Thanksgiving morning Neal and I got up bright and early to run the 2013 Alexandria Turkey Trot! We first ran the race back in 2011 and I couldn’t wait to run it again!
Yesterday was the coldest turkey trot in 23 years, which made layering for the 9AM start key.
As a FitFluential Ambassador, Under Armour sent me some amazing Cold Gear to wear this winter and boy was I grateful to have the Infrared Storm Beanie considering it was 26 degrees at 7AM!
Once at the race I had to keep in mind that I’d warm up a lot during the 5 mile race. I put on the Under Armour Define Reversible Headband and Coldgear Liner Gloves, which were perfect for the start of the race.
The Alexandria Turkey Trot took us through the streets of Del Ray, one of my favorite DC area neighborhoods.
Before the start of the race, Neal and I made the decision to take it pretty easy. Although the competitor in me wanted to beat my previous 5 miler time of 56:09, I knew I’d be pushing it to beat that time.
We started just after 9AM and enjoyed each and every mile.
We ran the first two miles straight and then walked for about 30 seconds when we crossed the 2 mile, 3 mile, and 4 mile markers.
I love everything about Turkey Trots and hope to make them a yearly tradition. There’s just something special about getting up early Thanksgiving morning and kicking the day off with a family workout.
My official race time was 1:00.26 which I’ll take (though truthfully I wished I had run under 1 hour).
Although it was really cold yesterday, I’m so glad Neal and I braved the cold and busted out the 5 miles. I’ll be the first to admit that often the cold keeps me from wanting to workout outside, but I’ve learned over the years that if I layer properly and get moving, I’m just fine!