I’ve slept/spent nights in the airport before, but what made last Tuesday night different from the others is that this time it was not planned. I guess that’s the price you pay for over-optimistic booking of a flight.

Perhaps had we actually left Alamosa at 3 p.m. like planned we may have made it… Or perhpas the problem was that we always think of ABQ as being a 3-hour drive from Alamosa, which it is, except that the airport is all the way across the city and adds about an extra half hour. Either way, we tried to check-in for our 7:05 p.m. flight in a rush, but arriving at 6:55 p.m. will simply leave you being told that your booking code is invalid. Fortunately, Southwest doesn’t have nonsensical fees for switching flights, and since the 6 a.m. to Chicago the next morning wasn’t a higher price, no further funds were exchange between Melissa or I and Southwest. (I also really like Southwest’s commercials BTW).

So, we made the most out of the fact that we were going to have a chance to spend our usual date night not on a plane and hit up Red Robin for some good burgers, bottomless sweet potato fries and adult beverages before returning for a night of airport sleeping………….. and next thing ya know, we’re getting picked up by little bro Dan at Midway Airport (woohoo!).

If there’s one thing I’ll never get tired of its a round of good hugs with the fam when returning home for the holidays. Amongst everything that I was excited about for the four days ahead, the top five were easily 1) seeing Dan, Kev, mom and dad and the grandparents, 2) stuffing myself silly on Thanksgiving Day, 3) the chance to run the local turkey trot WITH Dan, 4) getting to enjoy my favorite Chicago-land delicacies (Portillo’s and Lou Malnati’s), and 5) racing the Schaumburg 1/2 Marathon Turkey Trot Saturday.

All five were checked off the list.

No. 1: Melissa and I have discussed before, and I think it holds very true, that the real sign of adulthood is heading home and caring more about sitting around the kitchen chatting with the fam than anything else. There’s something so incredibly fulfilling about chatting (and maybe sipping on a good brew) in the kitchen with mom, then continuing on the mindless chatter with dad after mom has gone to bed. That’s kinda how each night went, while throwing in some movie watching and board-game playing here and there. Loved getting to spend Thanksgiving Day with grandma and grandpa as well, and then see big bro Kev and Sarah on Friday to celebrate Kev’s birthday.

No. 2: My stomach still feels a tad loose after Thursday. The turkey was some of the most enjoyable I believe I’ve ever had, whlie the fresh cranberr jam was amazing and the corn casserole (containing corn, cream cheese, butter, 1/2 and 1/2, and shredded cheese) was outrageously good. Stuffing, gravy, pie, real home-whipped cream, and a healthy helping of brew-ha-has…’nuff said.

No. 3: Before the above-mentioned gluttony ensued, Melissa, mom, Dan and I made our way to the not-so-small, local Turkey Trot, so that no matter how stuffed and immoveable we got to feeling, we could rationalize any “one last bite” with the phrase “it’s okay, I ran a 5k this morning”. I’d been looking forward for several weeks to actually running this alongside Dan. I’d never before had a chance to run with Dan, and could not have been prouder of the fact that he completed the Chicago Marathon in October while still a college student. That’s an amazing feat to me. Despite my best efforts to make it back and see him finish the marathon, the logistics just didn’t work out, so I had to settle for an over-the-phone recap. Getting to spend a half-hour at his side and log a few miles has to be the next best thing to being there to greet him at the finish line :)

No. 4: Portillo’s is IMO the Chicago food. Nary a trip to the Chicago-land area is complete without a trip to Portillo’s for some meaty goodness. We got around to enjoying the good stuff Friday afternoon, just in time to share it with Kev and Sarah for lunch. Lou Malnati’s was Melissa and I’s last meal, stopping for lunch on the way to the airport Sunday. As a bonus, that also allowed us to pick up a couple of deep dish pies and some of their mind-blowing Sweet Vinegarette to bring home (which, fortunately made it back with us, though that was briefly in dobut).

No. 5: A good hard race effort was something I felt like had been missing from my year. Sure, I enjoyed getting to push myself in the ASC Homecoming 5K at the beginning of October, but a 5K is just too short a race for me to really get amped about. That’s why, when I happened to stumble across a 1/2 marathon in Schaumburg (just 40 min. from my parents’ house) on the Saturday following Turkey Day, I was pretty stoked. Living smack-dab in the center of the San Luis Valley, the time and monetary investment involved in getting to as long as even a marathon just doesn’t seem worthwhile (we’re talking minimum 2 1/2 hour drive, plus gas and race fees, plus food… I love racing, but dont’ quite have that much free time or money). Having not really done much speedwork other than a few workouts of 800 meter intervals and some aimless fartlek running since getting back to running, I was cautiosly optimistic about setting a new personal best for the distance, and knew my best shot would come from the fact that I’ve been logging some pretty decent easy to moderate miles at high altitude. That seemed to have done the trick, as I ran a PR of 1:25:40. What shocked me most about it was that I really didn’t even start to feel like I was going beyond comfortably hard until I started to really crank during the last 5K, which I absolutely crushed.

So, yeah, I’d say it was a rather fabulous few days to be back with the fam and away from work. Wish I could have some more like it… maybe someday.