What a crazy turkey

Yup, that's me running in the Houston Turkey Trot this Thanksgiving holiday, number 205. Do I look speedy in the picture? Trust me, I was. Of course, the picture doesn't show all the runners that were in front of me, but that's really not the point...

Every year, a few thousand crazy runners (yes, there were almost 3000 there!) get up really early Thanksgiving morning. They get up not to watch the Thanksgiving Day parade or to be in a local parade, but to race through the streets of Houston. They have a 5K race and a 10K race. I wasn't sure I was up for the 10K race just yet, so I signed up for the 5K (that's a little over 3 miles for you non-metric folks).

I was worried that it would be really cold so I packed many many layers, even a ski cap! (A little over-kill, but hey, what can I say. Better safe than chilly.) I lucked out and I only need a T-shirt and pants.

I was mainly unprepared for the sheer number of people that were there. Besides the runners, there were spouses, parents, children, and pets. It was quite a crowd. I was about mid-way in the pack when we "started", and I think it took me about 5 minutes just to get to the starting line.

I had an absolute blast! It wasn't my fastest time ever, but I hadn't run a race in a while, so I was proud anyway. Plus, it was really crowded in the beginning trying to get past the walkers and slower runners.

We also convinced our nephews to come with us. They seemed to have a really good time. I don't think they'd been in that kind of setting before, in a big race like that. I think they could sense the excitement. Jonathan (the youngest) asked me, "Why do you want to run this again?" "Because it's fun", I replied. "Oh yeah" he said, "I knew that."

Here we are enjoying the post-race goodies: all-you-can-drink lime powerade, bananas, muffins, kolaches, and hot chocolate. I think that sealed the deal for them. I remember Joel (the oldest) asked why we didn't have to pay for any of it. "Because your with me, and I'm one of the runners," I answered. "We're special." It pays to be with the in-crowd. (Of course, it was free for everyone there because no one else was silly enough to crawl out of their warm beds that early on a holiday morning, but I didn't tell him that.)