Thanksgiving Runs...

We are in Florida on the annual Thanksgiving migration.  Compared to New York, Florida is hot, flat and humid.  And a welcome change.  Unfortunately, one thing that did not change was the one constant in New York over the last several months: rain.  The day before Thanksgiving, we got almost an inch and a half of rain.  I managed to run in a light drizzle and ran a neat 5 miles.

Thanksgiving, though, I was determined to put in a good run before turkey, pie and mashed potatoes.  I actually made the mashed potatoes based on a recipe from Giada de Laurentiis (basics: potatoes, butter and cheese.  What could go wrong with that?).

So, anyway, got up and ran about 8.5 miles.  I had wanted to do a turkey trot, but the St. Pete trot was about an hour and a half away.  Eh, so I just ran around here.  8.5 sunny miles, with a distinct wind.  I went with a comfortable pace, with an eye on my heart rate.  First mile 7:28; second mile: 7:28; third mile: 7:28.  I have never, ever, run three miles in exact same pace as measured by Garmin.  I mean they were within 0.3 seconds of one another.  I couldn't do that again if I tried.  Next 5 were all within a band of 7:31 to 7:22 per mile.  That is a fantastic pace and still a little freaky in terms of consistency (I didn't realize that I had run 3 straight at 7:28 until I got home and looked at the data.)

That made my decision to eat well yesterday an easy one.  Sadly, the highlight of the meal was not my potatoes.  Rather, my sister in law made the pie on the cover of the November Southern Living:  a pumpkin pie with a ginger snap crumb crust and pecan strudel on top.  That was delicious.  And I am sure low fat.  Calorie wise, I bet it accounted for 7 of the 8 miles I ran in the morning.

That is what Thanksgiving in Florida is all about.  Today is Auburn/Alabama, and another day of gluttony (burgers, beer for lunch; stone crabs and wine for dinner.)  And today it is sunny and bright.  Ahhh, vacation.