Winner, WINNER! Turkey Dinner!

Sooooo, I feel the need to confess something today.  It's one of those things that I've been carrying around with me for a while now and I'm really feeling like I need to get it off of my chest.

Ok.  Here goes.

I'm jealous of American Thanksgiving.

Whew!  So. Much. Better.

I'm not sure if it's the parade, the getting to eat turkey and all the fixings in November, the shopping rush that happens immediately following the turkey coma or the fact that the majority of people in the States seem to make it a priority to be with their families for the entirety of the holiday weekend.  Maybe, it's a little bit of everything though.

The first year I was home on mat leave was when my love affair with American Thanksgiving began.  It was the first year that I really got to watch the parade and the dog show and the Christmas specials that usually followed the football game.  I made a turkey and a scaled down version of what we would normally do for our own Thanksgiving.  It was awesome, but it was lacking.  It was lacking the laughter and the togetherness that the holidays are supposed to be about.

Ask me if that first, not absolutely perfect experience made me stop double celebrating Thanksgiving?  Nooooooope.  It sure hasn't!  I've decided that I'm lucky enough to have the option of double celebrating (not double fisting - could you imagine double fisting Thanksgiving dinner?  YIKES!), and one of these years, maybe I'll even be lucky enough to get to celebrate American Thanksgiving IN the USA!  Until then, I'm gonna keep watching the parade and making my turkey for dinner on that blessed Thursday night when everyone else in Canada is having meatloaf!

Now, can we talk about a slightly related topic for one moment?  I need to talk about how yesterday, while I sat in my living room watching the parade with my coffee and no one else (yup, coffee is that important in my world!) what got me, right in the heart.  The commercials!  They were killing me!  I watched one Jeep commercial about families who keep coming back to the same place to keep their holiday traditions alive year after year, generation after generation and it made me tear up!  A FREAKING CAR COMMERCIAL MADE ME CRY!!  I think I might need some meds.  Or something.  It's only just the beginning of the pull at your heartstrings commercial season and if the Jeep commercial had me blowing my nose and wiping my eyes, than what's gonna happen when the dreaded Hallmark commercials start?  Oh. My. God!!  The Hallmark commercials - AND THE HALLMARK SPECIAL!!!  I'm done!

AND NOW (geeeesh, there's a whole lotta yelling going on in here today.  I think I might REALLY need those meds!) to end on a note that actually explains my posting title (I know, I know, you've been reading this entire thing muttering, 'I just don't get it! Who won what?')

A lot of you read my blog because you've heard about it through the most amazingly fantastic, cyber group MLFC (holla hookstars!)  If you're active in the group bare with me for two seconds while I give backstory here.  One of the AMAZING chicks in there (Bridgette looks gorgeous in purple btw!) decided to organize a virtual Turkey Trot 5K so that everyone could feel like they were a part of the Thanksgiving festivities!  I was already planning on doing 5K yesterday anyway because 2 of my awesome ladies in my challenge group were running in their own communities, so I was all over this opportunity!

Yesterday was a beautiful day here!  The fog burned off slowly though which meant that the sidewalks were a bit slippery - it just added to the excitement of the run!  I got out there and I was feeling a bit tired.  Not sure why.  Could have been that I was running earlier than I normally do in the day.  Could have been that I was listening to a new playlist.  Could have been lots of things!  I didn't listen to the voice in my head though.  I told that bi-otch to shut it and just kept going!  I'm glad I did too, because here's what I ended up with!

I know, it's not sub 30 minutes yet, but THAT was a PR outside for me and I will take it!!  I'm still working on getting my speed up but it's coming!  Baby steps, right?

So, if you're out shopping today, please don't get trampled!  If you're laying low, eating leftovers and hanging with the family, enjoy every second of it - Thanksgiving comes but once a year (or twice if you're me and you're got Thanksgiving envy issues!)

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

**edit**
I cannot believe I forgot weigh-in Wednesday this week!  What the heck is wrong with this crazy girl?  Let's blame it on the holiday envy that was happening in my head!  Down another 1.6 to 157!!  That means 3 things!
1) I'm 7 lbs away from my goal!!
2) I'm 3 lbs away from having lost 40 freaking lbs!
3) I'm officially back in the normal range for my height!  Wooooooooooooooot!
4) Ya, I know, I know...The last time I weighed this much, I didn't have any kids AND I was in my 20's.  It's been a long time coming and it feels GREAT!

I loves me a PB!

Nope, not peanut butter (although, I TOTALLY love peanut butter in pretty much anything!)  This time, I loves me a new personal best!!  The 15 k - which I might have mentioned a billion times once or twice over the last few weeks - was this past Saturday.  So, rewind selector just a teeeny tiny bit and you'll discover that never before have I actually done the majority all of the runs suggested in order to train for a run.  Even for the 1/2 I did in 2010!   So, committing to my running schedule for the last 5 1/2 weeks was actually a hugemongous thing for me.  I went into the race on Saturday feeling a bit nervous because I wasn't sure how actually training for a run would affect the end results.  

I think I've mentioned before that I'm a slow, steady runner.  I'm definitely not going to set any world records at any time in my existence, but I will always get the job done.  When my Bestie and I ran the 10 k in May, we finished in 1 hr and 19 minutes (I think.)  As I said on Friday, as long as we finished the full 15 k in under 2 hours, I was gonna be a happy chiquita.  So......we got to the race on Saturday and the Bestie realized we'd forgotten her Garmin (our 10 and 1 God and pace keeper.) At first it was kind of weird not knowing if we were going too fast or when to take our walk breaks, but then it actually became kind of freeing.  We started walking at the 2 km points and then after walking for what felt like about a minute, we just started running again.  It was GRRRRRRRREAT! (Sorry, I couldn't help myself!)

Finally at the 10 k point, we found someone who was wearing a Garmin who very kindly told us that we'd just finished the 10 k in less than an hour and 15 minutes!  Whaaaaaaaaat?  We shaved at least 4 minutes off of our last time!  Amaze-balls!  

NOW, I have to come clean and let you know that at the 12 k point I was starting to crap out.  My legs were getting tired and my knees were starting to feel it to.  We started walking more but we still ran more than we walked.  Our final time for the full 15 k was I believe 1:55!!  We came in 5 minutes UNDER the 2 hr mark!  

I know, I know, it's not amazing by any stretch of the imagination but we almost totally stuck to the walk/run rule throughout the entire race AND we finished strong!  I'm really happy with the results and next year (yup! there will be a next time!) I might even dress up with my Bestie (but I'll still wear my Run Swiftly underneath it all - but I've got more to say about that later!)

For now though...An after shot (so pretty in my post-race glory, aren't I?)

ps, the scale said 180.9 this morning.  Sooooooooo close I can taste it!  Next week is gonna be good, hold on to your hats!