Happy Thanksgiving, all! Not sure what came over me, but a few days ago I signed up for San Jose’s 10K Turkey Trot on a whim. (That’s 6.2 miles for those of you who are too high on turkey to do the math.) What’s really cool about the event? Proceeds benefit various local food banks, housing and health organizations. These charities provide families who need them with the most basic necessities: food, shelter, warmth… Necessities which are often taken for granted. Considering that I’ve been blasting the heat in my apartment and was invited to four separate Thanksgiving feasts at various friends’ homes today (we only took up one offer though), I was more than happy to pay my race fee, donate a few cans of food, and lace up my sneakers for such a great cause. Turned out about 14,000 others had the same thing in mind. I had no idea this event was so huge! In my race alone there were 4000+ runners. (There was also a 5K.) Cool that so many people participate in such a great fundraiser but at the same time, YIKES! I’m not a fan of crowds which is the main reason I don’t do more road races. I was very interested in how this was going to go down, especially considering that it was my first competitive running event in over eight years and I had just three days to prep which really meant mentally preparing for the distance and cold.

Thanksgiving morning aka race day I woke to near-freezing temps which is super unmotivating. Thus, I waited until the last possible minute to change out of my cozies and into my Arctic race wear.

Me all bundled up before the start. Down puffer jacket by J. Crew, running top by Nike, leggings by Lucy, fleece gloves by Northface, vintage wool cap.

I got to the start line with three minutes to spare before the race started — just enough time to shed my layers and jump in sans warmup.

And they’re off!

And here I finally cross the START line about 4000 runners later.

Me on the right, passing a pack of guys.

How much futher? Just kidding. It actually went by really fast.

Not as fast as this guy, though. He finished first in 31 minutes, 22 seconds!!

I breezed in about 12 minutes later. Sorry, I’m not posting the photos of me crossing the finish line because, well, I’m dry heaving. Lovely, I know. But hey, my goal was to finish in under 50 minutes and my time ended up being 44:50 — good enough for 219th place out of 4118 runners and 24th place out of 2074 female runners. Not bad for no training, no warm up, and starting in the back of a 4000-person pack. Wonder what I can do next time with a little preparation…?!

My cheer section.

I was really touched how supportive Shrek is. Not only did he NOT gripe about the cold and super early start time, but he scurried to several locations along the course to cheer me on, snap photos, and note my time/splits at certain mile markers.

This was such a great way to jump-start Thanksgiving. Not only did it rev my body for eating-mode but it benefited local charities and is a great reminder of what we have to be thankful for.

Me post-race with my friend who ran the 5K. She and I have already decided we’re going to do this again next year! Here’s the event’s website with course info and results: http://svturkeytrot.com/