Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 10k Race Report

The Green Girl ran her very first turkey trot when she ran the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 10k Thanksgiving morning.

The race benefited the Children's Health Initiative of Santa Clara County, the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County, and Second Harvest Food Bank.

Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 10k Course

The race took place Downtown San Jose with the Start and Finish near the HP Pavilion.

The morning was chilly but not as cold as I'd expected. There was a 50% chance of rain but there was only a light drizzle when my dad dropped me off early for the last minute bib pick-up.

The Green Girl waiting to pick up her Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 10k bib

From experience, I expected delays due to the wet conditions.

Based on the number of registration tables, tents, and signage, they were prepared for a lot of runners but there weren't enough volunteers when I arrived to process the runners in a timely manner.

The Green Girl's Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 10k bib

I appreciated the shirt pickup option at the finish so I didn't have to deal with bag check.

After pinning my bib with attached timing chip on my shirt, I headed over to the Costume Contest.

A giant corn on the cob accidentally bumped into me and apologized profusely as she explained how difficult it was to walk around as an ear of corn. She ended up winning the Costume Contest 'Non-Holiday' category.

A family of Angry Birds won the Costume Contest 'Team' category

There were lots of Indians and Pilgrims. I saw a Turkey toddler.

A family of Angry Birds won the Costume Contest 'Team' category.

I saw Sour Cream and Chives walking around. Someone asked them if they were looking for Mashed Potatoes and they admitted they were lost so they were directed to their missing main dish. That cracked me up.

Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 10k Course

I laughed even harder when I saw Thanksgiving Dinner. I couldn't imagine walking even a single mile with that spread around my waist.

After I was thoroughly amused by the costumes, I headed to the porta-potties. There were many rows of porta-potties conveniently located all around the Start/Finish area.

Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 10k Starting Line

I alternated between ChiRunning body looseners and porta-potty visits before I headed to the Starting Line for the 10k. The 5k had a later start time.

The corrals were self-seeding so I lined up near the 10-11 minute per mile sign.

The race took place on flat city streets. There was only one downhill and one uphill - right at the end.

I focused on quick foot turnover and relaxing my body. It was the first time I ran a race where participants actually moved to the right when they slowed down. The race etiquette made a big difference because I wasn't forced to weave in and out.

I started feeling the fatigue around Mile 4. I dug deep and pushed.

As I was sprinting towards the Finish Line, I realized there was a serious runner jam. We all came to a complete stop before we could even cross the mats.

Mr. Green Garmin 01:06:44 Finish Time

I decided I'd go ahead and stop Mr. Green Garmin while I was waiting.

I was thrilled when I saw I'd actually finished in 01:06:44.

When I finally strolled across the finish mat along with the sea of runners, I realized I would be able to calculate just how long it took to actually step across it once I got my official Finish Time since I'd stopped Mr. Green Garmin.

Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 10k Finish Line

Unfortunately, when I went to get my official results, they only showed my Mile 4 time, 41:58 (10:30 pace). I immediately assumed there were just too many bibs crossing the mats at once though I wondered how a bib attached to my short body could have been missed.

I was a little disappointed but the lack of official timing couldn't take away from my happiness.

Subsequently, I learned this happened to a lot of runners so we were instructed to send our results to the timing company to have them manually entered. I submitted Mr. Green Garmin's numbers and now my 10k PR is official!