Grinders Switch Turkey Trot

We were on the square in Centerville, Tennessee, Thanksgiving morning to participate in the Grinders Switch Turkey Trot. My oldest daughter and I were running the 10k course, and my wife and youngest daughter were walking the 5k. With the temperature hovering just above freezing under cloudy skies, we were off and running just past 8 a.m. The course immediately took us downhill and to the left toward Highway 50. I took advantage of gravity through here to pass as many runners as I could. At this point I was in 4th place in the men's division, the same position in which I would finish, as I never came near any other runners after turning onto Highway 50.

What goes up must come down, and, after turning off Highway 50, it was payback time. The road through here seemed to go up as far as the eye could see. It would disappear around a turn and go up again. I remember one hill seemed exceptionally steep, but I was determined to keep running. Once I finally plateaued around a bend, I could see the road became steeper still. Feeling like I was about to die and with nobody else in sight, I slowed to a walk. By the time I had nearly crested the hill, I could see there was one runner behind me, so I sucked it up and started running again.

I ran the remainder of the course, which featured steep downhill sections and a long, gradual uphill back to the finish line on the square. I was pleasantly surprised with my time of 48:50, which gave me a pace of 7:52/mile, meaning I had finally broken the elusive 8-minute mile barrier. My wife and daughter, who had walked the 5k course, crossed the finish line fifteen seconds ahead of me, while  my oldest daughter pulled in about thirteen minutes later. Though this was a tough course at times, we enjoyed ourselves, as this was the first race in which we were all able to participate. We compared notes on the drive home and looked forward to eating turkey, thankful for another year of good health.

My oldest makes her way to the finish line

 



Youngest strolling along the 5k course

 

After the race