“Did you get lunch?” one dental hygienest asked the other.

“No,” answered the second. “I bought a dress that’s a size too small and, well … .” She went on to explain that she’d bought if for an event on Friday — the day after Thanksgiving.

“ ‘at’s a-mer-a-ble,” I said sounding like Foster Brooks but sincere in my appreciation of her optimism.  “A dresh a shize too shmall before ‘hankshgiving. ”

Health and fitness writer guy kicked in and I suggested that first thing Thursday morning she should run 10 miles because, curiously, exercise can act as an appetite suppressant.

She looked at me skeptically, not so much about the appetite suppressant but about the running 10 miles part.

“Or at leash go for a long walkh,” I offered.

For years now, I’ve either gone for a long run or a long ride Thanksgiving morning. This spurt of endurance exercise usually moderates my T-day intake, and when it doesn’t, it at least assuages my guilt over the remainder of the day. The trick can be convincing yourself, on a holiday, to rise early for a solitary workout. This trick can be accomplished with some help, from the assortment of organized rides and runs offered.

In running circles, Thanksgiving is especially well-known for the trots — the Turkey Trots, of which the website Running.net lists 11 this Thanksgiving in North Carolina. They are:

• Asheville: Earth Fare Turkey Trot 5K, 9 a.m.
• Boiling Springs: Ruby C. Hunt YMCA Turkey Trot, 5K Run, 5K Walk, children’s fun run.
• Carrboro: Double B Gallop and Gorge 8K.
• Cary: Inside-Out Sports Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 8K, One Mile, Kid’s 100-yard Dash, 5K, 9 a.m., (One Mile race is at 8:30 a.m.).
• Charlotte: Charlotte SouthPark Turkey Trot 8K, 1 Mile FR 8:30 a.m.; 8K Run & Baby Jogger 8K 9 a.m.; 5K Walk 9:15 a.m.; Tot Trot 10 a.m.
• Cornelius: Lake Norman Turkey Trot, 10K, 5K, 7:30 a.m.
• Duck: Advice 5K Turkey Trot, 9 a.m.
• Mooresville: Mooresville Christian Mission Turkey Trot 5K, 9 a.m.
• New Bern: Twin Rivers YMCA & Taberna Country Club Turkey Trot 5K run/walk/dog jog, 8 a.m.
• Raleigh: Ridgewood Turkey Trot, 8K & 1 Mile, 8 a.m.
• Winston-Salem: Turkey Strut 5K, 1 Mile fun run/walk, 9 a.m.

Find out more about those runs here.

There aren’t as many organized bike rides, but I did find two, both in the Triangle. (Precipitation cancels both rides.)

• Earn-Your-Turkey Ride, 45 miles, 17-18 mph pace, 9 a.m. Start and finish at Apex Community Center.
• Gyros Cycling Club Thanksgiving Day Ride, 35 miles, “easy pace,” 9 a.m. More info here.

Alas, I won’t be running or riding this Thanksgiving, largely because I now have a new appetite suppressant.

I can’t chew.

The post Turkey and a 10K? appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Perhaps you’re thinking, “Hmm, I run 5 miles I can eat guilt-free for the rest of the day. Maybe this guy is on to something.” If that logic works to motivate you, then lace up and keep the fork and knife warming up at home. But the healthy effects of starting this particular day with a run could have widespread benefits. Consider the implications, based on research out of Vanderbilt University.

• “Running helps lower blood pressure by maintaining the elasticity of the arteries.” That could come in handy watching your beloved Lions in their annual Thanksgiving debacle. Not to mention coping with your mother-in-law’s running commentary on how dinner is (or isn’t) progressing.
• “Running also helps maximize the lungs’ potential, as it keeps them strong and powerful.” Good lung potential: Again, with yelling for/at your beloved Lions and with your obligatory defense in defending dinner to “mom.”
• “Running strengthens the heart and helps prevent heart attacks.” Again, with the Lions, again, with “mom.”
• But most significantly: “Running does not increase appetite. In fact, exercise tends to diminish it, acting as a suppressant.” That means not only will you not wake up with a giblet hangover Friday morning, you’ll have leftovers to last a week.

Trots and runs: make them an integral part of your Thanksgiving.

* * *

Here’s a rundown of Thanksgiving Day trots and runs in North Carolina:

Coast & Coastal Plain

Boiling Springs
Ruby C. Hunt YMCA 13th Annual Turkey Trot 5K Run and Walk
Where: Ruby C. Hunt YMCA.
Time: 8:30 a.m.
Races: 5K
More info here.

Duck
15th Annual Advice 5K Turkey Trot
Where: Advice 5-cent B&B
Time: 9 a.m.
Races: 5K
More info here.

Goldsboro
Goldsboro YMCA Turkey Trot 5k
Where: Goldsboro YMCA
Time: 8 a.m.
Races: 5K, 1-mile kids fun run (8:15 a.m.)
More info here.

Wrightsville
6th Annual Turkey Trot
Where: Wrightsville Beach Town Park and Gazebo
Time: 8:30 a.m.
Races: 2.4-mile main event, 2.4-mile or 1-mile Gobbler Family Fun Walk.
More info here

Piedmont

Charlotte
5th Annual Lake Norman Turkey Trot 5K, 10K & Half Marathon
Where: Gold’s Gym, Cornelius
Time: 7:40 a.m.
Races: 5K, 10K (7:35 a.m. start), half marathon (7:30 a.m. start)
More info here.

Triad

Greensboro
Greensboro Gobbler
Where: Country Park
Time: 9 a.m.
Races: 5K, 1.5-mi. Dog Jog and Youth Run (8:30 a.m.)
More info here.

Winston-Salem
Turkey Strut 5-K
Where: Reynolds High School
Time: 9 a.m.
Races: 5K, 1-mile fun run (8:30 a.m.)
More info here

Triangle

Cary

Turkey Trot
Where: Inside-Out Sports
Time: 9 a.m.
Races: 8K, 1-mile fun run (8:30 a.m.), 100-yard kids dash (10 a.m.)
More info here

Raleigh
Ridgewood Turkey Trot
Where: Ridgewood Shopping Center
Time: 8:30 a.m.
Races: 8K, 1-mile fun run (8 a.m.), Kid’s Dash (9:45 a.m.)
More info here

Wake Forest
Gobbler’s Run
Where: Downtown Wake Forest
Time: 8 a.m.
Races: 5K
More info here

Mountains

Asheville
Turkey Trot 5K
Where: Carrier Park
Time: 9 a.m.
Races: 5K
More info here

The post Start Thanksgiving with trots and runs appeared first on GetGoing NC!.