Third annual RP Thanksgiving Challenge

Third?

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We’ll keep this short for the holiday, but can you believe this is the third Thanksgiving that RP has been around? I can’t either. Every year we encourage everyone to get out and move their bodies around the Thanksgiving holiday. It doesn’t have to be anything big. A short run, a DYI adventure, a family walk … whatever makes you happy.  

If you’re feeling ambitious, you can still probably sign up for a local Turkey Trot. Bonus points if you wear a costume, like my buddy Dom who has to be the fastest dude wearing a homemade turkey hat on the planet. 

This year, my son and I will be stretching out with a local 4-miler. It’s the longest he’s ever raced and I think he’s a little nervous about the distance. He might also be feeling a little bit of self inflicted pressure after his 5K performance in October. Expectations are heavy things, no matter how old you are. 

Over the past few months, we’ve gone on a handful of super chill 4-mile runs to build his confidence, along with his endurance. Last week, he and I knocked out a strong 5-miler, which had him smiling from ear to ear. 

We followed that up a few days later with a monster trail run in the rain with one of his friends. The boys had no problem leaving their dads in the mud. When they weren’t cranking up the hills, they were going FULL SEND on the descents and laughing the whole way. 

I’m pretty sure he’s ready. Just to be sure, we took him to a running store for his first pair of real running shoes that I’m sure will take 30 seconds per mile off his pace. 

Speaking of pace, we came up with a goal that I think will be both challenging and attainable. Most of all, I tried to emphasize that we’re out there to have fun. That’s been our approach whenever we go out for a run, and it seems to be working just fine. 

Still, I’m excited to race with him again and I don’t want to dampen his enthusiasm or competitive drive. He’s already hinting that he wants to go faster than our pace goal. I wonder where he gets that from …

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Shout out your movement accomplishments in the comments.