Linda and I traveled this Independence Holiday to Upper Peninsula of Michigan to celebrate with her very large family. Linda is from Rapid River, but the majority of the action was in Gladstone. They have a massive parade and also they hold a fund raiser on the 4th with a 2.5 mile walk or a 5 mile run early in the day. I had agreed earlier in the year to run the 5 miler because of the death of a family member and we wanted to remember him because he has run this event before.
Jay Thoman was a JAG in the Army and was out for his morning run when he was struck by a car and killed a couple blocks from his house in Washington DC area. He had no ID and was not identified until later that afternoon. Just a frantic situation and really hard on all involved.
He left a wife and two or three relatively young children behind. We had some shirts made with his likeness and tried our best to make his memory live on. I wanted to celebrate the life of a fellow runner the best way I could.
The 5 miler was on a flat course with chip timing and a cannon start--literally. We were lined up and ready and all of a sudden a massive boom and we were off-it could have been two bags of powder. That was much loader than the .38 caliber starting pistols used earlier this season indoors. My plan was to run and walk and try to make it in under 60 minutes. I was pretty successful with a PR of 56:11. It was my first 5 miler, so of course it is a PR. The weather was quite humid, even by my standards, but it is great for my breathing. I had on a camelback with 1 liter of water and it was all used on the course.
5 milers are a little different in terms of knowing your progress. They had timers at each mile mark and it made keeping your goal time much simpler. I wore my heart rate monitor and kept my rate between 145 and 165 the entire event.
Walk when it got high, take off after a little rest and water. My brother in law ran the course in 43 minutes and my daughter made it in 63 minutes. There was 700 numbers used, so it was a nice sized event.
I was actually surprised how quickly I recovered the next couple of days. I had a little soreness in my quads, but nothing else of note. I starting training again yesterday after a few days off.
I did all the family things including some beer and brats. You get fed very regular and well at these family events! I bought an 18 pack of Blatz beer for $9 at Woodman's in Milwaukee, which is the cheapest beer they carry. I like the flavor and it is not carried anywhere in Tennessee to my knowledge. It is a very old German style beer from Milwaukee and has a great lager flavor. That beer was incredibly popular for some reason at the gatherings. Maybe the old flavors are making a comeback. I hope...
Gladstone has a parade very 4th and it is also the time that Linda's family do an annual gathering. There must have been over 100 family members around at one time or another. They are quite prolific and gather at a family members house for the parade and picnic.
A lot of fun for all. The parade is about 90 minutes long and there is just a ton of people lined up to watch the spectacle. Bands, fire trucks, politicians, horses, every business and club in the area marched and threw a lot of candy out for the kids along the way. It is a grand affair.
Our grand daughter also made the trip and we kept her a couple of nights at the local hotel where we stayed. She was recovering from an ear infection. Even though taking medicine, she was the usual fun little kid we have gotten to love so much. She loved playing with the other kids and also is keen on Grandma's jewelry. She put it on every chance she had. She just loves $1500 necklaces! It gets harder to give her back every time we get to keep her.
We also visited the newlyweds in Milwaukee. Adam and Audra were married a few months back and we checked in on their progress and things appear to be pretty good.
Jay Thoman was a JAG in the Army and was out for his morning run when he was struck by a car and killed a couple blocks from his house in Washington DC area. He had no ID and was not identified until later that afternoon. Just a frantic situation and really hard on all involved.
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| Part of the family that participated |
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| My daughter Betty on the left |
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| My brother in law Buck and me. |
Walk when it got high, take off after a little rest and water. My brother in law ran the course in 43 minutes and my daughter made it in 63 minutes. There was 700 numbers used, so it was a nice sized event.
I was actually surprised how quickly I recovered the next couple of days. I had a little soreness in my quads, but nothing else of note. I starting training again yesterday after a few days off.
I did all the family things including some beer and brats. You get fed very regular and well at these family events! I bought an 18 pack of Blatz beer for $9 at Woodman's in Milwaukee, which is the cheapest beer they carry. I like the flavor and it is not carried anywhere in Tennessee to my knowledge. It is a very old German style beer from Milwaukee and has a great lager flavor. That beer was incredibly popular for some reason at the gatherings. Maybe the old flavors are making a comeback. I hope...
Gladstone has a parade very 4th and it is also the time that Linda's family do an annual gathering. There must have been over 100 family members around at one time or another. They are quite prolific and gather at a family members house for the parade and picnic.
A lot of fun for all. The parade is about 90 minutes long and there is just a ton of people lined up to watch the spectacle. Bands, fire trucks, politicians, horses, every business and club in the area marched and threw a lot of candy out for the kids along the way. It is a grand affair. Our grand daughter also made the trip and we kept her a couple of nights at the local hotel where we stayed. She was recovering from an ear infection. Even though taking medicine, she was the usual fun little kid we have gotten to love so much. She loved playing with the other kids and also is keen on Grandma's jewelry. She put it on every chance she had. She just loves $1500 necklaces! It gets harder to give her back every time we get to keep her.
We also visited the newlyweds in Milwaukee. Adam and Audra were married a few months back and we checked in on their progress and things appear to be pretty good.
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| Swing time with Grandma |
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