Happy Turkey. Turkey.

11/26/2020: This marks the first Thanksgiving since 2001 that I was not with family for Turkey Day.  This brings my total of non-family Thanksgivings to 2.  In normal years I'd be in Indiana with Dad's side of the family having part American food and part Italian feast!  This year, I got a care package from a dear friend/awesome chef and had Mom and Dad on Facetime. The three of us realized we don't have "our" Thanksgiving tradition. So, I decided we say the Prayer for Protection. That's us. 

11/27/2020: First Friday after Thanksgiving that I've worked as a social worker.  Ever. Y'all.  I'm so happy to report it was super boring.  No one wants to talk to social work on the day after Thanksgiving.

11/28/2002: A friend texted me: "I wanted to walk, so I'm by your house" and I ran outside like "hang on, I'll grab my mask".  This friend actually had COVID and has recovered.  She was all "I knew you'd be okay walking with me".  (Meaning 'I knew you'd understand science and that I'm not contagious').  It was LOVELY.  Since we're in lockdown, I can't walk with Dungeon Master, nor Olive.  And I can't play with Pooky Bear and Baby Pooky at the playground.  Want to know my main social contacts? So, I'm so happy for the limited options.

Thanksgiving 2019

This year's turkey day was different than most.  I flew home.  I spent less time in Indiana but more time with Ohio and Kentucky relatives.  It's all a blur.

Sunday: I woke up and ran at the crack of dawn.  Then I actually took the bus to the train to the airport.  Where I stood in line for possibly one minute before waltzing through security and heading on to my flight.  Delta moved my seat, which sounds good because I got Comfort Plus.  I also got sat next to the smelliest person in life, so I was taking advantage of the free alcohol in my new seat.  In Ohio, we hit up Skyline, tried to see Grandma, did the Krohn, and ended the day with family.  It made my life when I heard Dad telling Mom "watch this.  Siri, turn on my flashlight" which he'd learned from me earlier in the night.

Monday: I did not wake up quite as early.  I ran, then headed over with Dad to see Grandma.  She was okay.  It was a short but positive visit.  For lunch, we went to "the place where the toothpick scene in Rain Man was filmed" and met an old friend.  We ate and then talked for ever, as is normal.  On the way home, Mom and I had a sight seeing adventure in Eden Park and I re-lived the trauma of mile seven of the marathon.  In the evening, we went to Kentucky to see some of my most favorite people in the world.

Tuesday: I got up, ran, and went to see Grandma on my own.  Mom was working and Dad was golfing.  I had a real adventure and took Grandma to church.  We made it through the whole rosary but not much of the mass.  We did leave without making a scene though, so there's that. In the afternoon, we got Mom a new iPhone.  She kind of likes it but she was pretty freaked out at the time.  Evening entertainment was seeing 2 Pianos 4 Hands at the playhouse.

Wednesday: Dad ran with me today.  We had a brunch of goetta and eggs and then got on the road to Indiana. I drove because I am the only one who remembers the way including what to do at the roundabout.  Ever tried operating your parents car in 35mph cross winds for three hours?  It was rough. Family trickled in through the evening and we had a nice time visiting.

Thursday: I got up and ran my 'turkey trot' which was much shorter than in other years.  But so worth it. When I got back to the house, Dad was ready to go on his run which we did together.  I had him run for 10 seconds and walk for 20 the whole time. I took a couple different walks during the day/night as well.  The main meal was lovely as always.  The gravy was so good I wanted to drink it. 

Friday: I did my own run, about 3 miles, and then did Dad's workout with him.  Running with Dad is everything.  We did a bit of black Friday shopping.  I got one of those magnetic vent phone mount things.  I want to love it but it screws with my wireless charging so I have emotions. We had second Thanksgiving which for me was "what can I put Gravy on now?" Then I drove home. 

Saturday: I really did get up at the crack of dawn today.  And ran in the rain.  Mom was all 'so your day's not starting off the best?' and I was like 'It's not a snow storm.  My body is strong and healthy and I had fun out there.  But now I'm wet'  I honestly had no idea if my flight would even take off today, given the rain in Ohio and the snow here, but everything was on time. I took an Uber home, went to the store, and then enjoyed a day of sloth.  In theory I'm doing a Whole 20 tomorrow.  We'll see if that takes!

Hanging with the Family: Thanksgiving

Sunday
Running:  At the crack of dawn, 1 mile before hitting the road.
Reading: Sense and Sensibility, I got through Volumes 1 and 2 on the road. 
Doing: Mainly driving.  I took the shortest route through downtown Chicago.  I had a couple moments of traffic, but mainly smooth sailing.  Once I got to Indiana I took the dog for a walk which turned into an adventure of its own.  We were charged by an over friendly Great Dane.  The dog wanted to charge deer, and I got to see a hawk and a turkey vulture.
Watching: Introduced Aunts to Doctor Thorne.  You are welcome.

Monday
Running: 5.5 miles in the morning, on a path I've liked in the past.  Then weights and abs in Aunt's basement. 
Reading: Still in volume 3 of Sense and Sensibility.
Doing: The main part of the day was helping Aunt Candy Cane (and she knows why I picked that nickname) put up her Christmas tree and other decorations.  I am not anti-Christmas.  I just don't decorate my place because I'm never home.  I don't mind decorating but I hate packing it all back up so I'd say I timed this well.  Aunt Candy had a great moment where she found a Santa with detachable legs. "He's just like me"
When Aunt Candy and I got back to Aunt Host's home, she was unhappy with the current lights on the outside tree.  She wanted to try the older lights I refer to as "the ones that will burn the house down" because they legit get hot when they are on. She had one crap string of lights and a few fairly decent strings.  We were picking the good bulbs off the crap string, and had the other strings almost fully restored when one of the strings shocked her and altogether went out.  And that was when I quit my light bulb job and went downstairs.
Watching: Finished Doctor Thorne.  Watched the first live show of The Voice. 

Tuesday
Running: 5.6 miles in the morning.  Snow was falling and it was gorgeous. I told family it's the good kind of snow with no wind and no shoveling.
Reading: Finished Sense and Sensibility.  Not sure what I'll read next.
Doing: The day started with a shopping trip and exploring Sam's.  It's mostly Costco by me, so this has slightly different stuff.   In the afternoon, I bowed out of assisting with the outside lights.  Aunt Host and Uncle Host went outside, and then something broke.  But it was not a something that would burn down the house, so we at least had that going for us.
In the late afternoon, we headed over to a local winery that was a lot of fun.  Some of the grapes are the same as what we have in Minnesota.
Evening: I said "I haven't had any positive experiences with a racoon" and that had to change.
Watching: The Voice.  I'm kind of surprised by the results.

Wednesday
Running: 1.3 miles.  Followed by another edition of Vacation weights. The dumbell fell apart. Sigh
Reading: Atomic Habits and this one has the distinction that I'm actually reading it.  Goal is to get it done before I have to leave town, so that I can start another book then and not have too many books open at once.
Doing: After running, I mostly hung out at home.  I did some early Black Friday shopping. This is the one time of the year Xero Shoes goes on sale, so I had to stock up.  Also, Flickr is changing everything, so I had to get a paid account with them.  I looked at getting a hotel room for the trip home, but I need to wait until the weather clarifies itself before deciding what I'm going to do.
Mom and Dad as well as some additional family arrived in the evening and we all hung out, had dinner, and hung out some more.  I'm already stuffed and that's before the big meal tomorrow.
Watching: There was a ton of basketball on but it wasn't my thing. 

Thursday (Happy Thanksgiving!)
Running: My annual Turkey Trot, around 8.5 miles, in the morning.
Reading: Still on 'Atomic Habits' and finding it both obvious and fascinating
Doing: After the run, I had sweet rolls for breakfast, then reviewed the weather long enough to know I needed to leave town a day early to head home.  Thanksgiving meal was around 1pm and lots of people came.  After the meal and dishes, we had a walk, which is also tradition.  In the evening, I did laundry and read.  Everyone else watched a movie.  I saw parts of it.
We had 'fourth meal' meaning supper around 9pm after the movie.  I had left over turkey, gravy, and mashed potatoes.
Watching: Everyone else watched a movie but I just wanted to sit and read.

Friday
Running: 3.25 miles in the morning, plus a 'finisher' at the end.  I realized weights should happen but really won't.  Hanging with the family is more important.
Reading: I finished Atomic Habits and I started The Ministry of Utmost Happiness on the drive.
Doing: We went shopping at a few stores  to get the Black Friday flavor.  We hit Stein Mart and got a gift for Grandma, then Marshall's and got a gift for Mom, and then Eddie Bauer where we were all winners.
We had Italian Thanksgiving for lunch.  The lasagna was excellent.
Festival of Trees was a new activity for us.  We saw part of the show choir, all of the trees, and some of the dancing.  The Embassy Theater is gorgeous.  It's so old and well maintained, I loved walking around in it.
After that, it was time to pack and leave.  (Originally I'd planned to stay one more day, but I left early because of a snow storm that's going to swing through Illinois and Wisconsin on Sunday.)  I drove to Rockford and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express.  Dear Future Self: it's the Holiday Inn Express at the Loves Park exit.  I mention this because there is a regular Holiday Inn an exit south.  Either one is fine, but I typically hit up the Express. 
Watching: The Road.  For reals.

Saturday
Running: 1.2 Miles at home after the drive.  Sometimes these 1-mile runs are absolutely the hardest runs ever.
Reading: I kept on with Ministry of Utmost Happiness for a while.  Around Black River Falls I switched over to music and singing along for the rest of the drive. 
Doing: Driving.  I woke up around 5:30am, hit the road by 6am, and was home before 11am. A note to my future self here: Breakfast at Holiday Inn officially starts at 6am on the weekends. It was all out there and the coffee was hot around 5:50am.  Packing the coffee thermos was a fantastic idea.  Leaving around 6am still puts me in Minneapolis before 11am.
Watching: The road.  And now I've got a hankering for Downton Abbey, related to an earlier discussion.

Long Run Thursday: Turkey Trot

Plan: I'm going to start working with a coach soon.  Her suggestion at the moment is to run the runs, not run/walk, so that's what I went with.  Also"don't look at the watch" which I did almost until the end.  (I had a plan about where it was okay to take a look.) 

Route: This is my aunt's neighborhood.  I mostly follow the curb on the left side of the road around the neighborhood.  There's a couple places I deviate but that's the general rule.  I cross a main road at one point because the other side has hills and some scenic woods.
Weather: Cold and windy but no snow.   It was 27* and 10mph winds.

Wardrobe: Brooks Running pants, Smart Wool Compression socks, smart wool top, wind proof jacket, hat, gloves (which did eventually come off) and Merrell Trail Crusher shoes.

Execution: I felt great and had a great time.  Towards the end of the run my stomach got a bit upset, which hasn't happened on a run in a long time.  That's probably more about the foods I've been eating this week than anything else.
Nutrition: LOL, see above.  This was a fasted run.
From today, I learned: Running just felt good today.  I had a blast.
Bonus: This post is mostly about future me. I found myself really wanting a 'long run report' so I remembered what to do for this run. 
To my future self: the way the map is drawn works out to about 8.6 miles.  Adding those last two side streets at the end would probably bump it up to just shy of 9 miles (and then have fun running up and down the driveway to get that last little bit, right?)
Also to my future self: the marker for mile 8 is slightly off because I accidentally lapped my watch at 7.96 when I took my glove off.