Turkey Trot 2008

I've never been much of a fan of Thanksgiving -- overeating foods I don't really like in the first place just never seemed like a way to give thanks. When I moved to DC for law school, I decided not to head back to my parents' every year. Instead, I'd run a Turkey Trot, order pizza and do my Christmas cards while watching football. I loved it.

Fast forward ten years and we still run a Turkey Trot every year, and it's the rare occurrence that we go to Ohio. Stuart and I usually invite a mix of friends who also are here with nowhere to go, and cook a very nontraditional Thanksgiving meal, but this year it was going to be just us. While we didn't plan a big, gluttonous meal, it was going to be extravagant in its very yumminess.

We met up with Erin and a few of her running girlfriends for the Alexandria Turkey Trot 5-miler. I went out way too fast last year, and died towards the end. This year, my goal was to shoot for 45min. As we walked towards the starting line, though, I learned that this was Erin's friend Nikki's first ever race...and she was nervous. I mentioned that I was going to start out at a 10-11min/mi pace, and then hammer from there if I felt good, so we agreed to start together. But then my goal changed. I decided it would be more fun, and more rewarding, to help Nikki achieve her goal than to try for a PR in a race that was supposed to be all about having fun. And it ended up being the most fun race of my entire season.

Nikki ran strong, thanking volunteers, and pushed herself through a tough final mile without having to walk any of the race. And with a mile and a half to go, we picked up Tess, a middle schooler running her first race. She was walking and I decided we could get her to the finish with a steady run, too. Sure enough, both of them finished strong, with Tess sprinting away for the last block or two yelling a "thank you" back in our direction. Nikki finished with a smile on her face, with a time of 55:43 by my watch. I was smiling, too. So often I've been the one at the back of the pack, watching my faster friends leave me in the dust, or just wondering if I'd be able to finish. Helping two people who were really complete strangers to me accomplish a goal was such a great feeling. I knew I could have gone faster, and pushed myself, but I found more fulfillment in giving of my own time and positive energy to help them.

So on this Thanksgiving, I enjoyed a tremendous meal with my amazing husband and gave thanks not just for all that has been given to me, but for the gift of being able to give of myself to others.