My family goes to a cabin in Pinecrest, CA (off the Sonora Pass in Stanislaus National Forest, kind of between Yosemite and Sacramento) every year, and Eric and I have been able to go have our own family time there for the last few years. But this year was the first year that we were able to participate in the annual Pinecrest Lake Run. We didn't have anyone to help watch Elliott, so we decided that we'd rent a jog stroller and I'd do the fun run (1 mile) with Elliott and Eric would do the real run (5 miles). Usually Eric pushes the stroller when we run, so I was a little nervous about how it would go. But the stroller we rented was pretty cushy (thanks to the awesome bike/stroller rental guy who replaced the (broken) first one before the shop opened) and my race was short, so it went pretty well. We mostly ran around a cabin road and then cut through the forest for a quick stretch before ending on a lake path. The only thing that was kind of a bummer (aside from Elliott's race number covering her face most of the time) was that the course was short. I slowed down just a bit after about .4 thinking that I had a half mile left, and when my watch hit .75 I started trying to visualize doing a lap on the track with Toby on her Tuesday speed days, and then all of a sudden it was over. I wish I had known how short it was before we started. Anyway, it was a really fun morning and probably one of my top 5 Pinecrest experiences out of all the time I've been going (since I was a little girl). One of our favorite places to be in the world, with our awesome little family, doing a race with friendly runners. I got a little certificate for being the first woman in the fun run (I would have been embarrassed about winning a "fun run" except that I was pushing the stroller, so really it was Elliott's race), and Eric did well in his race even though he wasn't feeling great before he started. And we made a few new friends who we can look for next year.        
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