August

It's RICK.  Well, maybe it's Rick.  Lydia has a deer she's named Rick who hangs around her yard & likes to run in the field across her street ~ which is also toward my backyard.  He certainly wasn't afraid of me...much like Rick doesn't seem afraid of people.  So it must be Rick.  Eat the apples, Rick.  Clean up the yard.

1986 was 30 years ago.  Hudson High had a reunion...which I didn't attend ~ I'm just not a reunion type of girl ~ but my friend, Judy came from Georgia to attend & we spent the day in Geneva-on-the-Lake.  It's good to have old friends. 

August means Cross Country.  I coach the best sport with the best kids with the best head coach.  

His car was dirty.

As was mine!

Just a note...It's been hot and humid all month.  Expect to see more about this in my run log for the
month.  It's been WET and the kids have whined.  Oh wait, that was the coach.  Tuesday is our first meet ~ excited to see what this season brings.

I'm still Beach Glass Obsessed.  I'm getting better at throwing back the pieces that need to be thrown back.  I've collected A LOT of beach glass this summer.  

Coolest piece I've found.

RACES ~

Mike and Dodd ran The Dark Horse on August 7th.  It was another hot humid day...and Angela and I spent the afternoon setting up.  She had the coolest foam light sticks...which we taped to all the trees & fences & grass...all along the trail.  It was a cool untimed race.  You earned 'tickets' for doing certain things...crossing the river...boxing...bear crawl up the hill...dancing and holding hands and skipping across the finish.  Here is a great video of Mike and Dodd finishing 

Since I haven't been running many races this summer ~ I was really looking forward to running the Rock Hall Half on August 14.  Lots of NERC peeps were running & Angela was pacing the 10:15 m/m group.  It was 75 degrees when I awoke at 5:00am...and it was steamy.  You think I'd be used to this.  But I'm not.  I bought a cooling towel at Target...not so cooling... but I had a good attitude.  I was going to have fun.

By mile 6 I was trying to have fun.  We turned onto MLK around mile 7... MLK is relatively shady and downhill.  I don't know why the race didn't get significantly easier at this point...but it didn't.   I stopped to use the port-a-pot because every time I coughed {trying to clear my lungs due to the left overs of a cold} I felt the urge use the port-a-pot.  I found a port-a-pot in a construction area by the Natural History Museum.  They are building a really cool outdoor suspended walkway called the Perkins Wildlife Center. {which I just learned because I wanted to save a link here}  It looks really amazing.  Their outdoor area was cool when my kids were little ~ I really want to go see the new center.  I saw all this, because I was walking away from the port-a-pot admiring all around me & thinking, "Yep, I could just walk from here."  But I didn't.  I decided I'd run to the next water stop at which time I would drink a Gatorade and a water.  I took both and walked until they were both gone.  then I begrudgingly started to run again.  My legs were tired.  My heart was pounding.  I was coughing.  I was soaking wet.  And other people were walking.  I ran and walked the water stops for a few...then we turned onto North Marginal ~ running next to Lake Erie and route 90.  It's kinda  a cool place to run.  So I thought I might be a cool place to walk to.  I tried that.  Another NERC member went WALKING by me {seriously, I couldn't keep her walking pace}  We chatted for a while about our walking and the race.  I was fine physically {because I was walking} I just didn't WANT to run.  I walked past a traffic cop and informed her, "My give-a-damn is busted"  And it was true.  At mile 10, I seriously considered walking the last three.  Then I realized that Mike and Dodd would not be very happy with me if they had to wait 45 minutes {or more} for me to walk in.  So I ran.  Walked the water stop...but ran in.  Slowest half marathon ever.  But I finished with a smile on my face.  

Dodd had a great race & Mike did very well.  I had a green icee ~ quite refreshing.

Then we took our baby to College on August 19, 2016.  Drove to Mount Union in the morning and were home by 3:30.  It's a good thing.  I keep telling myself that.  He is happy and playing tennis and going to classes and making friends and lifting weights with the team.  It'a all good.

To celebrate our empty nest status...we went to the Lake County Fair ~ not to be confused with The Great Geauga County Fair ~ and bought a pig.  Of course the pig was one of the last to be auctioned off...and we spent the maximum price we were willing to spend {which may have been because we told the grandparents of the pig owner what our max price was}.  But the money goes to the kid who raised the pig & we get to eat the pig.  So it doesn't really matter in the end. I have a video of our pig in action, but since she's now in my freezer, I don't think I can watch it.  So I'm not posting it here.

Kelly is a klepto ~ After we had walked around the whole fair, signed up for the auction, walked around the fair again, Kelly found she was carrying a set of keys which were not hers.  So we turned them into the auctioneer...not sure if the key owner got them or not.  {there was a Giant Eagle tag on them, so they can be found eventually}  Rather funny tho.  No idea where she got them.

First day of school picture for Patrick in Cincinnati and Jacob by our tree before we drove to Alliance.

Cheers