What a great holiday!
The whole thing started at 6:30am when I got up and dressed for my Turkey Trot race.
Before heading out I had a piece of toast with peanut butter. We got our butts in the car and drove the half hour to the location of the race. The line to pick up our race bibs and t-shirts was super long but thankfully it was inside the car dealership we were all gathered at.
A few minutes before the race Jack and I wiggled our way into the pack and at the gun sound we took off. The course weaved through a neighborhood and a strip shopping mall. The worst part: it was HILLY like you wouldn’t believe. We were either going up a hill, down a hill, or up an even steeper hill!
Jack and I hung around each other loosely until about halfway where I pulled ahead. Coming down the final stretch I put on the gas and finished with a time of 25:06. Jack followed with a time of 26:05. We both had a great run. We stopped for water, bananas, and peanut butter chocolate chip granola bars to refuel afterwards and proceeded to stretch out.
P.S. Tilted curbs are the greatest thing since
sliced bread for stretching out tight calves.
We then heard they were going to be posting official times in a few minutes so we decided to stick around. When they finally taped the pages to the window it turns out that I WON my age division (women 20-24) and I was floored.
I had gone into this race with one goal: to race free of shin pain the entire 3.1 miles. I came out with a medal around my neck (and a water bottle in my hand).
I will say it felt pretty cool especially since it wasn’t expected at all. On the whole the race was a huge success and a fabulous way to start the whole Thanksgiving day. Mom, Jack, and I drove home and I promptly made us all French toast oatmeal to refuel for real.
This was a great brunch (we ate finally around 11:15) and held everyone over as we watched football games one and two of the day. Around the finish of the first game (Packers vs. Lions) the group of us were getting a bit hungry so we snacked on some cheese and crackers. I personally loved some cheddar cheese on an onion cracker. Yum.
A few hours later the family headed over to the meeting hall in our campground for a huge catered/potluck dinner. A local caterer provided corn, green beans, ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry & sausage stuffing, and a big bubbling pot o’ gravy. The campers all brought dishes to share like mac and cheese, yams, casseroles, dips, etc.
It was packed with people which made for a fun atmosphere complete with a fake fire.
Normally, my Thanksgiving consists of my mom, dad, and myself eating a dinner with turkey that happens to be at 4p rather than 6:30p. Basically it is small, almost every year, so this was a cool change of pace. I of course tried a bit of as much as I possibly could. My dad and I were the only ones to go back for seconds.
The cranberry & sausage stuffing was awesome. I could have easily eaten my weight in it for sure. I also enjoyed the mac and cheese and the cheesy broccoli. In addition or instead of bringing a side dish, you could also bring a dessert. Oh boy, people took that to heart for sure.
While I was finishing my second plate of goodness, Jack arrived back at our table with a sweep sampler of all the dessert table. We split the plates and tried a bit of everything from carrot cake to chocolate-peanut butter rice krispie treats and four different kinds of pie (Dutch apple, pumpkin crumble, pecan, and French silk).
My favorites: carrot cake with yummy icing, plain old sugar cookie with sprinkles, and the rice krispie treats. I really do love dessert but I will say that I felt kind of self-conscious when Jack brought back these plates and the other people at our table made some remarks about just how much food we were about to eat. I wanted to just be like “do you honestly believe I do this every day?” because I don’t do this all the time, this is the exception. Everyone can use a day of indulgence, right?
After dinner concluded we headed back to the motorhome just in time to catch the third football game of the day. In fact, I’m going to get back to that I think. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
A few things I’m thankful for today (and every day): My family. My friends. My wonderful boyfriend. Genetic counseling. Good food. Yummy dessert. My health. My academic inclination. My fitness. My new car. The ability to do what I love every day of the week. My blog readers. My life. And so many more…
Questions: What are you thankful for?
How many plates of food did you consume today?
Do you ever feel weird getting seconds when no one else does?
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