Turkey Trottin', Potty Stoppin', and Plenty of Hugs to go Around!

With a reported 5,000 participants, this year's Orlando Turkey Trot was a big one with runners and walkers of all shapes, sizes, paces, and personalities. For me, it was great fun to walk it with Hubby, all the while snapping pics, chatting with fellow runners/walkers, and giving & getting hugs.  What a great start to Thanksgiving! No pressure to PR, no pre-race jitters in the porta-potty lines (though turns out, I should have stopped by!)... Instead, time to visit with friends and make new ones.  :-) 

Here's a recap, mostly in pictures (so much more fun, don't you think??).....

While heading into the park, Hubby and I were on the lookout for blogging/running friends we knew were supposed to be there.  They spotted us first.  Do you think it had anything to do with my new t-shirt??

Plenty of hugs, chatting and stories followed! These awesome gals completed their first 1/2 marathon last weekend, came out for the Turkey Trot, and are headed to Savannah for yet another race next weekend.  Wow!  (Missing from these "Usual Suspects" is Dawn, who was away for the holiday weekend w/ her hubby.)

From left: Colleen, me, Vicki (on the injured, reserved list this day), and Kathy

After hugs all around, Hubby and I headed up the street to warm up (in the low 50s) and stretch a little.  On our return trip, we ran into Andres, our fave guy from Track Shack.  We stopped to visit and check out his new, ultra-cool Nike running shoes. The camera kept acting weird, and Andres and I were saying, "The picture is coming soon, right??" so we look funny in this pic!

We ran into Vicki again, at the ready with her camera.  She was very disappointed to have to sit this one out.  More hugs and pics!  

Next we moved to the starting line (okay, the back of the starting area!), where we met Cheryl, whose very cool "Running Means..." Philadelphia Half Marathon race shirt caught my attention.  When I asked her how she did (just last weekend!), she reported, "Great!"  Way to go, Cheryl!   

A few minutes later, the clock started and we were off.  As you can see from this picture, it took a few minutes to even get to the starting line!

In all shapes, sizes, and ages, runners ran, walkers walked...

 

And some gobbled....

Then, five minutes into the race (walk), "Uh-oh! I need a pit stop!" Imagine my surprise when Hubby said, "Do you want to find a porta-potty?" and as I responded, "No.  There won't be any on the course," we look up and this is what we see:

Y-A-Y!!!

Ha! Ha! It was like a beacon in the night, and I r-a-n toward it! Gotta go! Gotta go! Gotta go! Gotta go!  Note: new experience for me - stopping in the middle of a run.. weird!  (And another guy went in right behind me!)

Apparently, my potty break turned out to be a stretch break for Hubby, whose shins were giving him fits.  But after a good stretch, he's right back out there... go, Honey, go!

We have really terrific neighbors who come out and cheer on race participants. This little guy was our favorite this day, as dad greeted us with "Happy Thanksgiving!" while we trotted by.

 

In mile 3, we kept hearing a couple of little guys who resembled Thing 1 and Thing 2, and were clearly NOT happy about doing this race, as mom and dad walked and pushed quickly.  I had to laugh, because they reminded me of Tall Mom and her crew (the BOB, not the kids' impatience!).  It's a little blurry...I apologize. Was walking backward and trying not to break my neck! Take a look. What do you think??

As we approached the finish line, Mr. Time Keeper and his Little Buddy were definitely the most enthusiastic folks on the course... Wow!  His energy was infectious and sooo much fun!  Thank you, Mr. TK! 

A short time later, we were finished and headed home, where I dropped off the camera and Hubby, and headed back out to get in a few pre-dinner miles.  Score for the day:  walk 3.1 run 2.2. 

We had a great morning, followed by an equally fantastic Thanksgiving day with (some) of our family.  We missed those who weren't with us, but also learned that there'd be a new addtion next spring, as my sister, M, and her husband will be welcoming their second child:

It was definitely a day to be thankful....

R.