oops. i did it again.

Today was the last race in the Girl Scout Trefoil Series—the Thin Mint Sprint. It was supposed to be a run, hense, the sprint. But my nephew couldn't make it, so I took his place. And I won first place in my division. Of course, I was the only person in my division.

We left here at about 7 am, and it was an hour drive to Wissihicken Park. We were at the very edge of Philadelphia. This park is gorgeous with lots of trails. Heavily used. We will go back after school is out to visit more of the park. I could have stopped and taken a couple dozen pictures. But it was a race. I only took this one of the covered bridge.

The information we received from the Girl Scouts said the parking lot was "small" and we'd have to do street parking. The lot held 6 cars.. That isn't a lot, it's a pullover. We probably walked a half mile from where we parked.

First stop after registration was the port-o-john. I didn't even try to go in. Angel and her daughter did. Angel declared she's gone in cleaner bathrooms in Africa.

Other than that the race was good. They keep the finish line up till every one finishes, which is terrific. There was one street crossing and it made sense they stopped traffic for the large herd of runners at the beginning. But on the way back we were spread out, a lot. When I got close it looked like they were just hanging out on the corner. But as soon as they saw me they stopped traffic and moved into the street. Yes! (There are races I will not return to because they stopped us, not traffic.)

I knew that my inactivity over winter has made me out of shape. Saturday was a reality check. I am really, really out of shape.

There were three divisions if you are into prizes: Girl Scouts by age level, youth (boy and girl) by grade, and adults (men and women) pretty much by decade. I finished at 59:53. Basically an hour. The last mile was tough. Angel did 42.49.5 (personal best) and she ran. The girls finished 55.39 and 55.38. However, my niece won the "Senior" level first place in the Girl Scout division. There were four other girls in her age group, and they must have all been walkers. Our girls ran the beginning and the end, and walked the middle. That way there was time to take pictures and play in the park.

This race was different than the other two. First, it wasn't at a camp. Second, it was really diverse.  For example, it's the first time I've seen religious "athletes" wearing the Nike hijab. In other ways it was very much the same. Especially Whole Foods as the sponsor, serving up a feast of fruit in many forms—fresh, cereal bars, fruit leather, and juice.

We came home and the girls and I walked the dog.

52-hike challenge: 13/52
Miles/Steps:    5k
Bathrooms:      O-0. Well, actually Angel said one was a -8 and the other a -10. She's seen clearner bathrooms in Africa with no running water. That's saying a lot considering one was a hole in the ground with a shower curtain around it.
Wildlife:          Goose, chipmunk, then 2 snakes while walking the dog
Weather:         88 or higher. Cloudy and then sunny
Extra:              This race series was fantastic. Girl Scouts did a great job. Today it was probably equal girls and parent.