Being Thankful

We have had a great thanksgiving weekend spending time with friends and family and eating WAY too much food. We have also had some great trail running out enjoying the fine fall weather and God's creation: quiet times to continue the appreciation of how blessed we are and how thankful we should be.

We spent Thanksgiving proper at Ronda and Bill's for an amazing feast and good time with new and old friends. Friday started with some running and then time working on the fish tanks. We ended the day with more food and friends hanging out with the Rouse's in their new home in Canby.

I have been a bit of a slug in terms of training fighting some type of cold or flu. Ronda has been inviting me out with her squad which got me out the door on to the Wildwood trail in Forest Park for a couple of hours on Friday and Sunday morning. Friday we ran out and back starting at Germantown Road. Trisha ran long on Saturday morning while I cleaned out clogged sink drains and watched Harry Potter movies with the kids.

Sunday was a loop course from Upper Macleay park to the Nature trail down to Leif. Then to Wild Cherry and back to the park on Wildwood trail. The group even started early for me on Sunday so we could still make church :-) There is a nice gallery of park images here.

We had talked about doing some kind of turkey trot race this weekend but it just did not come together. Have to try for a jingle bell run.

Besides getting me out for longer runs, Ronda also tagged me for 5 random little facts:

1. I grew up in a little northern town called Prince George, B.C. Canada. Great town to grow up in. Great town to leave after you are grown up.

2. I once planted over 100, 000 tree seedlings in 4 months doing my summer job as a tree planter in the wilds of British Columbia. I even looked pretty similar to this guy minus the safety hat: link. This was great training for becoming an ultra runner and reminds me to be very thankful for my desk job.

3. In college I bred and raised Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens). This was how I learned patience...ask me about it on a long run some time :-)

4. I prefer cold, day old pizza over any other type. Meat lovers. Not too much cheese.

5. My first trail race was the Trail Mix 25 km run in Bloomington Minnesota on April 19, 2003. Ran this with my friend Steve who was encouraging me to try longer runs. This was back when I thought Minnesota was hilly :-)