Take me out to the ball park! Take me out to the crowd … This race began and ended at the home of the ValleyCats, a local baseball team that plays at Joe Bruno Stadium in Troy, NY, on the campus of Hudson Valley Community College.

I’ve never done this race before but I had heard that it was hilly, but fun. Amanda was doing it too. We agreed to meet before the race.

Again I had a sleepless headachey night and woke up nauseous and exhausted. I felt better after coffee and headed off early to the race. Amanda wasn’t there when I arrived. I  found some new friends & we took each other’s pictures.

I found Amanda right before the start.  The race began with a steep hill.  I was tired after that.  Amanda had a great pace and I soon lost her.  The course continued to be one hill after  another.  I finally relented around mile 2 and walked a bit.

My mile 1 time was 9:30 so I knew I was not on a PR pace on this course.  I felt better after my walking stint.  The race ended by running around the inside of the ball park.  The finish was shown on the marquee screen in the outfield if anyone was watching.

I was surprised that I could finish under 30 minutes so I sprinted as fast as I could.  I did it – not a PR but under 30 minutes!! 29:40!

I went back to my car to get my camera & bumped into my 2 new friends and an ICE CREAM truck – They gave out free ice cream and 4 tickets toThursday’s Valley Cats game.

I finally caught up with Amanda after the race.  She had a PR!  Yay Amanda!! I had an ice cream cone! Yay me!

In addition to a tee shirt, we got 4 free tix to an August Valley Cats game and the refreshments were hot dogs, bagels, cookies, watermelon…

We hung around for the awards.  I was lucky & came in 2nd place in my age group!!! I won a baseball cap.

Again, I’m glad I did the race and can’t wait for the next one…

On to the rest of the day’s activities: gardening and 2 parties!!!

Happy Running and enjoy your weekend!