Been on vacation!!

First off, 12 miles on the schedule today; done.  It feels good to do those long runs without the speed in there but it was crazy hot out.  I sure don't like running in the high 70's and low 80's.

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Sorry I have not posted in some time.  I have been on vacation at the cottage and we have no internet there and limited internet access at the clubhouse.  Besides, I was on vacation and couldn't see posting while at the pool, right?

I did however get my running in this vacation.  11 miles last Saturday, 3 miles on Monday, 6 on Tuesday and Wednesday, 3 on Thursday, 6.2 on Saturday and my long run today.  Unfortunately we came home yesterday because it was so darn hot up there plus we like to avoid the traffic on I-75 too.

We had a great week away.  It was really warm(90's) half the time and the other half was in the 70's and 80's.  It only rained for about 5 minutes the entire time we were up north.  Crazy nice weather which we don't always get when we are up there.

Yesterday I did a 10k in Gaylord called the Alpenfest 10k.  It was the 35th annual race.  Wow!  There were lots of people there for a 5k and a 10k and a kids fun run.  I was hoping to beat a 48 minute time but ended up with 49:09.  Not a PR this time but the nice thing was that I ended up WINNING my Age Group (Men 40-44).  To qualify the win, there was only 4 of us in that age group but the next guy was pretty far back - like 3 minutes behind me.  Even still, I was really excited to win my age group since I have never done this before.  Usually the field is much more competitive for that age group.  I'm usually running against people that have been running for 20 years.  There was also another 316 that raced the 5k run as well so there were lots of people there.  The shirts this year stunk!  Sorry but they were a really, really cheap cotton shirt - the cheapest shirt I have received from a race - paper thin.  Last year the shirts were UnderArmour and tech shirts(I actually wore last years to the race so you can see me in it below)  Here a pictures of this years shirt:

Front

Back

The race was managed by 3 Disiplines and they did a nice job(very well organized) except for the shirt.

Here are the results:

Placed - 20 out of 97 overall
Placed - 1st in my age group out of 4
Placed - 16 out of 51 men
Time:  49:09; 7:55 pace

First in AG; Yeah!

AG Award

We also had a great time having fun in the lake and the pool as well.  I did my first 800 meter swim in the lake.  Wow.  You sure seem out of shape when you don't do something often.  I got a cramp in my leg from swimming at about the 500 meter mark and it hurt!  I had my kids near me in case I got into trouble but my son decided to go ahead and they were not anywhere near me when I got the cramp.  I got the cramp out and kept going and made it just fine.  There is NO way I would have been able to get on a bike and do a run if that happened at a triathlon race.  Unfortunately for me, I can't seem to find a tri to do this summer that fits my schedule with all my running so I'll have to try one out next season.  Here's a couple pictures of the swim:

Me and my kids helping me swim on Opal Lake

This was the halfway point.  It sure seems longer when
swimming it than it looks from shore!

Other than the lake and pool, we went out to eat a few times, saw a movie and just relaxed.  It was also Alpenfest in Gaylord so we went to check that out and play the dime toss and look at crafts.  We also had some friends visit as well.

The kids relaxing on my daughter's balcony at the Cottage.
I didn't have a balcony when I was a kid!

We won some glasses at the Kiwanis Dime Toss!

Ice cream at DQ - my annual visit - YUM!

Our old neighbors visited and were staying at his brothers place.

Wishing we had an extra week up there.  We also decided to paint the cottage because it needs it badly so it will be a different color the next time we are there.  I'm sure I'll post about that later once it's painted.  My parents also came up for several days and we hung out with them and went into Charlevoix and Petoskey for the day.

Eating dinner at Lewiston Lodge in Lewiston on East Twin Lake.
Great food if you have not been there and nice upnorth atmosphere.

In downtown Charlevoix by the marina

We also went Yacht buying.  Ok, really we only looked but they had a few open houses in Charlevoix of Yachts and it was cool to go on them and see them.  For a measly $329,000, you could have this USED 41 footer.  It was two bedrooms, two baths.  It was nicer than my house(and more expensive; haha)  The owner said he spent about 60 gallons per hour to run it - that's $231 per hour at Michigan's gas prices:

My son, the captain

My son relaxing in the living room on the yacht.

It even had a dining room and granite counters!

Charlevoix also has homes called Mushroom homes and my wife got a great picture of one that's on the water that you can see from downtown Charlevoix.  Aren't they cool looking?  They look like a home out of Alice in Wonderland.  The roofs are like mushrooms.  Charlevoix also has a half marathon and full marathon in June that is supposed to be a really nice run.  I've never done it but it's one that is on my list to do.

Mushroom home with unbelievable landscaping!

So, if you have not been to Northern Michigan, you should put it on your checklist.  It's a great place to visit.  I never grow tired of visiting the area's cities.

Where are you going on vacation this year?




Have a great day and.....Keep Running!!!!!!