what do you call a running turkey?

fast food.

Happy almost turkey day! I’ll admit Thanksgiving has always been a bit of an odd one for me. I could take or leave the turkey, stuffing and gravy (but will take the pie, thank you!) and have always viewed T-day as the kick off to Christmas. As I’ve gotten older and married someone who absolutely loves the holiday, I’ve come to realize it’s the traditions for me that give me the warm and fuzzies. Whether they be old or new, these holiday traditions are what I find nostalgic and endearing. So from my family to yours, here are the three things I look forward to each and every fourth Thursday in November.

1. A good old fashioned Turkey Trot

   

   I don’t really do races anymore as the novelty of waking up ungodly early on a weekend to go stand outside waiting to run with a thousand of my closest friends doesn’t really do it for me anymore. I already wake up ungodly early on the weekend everyday but at least I’m in my coziest fleece enjoying a latte indoors without worrying about where to find the closest porta potty. That said, the one race I look forward to every year is the Turkey Trot. I absolutely love me a Trot. It’s fun, I probably take it too seriously, and I really hope when he’s old enough Dougie will want to do it too. It also gives me a sense of accomplishment I very much enjoy as I proceed to do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day while grazing on whatever is placed in front of me.

   Sadly a trot might not be in our future this year as Dougie brought home yet another plague from daycare last week and I spent the day on the couch yesterday with a heinous cough and no voice. Matt’s currently in bed with a maybe sore throat and Dougie can still clear a room with his cough. If we rally it’ll be a game day decision at 6am tomorrow morning and if not we’ll be there in spirit! (and by spirit I mean at the coffee shop enjoying a latte and a croissant)

2. The Lions Thanksgiving day game (aka the only football I’ll voluntarily watch)

   

   watching the Lions play in 2018 from a gem of a bar called Aces, open from 6am-2am everyday, including turkey day.

   I’m not a football fan, but the one game and day in which I will set my loathing aside is to watch the Lions play on Thanksgiving. This reminds me of home and my brothers and while I haven’t spent a Turkey Day in Michigan in almost 15 years I will still always watch the Lions.

3. Black Friday Deals (yay for me / sad face for my wallet)

   

   Although apparently Black Friday actually started a week ago so here I am, the day before Thanksgiving, two days before the actual Friday that used to be black, with Black Friday burnout. But I really, really love me a bargain and also need some new winter(ish) running gear so I’ll probably pull it together and rally for the thrill of a deal and some retail induced oxytocin.

   For those of you who also might be in need of some new winter(ish) running gear, here’s a running (ha ha) list of Black Friday sales.

• Asics : 25% off *almost everything. Perfect time to snag the novablast at an insane deal before a newer model launches in December.

• Brooks : 25% off *almost everything. I haven’t run in Brooks in years but I did like these shorts and can get behind the idea of a technical run hoodie.

• Carbon38 : 25% off sitewide. Good place to stock up on comfy lifestyle activewear but I probably won’t be looking for any new run products here. Unless you love running in Nikes and happen to be a size 7.5 in which case these are a steal. Neither of those are me.

• lululemon : nothing official (yet) but their ‘we made too much’ section is a treasure trove of deals waiting to be discovered. If they had a different color in my size on sale, I would 100% be getting another pair of the Fast and Free shorts.

• Bandier : 30% off *almost everything. Also more lifestyle leaning but still a lot of performance in the mix. I’d probably go for cross over items like this short sleeve or long sleeve tee.

• Outdoor Voices : 40% off everything (yes, everything). This was a pre-black Friday deal so sizes are a bit broken but still some gems! This cloud knit hoodie would be a great for a winter(ish) will it or won’t it run in the rain.

• Saucony : 25% off select items. Lucky for me but unlucky for my bank account these beauties are on the list. One trail run every 3 months totally justifies owning a pair of trail shoes, yeah?

• Tracksmith : silver medal sale launching on Friday, or early access Thursday if you’re trotting.

• Bandit : sale launching Friday alongside their new (and really, really cool) winter run collection.

• Halfdays : 20% off sitewide + up to 60% off sale. More ski focused, however, their hike + outdoors section has some gems that could translate to running like this versatile windbreaker.

• REI : holiday deals up to 50% off but I find shopping REI to be overwhelming and anxiety-inducing so enter at your own risk.

• Guava : this is on here simply because they make what I think might be the best running stroller on the market. I haven’t tried it in person, however I’m a sucker for good marketing and consider me marketed. $200 off their Roam Stroller, a do-it-all stroller made for running and also just like, strollering.

• Nike : I almost left this one off because I don’t love Nike’s run anything but maybe you do? Up to 60% off must-have holiday gifts (whatever those are) plus an extra 25% off sale.

I’ll be taking next week off as I’ll be in Austin for the week. Was hoping to take advantage of some lingering Texas warmth but sadly I think the weather will be the same as it is here in SF.

Happy Trotting to those who celebrate and Happy Turkey Day!

See you all in two weeks,

*k