Prospect Park Track Club 5-Mile Turkey Trot, November 26, 2009

This was my second Turkey Trot in five days. This one lacked the pomp and circumstance, er, beer, of the first one, but did include a medal with a turkey on it. Oh, and it was actually held on Thanksgiving. Swag-wise, I received a very nice running hat and a pair of fleece gloves along with my bib number and chip. Kudos, Prospect Park Track Club!

The course was a five-mile loop of Prospect Park, starting at the corner of the park drive and Wellhouse Drive, cutting across Center Drive, back up the North Hill and around to finish near the northeast corner of the park. Water stops were great, the support of students from Bishop Ford High School enthusiastic and the company - a motley crew of fellow current and past TNT BKers - most excellent. I caught up with friends before, during and after the run and enjoyed myself immensely.

This was a great and rare race in that there was little sense of competitiveness or urgency in the air. People came out to burn off calories before eating a big communal meal. That was it. It was a big turkey (or tofurkey, if you swing that way)-themed party in the park, and I was happy to be a part of it.

Coney Island 5K Turkey Trot, Sunday, November 22, 2009

This race was my first of two Turkey Trots this Thanksgiving week. Frankly, while I'm sure the other will be fun, it will be hard to top the Coney Island 5K Turkey Trot for good times.

First of all, the race started at 11:30 a.m., which in and of itself is awesome. It allowed me to sleep until 9, have a cup of coffee and chill out with NY1 News before taking my 15-minute Q train ride down to Coney Island.

The swag was amazing - a really nice hooded sweatshirt with a running turkey on the front. Plus we got a party! Free beer and hero sandwiches, accompanied by a DJ, at Peggy O'Neill's outside Keyspan Stadium, after crossing the finish line.

I also got a t-shirt, courtesy of Muscle Milk, that I will be debuting on Thursday morning. It has a trompe l'oeil pilgrim collar and belt on the front and says "SexyPilgrim.com" on the back.

PSA: Before reading further, please go watch the video at SexyPilgrim.com

Now that you've stopped laughing, you have some idea of the general mood of this run.

At 11:30, all the runners - including two dressed as Pilgrims, complete with a guy in a bonnet - gathered on the Coney boardwalk next to the parachute jump and some guy with a thick Brooklyn accent announced into a microphone "OK, here's the race. You start here (pointing to the parachute jump) and run down to there (gesturing down the boardwalk towards Brighton Beach) and then back to here." And then he blew a whistle and we were off.

There was a guy stationed at the 1- and 2-mile markers holding a stopwatch and yelling off splits to people as we passed. I ran a 9:30 pace the first mile and something close to 9 for the second. I was feeling good, if slightly overdressed, and sprinted into the finish with the goal of coming in under 27 minutes, which I accomplished running full blast. My last mile was run at 8:41 pace - better than my current NYRR bib pace. Sweet! Then it was time for beer.

The scene in Peggy O'Neill's was pretty hilarious - picture a lot of people in their 50s and 60s wearing spandex and dancing to disco. Although I have to say, many of them were far more, er, flexible than I - there were some moves I'm sure Patrick Swayze approved as he watched down from the Great Beyond. The beer was free and cold, the heros were tasty, and there was much applause as the race winners accepted their grand prizes of free Butterball turkeys.

I capped off the day with a Nathan's hot dog and a return trip on the Q train, summarily followed by a nap. Thanks, Coney Island Sports Foundation, Polar Bear Club and Peggy O'Neill's for an awesome day at the beach.