Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving! 

( I know I'm a little late, but it was a busy day yesterday!)

 Don't worry, little guy, you will be spared - LIVE! BE FREE!

This was year 2 of no turkey for my family's Thanksgiving; none of us are really big on meat, so we forgo the bird and make other yummy dishes. But aside from the normal food talk, Thanksgiving began with the big race I've been training for, my first race ever...the Turkey Trot!

The 8K spanned through a good portion of Buffalo and reached capacity at 13, 200 runners.

This being my first race, I had no idea what I was doing. Jon helped me pin my race number to the belly of my hoodie, I stuck the Ttag on my shoe, and got into the enormous crowd that was the starting line.

I waited for about 20 minutes in the crowd, doing little stretches and jumping a bit to keep warm (it was overcast and about 45' F). Just when my toes started to hurt a little from the cold, they announced it was time to set our timers and take our mark; it was 9:00 a.m. The gun was shot. I waited...and waited...and stood on my toes to see why the heck nobody was moving.

There were so many people, I didn't even make it to the starting line until 5 minutes had passed after the gun! But, once I was over the start, I ran. It was exciting and fulfilling to be actually running in this 116 year tradition!

Overall, the race went well. Aside from some nasty gusts of icy Lake Erie wind, I kept warmer than I thought I would. I pushed through and didn't walk once; good music helped keep my pace. My goal was to finish the 5 miles in under 45 minutes.

Here's how I did:

3906 Alyssa Rizzo 

Place in sex: F#  753 

Place in age group: 139/1009 

Net race time: 43:29 

Net race pace: 8:45 

I'm pretty happy with those times.

The best thing, though, was having my dad and Jon at the finish line to cheer me through.

The Turkey Trot was a great experience, and I'd definitely do it again.

Races are a great way to set goals, work to achieve them, and then see them through 

when the day comes.

Besides, when else can you do this awesome pose on the streets of Buffalo, NY:

What was your first race? Was it how you expected it to be?