Monday, November 26, 2012

Turkey Trot 5K Recap

For the third year in a row, we participated in our local Turkey Trot 5K fun run on Thanksgiving morning.  The race has grown in the three years that its been around, from 400 participants the first year, to over 1,200 this year - wow!  It's really cool to see so many people up and out early on a holiday morning, doing something fun for their health...and yes, most of us went on to have a large meal a few hours later, but hey - we started off the day right!

We took our annual shoe picture, and because I'm feeling nostalgic, here's all three years' worth:
 2012
 2011
 2010

What can I say, every family has their traditions...ours just happens to be a shoe picture!

It was nice to see so many people that we know at the race, especially our running club peeps.  Here's Wendy and her family - Wendy is new to running this year and has been so inspired by it that she started a blog!  You can read about her adventures at One Tough Mother Runner.
What cute costumes!

Here's my motley crew:
No costumes for us, although I was wearing a cute turkey trot headband:
"Eat, Sleep, Trot" - good theme for the day!

So this year, Sam, who has been working out and losing weight lately, wanted to run it in under 30 minutes.  Even before I hurt my ankle, that speed was never on my radar (haha, punny), so he and Jeff planned on running together while Max and I did our leisurely thing.  The only question was, would Max, who ran a half marathon nearly a year ago but hasn't run since, be able to make it through a 5K?  We'd soon find out!

The race began with Jeff and Sam close to the front.  They took off like they were on a mission, which they were.  Max and I started toward the back, and as much as I tried to run my own pace, we got caught up in the hectic speed of everyone right off the bat, and it took me a few minutes to calm down and run normally.  We settled into running, but about half a mile in, Max started to feel the effects of not having run in nearly a year, and he had to take a walk break.  I ended up being the bad mom and left him in the dust...actually, he was fine with me running on, so I did.  I didn't break any speed records for the 5K, but then again, I wasn't trying to, either.  Here's a shot of me coming toward the finish line:
I was running, I promise!  

It pictures, my short stride rarely looks like I'm running, unlike Sam:
 
Now THAT'S a long stride!  Sam was being a nice brother and ran Max in the last tenth of a mile.

Sam smashed his goal, finishing in 28:24 - woohoo, go Sam!  He was a bit spent at the end:
This is what a new PR looks like!

Later on, he recovered enough to give a big thumbs up to his run:
Another runner in the family!

Max was a little more beat up after he finished:
Proof that it's really hard to go from zero to 3.1 miles in one run.

After the race:
Turkey Trot, year three, is in the books!

Then we cleaned up and took our family portrait:
Doesn't everyone wear matching race t-shirts for their family pictures?

And ate our Thanksgiving meal:
Please note Paco waiting under the table, in case anything drops on the floor.

It was a great visit with the kids and I can't wait for them to come back at Christmas!

37 comments:

  1. I loved loved loved all the pics on facebook too.
    it really felt as though I were a part of your celebration.
    is that cheesy?
    stalkery?
    **tiptoes away in embarrassnessment**
    :-)

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  2. How did you get 3 men to take so many pictures in one day? Impressive!

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    1. ...you should see the outtakes/funny faces. They humor me, but just barely.

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  3. Said also on Facebook: I love that you do this with your family and that it's a tradition now. Loved the recap and congrats to Sam on his PR: fantastic!

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    1. Sam shames me with his running ability. Of course, I'm not 25, either...but still. He did great!

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  4. YAY to both your sons, and you and Jeff too! Sam is looking good and running just as well! And Max, well Max deserves an Attaboy just for TRYING to run/walk a 5K without any previous running in a year. :)

    Glad you all had a good time together. Happy Thanksgiving!

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    1. Exactly right on the Attaboy - I'm sure Max wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea of running a 5K with no prep. He persevered, and we all know how hard that can be!

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  5. These pictures are so cute! Shelley your hair looks so lush and beautiful in the family portrait. I'm happy that you had such a lovely Thanksgiving! xoxo

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    1. Thanks for the hair compliment! I updated my FB profile picture with a single shot of me, and one of my running club peeps told me on Saturday it looked like I had a "lion's mane" of hair, lol!

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  6. I love it that this has become a family tradition! You all look like you are having a great time - well, except for the look on Max's face right after the run ;-). I'm glad your holiday was wonderful with your family.

    And I adore the running costumes! Too cute....

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    1. I got Max's permission to post that photo - we all had a good laugh at his expression (and honestly, we've all been there).

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  7. Love the Thanksgiving recap Shelley! I don't know if I could run a 5k having not run in a year - both boys did great!

    Christmas will be here before you know it! :D

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    1. I don't think I'd even TRY to run a 5K with zero prep!

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  8. Max is young and the young sometimes act foolishly, right? Ha! Plus, Max proves that skinny does not equal fit! Still, he gets credit for getting out there.

    Congratulations to Sam on his PR! He looks so good and I hope he's proud of everything he has accomplished.

    Why are there Newton's on your feet? I thought the doc said no?

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    1. The Newtons are on the pictures from 2010 and 2011 - I wore my Brooks in this year's race.

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    2. Jeepers, I thought the newest photo was last - didn't even see the years. I'll blame it on tryptophan!

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    3. Jeepers, Wally - you made me think of Leave it to Beaver with that word! :)

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  9. I like reading about your family traditions!

    I swear, next year I am going to (walk) a 5K on Thanksgiving morning, even if I do it all by myself. What a great way to start the day.

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    1. I know that I'm not burning off nearly the amount of calories I eat on Thanksgiving by doing a 5K, but there is something about getting up and outside on a day that we used to spend lazing around, watching the parade on TV, that feels really productive. You'd love it, I just know. :)

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    2. Debby, I did my own 5K on Thanksgiving morning because we only have 1 turkey trot around here and I'd have to drive 20 minutes to get to it. It's a true trot too - no timing or anything. So it sort of doesn't feel worth it the drive besides, I'm lazy when I have to drive too far lol!

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  10. you guys are phenomenal -- nothing better than a family that runs together!!
    i did my first 5k EVER this past saturday -- reading your blog for a year now has been one of my many inspirations -- so thank you!

    xxoo

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    1. That's fantastic - congratulations!!! Thanks for reading (and commenting - now I know you exist ;) ).

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  11. Your family is adorable! I love the pictures and the shoe pictures too. What a wonderful family tradition, everyone did great! Hope some things got dropped for Paco to clean up.

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    1. Paco did alright. Plus he got his favorite thing later on - raw carrots. Dog is crazy for carrots!

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    2. Our dog loves raw carrots too! He also likes peas and string beans, he likes them on top of his dog food. Silly dog!

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  12. That is SO COOL that your family all does a run together for Thanksgiving! I wish my parents would've done something like that, but fitness wasn't exactly a priority - just a tradition I'll have to start with my own family someday :)

    And Paco under the table cracked me up - that's exactly what my dog Jude does!

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  13. Love it, love it, love it! And looking forward to our regularly scheduled Thurs run!! :)

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  14. What a great holiday! Love the shoe shots, too. Congrats to all the happy (?) runners! Can you believe that this is now a family tradition for you, and could you ever have pictured this as a family tradition in the past?

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    1. I know...it's amazing to see how we've evolved over the years.

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  15. Thanks for the shout out, Shelley! Our whole family had a ton of fun doing the Turkey Trot 5K. Our youngest kept telling everyone he met about how he can run 3 miles :).

    Our favorite thing about the Turkey Trot is wearing our matching shirts to our Thanksgiving dinners with family.

    It was great to meet your sons! Love the shoe pics - that's a really cute concept.

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    1. Turkey Trot t-shirts - the official uniform of Thanksgiving! ;)

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  16. How FUN!!!! Congrats to all runners, and to Paco for finding the perfect spot for falling turkey!! Wonderful family shots Shelley, thanks for sharing them with us!

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  17. I love how you left your son in the dust! Ha. But kudo's for him for running after not running for a while!

    Happy Thanksgiving Shelley!

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    1. This was probably the only time I'll ever be able to leave Max in the dust...I really should enjoy it!

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  18. Great family pics of both the shoes and family portrait! A true running family!

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