Happy Father’s Day peeps! Today, in honor of my dad who passed away 2 years ago, my sister and I ran a 5K together. As we are the only siblings, my dad always used to tell us, “You two only have each other.” He would often tell us this when we were arguing as only little girls can. We have learned much from this statement and could not be closer. She is definitely my best friend.

My dad also loved to draw and paint and was great at it. He used to race motorcycles and was a HUGE Florida Gator fan. Before he passed he gave me a shirt that he made of one of his designs. It has to be 30 years old and I wear it all the time. I’ve always wanted to copy it and decided that this race would be the best time to do so. I made one for me and my sis.

The image on it is so typical him. He had such a great sense of humor and it came through in his drawings. It features his favorite things, the Gators and a motorcycle with his racing number. I so love that it says “No guts, no glory.”

We wore them today for the “Run Through Hell 5K.”

Oh and hell it was. I told myself ahead of time that I probably wouldn’t PR (personal record) because it was going to be very hot and a trail run. The race started at 8, which any Floridian will tell you, is already humid and warm.

We got going and my first mile was pretty fast (8 min approx.). I figured that if I could get the first mile before we got to the real trail part done quickly then I could pull it back some for the remaining 2 miles. I think this plan worked and helped me get through the next two miles which were through trees, a wooden bridge, and some very narrow trail. It was so narrow that you had to hope you got behind someone running a good pace because there was no passing.

Actually, I ran behind a kid who was maybe 9 or 10. The little racer would not let me pass him! I would speed up and so would he. When we finally got to the final sprint, he blew my doors off. It was pretty funny and always impressive when a mini-racer kicks your butt.

My final time was (according to my Garmin) 25:38, beating my last PR of 26:42! I was shocked. And elated. But there’s more! I came in third in my age group and got a sweet mug. I’ve never placed at a race and am pretty stoked about it. My friends are already joking that I am going to have that mug in my window like the leg lamp on A Christmas Story. I would so never do that…