Lake Mille Lacs in the Fall

Lake Mille Lacs on the first weekend in October - what a great time to ride! We were really lucky with the weather - frost on the ground in the morning (and a chilly 41 degrees), but a beautiful sunny day with that great fall sunlight on some approaching-peak leaves.

8 of us met at the BP station in Onamia to begin our journey. Some were coworkers from the distant past, and some were new to me. I started with booties, tights, long sleeve shirt, short sleeve shirt, jacket and long-fingered gloves. The wind (although light) was pretty cool off the lake. We stopped at 18 miles for a rest stop (and a photo of this giant walleye). My legs were pretty tired (what else is new) for the 1st 18 miles, but after the walleye, I seemed to find some inspiration. We kept up a nice pace (while I reminded myself to look at the beautiful colors) to the restaurant for lunch. When we asked Tom (our ride leader) what was good at the restaurant, he replied "nothing really, but it's 1/2 through the ride." ;-) Since I'd been inspired by the giant walleye, I had to have a walleye sandwich.

I did eventually take my jacket off (at about mile 40) Our pace picked up after lunch, and got downright speedy by about mile 55. I managed to keep up with the 18-20mph, but when they hit 21.4, I was dropped. Luckily, Andy got a flat, and everyone stopped while he fixed it. ;-)

We all arrived safe and sound at the BP station, and refueled with Bagels and Dairy Queen. Thanks to Tom for organizing a great ride!

Women Run the Cities

What better subject for my 1st blog entry than a Women's 10 mile race. This past weekend, my friend Susan and her friend Tara picked me up at 0-dark-hundred on Sunday morning. It was chilly (51), and drizzly as we made our way to Minnehaha Falls. We found a great parking spot, got our packets, and returned to the car to stay warm before the race. What an amazing sight - there were 650+ women lined up for the 10 mile race. My college friend Anne's daughter was there doing her 1st race. Lots of pre-race chatting waiting for the start. I heard more than one person say that with that many women in one spot, they could start the race, and we'd all be standing there yakking away! Finally, the national anthem, and the start. I wanted to run my 1st mile around 9 minutes, and then pick it up from there. Mission accomplished. I had a great run - it was so cool to hear all these conversations/encouragement/etc going on for at least the 1st 4 miles. There were lots of fans (my favorite was the guy on his bike in the orange jacket that I saw at least 10 times), lots of water, and the weather was great. The drizzle stopped around mile 7, but it was chilly the whole way. I proved a couple things - running 15 miles a week for 3 weeks before the race is enough training to have a decent run, and running 15 miles a week for 3 weeks before the race is NOT enough. Not my fastest 10 mile, not my slowest either, but were my legs ever feeling it when I finally got out for another run today! I'll have to step up the training a little over the next couple weeks to get ready for the Nerstrand 1/2 marathon. Thanks to all the women who made this one possible - what a great venue.