Turkey Trax Four Pack!

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Days Run: 180 Nancy's 2013 Mileage: 847.9 Elly's 2013 Mileage: 407.1 Money Found For Food Bank: $.35 

 

Happy day after Thanksgiving!! Have you recovered form your feast?? Everyone over here is doing just fine after a really nice, cozy, family celebration of all for which we have to be thankful (including our annual Thanksgiving viewing of Home Alone while we eat dessert ... fabulous!!). But, all of that was kick-started with what has become another Thanksgiving tradition for us ... Turkey Trax!! Here's how that went!

 

You don't know this, but at packet pickup, Aaron was talking to another man in line about how wonderful the weather was for the 2012 event. They were right as there was no bundling up required, and no one froze any toes waiting for the event to begin. While listening to them, all I could think was, "That's sooo  not going to be the case this year!!"

 

AND, it wasn't! It was 27-degrees-Brrr !! But, that didn't stop us or the other 700+ people ready to trot!

The boys with their cooked turkey hats ... complete with race
bibs (identifying the safe cooked temperatures ... fun and
educational!)!

Indeed, these were the crafts we did last
night! Our turkeys had bibs announcing
their safe-this-year status with Friday and
Saturday's dates ...

We looked around and were surprised at the lack of festive headwear given what we've seen in the past. Perhaps everyone was too cold to try and look snazzy! There was a father-son duo in the spirit with these, though:

Not only were these hats awesome, but one of the men had on
a shirt that said, "World's Greatest Grandpa." I'd have to agree
he's on the list if he's going to wear that hat in a run!!

And, two women dressed up their dogs:

Look close ... the doggie's tutu are the tail feathers!! AND they
matched their owners! It was very, very clever!

There were two of them, and they were
so excited that they didn't want to sit
very still. You get the idea, though!

Before lining up, we also ran into our unadorned neighbors:

I didn't ask them if I could show their faces. So, I took a second
picture of them from behind. I try to be respectful after all.
I mean, what if he's such a good runner because he's running
from the law? JUST KIDDING.

The man is a frequent participant of the long-distance runs (you might recognize his shirt!?!), and he's one of those runners who can fly  over such a route. For the Turkey Trax, though, he told us he was walking with a group because one of the friends in their pack not only does not run and will not run, but she also told him he should walk with her and just be thankful on this day to have friends. HA!

By the time we lined up to start, both of my big toes were frozen. I distracted myself by taking a few more about-to-start pics. Because it was awesome to do so.

Because ... why not?!

I see no reason not to!

The photo excitement didn't stop just because we started:

Oh ... my ... goodness ... (love her!!)

I have zero recollection of taking this. I really do not pay very
good attention at these things except to not step on nor trip others!

Now, you know how much I love running with my pup, but she is unequivocally uninvited to these events. I not only don't want to deal with her in a crowd, but she doesn't need to be freaked out by it, either. Many dogs at events are generally pretty chill, but this black one was spaz-tastic. And, not in a good way.

For real. Doggie on the right. Get. A. Grip!

We cruised around the pooch pack, and, before I knew it, I was on my way to rebuild the Food Bank donation collection!


It's a QUARTER, baby!!

I caught the quarter out of the corner of my eye and knew I had just enough to time to cruise over and pull out my once-upon-a-time soccer prowess to kick it out of the way of the oncoming pack of runners. I did so with some precision that amazed even myself (seriously ... kicking a coin can result in success or just tripping yourself), and I went to the side to retrieve it. AWESOME way to start the rebuild especially when I later found a dime! Whee!!!

Soon after, we passed the first mile mark:

Look at all of those people trottin' up that
hill ... I hated that hill three years ago.
This year, it's where I found that dime!

Soon after, the temperature seemed to go from woo-whee-brrr to holy-crap-who-turned-up-the-heat ?! Of course, that all turned around again when we turned a whole different direction and caught the frigid wind. (Pneumonia, anyone?) It was all good, though, and how could I ask for a better way to weather the route -- literally -- than with our family four pack? Simply put, I couldn't.

We all skidooed up the last hill, which is the true final push of the route, and cruised around to the end where we all held hands to cross the finish line! Whee!!!


And, look who I found at both the start and the finish?!

Therrrre's Melanie!! She cruised her run!
Here's to another great finish for her
especially because she -- unlike her friend
here -- hates the cold!

Because of the chilly wind, we didn't stick around very long after the run. We got our water bottles, said hello to some pals, and we were on our way to continue our Thanksgiving traditions.

I most definitely do not kid myself into thinking that starting a day of feasting of with a 3-mile run does much-to-anything to counter the day's deliciousness, but I absolutely hold that it's a great tradition we've folded into our Thanksgiving. We all get to do it together.

By the way ... check out the dude on the left ... I'd say that's a picking-up-a-penny pose if I ever saw one!!

For as much fun as that run was, I'm rather confident I'm going to be on my own Sunday morning when my running schedule resumes! We'll see how that pans out, but, in the meantime, I'll check in tomorrow from a bonus holiday Rest Day! Happy continued digesting!