Posted by Dr. Liz Sims, PT - Redpoint Physical Therapy, Kingston, MA

The first turkey trot was an 8K trail race that took place 123 years ago in Buffalo, NY. Of the 6 participants, only 4 crossed the finish line and the winner broke the tape in 31 minutes and 12 seconds, an impressive 6 minute pace (but how fast can the fastest turkey run?). This same race is now the largest Turkey Trot in the country, capped at 14,000 participants, and pre-turkey day races can be found in almost any town across America! (Reference: https://www.runnersworld.com/races-places/a20862856/how-the-turkey-trot-became-the-most-popular-race-in-america/).

I have been a what people would classify as a runner for most of my life, and have run in many Turkey Trots (though, not as fast as a turkey could run them). While it has been an on again, off again relationship with a touch of intermittent hate, I always return to running. Such was the case this fall. I couldn’t figure out why running felt so yucky, so I stopped running all together last spring and stewed silently about it through the summer. One day, I was insisting that I hated running and running hated me, when one of my patients who runs said simply, “You’re doing it wrong.”

“Huh?”

He casually replied, “You’re doing it wrong if it doesn’t feel good.” He told me, for starters, to slow down. If my best 5K pace is a 9 minute mile, my training runs should be an 11 minute pace.

After talking to him, I was skeptical. My entire life, the whole purpose of exercise was to try to kill myself! So, I wasn’t sure I believed him. However, I did try to run 3 miles at what seemed like an impossibly slow pace, and I had to admit, he was right! It was actually possible to feel GOOD while RUNNING!

So, I dusted off my running shoes and started training again. One slow run every week, and one sprint interval session (because they’re fun). I was feeling great, ran a few races at a pace much faster than I deserved based on recent history, and signed up for a few future races. But, while I was actually enjoying running, there was still a nagging hip injury hanging over my head. Why? I became very frustrated when I forgot to stretch 1 day after my run and my hip pain became unmanageable with anything other than walking and daily activity.

Bummer.

Re-injured, I hung up my sneakers again. But that didn’t stop me from registering myself and another staff member for a Running Gait Analyst Certification course in mid-November I was mad at running, but understood that my patients still enjoyed it for some reason. I had absolutely no intention of fixing myself, obviously.

The 2-day course was a wealth of knowledge on assessing and treating running-related injuries. I still can’t believe how much we learned! The biggest take home message for me? Running is not your exercise. You need to exercise to run! Running should be a ¼ of your exercise routine, and the rest of your time should be split between strength, mobility, and plyometrics.

For many of you, this is not news! But I know I’m not alone in my shock and awe here! Crap. That really shot a hole in my entire perspective on running!

Here’s the good news: With my newfound knowledge (and my previously acquired physical therapy skill set), I was able to focus on stability, and addressed one layer of my poor mechanics. After 2 short weeks, I was back to enjoying running again. After taking a month off and not running more than 2 miles 2 weeks prior, I was able to finish my turkey trot 5K in less than 30 minutes and felt great doing it (despite the weather being less than ideal). It’s my case study of 1 with no long-term follow-up, but I felt better than I have in years, and my heart rate agreed (it was 30bpm lower than usual for the whole race).

How’d I do it? Stay tuned…. 😉

Redpoint Physical Therapy now has 2 Certified Running Gait Analysts. We will begin booking running evaluations in January 2020.

Running off turkeys, turkeys running, and my Turkey Trot analysis.

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