What a great vacation! Five days in Wisconsin, filled with relaxation, family time, and fun. And five beautiful runs in the Wisconsin countryside.
We were staying in Delavan, just off the lake, where we were married nearly six years ago. It's interesting to return with a completely different dynamic: three young kids in tow.
In order to disrupt our family time the least, I ran first thing in the morning most days. That's not my usual time, but it worked out really well. I realize most of the rest of the world runs at that time, before work, but I work nights. I usually run before lunch and then it's off to work. But it's a great way to get your day started off, and to explore areas you may want to return to later. It was also a great time to reflect on my running an my goals for later this summer.
I think that's what vacation is all about. It's a time to rest up, refuel, and reflect on everything a bit...get some perspective back away from the daily grind. The time definitely re-energized me a bit, and has me about ready to start training again. I also thought up a few things I want to put in this space.
I'll write much about some of those things over the next few weeks. In the meantime, we returned to town in time for a really great race. It was the Four on the Fourth in Elmhurst. As the name implies, it is a four mile race, and a CARA circuit race as well. That means it tends to attract some fast runners. I've been hearing about it for some time, even before I moved to Elmhurst. It attracts runners from all over the Chicago area. Fortunately, the weather was fairly cool and just about perfect, as opposed to the oppressive heat that can make running in early July a difficult proposition.
It's a relatively small race though with fewer than a thousand runners. It was a beautiful day for it, and it went off without a hitch. And because it was my turn to watch the kids, my wife got to enjoy the race, while I took pictures and cheered her on. It was great to 
see so many running friends there, even though they were all in running gear, and I was in street clothes. Race directors Bob Richards and Susan May from the Elmhurst Running Club do a nice job with the race. My wife is pictured with Bob here.
Bob, incidently is the same person you may recognize as one of the most expert writers on the local running scene. He has worked for The Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Athlete magazine. He also has a great website on local running http://chicagoruntimes.blogspot.com/ Check it out when you get a chance.
Meantime I'll see you on the roads....
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