I was the first female walker to finish the Cat Caper 5K this morning! Not only was I the first female, I was also the second overall walker.

With a time of 39 min flat, I barely beat my friend Pat.

The weather was perfect! It was partly cloudy with temps in the 50s.

I took off quickly with a mission to win one of the top three places. I wanted a mug.

After about a mile, my pace slowed slightly until my friend Pat caught up with me and inspired me to pick it up a notch.We walked together for a little while.

The course was through a neighborhood and for the most part was flat. There were a few parts where the asphalt was uneven and one big hill down and one big hill back up.

When Pat and I started to go uphill, I was able to pull ahead of her and was able to stay slightly ahead of her the rest of the race. The last half mile was up a slight incline and was tough after the big hill.

Because of one section that was a short out and and back, we could see most of the people ahead of us and behind us. At this point, it looked as if I was the second walker. There were several women doing a run/walk, but we know that means they are runners. I was hoping they knew they were runners.

Luckily for me, the race director knows the difference, and I was the first-place woman and my friend Pat was just a few seconds behind me. And I finally have a handmade winner’s mug! (I took third last year.)

One of the best things about this race, besides the handmade mugs and winner medals, is the raffle. There are tons of items to win ranging from FrontRunner and tattoo parlor gift cards to cat-themed gift baskets. I won a FrontRunner Gift Card, a Road ID gift card and a Doggy Doo Doo gift basket. (I know I don’t have dogs anymore, but relatives do.) I tossed my last ticket in the bag for this prize and didn’t think it through.

This is a big fundraiser for Cat Welfare and a lot of fun. Even dog lovers like me can have a good time!

PS: And this was after a 10-mile training walk yesterday!

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