I love running. So every year, when fall rolls around, I find myself signing up for the Justiceworks 1/2 marathon on Labor Day weekend, since it’s practically in my backyard. It apparently doesn’t matter if it fits in my training schedule, I just can’t pass it up. So this year, I rode my cruiser over to the park to pick up my race packet on Friday night, and settled in for a good race on Saturday morning.
I fueled normally, drank a cup of coffee, and ran the 3/4 mile to the start line. I saw Robert, and we hung out and chatted until the trumpet began to play, and we were off!
The first miles go through downtown, then campus, and around Lake Joanis in Schmeekle Reserve. Imagine my surprise when I saw Ray around mile three, manning the water station!
I chatted with a mom of three from Rapids for a few miles, then our entertainment started! This sweet choir was singing for us around mile 5.
Miles, oh, 5-10ish are an out-and-back, and I love those. I get to say hi and smile at everyone both coming and going! I saw a couple friends, Eric and Lauryn, and met a lot of strangers. I danced at all the end-of-driveway boom boxes, made jokes with spectators, and basically had fun. Around mile nine, the humidity was starting to get to me, and I was feeling a little cranky!
I did what any logical person would do- I ran faster, caught up to the guy in yellow ahead of me, and started talking. Turns out, it was his first half marathon! I gave him a couple mile pep talk, then zoomed off. Drank some water…
…and ran into my friend, Heather, who was guarding the cross-street around mile 12. She saw me coming and snapped these two 🙂
I came in all happy and smiley, and got my medal. Then, I looped back around about a half mile to cheer on my new friend in yellow to his first half finish. 🙂 He looked like he was having a hard time, so I was happy to lift his spirits for the final stretch.
I found Robert…
…and Eric and Lauryn. 🙂
All in all, it was a good race. A lady pulled me aside at the finish line, and told me that running behind me is miserable. She smiled, but said that suffering for 13.1 miles behind someone who is laughing, smiling, singing, dancing, cheering on strangers, and making jokes… well, that just adds insult to injury. She laughed, and I gave her a hug! I ran home, showered, then got ready to head over to Riverfront Jazz Festival to do some work!
Here is some of my favorites from both days, along with some of the friends who joined us for live music along the Wisconsin River. 🙂
Riverfront Jazz Festival is free to the public, and they sell raffle tickets and take donations to support jazz scholarships at the university. It wasn’t that long ago that we were selling tickets, hoping for a scholarship! We drank lots of wine, ate delicious food, and laughed, sang, and danced. ❤
On Labor Day Tuesday, I went night fishing in waders for the first time, pretty much unsuccessfully. I've been hex fishing in a kayak, and I've fished up until dark before, even fishing until I had to walk out in the dark, but I've never tried wading and casting in the dark before. I didn't even care that I didn't catch a fish because the fly we used was sooooooooooooooooo cute…
Adorable, right?!
I also took my annual trip out with the DNR fisheries guys on a shocking expedition. We went on a section that has been heavily repaired by our local TU chapters, so I was anxious to see the results of the work that we’ve done.
The crew…
…other awesome stuff…
…and, of course, the fish!
It was pretty much the best field trip ever! Fish are awesome! I felt a sense of personal pride when trout came out from under structures we’ve built for them. That river is mine, and yours, and I am glad that we’re taking care of it. ❤
Since my blog readership is so widespread and growing, the likelihood that a congressman is reading this is pretty high, right? In that case, I wanted to share a quote I heard directly on a call this morning.
“Outside of Washington, D.C., conservation is not a partisan issue.”
-Lynn Scarlett
Dear Congress, I’m begging you, for all of the previously mentioned reasons… Please let us get back to our work.
Miles this year: 337.4
artist & athlete | a glimpse into real life, Heidi style 