Dirty Haired Halo

Hola. Just got back from NJ after a long weekend. I wasn't able to post before or while we were there. Here's a quick wrap-up of the week:

• Tuesday, I ran in the Yankee Homecoming 10-miler up in Newburyport. It was a perfect night for the race, with low humidity and temps in the 70s. I struggled with a stomach issue; basically felt like something was slowing me down the whole race. At the 8.5-mile mark, I got a cramp in my gut that I had to contend with the rest of the way; couldn't shake it, but I was able to keep going, even if I wasn't able to kick it into high gear at the end. Still, I finished in 1:21, which is my best time on that course (not my PR for a 10-mile race; that was 1:20 back in '01 at the Larry Robinson World Without Cancer race in Andover). Above is a shot of me not too far from the finish.
• On Thursday, I ran the Beverly Homecoming 5K. I like this race. Great course, plus I know a ton of the people running. They had fun runs for the kids, so we had both girls run. I've only done it once before, in '03, and I had my 5K PR with a 21:33. This year, it was a hot and muggy night and again my stomach didn't feel quite right. I huffed and puffed my way through it and finished in 21:35. Not too shabby.
• We left for Joisey on Friday morning and spent the evening down at the lake near Matt and Tricia's house. The kids had a blast in the water and we had fun hanging out until suddenly, a storm moved in. A few lightning flashes were enough to get everyone to flee the lake and we went home and put the kids to bed.
• Saturday morning, I went out early for a 13-mile run in the state park nearby. It was cloudy and 68 when I left, but it was about 88% humidity, so it wasn't long before I was soaked in sweat. I saw a lot of wildlife on the run; bunnies, pheasants and a deer. I'm just glad I didn't run into any bears, which are common around there. I felt good on the run and was glad to have it done early. Then it was time to get ready for Matt's son Danny's 6th birthday party extravaganza, which was a sports-themed event: baseball, soccer, basketball, football. Mini fields, diamonds, etc., were set up and groups of kids played each game for a few minutes before a whistle blew and they moved on to the next. The beers went down easy for the grown-ups and it was a good time as always.

Aiight, time to have some dinner.