I had a weekend break in between trips, so I signed up for a 5K—go figure. I had done this one before back in 2019—that seems to be a common theme as road races are coming back—and did it again with two of the girls I worked with at the ice cream shop.

I couldn’t really remember the last time I had gone for a run recently; with the weather being all over the place—either 90+ degrees or rainy—and with work, I haven’t had a lot of time to get out. So this was going to be another “I’m just here to have fun” race.

The race was at a local breakfast and ice cream place that’s about a half hour from my condo; Josh and I actually went there on our second date and recently went back to get ice cream. Last time I did this race I got a bagel after but I didn’t get one this time because I knew the wait would be ridiculous.

The race started at 9:00 a.m., so I got there around 8:30 a.m. to pick up my t-shirt and bib. We really lucked out with the weather because it was in the 70s and not too hot yet by race time. I met up with my friends over by the starting line, and I don’t think we started until around 9:10 a.m. It’s funny to see in different races how much they stick to the starting time; some I’ve run start exactly on the dot, and others start later.

Because I had run the race before, I was vaguely familiar with the route. It starts out on a main road but then the rest of it is through residential neighborhoods, thankfully with some shade in the road from trees. I ended up walking a lot more than I wanted because of my breathing.

Some highlights from the morning:

1. There was a sprinkler on someone’s lawn that everyone ran through.
2. I saw a bunch of doggos.
3. And I got a free ice cream with my bib.

I knew there was going to be a big hill at the end, which I, unfortunately, walked up, but it’s downhill and flat from there to the finish line, so it’s not terrible but the hill sucks. This was my slowest 5K race to date, finishing at 37:09—and I wasn’t last. I also didn’t take a lot of pictures, so compared to my usual race recaps, this one seems sort of bland. I’m still glad I did it, though, and I still had fun, which I think is all that matters.