Seriously, who can tell me how fast a Turkey could run a 5k? Has this ever best scientifically tested….?
Here I am sitting the day before I run the annual 5k Turkey Trot in the Tri-cities, and this is one of many thoughts I have.
Well, I couldn’t find any conclusive evidence on how well a Turkey runs at distance races…okay, I didn’t find any. But I did find that wild turkeys apparently have a maximum running speed of up to 25 miles per hour. That’s movin’!
So, my guess is that a scared wild turkey would beat me off the starting line at the Turkey trot tomorrow, but I’m also guessing in a fair race (you never know about those turkeys), I’d cross the finish line first. I can only assume that the 25 mph is reserved for short bursts…but who knows!
Turkey Trot Rivalry!
In addition to turkey speed, I’ve also been thinking about how to run the actual 5k event tomorrow!
Now you have to understand that this race isn’t just a casual Turkey trot, its all-out family rivalry! This is an annual battle that has been going on in my family for the past few years. Brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, grandparents, and children are all in on the race. Whoever runs a 5k on Thanksgiving day, gets the official Turkey trot trophy! And oh what a trophy it is!
Unfortunately, I’ve only held it in my hands when I bought the trophy a few years ago. The first year, I had to ship it off to my older brother in Arizona. Now its in the hands of my 15 year old nephew in Utah.
When a 15 year old beats me at a 5k before he even hits his prime, and I am a few years past my prime, then chances are not great that I will ever hold that spectaculous trophy again is slim.
However, I can still beat all my brothers!
I have 2 brothers running the 5k with me in the morning. I plan on sending my dust their way.
Going into the race, I have 2 goals:
1. Beat my brothers
2. Set a PR
My current PR in the 5k is 21:45. I actually think I will beat it pretty handily this year.
I am setting a goal of 20:59 for the race.
I’ve been doing a bit more training lately specifically for a 5k distance over the past month. I’ve actually never done this before; I’ve always training for half marathons or full marathons.
Turkey Trot Training
So, over the past few weeks, I’ve been running more intervals, hills, and just overall faster paces than I usually do. I won’t know until after the race, but I think the speed and hill work is really going to pay off!
My only concern going into the race is that my legs are slightly fatigued still from my workouts on Saturday and Monday. So, will the soreness play much of a factor in the morning? We’ll see!
I’ve been following a training program put together by Aaron at Theraputic Associates. As mentioned previously, he’s been having me train according to my heart rate, which has been very interesting.
In addition, I’ve been doing a bit more strength training and less easy miles. For example, usually I would take a day off or taper miles a bit before a race. And while I have tapered miles a bit this week, my training plan has still called for some high intensity workouts this week.
Here’s what I did the 3 days prior to the Turkey Trot 5k:
- Monday – 10 min warmup, 8×2 minute hill repeats at 170-175 BPM (pretty high!), jog back to start for recovery, 10 minute cool down jog.
- Tuesday – 50 minute trail run; average Heart Rate 160-165 BPM
- Wednesday – 10 minute warm up, 3 x 60 second at 6:30 pace, 2 minute walk between each effort
Anyway, you can see that the effort has still been pretty high the few days leading up to the 5k. Will this help or hinder me during the race?
So, what do you think? Will I hit my goal of a sub-21 minute 5k?
And perhaps more importantly, will I dominate my brothers once again and have bragging rights for another year? And who will get that beautiful trophy?
Overall, it should be a fun event and should help me check off another goal this year of setting a PR in the 5k.
I still don’t know how fast Turkeys can run a 5k in…sorry to disappoint. However, there will be plenty of people dressed up like Turkeys running a 5k…does that count?
If you are running in a Turkey trot tomorrow, I wish you good luck! If not, I still hope you have a great Thanksgiving.
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