Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and Scot and I once again participated in the
SOME Trot for Hunger 5K. It was Scot's third time doing this race, and my seventh! I
blogged about it last year and can't say much was different this year. I saw some of the same people dressed in the same costumes (the pink bunnies and the guy in the full body turkey outfit). We ran the same course with the long stretch down Pennsylvania Avenue from Freedom Plaza to the Capitol.
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| Before the start |
We didn't get there early enough to see the one mile kids run, but arrived in the huge corral just a few minutes before gun time for the 5K. There was a big bottleneck to get across the starting mat, and Scot and I probably started nearly 10 minutes after gun time. After we got started, I ran the whole way, expect for the few times I stepped onto the sidewalk to take a photo. We had to bob and weave through the throngs of walkers with their strollers and their dogs, walking 5 abreast. This is the one event in which I won't allow those walkers to spoil the experience. This is, after all, the only race of the year that many of those people will do. They don't know race etiquette, and they probably never will. But they are out there being active in a charity race on a holiday. So, they get a pass. There were a LOT of them though, and many of them must have started at the front of the pack, because I was not only passing walkers in the beginning of my race; I was passing walkers the entire three miles.
Anyway, here's a recap of what was noteworthy about this year's turkey trot.
1) The weather was great! In years past the temperature has been much colder for this race. Last year it was in the 30ºF range and we froze our tail feathers. I recall running it one year when the staging area was wet and muddy (back when they used to start in Potomac Park). Yesterday it was about 50ºF at the start and sunny. Excellent running weather.
2) We saw my former coworker Johnny. This was not too much of a surprise because he's done this 5K several times, but it was nice to bump into him before the start.
3) People were in costume, as usual. There were a few new ones to see this year. A few people were wearing a plush turkey hat that was unique in that the turkey was red. A change from the traditional brown turkey hats. And there was a couple dressed as a banana (her) and a monkey (him). There were also babies in strollers in turkey suits.
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| I liked their homemade turkey shirts |
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| Two little turkeys in a stroller let mama do the work |
4) People were having a good time. Whether they were fast or slow, costumed or not, regular runners or once-a-year walkers, people seemed to be having a good time. Entire families participated together. Couples ran side by side. Kids encouraged each other. I overhead one 12 year old telling either his friend or his brother not to go too fast, that he was supposed to pace himself. And approaching the finish, that same kid said, "Ok, we're going to finish together!' It was a feel-good event, for sure.
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| Only in DC do turkey trotters get to run past landmarks like these: Air and Space Museum |
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| U.S. Capitol |
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| Stroller people in view of Washington Monument |
5) Not that I was running this race for time, but looking back at my RunKeeper stats, in the last three SOME Trot for Hunger 5Ks my times been within one minute of each other. Good to know I'm consistent for my annual 5K running and picture taking event.
6) Twice we ran past the
Old Post Office Pavilion which is being converted into a luxury hotel by none other than Donald Trump. It's under construction now. As far as I can tell, they're not changing the exterior of the building (better not!). I hope they are able to maintain the historic elements from the inside of the building. I hope Donald Trump has people on the project who are smarter than him. But it saddens me that this once public building that all people could visit will now be an exclusive hotel.
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| Old Post Office Pavilion, soon to be a Trump hotel |
And that's about it for the turkey trot. After we were both finished, Scot and I took advantage of the nice weather and walked around a couple of the small parks between Freedom Plaza and the Ellipse. We joined the crowd of tourists taking pictures of the White House.
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| That's the White House behind us |
And then we headed home. There was talk about going out to see a movie or two, but what happened was that Scot napped while I cooked. We ended up watching football and enjoying our Thanksgiving feast in a leisurely manner.
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| Our vegetarian feast consisted of cheesy potatoes, eggplant parmigiana and haricots verts with almonds and dried cranberries; dessert was a berry crumble |
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| From top: Willie, Grayson and Boo got a can of turkey cat food, thanks to their daddy |
Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!
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