The 2020 Des Moines Turkey Trot in West Chester Iowa.

 Happy Thanksgiving!   Hopefully everyone has had at least a "somewhat" normal Thanksgiving this year.  Thanksgiving is never easy for us as it arrives smack dab in the middle of the Christmas Stocking season rush!  And this year is an even BIGGER rush than normal. 

Another full day of Stocking fun. 

Still,  even during a Pandemic of Insanity,  Cheryl wanted to try to make believe this Thanksgiving was somewhat normal.    Since 2015, we have been running in various Turkey Trots across America on the Morning of Thanksgiving.   Cheryl feels that by running a 5K, She is allowed to stuff herself with food for the rest of the day guilt free.   I'm sure that is pretty much what everyone else things about those Turkey Trots  as well.   Not to mention you get to wear a crazy turkey outfit for one day of the year that is NOT Halloween.  

What's in the Box?

So,  Cheryl got her Race In A  Box, a few days ago and we have been waiting for this moment to open it up and see what we get.   

Look at all the goodies!   Normally, Turkey Trots do not offer a finisher's Medal for the Shor 5 or 10 K runs.   Typically, it is just a shirt, hat or some other thing that is useless and quickly discarded at the end of the race.   But this year... Des Moines went all out with a Medal.   I guess all of those other races being cancelled has allowed them to sweeten the deal for the virtual runners. 

Neck warmer... Or Turkey mask? 

Des Moines, looks a lot like Westchester.

So off we headed to West Chester to run on the Kewash trail... again.    We ran all 7 miles that we normally do for a training run.   I guess you could say this is the first 7 mile Turkey Trot she has ever done.   

The Entire race looked a lot like The  2020 Kentucky Blue Grass race,  The 2020  4th of July run, And the 2020 Hot Dash race.    In fact,  I believe all but one of the 2020 races will look like the Kewash trail in Iowa.   Rather disappointing.  

Unknowns fall Mushroom. 

But she finished it.   And we found a handful of late fall Mushrooms in the process. I think they might be a member of the Oyster Family, but we did not take them home.   There was much work to be done. 

Hiro inspects todays Batch. 

We managed to finish 32 stockings today.  32!  That HAS to be some sort of record.   In between cutting stockings and sewing buttons, I managed to roast the turkey and eat some pumpkin pie.   Cheryl and I engaged in a "pie eating contest" and so far,  Cheryl is winning.   She has consumed half of her Sara Lee Apple pie while I have only eaten three pieces of my Sara Lee Pumpkin pie.   But the night is not yet over!

Wait..  She just informed me she is now up by two pieces.  I better finish this blog and catch up!

What is there to say about the food.   Not as good as some years...  Not as bad as others?   After only one plate, I managed to eat enough to make me full.   And all we had was turkey, stuffing and a little gravy.  I'm the only one who eats Cranberries, but I only had one slice and I'm already full.  This will make the pie eating competition even more challenging... ( Where does Cheryl put it all?) 

Oreo Loves the Subaru. 

Otherwise,  we are currently the only ones in our apartment complex at the moment.  A rather peaceful ordeal.   That also must mean the other people are spending their holiday with their families...   Which is a good thing despite the lockdowns and mouth coverings.  And although the food was not the best, it was "good enough: after a long day of sewing up stockings.     And eating turkey on Thanksgiving must mean that at least something is going right in 2020.

None of the cats are ours...

Moon rises on Thanksgiving. 

So, it is late,  I am tired, and I have to post this before I can finally relax.   Mostly Cheryl wanted me to post pictures of her with her Turkey Bling  from the Trot. ( It is always all about her, after all. )  But I do believe that there are better things to come, even if this entire year's holidays have been a huge bust.  I should also note that the Turkey we purchased and cooked came with its WISHBONE already broken!   I think this is a good thing, as both Cheryl and I have had the same wish for the majority of the year.   And if the wishbone has already been spent, that means we now just have to put in the time and energy to get it done.   We shall see how things go after the stocking season concludes.  

Cheryl's Hat Head.

Add Curls to your hair! 

Happy Thanksgiving!  And thanks for stopping in.   We hope everyone is having a fine, fun and relaxing. holiday.