Yesterday was my 39th birthday, aka: the last year of my 30s!

I celebrated in the best way I know how: running a road race! I ran the Guinness St. Pat’s 5K with my parents and friend Sheri. The weather was overcast at the beginning but the sun did make its way out in the afternoon. And it was windy but thankfully that wasn’t an issue while running.

This was the 7th time running the race but I haven’t run it since 2014. It’s a great course: fairly flat first mile, then hilly second mile and a nice downhill on the way back.

I was very happy with my performance! I kept the pace relatively even the whole way and I didn’t walk the hills. I finished in 30:06 at a 9:38 pace. The race is also along the St. Patrick’s Day parade route so the crowd support is awesome! Easily one of my favorites.

I have a coworker who lives in Providence and I asked her recommendations on donut shops (I love celebrating my birthday with a good donut!). She wholeheartedly recommended Knead Doughnuts, so that’s where we ventured to after the race. Parking was super easy and even though we got there at 12:30, and they close at 2, there was still a great selection to choose from. We got chocolate chip old fashioned, chocolate babka and black forest old fashioned. They were cakey, not too sweet and just the right treat to celebrate with.

That night, I had my parents over to our house for dinner. I planned an Irish themed dinner, from an Irish pub cookbook that David got me a few years ago. The menu was pork tenderloin with roasted rhubarb (unfortunately I could not find any rhubarb so I improvised with carrots), colcannon potatoes (with cabbage and scallions) and my mom made Irish soda bread. We also had some Irish mimosas (whiskey, champagne, orange juice and grapefruit juice). Everything was delicious and it was a great way to cap off a fantastic day.

Here’s to another year in the books (2022 was a bit of a rough year though)! I’m looking forward to making 2023 the year of reconnecting with friends and family and having some amazing experiences (there are 3 concerts I’m looking forward to this year: Darren Hayes, Matchbox 20, and Fall Out Boy!).

Oh, and happy almost spring!