What a Wild Weekend

I think this picture is, I have to admit, a pretty good portrayal of what transpired in Duluth this weekend. A little running and a whole lot of fun!! Oh my ... you wouldn't believe the laughs we had. I hardly know where to begin but it's going to have to be done in installments. It's already far too late in the evening to get this done tonight.

Just a quick aside ... tomorrow, Tuesday, is the All Comers' mile at 5:30. It's a timed mile run on the Soldier's Field track. It's free. It's part of the RTC Grand Prix Series. Come run or come watch and cheer! Some of the Tuesday evening runners will be running. Speaking of which ... yes, there will still be a Tuesday workout, hills or speedwork...whatever your preference. I'll get there about 5:00 and sign up and then warm up and then rev up ... :-) It's not going to be fast as my calves still ache where I was cramping, but I'll get the mile in nevertheless.

OK. Back to Duluth. We left Rochester on Friday morning. Unbeknownst to two of our merry band (Tom Woo and Paul Melby), their vehicle had a little sign on the driver's side:

This was just the start of our little adventure and the countless laughs to come. They were very good sports when the sign was discovered at our first stop at a Rest Area. :-) We all got a good chuckle ... and I'm glad I got a good shot. :-)

Our first stop in Duluth was the expo to pick up our registration materials.

I think there was some little wager going on about how many people I'd see there that I knew. I think they lost count at 27 or so. And I don't know who won, or if there was even a winner. One person that I knew and who actually remembered me from last year (we had lunch at Sir Benedict's after the marathon) was last year's winner Chris Raabe.

His dad was there with him and guess what? He reads my blog!! I was so surprised, but flattered. Wow!! BTW: Chris ended up running a super speedy 2:17 and was 6th overall. And here's another famous runner sighting: Paul and Randy with writer/runner Hal Higdon.

And who do we have year? Looks like a couple of movie stars...

Paul bought the flashy blue shades and wore them on Saturday. He looked might speedy. :-) After we left the expo, we ventured over to Little Angie's Cantina for lunch. On the way, Kelsey and Sarah Torchia spotted me so we chatted for a minute. They were running the 5K.

When we got inside, Deb Bemboom spotted me.

And then another well known runner made an appearance ... Tom O'!!

Then we were off to St. Scholastica to check into our suite. I guess it was our lucky day as we were upgraded to an apartment ... for free!! It turned out to be some pretty nice digs...4 bedrooms, a kitchen, living room and divided bath (separate shower room, sinks, and toilet room). It worked out GREAT.

Time for bed. To be continued ...