st. patrick's day was awhile ago but i made my friends pose for pictures...so i have to write a little post about it, right? right.

several weeks ago the farmer and i left the farm (GASP!) and traveled to a bigger town to participate in a charity race with some most excellent friends of ours.

i offered to drive for my farmer since he had been working on the house/driving a tractor all day. i'm nice like that. unfortunately, it started POURING/POUNDING rain...and it was dark...and i like to drive 90 miles per hour. this is a deathly combination. oh, did i mention i have night visiton problems?

so as i was driving along, white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel but a smile on my face as to not alarm my farmer, farmer asked, "do you want me to drive?"

"no no no! i'm fine! i just get a little freaked out about hydroplaning."

to which farmer replied, "pull off at the next exit, we're switching...and please slow down."

needless to say, with farmer driving we arrived safely and the rain finally stopped...for approximately eight hours...then it started again the morning of the race.


you can't see from the picture but the wind it was a-howlin' and the river was NOT smooth.

but the runners forged ahead. we dressed in our toastiest clothes and put on our best attitudes...


weather report pre-race: wind - 100 mph, rain - a lot, temperature - cold

so everyone gathered in the gym to see if the weather would break long enough to start the race...


the weather did not break. so we stretched and prepared and...yes...we ran.

that's my farmer on the right. he had high hopes of a win. he didn't win. but he did run a 10k which i believe is the second farthest distance he's ever completed. i think he would also like me to share that he did it with zero training. athlete.


we all finished our respective distances. i completed the little 5k (it was cold!). i ran it with the gal on the far left.

i believe she was 33 weeks pregnant in this shot. as we were running along she was chatting up a storm and i was gasping for air. but she was so sweet and stayed with me the whole time...even when i asked her if we could slow our STAGGERING pace down (9 minute miles). athlete. thanks for sticking it out with me liz!

it was such a fun weekend with fantastic people. i can't wait to get together again!