Whew! Talk about a whirlwind weekend!
We started things off on Friday night with the birthday girl, who enjoyed quite the feast on her special day. Because it’s not every day a girl turns 2, right? And, to top it off, it was National Donut Day! Talk about serendipity. So my girl has a Hoodsie cup at school (which I provided for her class), a half a donut when I picked her up (which she split with her brother), pizza (by request) for dinner and a fabulous cupcake from The Cake Bar.
Now that’s my kind of birthday.
Of course, I indulged in those treats too, which made waking up bright and early the next morning for the Gaspee 5K pretty painful. Dr. G. and I love this race, which precedes the Gaspee Days parade — and is about as New England as you can get. It’s basically in homage to Rhode Island’s version of the Boston Tea Party … but without the tea. And it happened 18 months earlier. But burning ships? Colonists taking on the Brits? Check and check. In fact, this is what has become recognized as the first overt action leading to the American Revolutionary War. <end history lesson>
So the parade is a combination of drum and fife corps, drum and bugle corps, people dressed in colonial costumes, cannons, muskets, plus a bunch of local community groups, school bands, etc. (And yours truly may have marched in the parade herself, back in her wee Brownie days).
So the race kicks off just before the parade, and this is a parade that people get to early to claim their spot, so the entire route is lined with people. As most runners will testify, this is pretty unusual, especially when it comes to local races, and it really is a big boost to have that support the entire time.
Usually we bring the kids, and my parents watch them while Dr. G. and I run the race, then we join them for the parade. But the questionable weather forecast and overcast skies forced us to alter our plans. We dropped the kids off at my parents instead … and of course, the sun came out by the end of the race. Sigh.
In the back of my mind, I thought a sub-25 was in my reach, even though I’m only two weeks out from my half marathon and I’ve been having a hard time making the switch from endurance to speed. But I finished the first mile in 7:50! Or at least I think I did. Unlike past years, the start line was terribly marked, so I turned on my Garmin about .4 miles in the race. Boo.
I was cruising, thinking I totally had this in the bag, when my lack of preparation (physically and mentally) caught up with me. I labored more in this 5K than I think I did my entire half marathon. Seriously. But I pulled through and finished in a respectable 25:35, almost 1 minute faster than last year’s race and a nearly identical time to my finish in the Milford 5K, where I placed for the first time in my age division in a race (and got my first medal!). In the end, I came in at 34th of 175 in my age group and 330th of 1221 overall. Not bad.
But now I can taste that sub-25. Am I crazy to sign up for a 5K next weekend, and pay yet another registration fee, just to try and get it? Hmmm …
My favorite part of this race is that they have two kegs of Narragansett beer for all the runners. Sweet! (Though next year, please make the start line more visible, ok? Pretty, pretty please?)
We headed back home and started in our preparations for Mimi’s birthday party the next day. We decided to go more low-key this year, keeping it to immediate family. But — shocking — my house was a total sty and there was tons of outside work to be done, grocery shopping to do, haircuts that certain little boys were in dire need of …
We got through, maybe, 50 percent of our list then Dr. G. and I headed out to a comedy night fundraiser for the local youth baseball league. It was … interesting. I think we both felt awkward because we didn’t know anyone, which is not surprising, since this is out first year participating in youth baseball. It was like being the new kids in school. But we decided to make the best of it, grabbed our own little table, and enjoyed a rare night out (plus some delicious hors d’oeuvres) before we decided to split.
The next day was all about Mimi, who I am pretty sure had an incredible day (and survived without a nap!) and now has enough bubbles and bubble accessories to last for a long, long time.
And not to be outdone … there’s this guy, who had a hard time dealing with the fact that the spotlight was on his little sister all weekend.
Ahhh, and if you came looking for our meal plan, sorry. No meal plan this week. Well, we decided to make this broccoli and cheese soup for New Food Monday (which – get this – Buddy suggested! Who is this child?) But we’re ordering Indian take-out on Tuesday in honor of Dr. G’s birthday, which is actually Wednesday, but he’ll be home late due to work, so we’re celebrating a day early. Wednesday the kids and I will make do and Thursday is the last day of T-ball … and the first day of our CSA farm share!! So. Very. Excited.
What was the highlight of your weekend?
Dollops of Diane says
You are a race junkie 🙂