straight while running. That was fascinating. What would you do differently?: Get closer to the starting line. We didn't run this as a race, but more of a fun run/training deal, but the peril we encountered the first 3 miles was a tad on the whacky side.  Post race
Warm down: Crossed the finish line with my brother. We had a negative split, but that had more to do with the gaggle of goofs walking/tripping/stumbling for the 1st 3 miles slowing us down. Garmin said it was 8.29 miles, but we did swing the widest turns possible to avoid the domino peloton potential. What limited your ability to perform faster: We weren't trying to perform fast. Maybe faster shoes? An aero helmet? Event comments: It was my first YMCA Turkey trot and it was enjoyable, despite the temperature. Although it is a LOT of people, it's about exercising and being outside and kind of signals the holidays are upon us. I chose this race because I just turned 40 and the trot is in it's 40th year. Now, I really don't have an excuse not to run it from here on out. D'oh. Last updated: 2007-11-28 12:00 AM
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United States
38F / 3C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 2944/4238
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 259/326
Spent the night at my brothers place, showered and got dressed in the morning and started to make our way to Dallas. Kept thinking we were forgetting something, but for an 8 mile running race, if you're dressed, what's to forget? Slammed a gatorade and hit the road. Got to the parking garage at about 0730 and got our timing chips. Then it was back down to the parking garage because it was COLD. It never ceases to amaze me to watch people try to stretch cold muscles 90 minutes before a race, but I see it every time. Anyway, my bro and I shared an energy bar, turned our Garmins on and headed to the starting line.
Well, since it was 38 degrees with a north wind, warming up wasn't really in the cards. I managed to jump up and down for a bit to get my blood going and then we stood in line at the port-o-go's for about 15 minutes while the 8 milers lined up. I didn't have to go, but my brother did, and getting seperated with 30k people milling around wasn't a good idea, since we planned to run the race together. As we got to the front of the line, an obviously homeless guy saunters up past the entire line with a bunch of yogurt and banana's in his hand and gets in the front of the line. Someone in front of me coughed loudly and the guy looked back, seeming to be surprised.
Him: "Oh, is this the line?"
Me: "Yes, it starts back there (pointing) in Arlington."
He laughed, we all laughed, and he left. Strange. Anyway, by this time, I started to get concerned because I couldn't find any water to apply my Garmin HRM. I finally spotted a dude holding a water bottle and asked if I could have a splash. As I raised my singlet to put it on, my nipples instantly hated me. I will reconsider applying the HRM inside the parking garage next year.