Well, as I write this, I am sick in bed, probably made worse by this weekend’s happenings, but it was totally worth it to have the kind of race day I had Saturday!

My best friend from home, Janna, texted a while back saying I should join her to run the Irishman over St. Patrick’s Day weekend. If you’ve been around here for any length time, you know how Irish I am and how much I LOVE St. Patrick’s Day, so I was definitely interested. And the actual race set-up intrigued me – a 5 mile, 5K, and 1 mile race all in one day! I signed up, excited to run with her and get back into the racing atmosphere for spring!

Spring in this area doesn’t always equal spring, though. I woke up to 20 degree temps that morning and a windchill of 5 degrees. FIVE DEGREES. There was no backing out at that point, having paid for the race, put together an rocking race outfit, and driving all the way up to my parents’ with the kiddos, so even though I had a cold and it was cold, we layered up and sat in the car with the heated seats on until we HAD to line up!

Here we are after the 5-mile race. Janna has been running much longer and is much faster than I, but we set up some goals for the day that we would both be happy with. Our 5-mile goal was 45:00 or less. We hit 44:36!

The 5K was up next, after we went back to Janna’s house to warm up and refuel. It was not ANY warmer even though it had been an hour and a half since we finished the 5 mile. And both the 5-mile and 5K were IN TO THE WIND for the way back. My lungs were not happy with the cold and wind and congestion that were already there, but we were shooting for a 27:30, so I pressed on. 5K time – 25:34!!! We were both in shock at the end!

We were so blessed to grab lunch with another friend of ours during the break between the 5K and 1-mile.

Jess, Janna, and I all went to elementary school together and we can still chat it up for quite a while! I’m so thankful God has kept us in each other’s lives even though I’m not living nearby!

With a yummy lunch in our tummies, it was time to tackle the last race: the 1-mile! I hadn’t run just a mile to be timed since…um…high school gym class, I think! It was super fun because our 1-mile race was at the beginning of the St. Patrick’s Day parade and people had already lined the streets in the STILL super cold weather to cheer us on!

Best part about the mile? Downhill, straight shot to the finish!

{my favorite running picture of me ever}

We didn’t set a 1-mile goal, but we did want to break 80:00 for the whole Irishman. 1-mile time – 8:05! Irishman total – 78:15!

Of course I was smiling at the end of all this! PRs all around for me, running with one of my best friends, and St. Patrick’s Day everywhere we looked! It was a great time!

And look at our awesome cheering squad {minus my dad who was capturing all these great pics!}…

Doesn’t get much better than that, unless The Hubby would have been there as well! Unfortunately, he had to work that day, but he was cheering me on through texts all day!

We ended the day watching the parade until we couldn’t handle the cold anymore, listening to live traditional Irish music INSIDE downtown, and warming up with Mom’s homemade beef stew!

I had to throw on my race shirt once I got home because I’m pretty proud to say I am an…

Now excuse me while I go nurse my sick body back to health! Have a great week, friends!

Anybody else do a St. Patrick’s Day race this weekend?! Or celebrate at all?