Race Result

Racer:	Dona Lee
Race:	Alexandria Turkey Trot 5 Miler
Date:	Thursday, November 25, 2004
Location:	Alexandria, VA
Race Type:	Run - 5 Mile / 8 km
Age Group:	Female 45 - 49
Time:	0:53:40
Comment:	Slow compared to the rest of you, great time for me!

Race Report:

When we realized back in October that our kids (age 20 and 24) would be with us on turkey day, all of us signed up for the race figuring it’d be a nice way to start the day. I had no idea that it would be another month before I recovered from the bout of bronchitis/temporary asthma that had started right after Labor Day. On race day, I’d only run 5-6 times with my longest run a 4 miler 5 days before the race.

Thursday morning was a little dreary, gray and misty, but with temps at the start of mid-50’s with only a light breeze. We were wearing garbage bags to keep warm while we waited for the race to start. It was a fun crowd, nearly 2000 people of all ages, including Governor Warner. We agreed not to try to stay together since I was predicting it’d take me about an hour to finish. I know, a 12 min pace is walking for some people, but it feels like running to me.

There were no mile markers and only 1 water stop so it was really hard to judge how I was doing but I felt great and had people around me most of the way. I made sure I called out Happy T-giving to any residents who braved the weather to cheer us on and thanked all of the Alexandria police who lined the route. One woman came up behind and said she liked my style and liked running near me…I figure why not have fun, right? I kind of thought I might be running under 12 min a mile, but wasn’t too sure. Maybe chasing after the 2 cute young guys wearing just loincloth made the difference!? When I reached the finish line to see 53+ min on the board, I was thrilled! My husband and daughter had finished in under 45 minutes and were waiting for me, surprised I’d showed up when I did. My son finished right around an hour, glad to be done (and took at nap that afternoon to recover).