This morning, I ran in the Saint Bernard's School 5K in my hometown of Indiana, PA. I had attended St. Bernard's from Kindergarten until Sixth grade, so I welcomed the opportunity to help them raise some money. Nick and I took the kids in the stroller and walked to the race, as my warmup. It ended up being a 4 mile walk, which we weren't expecting, but it was nice.

The trail was paved and fairly level. It graded slightly upwards on the first half and then coming back was a slight downwards grade. There were a few steeper climbs but nothing compared to some of the other 5K's I have done in the past (see Clarion River 5K!).

BEFORE THE RACE (with Emily, age 2):

A VIDEO OF MY FINISH:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUsOVgVOyTo

(Did you see that GIANT mud puddle at the end of the race that everyone had to avoid? What fun, huh?)

AFTER THE RACE:

My official time was 26:58. My GPS actually said it was 26:53 and the giant clock said about 27:00. That was my best time yet, so I was definitely happy about it.

I was even more happy when it came time for the awards. Yours truly got second place in the age division of 25-34. It was great!

WITH MY MEDAL:

For the record, Nick and I walked back to my parents house (4 MORE miles!) after the race. I got a lot of sun on my shoulders because of course, I put sunscreen on the kids and forgot about myself!

Next race is the Pittsburgh Half Marathon on May 3rd. I haven't been training for it, specifically. I just found out that my wait list came through on Monday, April 20th so in total, I had 11 days to train for it which isn't possible. I don't expect a good time but I'd like to finish and preferably not end up on a stretcher. Wish me luck:)