2025 Turkey Trot!

 I just finished the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot!   And I'm actually impressed with myself.   No training.   No running!   Sore Foot.   Wicked Cold and Wind!  And early morning rise time....  ( Now that I work second shift,  9 am is EARLY!) And I did this all with the temping option to skip out on it... Because Cheryl was was not here.   

Normally,  I would get up because she would be eager and ready to go and run in the morning.   And with the reward of a Kwik Trip Coffee and donut as motivation... I could be talked into joining her.   But with her absent this holiday,  all of the responsibility and motivation fell upon my shoulders.    

Oh!  Sure... I still got the coffee and donut.  And I fell back in the "Allen Motivation" of  hating to waste money.   That meaning:  I bought the race already and the shirt that came with it....  So I might as well run the thing!  Otherwise I just threw 35$ away!  ( I think that is what I paid for it...)  I get that trait from my Dad.   ( Mom was notorious for wasting money!)  

With the foot pain still lingering. (Despite the physical therapy and exercises...) I decided to keep it real and only run the 2 mile this year.   And I'm actually glad I did!   Not that the foot pain was unbearable...  Rather the biting Wind Chill was terrible!   And I felt like my face was on fire the whole time with no face mask to cover my nose.  

But I survived!   And even got a cookie from one of the local bakeries who were handing them out on the race route. 

 Now I can pig out on Turkey with no guilt!  

Well,  not quite.   But I do feel a little proud that I completed the event when I could have just as easily slept in and been completely justified.  I should really take note about what motivates me:   

Cold?   Not as much as you would think. 

How about foot pain?   A little bit. 

 How about extra sleep?   Sometimes...  

 But losing money!?   UNTHINKABLE! 

The Gales of November!   Cold and strong!

Perhaps I could use that information to lose weight.   I know I did it once before.   But we live in a country that literally GIVES food away.   And the only thing that motivates me more than not losing money is getting FREE food!  It doesn't even have to taste good!   (I actually think this is a vice and flaw in my personal character.   So I will have to work on that.)  

Speaking of food.   I will now have to eat an entire turkey with one less person.   I did invite Dave to join me.  But he usually only eats healthy... And other than calories... There is not much about a Turkey Dinner that is nutritious. Just a day when you can feast away and then spend the rest of the year trying to lose the extra weight gain.   (sigh!) Such is the American Lifestyle.  

So that means I will have plenty of food for my Haribo Lunches.  Provided that Haribo does not throw another Holiday Feast for their employees.  

Speaking of Dave!   Last weekend we spent a Saturday helping out a couple of ladies with some "Handy Man" projects.   Simple stuff...  Because I don't actually think of my self as "handy."   But I have done these things before:  

 Replace some bathroom fixtures,   Fix a door,   and replace a broken lightbulb.  I would have like to have picked the lock for the backyard shed... but we did not have the tools, nor the time.  And the Bolt Cutters were damaged...  So that item did not get done.  

As for the rest of this weekend.   I have the next 4 days off from Haribo.    And that would have been time I would have had to do things with Cheryl.   But with her not here,   I decided to volunteer for work on Saturday.   The factory will be closed, but we got slammed with gummies before the holiday and there are Pallets all over the factory floor that has to get to the warehouse.   So I will join the motley crew to clean the place up a bit before Monday.   And It should be all overtime!  So that is nice.  

My plans for Friday will be the usual Saturday tasks.  Along with taping up the windows for Winter.   And perhaps some Origami. 

 I have a Dragon I have been thinking about for a while.   But a slightly easier model would be a horse.   And since my weekend time has been broken up with the Saturday job,  I might see if I can work on an easier model.  Something I can complete in a single day.    

And make every second count.