Every runner’s times will go up and down, but comparing my Turkey Trot time to my Cambridge 5K Yulefest time, things seem to be holding steady.

This was the Yulefest after-party. People were warmed up by then.

Below is my time from today’s race. The average pace was 8:41 per mile, four seconds slower than my Thanksgiving pace. But this is how races can differ. The Yulefest course was a lot tighter, going down residential streets. It also had 4,000 runners, which was about four times what the Donohue’s race had.

The time wasn’t too bad.

So, my agility ladder training was in use today, but I haven’t done that in a while. Also, my cardio was being tested. At race time it was about 28 degrees, which made for a much colder run.

That said the combination of running, fencing, and weightlifting that I have been doing seems to have kept me in okay form.

This race was a good one for me overall, but I know from past times that I can do better. So, now, as I think ahead to 2017, I will need to consider my goals and training ideas.

My race bib from the 2016 Yulefest run.

As a side note, I volunteered for bib pick up to help the race organizers, I spent an evening handing out hats to racers, and came home with a pocket full of tags. It was a good way to give a little back and support my fellow runners. While I won’t volunteer at every race, I want to make volunteering part of my running in the future.

One the results of volunteering is a pocket full of hat tags.