race report: st. patrick's day 2-miler

i signed up for this one in keeping with my goal this year to "run for fun" -- spend less time fretting about training schedules, "big" races, etc, and more time doing whatever races or activities seem like fun. the last race i did that was organized by this club was a good time, so i figured this one would be fun as well. they had a 10k and a 2-miler on the same day. since i was still feeling a bit stiff from the celebrate life HM a week ago, and because i had never raced a 2-mile distance before, i was leaning toward that one. i looked up the results from the past few years, and realized i had a good shot at placing in my AG (based on my 5k and 4-mile times), so i signed up with that goal in mind.

it was a chilly morning (again, surprise) but i saw plenty of teammates at the park before the race, which was fun. the race shirts were super cool too! i did maybe half a mile warm up then headed to the start. the course was part of what we had done for the 5-miler last month, so i knew it was hilly and there was an especially gnarly hill on the backside of the loop, about 1.5 miles in. then off we went! sure enough, the hills were there, and it was cold and windy as well.

i finished in 14:14 on my garmin (14:13.5 official) for a pace of 7:07! w00t! my garmin measured the course at 1.96 miles, however. i felt good about my time, chatted with teammates, then realized i had lost my car keys at some point. must've fallen out of my pocket. crap! i went to find the race director and as i walked past the car, the horn and locks started going. someone had picked up my keys along the course and brought them to the finish. very kind! thank you again, sir!

did a second, 2-mile loop to warm down, then headed to look for snacks. chatted with the gang for a bit, snagged some hot chocolate (yay) and half a green bagel, and hung out by the fire until they posted the results!

i won my AG! woohoo! first time ever. i was 6th female, 25th finisher overall. three other teammates also won their AGs and we all got beer mugs as prizes. a few other folks placed in their AGs and won medals.

happy st patrick's day!