We had another busy weekend with family and friends. Just a typical summer weekend.

Festival of Bands

Yesterday morning, after a steamy 4 mile run, I had a concert at the Hopkins Raspberry Festival. This is an annual tradition. I missed it last year because of my sister's wedding. We played really well. I was very happy. I was also glad that my mom and her friend Anna were able to come. The band shell and seating area was in the shade so it wasn’t too hot (yet).  I’ll post a video of the concert later. We didn’t have time to find the elusive raspberries as we had to hurry home to change for the baptism.

Baptism

We met DJ, Beth, Abbie and Danielle at our house and made our way to Chanhassen for the baptism of Carmen Helen Stayer. We were asked to be Godparents (if you have lost count that is a “six-pack” for us (Eric has one additional)). It was at St. Hubert’s. The last time I was in the church was for my band friend’s funeral in February. Thankfully this time it was a happy occasion! The baptism was not during Mass so it was short and sweet. Nothing too exciting happened besides Evelyn playing in the Holy Water. Ha! We had some pictures afterwards and then went to their house for a party.

They rented a gigantic inflatable obstacle course for their back yard. Oh no inflatables and I don’t get along. I ran through the course three times. The last time was during a race and of course I hurt myself…I’m done with inflatables!

For food they had Famous Dave’s catered in. We made the mistake of having KFC for lunch so I was chickened out but that ok I still had some chicken and beans and the awesome corn muffin (or two). Mike also came to the party. We had some more fun in the inflatable and gifts were open and it was time to leave for 7pm church. 

Praying for Success at the Casino

We rushed home to change and headed right out the door to St. Mary’s the Purification for 7pm Mass. I really like this church and we didn’t have time to go today so 7pm it was. All of us, except for Beth (she had to go home) went to church to pray for success at the casino. We had Father Eric…normally he is long winded but he was short and to the point and even had some humor. So that was nice for a change. The best part of this church is it is so small that you are almost always out in 45 minutes. 44 minutes to be exact this time. :)

We took the back roads over to the casino…this is why I love where I live. We went from a country church that reminds me of the one in North Creek (near my family farm) and we took the country roads past farms to the casino. I have the best of both worlds; the big city just over the river and the small family farms just so south of town. Anyways, our praying didn’t help…I don’t think any of us won, except for maybe Mike.

Valleyfair

Today we went to Valleyfair with Mike, Danielle, DJ and Abbie. It was Mike’s first trip to Valleyfair since his weight loss and surgery.  We were going to test out that new hip and body. He successfully went on 4 rollercoasters and he went twice on Excalibur. We did Thunder Canyon and Monster and the Balloons. We went on quite a few rides in the 4 hours we were there. It was fun and I think Mike had fun too. His hip is still in place and he could walk out of the park so he did well! We met Anna and Mom at Culvers (they tried their luck at the casino again…and the casino wasn’t very nice to them). After a quick stop at our house, they all left. I was a bit tired so it was nice to have a few hours of quiet time. I actually took a nap. Eric had a soccer game at 6:30 so I was home alone for a couple hours. I caught up on some shows (instead of folding clothes) and eventually went for my run. So far I am 19 for 19 this month!  I only went a mile since this is my recovery day. Tomorrow I’ll try and do 3 again. We have the Torchlight 5K race on Wednesday.

Pictures

  

The title pretty much sums up the weekend. Friday after work we picked up DJ and drove down to Byron and Paula’s house in Sioux Falls for the weekend. We got in a little late Friday so we just watched part of the Despicable Me 2 movie.

Insane Inflatable Run

You would think after last year’s experience with this race I would have known better but being the sport I am, I said I’d do this race again. I think I will now retire from these stupid races. I’m not doing a separate race report for this one because I’m still a little upset and in pain. Last year I got my hand and wrist stepped on by a big guy. I seriously thought my wrist was broken. Well this year I one upped myself. On the hardest obstacle I bounced over a “bar” thinking there was going to be something on the other side (I couldn’t see and the bar was pretty high so I had no choice but to bounce. Well I was wrong. My head (specifically) my face/forehead met the gravel after a 5 foot fall. Yes, I said 5 foot. And I didn’t have my hands to break my fall as I was trying to staying on the damn inflatable bar. I crashed down into gravel. I curled up into a ball and screamed. It hurt so bad…I just laid there for what felt like an eternity. I finally composed myself and removed the larger pieces of gravel out of my shoulder and elbow. And picked myself up and finished the obstacle and told Eric (well actually screamed at him), “I’m never doing this $%&ing race again!” I was very dizzy the rest of the race and basically had to walk the rest of the way. I have nice bruise on my shoulder from the experience. Thankfully my face doesn’t look bad. I had a red mark but no bruising. It wasn’t a pleasant experience…I did not have fun. The other guy in the picture is “Fish.” A friend of Byron and Paula…and a State Representative in the 19th District…Byron likes to tell people that.

    

Minions Movie

After we got home and quick shower where I felt the stinging of all the places the gravel had embedded into my skin, I napped on the couch. Around 3pm we met Paula’s parents and sister, Lindsay, for the Minions Movie. I thought it was pretty good. I have seen the first Despicable Me movie and parts of the second one so I knew who they were but not that familiar. It was funny and the fact it was set in London made it that much more enjoyable for me.

Mini Golf

We went to the District for dinner…it was expensive and the food wasn’t great but it was ok. I should have chosen something different to eat…my bad. The service was a bit slow. Next we went to play a round of mini golf. It was so much fun…but I won…by a lot…so of course I had fun! Maybe the fall to the head has made me a mini golf pro? The only bad holes I had were the three after Eric said that I was going to run away with the game. Never compliment me in the middle of a game…it gets in my head and I imploded. But I managed to get my game together to win by 4 or 5 strokes ahead of the Eric who managed to finished 2nd after a horrible front 9 holes. It was a great night…after a horrible morning.

Sunday

We slept in a bit Sunday morning…and by slept in I mean 7:30. I really wish I could sleep more! Paula made us strawberry waffles and bacon and we just sat around until we had to leave at noon. It was such a hot and humid day that really there was nothing anybody wanted to do.  We wish could have stayed longer but Eric had a soccer game at 6:30 so we had to leave. We dropped off DJ and helped her get her AC in the window. Like I said it was a miserable day. We got home in time for Eric to relax a bit before his game. I went for a run…it was so hot and humid. I managed to get a mile in of actually running and walked the other 2 miles. So far I’m doing well on my everyday challenge (run at least 1 mile every day).  I’m 12 for 12. Well actually 13 for 13 because I ran on June 30th.

We had a great 3 day holiday weekend.

Buck Night at Canterbury

Thursday night we went to Canterbury for Buck Night. We got in for $1 and ate our $2 hot dog (they aren’t a buck this year!), $1 pop and $1 nachos. We bet and watched some races. We were too late to bet on the first race. Eric won the first 2 or 3 races we bet on. I didn’t win. :( In the 4th race there was a bit of history made before our eyes. Horse #7-Congegration was 79-1 odds. There were only 234 bets on the horse to win. It was a very long race the odds on favorite had a solid lead but out of nowhere came #7 and at the last minute beat #1! It was amazing. It was exciting. It was the largest payout in Canterbury Park/Down’s history. A $2 “win” bet won $161. Yep. Amazing!  If you picked the horse to just show it was $15 payout on a $2 bet. Thankfully my horse, Banjo Cat, came in 3rd (I’m not sure how that happened he was in the back the whole race). I won $5. Yay me! I ran home from Canterbury…it is just over a mile.

Valleyfair, a Band Concert and Fireworks

Friday was our “holiday” so we slept in a bit. I went for a 4 mile run. It was a nice morning…and not too humid. We did some shopping in the morning. DJ, Beth and Ethan came up and we went to Valleyfair for a few hours. We didn’t get on many rides as the lines were ridiculously long. We waited 45 minutes for the Thunder Canyon. It was a very busy place. After Valleyfair, we rushed home and I quickly changed for my annual band concert in Eden Prairie. Normally we play on the 4th of July but EP wanted to expand the festival to two days so we got bumped for somebody more famous…I’m not even sure how. So we played on the 3rd instead. That was ok, we still had a nice crowd but there were not many food vendors or really anything else going on. The concert went well, we played a little long and the director made an audible. You know like in football where the quarterback changes the play on the line of scrimmage. Well the director told the crowd we were playing a song that was not on our list. It was fine but it is the one song I was excited to not be playing but we played it anyways. Argh! After the concert we stopped for a late dinner at Arby’s and relaxed at home until it was time for fireworks. Canterbury always has their fireworks on July 3rd. They put on quite an amazing display. Last year we parked by the hotels in back of Canterbury but it was a nightmare to get out. This year we found a new place on a hill. It was a good spot and easy to get out of…we have our new spot.

Swimming and Camping

After a quick 1 mile run, I biked to the donut shop for breakfast and eventually we made our way to Danielle and Bradley’s new house in New Ulm. We also got to meet Oreo…the cat I named. :) They have a nice house with a big yard. I’m happy for them. Ashley was visiting and we all went to Flandrau State Park (only 1.5 miles from Danielle’s house) to swim. It was a nice day but the pool was surprising cold! We met DJ and Beth who snagged a secluded table by the river. We didn’t waste any time in jumping in the pool. I love their pool! We swam for 45 minutes (they take a 15 minute break every hour).  Eric decided we need more water toys so he left for Target. The Stayers got there and we had more fun in the pool with Evelyn. We didn’t plan well because we were starving but didn’t have much for food. I couldn’t do Cheddarwursts again. So off to Hy-Vee for hamburgers and potatoes…they were delicious. I’ve never done baked potatoes in the fire before but I definitely have to do that again! After DJ, Beth, Danielle, Bradley and Ashley went home we put up the tent and had a fire by Greg and Celeste’s site. It was a perfect night for camping (except for the screeching owl at 4am).

Waterpark at Valleyfair

I went for a short run on the trails by the river near our campsite. We picked up our site and went to Perkins for breakfast. We made a quick stop at Danielle’s to say goodbye and have some Special K bars. We got home by 1pm and decided it was a hot enough day for the waterpark at Valleyfair. It was surprisingly quiet on Sunday, nothing like Friday. We spent a couple hours on the tubes, slides and wave pool and came home to relax for the evening. It was a great long weekend.

Runs: 7

Walks: 6

Miles: 54.28
Races: 2 (Capital FC 5K - 36:56; Summer Breeze 10K - 1:23.55)

Outdoors: 11
Indoors: 0

Longest: 6.21 miles
Average Pace: 12:52

All I can say is UGH! I don’t know what is wrong with me. Ever since my 15K in April I have been really crappy in the running department. It is really starting to piss me off and I’m getting so discouraged. Only one run was under 12 minute/mile pace this month and that was the 5K in Oregon. I was lucky to get under 13 minute/mile pace this month. I don’t know if it is the heat but it really hasn’t been that hot. I think the hottest I ran in was 77 degrees and that was a piddly mile. And it has been a bit humid but that is no excuse. It was just a bad month.

I had two races this month. One was in Oregon and one was in London, neither were a road race. Both were on gravel, grass and dirty…my enemy!

New for June I started counting my walking too. If I go out for the sole purpose of walking, I’m going to count it. Some days I just don’t want to run, but as long as I keep moving, that is progress. Also we walked a TON in London I put in almost 35,000 steps a day. My phone says that is about 15 miles but I halved it and 7.5 miles each of the days. That was the only way I was getting to 50 miles this month! However, I’m not including my walking times in the "Average Pace." I’m going to leave that for strictly running. Although it is so slow in June you probably think I was mostly walking. :(

I have high hopes for July. I only have one race, well two but one is the Insane Inflatable obstacle race course and I don’t plan on running it. I have no vacations outside of camping this weekend and Sioux Falls next weekend for the Insane Inflatable race. I’m busy every weekend but I should be able to get my runs done. Here is hoping for a better month. I need one, I just signed up for another 15K in November.

Trophies for June