2018 Thanksgiving Day 10K: A New 10K PR!

I ran my first Thanksgiving Day 10K and set a new 10K PR! The weather was cool, the route was challenging and I felt strong.

All week I talked about trying to do it in under an hour, which would still be faster than my 102:52 time at the Flying Pig 10K in April. I remember feeling really good at that race so I was doubtful at the starting line.

The Course

The previous Saturday our running group did almost the identical route, so it was very familiar. Liberty is a substantial hill and that’s when I started to feel pumped. I tried to make up time by cruising down the hills. The bridges over the Ohio River are expected hills, but the last right turn and up to mile 6 there is also an aggressive little hill.

The previous week Melanie (to my right) charged up that hill and I was so impressed and motivated. I channeled that going up that incline again on Thanksgiving. Melanie, Dan, Angela and I all finished within a few minutes of each other. All smiles! 🙂

My Results

I beat my hour goal by 1:19 and beat my Flying Pig 10K time by 4:11! After that last climb there was maybe 3 blocks left and I remember looking down at my watch and saying to myself, “I have 3 minutes to get there, I got this!”

The actual event is more family-friendly than runner-friendly. Kids and strollers are allowed on the course. We started near the 8 min/mile flag and had to pass lots of people during the first mile. We didn’t receive a race medal at the end or a t-shirt. Not that it’s all about the swag, but it kinda is. The Tri-State tent with our warm clothes and beer for after made up for it. 😛 (There is an option to purchase a long sleeve, quarter zip tech pullover, which I did. It was $25 and is very thin and oversized.)