Feaster 5

Running the annual Feaster Five road race before gorging myself on turkey and sweet potatoes is becoming a bit of a tradition for me on Thanksgiving. I woke up feeling 100% lazy, to the point that I didn't role out of bed in time to even make a real breakfast. I threw on some clothes hoping the weather was favorable while an English muffin toasted. I deliberated wearing racing shoes or trainers for an embarrassingly long time choosing trainers since I had to warm up and cool down almost 4 miles each way if I wanted to run from home.

Eventually out the door and through the woods to Andover center. It was eerily quiet, but once I got to Main Street everything looked as it should. I jogged to the start line with about 10 minutes to spare. A few stretches and that was about it. I didn't feel like striding out or following much of my normal pre-race routine. Tom L was doing his thing up at the announcers booth along with the likes of Bill Rogers, the Hoyts, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and BAA race director Dave McGillivray (among others). I wedged myself in on the side of the start line, careful not to step immediately in front of anybody who may or may not have been very protective of their prized place on the starting line. After a few minutes Samuelson sneaked into the crowd right beside me and we wished each other well. A beautiful rendition of the National Anthem, a moment of silence, and we were off!

I started out steady and must have had a at least a dozen high school runners zig-zagging around me. It wouldn't have distracted me if I didn't have to check my speed a couple times in order not to cross legs with any of them. KIDS THESE DAYS! Right? Anyway they were gone pretty quickly, I set my eyes on Matt Germain who was a solid 5-8 seconds ahead of me and slowly reeled him in up the hill. Missed mile mark #1, which might have been a good thing, because I bet it wouldn't have been motivating!

During mile two I cruised by a couple of guys who were moving steadily but I was in a slightly better gear. Looking ahead I realized there was a lead group of three way ahead containing Sanca, Jenkins and somebody I didn't recognize, then there was a guy about 10 seconds up on me, and then me. 5th place was a pretty motivating spot to be in, so I went about running steady but keeping in mind that I wanted to eventually catch the 4th place dude.

I caught him around 3 miles at 16:27. Up to this point I had been running pretty steadily but not going crazy. I wasn't exactly up for a kicker's race so I cruised on by and into 4th place. Mile 4 read 21:35. One mile to go and it's basically all downhill, so I knew I'd have another low-5, and I did, bringing it home in 4th in 26:43.

I didn't stick around for long, but I sure did run into a lot of people while I was in the finish area. I was feeling a little sick from the race so I wasn't much for conversation (my apologies, world!). It was a good hard run. I was pleasantly surprised for the pace to come easier than expected and the race revealed that it's about time to commit to working on my core strength. My lower back was really rigged up from the fast downhill portions of the race and I know it's because my hips and abs are weaker than normal.

The afternoon was spent hanging with family in Peterborough, NH at my grandma's. There was a local "turkeys' trot" 5k at my former HS and I am always torn about which I want to do. No regrets though! Happy Thanksgiving everybody!