I did it all for the pie!

I haven't gone for a run since November 2nd, when I ran a rather sad two miles.  I was just a teensy bit nervous about running five miles with no extra miles on my legs at the Columbus Turkey Trot....but my mother had paid for my entry and I'd been looking forward to it for a month!  I didn't look up any info about the trot until this past Wednesday at 4pm, and I wish I'd paid closer to attention to that info!  I knew where it started and ended, and I knew that it ended on an uphill note, but that was about it.  I had a vague notion of where on OSU's campus I'd be too but that's really not important.  I also signed up for Salt's virtual run, so that was a cute little addition!

Mile 1 - Downhill, woo hoo!  Lots of walkers and people with dogs who didn't know how to behave on a leash.  I also kept thinking, who on earth brings a tiny little dog on a five-mile run? Some of the pups just didn't look like they were going to last much more than a mile!

Mile 2 - Lots of walkers still.  I know I'm a slower runner, and I know that this turkey trot is a family tradition for many people, but I'm pretty sure many of these people should have known better than to plant themselves in the 12:00 minute/mile group and walk five-across-with-arms-linked.  Also, I was thirsty!!

Mile 3 - I don't remember much here except that I finally got my water station and was suddenly running next to The 'Shoe.

Mile 4 - YAY sideways snow and high wind!  And now I have to go back up the huge hill I went down earlier!

Mile 5 - Sideways AND a headwind.  Fantastic!  I started thinking about Kara Goucher and the elite runners who had to run into a headwind for 16+ miles at the NYC marathon.  I just dug deep and finished as strong as I could.

My splits sucked.  I had to take a couple long walk breaks because of side stitches and going a little too hard in the first two miles.  I finished in 1:03:38, so it wasn't terrible.  I know I can do better though.  Maybe next year will be a repeat!

Now that fall training is over, I'm at a bit of a loss.  I don't have any official races on the horizon.  I'm contemplating the Pro Football Hall of Fame half marathon at the end of April, and of course I'll be back for the Nationwide Children's half marathon in October.  The HOF race is very new, so it's a much smaller field, but I like the finisher goodies and want to run someplace that's not Columbus.  I have a new training plan to try locked into my Nike Running app, and my goal for the winter is to maintain my legs and improve my fitness level.  I'll be working hard at the gym over the coming months to lose some of the weight I've managed to add to my frame.  I'll be shooting for 5 miles per week minimum of running.  I also have a few things in mind to try when it comes to training this time around (Garmin vs tech-free, music vs no music, and more).  Nowhere to go from here but up!