We were up early this morning, despite having the day off work, so that we could be at the starting line at the annual Arlington Turkey Trot: a charity 5K walk/run the proceeds of which go to provide food for people who might otherwise go hungry. Dozing off to sleep last night, I’d forgotten about the event, the way you sometimes forget that it’s a weekend and wake up thinking you have to go into work. Kelly woke up at around 6:30 and got us all up and we were out of the house at 7 am. We decided to drive over to the East Falls Church metro and take the train from there in order to avoid parking problems–and to allow the Little Man to ride the train.
It was a cold morning. You could see your breath in the air, but the rain had passed and the sky was a rich blue, a shade of blue I never saw in all my years in Southern California, even after the rains cleared away the smog. We made it to the starting line with about ten minutes to spare. There were some 3,000 people participating in the turkey trot. We pushed our way toward the back where the pets and strollers were (so that we didn’t get in the way of those trying to, you know, set a world record). And before we knew it, the race began and we were off. We walked at a good clip the entire way, weaving through the streets of Arlington, waving to the police officers who blocked traffic. It was actually a lot of fun. People everywhere were cheerful and friendly. There were volunteers along the route encouraging people along. It was all very neighborly and quite apropos for Thanksgiving. If people could only act this way year round.
We finished the 5K with a time of about 55 minutes. Kelly and I made a pact to attempt to run the turkey trot next year, so I guess we both have some training to do between now and then. Along the route, we chatted, and people-watched, and tried to find the lowest possible number on runnings shirts (we were all given numbers–ours were in the 2600-range. The lowest number we saw was 35. Not bad for 3,000 people, most of whom were ahead of us.
We walked back to the metro, reversed our route home, and on the way, I stopped at the grocery store and picked up goodies for everyone: donuts and muffins.
Later today we’re having our friends Sarah and Jay over for Thanksgiving dinner and I am about to start on some cooking.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Be safe this weekend.
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