2013 Ashburn Farm Turkey Trot 10k

The Ashburn Farm Turkey Trot has become somewhat of a family tradition.  We (Michelle and I) first ran the Ashburn Farm5k/10k race for Lukojjo Village in Uganda, Africa "Humble Place" in 2010.  In 2011, we convinced my family to participate and since then it's been a tradition.  Last Thanksgiving, we spent our time in Richmond and missed out on the event; fear not we ran a Richmond 10k that was WAY more challenging!  This year we were back in the Northern Virginia area for Thanksgiving and I made it a requirement that we participate in the race. 

Most people use running a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning as an excuse to eat guilt free later on Thanksgiving day but both Michelle and I agree that we could really care less about Thanksgiving food.  In fact, whenever we host our first Thanksgiving we will probably do a modern take on the whole ordeal and put a twist on the food like fresh cranberry salsa instead of cranberry sauce, etc.  I digress.

In 2012, I managed to run a 49:12...on a hilly course...in a turkey costume!

Last year, I debuted the Turkey costume at the Richmond Road Runners Club (RRRC) 10k Turkey Trot, held on the Richmond University campus, and it was a total riot!  It was super fun to run in the costume and most folks got a kick out of it, although some of the runners didn’t like being beat by a guy in a turkey suit.  The field there is much more competitive and time focused compared the Ashburn Farm Turkey Trot, which is more family friendly.

Despite the success of the Turkey Costume with the crowd, it needed a few minor tweaks to make it comfortable to run in, mainly the fact that the legs will not stay up and the costume wants to fall down from the running motion.






Enter Michelle!  Have I said how much I love her lately?  I knew elastic was needed to make the legs stay up but wasn’t quite sure how to make it work with how the costume is designed.  Michelle suggested attaching them to a pair of shorts (genius) and I had an older pair of Nike Shorts that I don’t wear as much that matched pretty well.  The result: Turkey leg waders.

I also wanted to replace the brown cotton shirt that I wore under the turkey costume last year and picked up a red suit off Amazon post Halloween for $19.  The red of the costume and the one piece suit looked like they matched well. Unfortunately the skin suit didn't match the description that noted it had a removable hood, which would work with the turkey costume.  Instead the hood was attached when I received the suit in the mail.


On Wednesday, Michelle and I swung by the church for shirt and bib pickup.  We had the been assigned the task of picking up all ten shirts and race bibs, which I decided to neatly fold and arrange for the photo to the left.  As a group, eight of us planned to participate in the 5k while Michelle and I had registered for the 10k.  This year marked the 20th annual race and the shirts were pretty cool but I was disappointed they strayed away from the Humble Village shirts.

Packet pick up at Crossroads United Methodist Church

The slideshow playing of the work Crossroads has done with Lukojjo Village in Uganda, Africa

L-R: My parents, Michelle and I, my aunt and uncle and two cousins, 

and my sister and her husband.

Pre-race we always hang out and spend time in the Church staying warm and watching the slide show they put together that shows the work they do with the Humble village in Uganda.  Eventually, we all made our way out to the start line and waited in the cold for the race to start.

I thought I remembered a start arch in previous years?

Waiting for the race to start in the cold weather.

I decided that after Saturday's 50 mile run, I was going to take the run easy and enjoy running with Michelle.  Michelle and I have never run a race together, we have run in the same race but we have never run together.  Like an amateur, I forgot to put on my watch this morning with all of the excitement for debuting my new turkey costume but Michelle saved the day by downloading the Strava app. and signing me in to record the run.

This was early on in the race on the way out maybe one mile in.

You can see the cones on the opposite side of the road where we would be on the way back mile ~5.

Michelle and I planned to run at her pace for the race, which is typically around the 10:30-11:00 pace, but she went off at around a 10 minute pace and managed to maintain close to that pace for the entire race.

Michelle had plenty of energy at this point in the race.

On the way out at the first of many intersections.

We talked for most of the race and had fun joking about how awesome we looked.  All of the folks that were cheering alongside the road laughed at us and got a good kick out of our costumes.  The rest of the race was rather uneventful including two out and back where we had the opportunity to see the leaders of the race!

I snagged these photos while running with my TS4.

The first out-and-back where we saw the faster runners!

On the way back on the opposite side of the road from the above photo.

Mile 4.5 or so.

Mile 5 - this was a false flat despite how the grade appears in the photo.

Michelle had her phone with her using Strava to record the run but opted not look at it until around mile five when she realized she could run sub 1-hour and decided to push it toward the end.  We moved pretty quickly during the last mile and worked well pushing each other until crossing the finish line.  We were so close but in the end crossed the finish line at time of 1:00:11.

Michelle and I post finish!

We found our friends Tim and Dana post race and then headed inside to grab some of the refreshments they have offer.

It was another awesome year of turkey trotting with the family and friends and starting out an awesome family day with exercise! I seriously love doing this and hope that we continue to do it every year!

Check out some of my past race reports from this race: 2009 and 2010

Strava run data for the 2013 Ashburn Farm 10k

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2013 Crooked Road 24HR

The 2013 Crooked Road 24HR Ultra was my first timed event, and after this weekend it will certainly not be my last!  When I registered for the event, I gladly snagged the last spot of the 120 competitors allowed on UltraSignup.com and put it on my calendar as a “fun run.”  In my lastpost, I mentioned I’ve had a pretty stellar year as far as setting new PR’s and having fun running and racing.  That being said, it has been a long year of running and racing, and I was mentally exhausted heading into Saturday.  As much as I would like an offseason (I can only blame myself here), I have Umstead 100 mile Endurance Run in April to build and train for and considered this event as an intermediary between 50 miles and the difficult to comprehend 100-mile mark.  At the outset of the day, I had the lofty goal of 100k (62 miles), but like most participants my goals were a function of the time of day, temperature, and how I was feeling at the moment and fluctuated between stopping at 50k and going for 100 miles.

We were treated to a gorgeous sunrise on our way to the race!

The race was held at Waid Park in Rocky Mount, VA a little over 1.5 hours from Blacksburg, which made for an easy commute the morning of the event.  We left the house (all three of us!) around 6 and arrived just before 7:30 giving me a half hour to complete packet pickup, hit the restroom, and meet up with the rest of the Virginia TechUltra group before the start at 8AM.  This is the first time I’ve participated in a race where I didn’t have to get out of my car for packet pickup.  This was AWESOME!  We literally pulled into the park and I rolled down my window and they handed me an envelope with bib, car sticker, and my race jacket.  Once parked, we hopped out and found the other Virginia Tech folks who had arrived earlier and staked out a nice viewing platform/deck for us to hang out at all day.  This was great because it made for a nice place for everyone to gather and chat throughout the day and kept everyone together adding to the overall enjoyment of the event.

Packet pickup as you enter the park! 

Frank Lilley, the photographer of a bunch of the photos in this post in the car ahead.

Subaru Outback: The car choice of ultra runners. Photo Credit: Frank Lilley

 Michelle and Matt (Jordan's crew) hanging out near the viewing platform/deck 

Photo Credit: Frank Lilley

Michelle and Gillie hanging out near the start area.  Photo Credit: Ricky Scott

About 10 minutes before the start, we noticed a crowd beginning to gather near the start line and decided we should probably head over to hear the pre-run announcements.  One of the participants had already logged 23 miles starting at midnight that morning and hoped to complete 100 miles by the end of the run Sunday morning.  It was awesome to have five of us together there at the start.  I feel privileged to run with such a fun and inspiring group.  After a prayer, the run started and we were off!

The pavilion and start line area. Photo Credit: Frank Lilley

VT Ultra hanging out at the start line! Photo Credit: Frank Lilley

The asphalt/gravel section of the course (i.e. section two).
One of the brief moments of blue sky on Saturday. Photo Credit: Frank Lilley

The course was a .95-mile loop consisting of three “sections” that we were all very familiar with by the end of the day.  The first section was a five-foot wide gravel/dirt path that began at the start line and ended at the bottom of the large “hill” on the course.  To say it was a hill is being generous.  They were more like little “risers” or undulations one of which was maybe ~10 feet and the other ~30 feet, the latter was considered the “hill/mountain” of the course with this funny little sign at the top of it (see below).  The second section was along a gravel, and at some points paved (right), road that served as the perimeter to a large grass field and followed along a creek near the park.  The last was from the end of the gravel/asphalt road where we crossed an asphalt cul-de-sac (packet pickup photo above), near the entrance of the park, onto a gravel road back to the start.  This section took the most out of me throughout the day because of the size of gravel on the road and feeling each and every rock boulder through my shoes.

The brutal gravel that destroyed my feet the first 32 laps.  Lesson learned.

This sign was at the top of the "hill" on the course.  

The fine print said "you'll soon agree, this IS a MOUNTAIN."

The back half of the "hill" on the course. Photo Credit: Ricky Scott

Jordan and I rocking out some laps early on! Photo Credit: Rudy Rutemiller

Guy, Joe, Jordan, Wyatt, and Rudy (L to R)

Early in the morning right before the course made a hard left onto asphalt/paved/gravel road above.

I run the risk of revealing myself too much here but I did make one minor misjudgment in preparing for the race, which was not using good Band-Aids for…erm…nip guards.  I had to stop about an hour in to ask for duct tape and additional Band-Aids.  This was a huge disaster because I was sweaty and nothing was sticking.  In the future, I think I’ll have to shave the region around to ensure that everything stays in place.  #RunnerProblems

Having a blast lap-after-lap! Photo Credit: Ricky Scott

Guy and Wyatt early on in the day when the temperature was nice.  Photo Credit: Ricky Scott

Jordan Chang (left) and Rudy Rutemiller (right) decided it was warm enough to lose the shirts.

Photo Credit: Ricky Scott

Aside from the above, the first few hours were really uneventful, which I suppose is a good thing in a 24-hour event.  The weather was gorgeous and the sun came out making for a nice morning to be out for a run.  I managed to knock off 13.1 right around the two-hour mark and continued on that pace not really stopping until I hit the marathon mark just over four hours.  I made a few friends along the way including Carol (below), Emily, and Joe who all seemed to be enjoying their time out on the course. 

Carol (left) and Emily & Carol (right).  Emily went on to complete 96 miles in 24 hours

Photo Credit: Frank Lilley

Heads up: Tangent Alert!!!  The ultra community is AWESOME!  It is such an inspiring and positive group of people to be around!  Seriously.  Age means nothing to these people and it was awesome to see folks of all abilities out there completing lap after lap.  The crowd at this event was slightly different than some of the other ultras I’ve done (Promise Land & Iron Mountain).  Do not mistake this as a complaint or insult but rather just an observation.  What I did find inspiring was that some of the participants didn’t “look like” runners but were out there having a blast and fostering a great sense of community and “anything is possible” attitude.  I’d eat their attitude for breakfast-lunch-and-dinner and have a hearty helping for dessert too!  It’s these positive individuals that make me love being around runners.  So cool!

Nutrition is a huge battle and one that I don’t think any athlete ever “really” figures out because our bodies are always changing and we are forced to fuel with different (even if the same) foods before races.  Perhaps some figure it out “more” than others but I think for most it is a process of trial and error and identifying what doesn’t work rather than what does.  I made sure to drink early and often as well as to grab a couple pretzels and a Fig Newton every couple laps.  I was fortunate to not have ANY cramping issues the entire day.  However, man-oh-man did my stomach slosh.  I heard someone describe it as the sound a Camelbak makes when someone runs with a hydration bladder.  I think other runners knew I was coming up on them from the noise my stomach was making.  Despite my stomach sloshing, I didn’t feel nauseous or have any other related GI issues…just lots and lots of noise.

I suppose I was in the zone but before I knew it I was quickly approaching the 50k mark and began to realize how much my feet hurt.  This was the first time I had done more than a marathon distance in a pair of Brooks Ghosts, which are road shoes and provide very little protection from gravel surface.  Around lap 32, I asked Michelle if she wanted to join me for a lap and her and Gillie came along where she prevented me from stopping for the day.  I was ready to hang it up and told her I wasn’t having much fun and that my body was hurting.  My legs had a sensation of aching and there was an underlying feeling of pain that was present from the waist down.  I decided to grab my Hoka’s out of the car to see if they would alleviate any of the pain I was experiencing.  What. A. Difference.  My feet felt so much better after making the change and I began picking up the pace over the next few miles eventually hitting 36 miles right at the 6-hour mark.  It was during this time I was thinking I would stay to complete 100k.  Talk about a rollercoster of highs and lows.

Cranking out some late laps in the upper 30's (headphones are in)! 

Photo Credit (right): Rudy Rutemiller

Truckin' Away Photo Credit: Ricky Scott

I told myself I would wait to listen to music until after the first 6 hours because I wanted to run on my own until then and then let the music take over and let my mind go blank.  Listening to music can be dangerous for longevity in an ultra because my pace instantly increased and I managed to crank out four sub-9 minute miles.  Around the same time, they put up the race leaders on a whiteboard at the start line and I noticed I was #9 as of 1PM.  I had just put in my ear buds when I noticed this and yelled to the counters “that’s a good bit of motivation to stay on the board.”  The next few miles flew by and at 42 laps (40 miles) I stopped to have Michelle and Gillie do another lap with me.  In hindsight, I probably should not have stopped here because I was making good time and cranking out laps and every time I stopped the pain in my legs increased.  The pain was non-existent while running, granted I was tired but it wasn’t painful, but if felt like my legs were on fire when I walked.  I managed to get going again but the laps were slow between 43-46 and I told everyone I would be stopping at 50 miles.  This is when I received the unfortunate news that 50 miles was actually 53 laps.  Bummer.  I headed out for another lap discouraged that I was not going to make my goal of 100k but moved forward knowing that I could complete my new goal of 50 miles and still have something left for San Francisco in two weeks.

When I came around the next time, Michelle was ready and waiting by the road to run with me.  She. IS.  AWESOME.  This was such a huge boost and she knew that I was obviously a little down.  We ran 3 laps together, perhaps begrudgingly on her part, and then walked the last loop, lap 53, with Gillie.  Having Michelle with me on those last three laps was awesome!  Those three laps MADE my day.  I love it when we get to run together but it doesn’t always work out.  When she first joined me after I completed lap 49, I was moving slow and joked that “we shouldn’t have any pace issues” but having her by my side gave me a second wind and before I knew it we were doing sub-10 minute miles.  I mentioned begrudgingly above because Michelle couldn’t really complain about the pace after I had already run 49 laps and she powered through like the trooper she is!  At the end, we grabbed Gillie and walked the last lap, catching up with Jordan and walking the rest of the final lap with him.  When I stopped, I was in fifth place, a couple laps down on the leader.

Michelle and I stopped and took a few pictures on our last running lap.  

I added the vest later in the day as the temperature dropped.

I was glad to be done and walked back to the deck where we had our stuff and immediately put on some dry clothes and extra layers.  I hung around there for a few minutes before receiving a text from Michelle that pizza had arrived.  Best. Slice. Ever.  Pretty much anything warm tastes good after 50 miles but pizza really hit the spot and they also had chicken broth that I enjoyed as well.  In addition, they had hot coffee and after two cups I was A LOT more enjoyable to be around…or so I’m told.  This meant there was only one thing left to do.  VUVUZELA!!!  I hooted and hollered as runners began completing laps in the dark.  It was pretty neat to see all of the headlights off in the distance forming a path around the course.  I think spectating in the dark at a 24-hour event forces you (aka the spectator) to get more creative because “you’re looking good” and “you’re almost there” doesn’t really apply.  I had a few good laughs because I would yell, “I can’t see you but you’re looking good” and got mostly positive responses and a few laughs…plus a vuvuzela is just awesome!

We hung around until about 7PM when we decided to call it a day and make the short drive home.  We packed and prepared for me to stay all night but both Michelle and I were happy to head back to a warm home and a comfortable bed.  Perhaps that is the downfall of a race being so close to home: the ability to call it a day and pack up when it gets dark and cold.  Maybe for my next 24-hour event I should pick one further from home or one that starts in the middle of the night and continues until midnight; that would be cool!

At the end of the day, I had run new 50K and 50 mile PRs by ~45 minutes and 2 hours respectively.  Both are pretty big chunks of time considering the distance and are reflective of the year I’ve been having.  However, I suppose it wasn’t too hard to improve on my first and only 50-mile performance at the DC North Face Endurance Challenge this past June where we ran in horrendous humidity and heat.  Also, the course this weekend was pretty much pancake-flat and thus much easier than other 50k efforts.

Not that it's interesting but the Garmin data from the day including the mile splits.  What is interesting is that the Strava preview isn't what it looks like when you click on the details.

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