Busy October

Andrew and I just returned home from a great weekend get-away in Boston for the Head of the Charles Regatta! Weather for rowing races in mid October can be a gamble, but we lucked out this year. We spent the weekend staying with Auri who lives in long walking distance to the race course. We started our trip with a Brewery Tour to Sam Adams... brewery tours have turned into a hobby for us.



Posing in the Sam Adam Brewery tasting room. Free beer at 10 AM is a great way to start our weekend in Boston.



 After spending the morning touring Boston and filling up on clam chowder at Quincy Market, we headed over to the race course. Here are a few photos from the weekend of racing...



Andrew came out of rowing retirement for an Alumi Race with University of Delware. Just incase you cannot pick him out he is 4th from the back of the boat wearing a white hat. He is pretty sore today.



These are the Marquette Varsity Women. They rowed a strong race and had a great time in Boston.

 We had a great time in Boston meeting up with old friends from high school and college! We are lucky to have great friends to visit in great places!  Now we are back in Milwaukee and back to real life. It is hard to believe that it is almost the end of October.





New Color Scheme

Since we moved into our house in May we have been planning on changing the orange color of the front door and shutters. We have had the paint for about 6 months now and finally changed the color during what might have been the last warm weekend for the year. If we didn't get it done then, it probably wouldn't get done until spring. Let us know what you think of the new color!

Half Orange and Half Blue

Diana Working on the Tedious Window Trim

Done!

The next day we headed down to Rockford Illinois for the Head of the Rock Regatta. Diana is helping coach for Marquette University and she was also rowing in an alumni boat at the race. We decided to also take Cassie and she loved being outside all day.

The Rock River

Cassie Watching the Racing

Diana and Cassie!

Diana Back in a Boat. Just Like Riding a Bike.

We are staying busy and will post again soon.

Marathon Weekend

Yesterday was the running of the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon that starts in Grafton, WI and runs south along the shore of Lake Michigan to Milwaukee. We woke up early and drove the half hour up to the start getting there a little before 7:00. The race was scheduled to start at 7:30 (half an hour earlier than last year to avoid the October heat)... not a problem this year since it was 39 degrees. The start was at a local high school so we could stay warm and stretch before the start.

Getting Ready

First Marathon!

Last Minute Stretching

My goal for the marathon was to get under 3:30, which is an 8:01 minute/mile pace. So I figured lining up next to the 3:30 sign was a good way to start.


At the Start Next to My Goal Time

Once the sun started shining and I warmed up a little I was able to get rid of the long-sleeved shirt to Diana around mile 7.5. Diana and Cassie were great support along the course and stopped whenever they could. Skip ahead a little and Diana got a good picture around mile 20. She even got a smile out of me.

Around Mile 20 and Still Smiling

I held a steady 8 minute pace through mile 20 and then picked it up a little for the last 10k. There was a good crowd lining the path leading up to the finish.

Coming into the Finish

 And then it was over. The race went by surprisingly fast and under the goal of 3:30.

Under 3:30!

At this point the legs decided they could hurt since the running was over. I don't think I will run for at least a month now.

Ahh No More Running

And I can't forget Diana! She has been very supportive with the marathon training... putting up with my long runs, endless appetite, and my little case of tendinitis (she's a good PT).

My Race Support!

The conditions were perfect and the view over the harbor and Lake Michigan were great.

Beautiful Day in Milwaukee