RunningAHEAD - Topic: Penn State Worthington Scranton Turkey Trot RR

Carl A

posted: 12/7/2007 at 11:07 AM

Yesterday, during my lunch break from my day job, I ran a two-mile Turkey Trot at the PSU branch campus where I teach night classes. The hilly course consisted of two one-mile laps that took us by the soccer field, baseball field, and some of the campus buildings. Most of the course had a few inches of snow, but it had already melted some on the flat soccer fields, which were, however, somewhat mushy. Participating were members of the men's and women's cross country teams, as well as several other students and faculty members. The women's team had just won the PSUAC championship (which I think is the league for the many PSU campuses), so everyone was in a great mood for this run. On much of the first lap, I stuck with two xc runners and we helped each other stay on course at each turn. (Each of us was able to remember part of the directions that the coach gave us just before the start.) As the two slowly pulled away on the second lap, I had to dig in and keep myself running a fast pace by reminding myself that it was only two miles. As I neared the last quarter mile, an old familiar nausea, probably from low cerebral oxygen, crept up, but I kicked in hard the last 200 yards anyway because I knew that I had a few more warning heaves in me and would probably be able to finish this one before losing my cookies. Last year, in muddy but somewhat similar running conditions, I had finished in 15:02, but this year I crossed the line at 14:48 and in third place, overall. So, it seems that my increased mileage lately is paying off, even though I've done much less speed training this year. After the race, everyone had sandwiches in the gym, and I got a medal for being the first faculty/staff runner to finish. It was a good day to spend a lunch break, and when I got home my boys were excited that I actually earned a first-place medal.

Speed my steps along your path, according to your will.

btb1490

posted: 12/7/2007 at 11:31 AM

Very cool mixing it up with the leaders, Carl! Pretty exciting! Good job keeping your cookies down, not easy for an all out 2 mile race! Congrats on being the fasted faculty member in the race too! Along with your medal, I hope you earned a special parking spot on campus for that! Smile

Running the 2016 Boston Marathon for Children's Hospital

trishierunner

esq.

posted: 12/7/2007 at 11:33 AM

Congrats on the third place overall and first faculty finish! 14:45 .... hot dog that's FAST!

2009: BQ?

jdmcgregor

All business

posted: 12/7/2007 at 2:44 PM

Congratulations Carl! Great race, and third overall, you're the man.

"If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason." J. Handy

Bonkin

posted: 12/7/2007 at 2:57 PM

That's awesome, Carl! Congrats on the medal!

When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

Carl A

posted: 12/7/2007 at 3:59 PM

Thanks for the encouragement! I'm a little nervous about the pace because it's very close to my 7:26 per mile goal for my spring marathon. If I want to BQ, I'm going to have to really build the winter miles to be able to maintain this pace for 26.2, even if the mary is on a flat road course in great conditions. Running Ahead is THE place, though, for setting goals, tracking progress, and celebrating accomplishments. Thanks again!

Speed my steps along your path, according to your will.

rvelich

Another Passion

posted: 12/7/2007 at 10:55 PM

Congratulations on the great race, Carl. Good luck in your continued marathon training and with your BQ goal!

Rick
"The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare." - Juma Ikangaa
"I wanna go fast." Ricky Bobby
runningforcassy.blogspot.com

Penn State Worthington Scranton Turkey Trot RR (Read 498 times)