Turkey Trot 2008

I’m thankful for 23:45!

OK, totally self-centered, but I’ll get into what I’m truly grateful for in a second! I’m also not going to do an actual race report for this one, because the day was about more than just a race.

For my second annual Mesa Mi Amigo’s Turkey Trot 2 Miler, I had to go it alone, because Lilac was having her first Thanksgiving at her house today. Since Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday, and has she has a family of 2 million, I decided to not give her grief for not following through on our life long plans to run every turkey trot until we can no longer run. There’s always next year.

I had checked that the race would be on rain or shine, since it was definitely raining today, and sure enough, it was, so I got ready to end my season with a beautiful run in the rain! (For Arizonans, a rainy race is a real treat, and something that we cherish during the blistering hot summer races).

I had a fairly good run on Sunday, and I was convinced that I could go 27 minutes (a 3 min PR)… until I had a truly horrendous run on Tuesday, which made me hope I could just get through it today. I got to the event, just in time, and enjoyed people watching all the extended families with kids and grandparents who run this race. It’s such a cool experience on a holiday morning to watch families getting out there and running together. Our collective main goal, as a field, was to run hard, and then eat hard. At least that was my goal!

Race gun went off, and I ran to the turn, walked to the light, ran to the turn around walked a bit, ran to the light, walked to the park, and ran it in. 23:45 – a 6 min 15 second PR, and it felt really easy! I felt like I was trotting along easily, except for the first time ever I was passing people even who were running, and no one passed me walking while I was runnig! I know the field maybe wasn’t the most athletic, but it felt pretty cool to pass other people running, I must say.

I grinned from ear to ear, called my entire family, and then went home to settle in to let J cook for me.

Except I could tell that he wasn’t really feeling like cooking, so I took over the reigns and made the meal (for those of you who don’t know, my cooking skill prior to today centered around making cereal and toast. I also make a mean dry pb and j sandwich, but that’s about all.)

And so for the litany –

I am thankful that the turkey, red mashed potatoes, yams, and gravy all came out ok – in fact, even pretty good!

I am thankful that I have a job, a home, and money in the bank.

I am thankful for J, for the easy camaraderie we share, the love that continues to grow between us, and for the ability to spend a nice quiet Thanksgiving together (my first one at home in a decade).

I am thankful that I have my brother in town, and that I got a chance to see Dad this year for a beautiful weekend.

I’m thankful that my relationship with my mom continues to grow.

I’m thankful for Lilac, and everything we get to share together. She’s my rock, and she rocks.

I’m thankful for the opportunity to share my words and thoughts with others, and get to learn about other people who train, and tri, and experience life through the blog world. You are all awesome!

And I’m thankful for a 6:15 PR, because it means that the 85 hours, and 291 miles that I’ve run since Tri for the Cure have actually paid off!

Woo hoo!