Thanksgiving 5 Mile — Thu Nov 26, 2026

Section-by-section card · course from your Nov 27, 2025 run · VDOT 46 at 5K / 45 at the half · HR-programmed

Distance5.0 mi, loop

Gain~180 ft

Climbs2.0–2.5, 4.0–4.5

Gun~8:00

Out east two miles, hairpin at 2.0, back west, north from 3.25, then downhill to the line. The hills cost ~5–10 s/mi over flat. Last year's file shows the same pattern as Oct 4: HR 149–159 through mile 1.75, then 170+ once it was too late to use it. This card exists to put the effort in the first half.

The Card

Section	Profile	HR range	Expect	Elapsed
0–1.0	flat, gently rolling, east	155–165	~7:03	7:03
1.0–2.0	short rise at 1.25, small dip, to the hairpin	166–171	~7:03	14:07
2.0–2.5	climb right out of the hairpin, +1–1.8%, ~35 ft	168–174	~7:34	17:54
2.5–3.0	down −1.5%, then flat	170–175	~6:54	21:22
3.0–4.0	flat; turns north at 3.25	170–175	~7:07	28:29
4.0–4.5	the hill — +0.8%, then +3.7%, crest ~4.45	172–178	~7:54	32:26
4.5–5.0	down to the line, ~−70 ft	open	~6:46	35:50

HR range is the instruction. Expected pace and elapsed are what that effort should produce on a calm day — outputs, not targets. Bands are set from race files (Jul 9 and Aug 22 5Ks ran miles 2–3 at 171–177; Oct 4's last 5K ran 165–177), so race-day adrenaline is already priced in. LTHR is 170–173; a 35-minute race sits at it and slightly above.

The Three Sections That Matter

1.0–2.0 — the floor is 166. This is the stretch where last year and Oct 4 both left time. If the low alert fires, go now; it will feel too early. It isn't.
2.0–2.5 — out of the hairpin and straight uphill. Take the turn tight, then let pace drop to ~7:30. Ceiling 174. Spiking here is what makes 2.5–4 a survival job.
4.0–4.5 — the 3.7% hill. Expect ~7:50–7:55 and HR toward 178. That is on plan. Crest at ~4.45 and everything that's left goes into the last half mile downhill.

Time Checks — Two Only

Read elapsed at the painted mile 2 and mile 4 markers: 14:07 and 28:29.
Within ±10 s: do nothing.
>10 s behind and HR in the lower half of the band → run the next section at the top of its band. That's effort left on the table, same as Oct 4 miles 6–7.
>10 s behind with HR already at the top of the band → it's the wind or the day. Hold the band; don't chase the clock above it.
>15 s ahead with HR inside the band → good day. Keep going. Ahead is only a problem if the ceiling alert is firing.

Wind

Check the forecast direction Wednesday night. The long legs run east–west. West or NW wind = headwind for 2.0–4.3 (and the hill); north wind = headwind 3.25–4.4 only, crosswind elsewhere.
Headwind legs: stay inside the band; pace will be slower than the Expect column. Tuck behind someone if there's a body at your speed.
Tailwind legs: top half of the band. HR drifting to the floor with the wind behind you is exactly the Oct 4 leak — the floor alert is there to catch it.

Watch Setup

Custom Workout, programmed by HR. No pace field on the screen. Six distance steps with HR range alerts, exactly the card above: 1.0 mi 155–165 · 1.0 mi 166–171 · 0.5 mi 168–174 · 1.5 mi 170–175 · 0.5 mi 172–178 · open, no alert. No warmup or cooldown steps — record those separately.
Screen: Heart Rate, the step's HR range, Elapsed Time. Nothing else. GPS pace read ~1% fast on Oct 4 and on this course last year; it has no job today.
Ignore low alerts for the first ~3 min. HR lags the effort off the line; mile 1's ceiling is the alert that matters.
Steps advance on GPS distance, ~1% early. That's 50–100 ft by the hill — irrelevant to an HR band. Don't press the lap/advance control at markers; in a custom workout that skips a step. Read elapsed instead.
Auto-pause OFF. Start at the mat, not the gun.
Rain, sleet or snow: Water Lock on before the start. A wet screen advanced the workout on Aug 30.

Band Adjustment — Set Wednesday, Not at Mile 1

Wednesday's easy run (3 mi, morning, 9:00–9:15/mi) sets the bands. Morning baseline at that pace is 124 ± 3.
Avg ≤127 → card as written. 128–131 → add 2 to every number. ≥132 → add 4. A standing offset otherwise holds you under your real effort all race.
Resting HR ≥45 on two of Mon/Wed/Thu → no adjustment up, whatever Wednesday read; run the card as written and accept what it produces. Edit the workout Wednesday night; do not re-decide at the start.

Race Morning & Warmup

This race opens at ~7:03, close to threshold from the first step — the Aug 22 5K warmup applies, not Oct 4's. Times relative to the gun.

T−	Do
60	100 mg caffeine + half plain bagel + 12–16 oz, all together. Locked protocol.
45	On site, bib on, watch on for GPS lock. Workout loaded, not started.
30	≤8 oz, then nothing.
28	1.5 mi easy at 9:30–10:00/mi, layers on.
13	Drills, ~3 min: leg swings, lateral lunges, A-skips.
10	4 × 20 s strides at 6:10/mi, full walk-back.
5	Outer layer off, into the corral.
0	Gun. Start the workout at the mat.

Dress for minute 10, not the corral. Late-November 8 a.m. is typically 25–40 °F. Above 35: shorts, long sleeve, gloves. 25–35: add a hat or ear band. Below 25: tights. Throwaway layer to T−5.
No gel, no stations. 36 minutes doesn't need either. Take a cup only if it's unusually warm.

Abort

Ceiling alert firing for more than ~30 s before 4.0 → ease until it clears. Once. Don't stop, don't renegotiate the band.
Any sharp or localized calf/achilles pain → jog it in. Nothing in this race is worth the calf ramp.

Source: runs/2025-11-27_07-59-18_hk_1764251958.fit (route unchanged for 2026), watch barometer, Minetti (2002) with half the downhill credit · course assumed a true 5.0 mi · VDOT 45.5–46 flat-equivalent 7:03–7:07.