Marathon #3 and a turkey that wasn't quite 26.2 pounds

This weekend marked my third marathon. Despite my living in Richmond for 9 years (!!!) I have never been able to run the marathon before...for many years I didn't know what I was missing, and last year I was injured. The course, support, and weather was fantastic. To me, this marathon was even more successful than my Boston qualifier. First, much of my family was able to join me in Richmond and find a running event that fit their needs. My sister and her husband ran the 8K and offered incredible marathon course support for my brother in his first marathon and for myself, who is just plain crazy! It was amazing, but the seemed to be able to find me on the course at JUST THOSE POINTS where I started to think negative thoughts. Seeing their excitement, mugging for their photos, and hearing their encouraging words restarted my "negative meter" back to zero. Another factor to what made the race so enjoyable was that I was able to stick with my brother until mile 12.5 when we decided to part ways and meet up at the end. He had been sick for 2 weeks prior to the marathon, and still ran like a champ!

After our run, we returned home to throw our 22.5 lb turkey in the oven and begin working on the fixin's. This is the second year that my family entertains my craziness in celebrating a "fake" Thanksgiving. With myself and my 3 siblings heading all over the place (MD, PA, NC) for the short holiday, this seemed like our best option to at least share a meal together. Even though one of my brothers wasn't able to make it, I remain extremely thankful for our health and love of running, as well as our love of turkey!

Any good turkey recipes for leftovers, anyone???