First Half-Marathon.

The ultimate challenge of willpower and determination lies at registering for a marathon. Although that distance is, at this point in my life, a little too long to consider enjoyable and worth training for, I did hear a suggestion from good ole Lance in early June. "Why don't you run a half-marathon then?" I hadn't planned on running that far, but I liked how fun and easy he made it sound. A half-marathon! In August! I was just thinking the same thing!?

Training runs, sore quads, more gallons of water than I thought possible to consume, and sooner than I expected, Saturday, August 15th rolled around. The Minnesota Half-Marathon in Lower Landing Park. The nerves I felt that morning were indescribable and the weight of my legs when I reached mile marker 11? More than one ton.

Once mile 12 was done and I saw the finish line in sight, I guess that extra reserve of adrenaline kicked in, or maybe it was the sharp contrast of going from chanting "only 11 more miles" to "less than half a mile", but I was totally high. Like, then lines of cocaine high. HIGH. And that feeling was so strong and lasted so long that for two days straight all I did was stare down at my legs and thank the heavens they're still attached.

2:20:28 - and proud of it!

Buttons.

This is one of life's many gripes. Most clothing items come with an extra button. I'm one of those people that doesn't save them because I rarely lose a button or have one fly off into the eye of an unsuspecting passerby. But when I do unluckily lose one of these little guys, boy is it hard finding something to match the others when you don't save that extra one. Thus, I've resorted to saving all my buttons and if I never end up using them, maybe I will make some sort of craft, a button birthday card, or a button picture. I probably won't but, at least I'll have all my buttons covered... I mean bases.

Energy overload.

In preparation of my first half-marathon, I read many discussion boards and forums debating the merits of energy gels. I figured I best try one prior to the actual race day and utilized a PowerBar gel in Tangerine flavor. Have you ever tried Metamucil? You know the stuff. Well pretend it was that flavor, in goo form. I shot it in my mouth and quickly washed it down with water. Off I went for a training run, 9 or so miles and halfway through I felt like my throat was going to fall out my butt. My heart was racing way faster than necessary and my stomach was doing flip-flops. I decided against using the gel for the actual race due to the fact that I would rather finish the race than pass out next to mile marker 10.

Starting early.

Will gets car stuck.
Will exits car to run home.
Will has female cousin pull him in broken truck.
Will thinks sitting in car while cousin pulls is appropriate.
Will needs lesson in chivalry.

Starting early.

Will gets car stuck.
Will exits car to run home.
Will has female cousin pull him in broken truck.
Will thinks sitting in car while cousin pulls is appropriate.
Will needs lesson in chivalry.

Height door.

Before we left Hayward, I had to get a shot of the height door. The cousins all kept track of their increasing height over the years, mostly for bragging rights among other reasons. It's a cute idea, and one I hope to start when I'm old and have a million grandkids running amok on my property.

Josie-dog.

Whenever I see a dog that is the same breed as one of my friends', I call that dog a "________"-dog. For example, Carla has a boxer named Josie; therefore, when this little one came running down the beach, I called him a Josie-dog. His real name is Roscoe and I'm not exaggerating when I say he grew a pound a day up in Hayward. Too freaking cute.

Hard core.

The sole purpose of going go-kart racing was to get kicked out. Play it safe the first couple laps and when the workers aren't watching, slam the nearest victim into the black rubber tires and drive away as you watch them helplessly struggle to reenter the track. I didn't keep count but of the 14 or so cousins that entered the race track, I'm fairly sure about 10 were kicked out. Thus, a successful execution.

A little privacy, please?

In more than one bathroom this week, the stall doors were significantly shorter than I'm used to. Short enough to peek over the door and see if it's occupied versus knocking the old-fashioned way. I was not used to this style of lavatory and the lack of privacy encouraged me to pee faster than I've peed in my life. :P

Wiggles.

Straight out of Grumpier Old Men, the four of us got in this fishing boat, rowed ourselves out to the middle of the secluded lake and proceeded to fish away the afternoon. Here is the single worm I used, after which I preferred to fish sans live bait and try to catch them with one of those expensive, shiny, bell tinkling, feather boasting, tackle pieces out of Michael's box. These gadgets must be equal to a female's plethora of makeup accessories, or jewelry pieces because apparently the more colorful and shiny these lures are, the better.

No Pi Ming.

One of my favorite parts of Hayward was being privy to accessing a members-only plot of land, many MANY acres large and home to a beautiful, hidden wood cabin on the most secluded lake I've ever seen. Think secluded like "The Beach" secluded. We off-roaded in the Dodge SUV for quite some time before we wound up the dirt road to the lake access. Many old stories and folktales retold along the way. "Tread softly....", I like that.

Good Morning.

It's a tad bit of a process waking up early on vacation to go for a run. But these legs aren't going to train themselves for a half-marathon. And, to be honest, running by Amish homes and fields that look like this one isn't all that bad.

Did I mention we drank?

Well, we drank. A lot. And rightly so because sometimes, on a slow Hayward evening when the gaggle of children are driving you just a little out of your mind, a local watering hole is the only solution. Cue the Angry Minnow. What a fitting name for a beautifully architectured spot with their own brewed beer. It's catchy & refreshing (no pun intended), so much so that I hope they open a second location and call it the Petrified Worm.

Connor.

One of many photographs stuck to the wall of Grandma Stoner's refrigerator involve hilarious snapshots into Cousin Connor's childhood presence. Does he look absolutely Willow-like here or what? I told him he MUST show these to his first girlfriend, if only for the sake of a good chuckle. :)

Fountain of youth.

I had to photograph this fountain because it looks like it's straight out of the Secret Garden. It's pools are filled with dirt and weeds and the old cement statue is chipped in some parts. It's located back in a secluded part of the woods where she is left to enjoy the serenity of a slower paced life.

A bloody buddy.

How many of these we consumed over ten days, I cannot count, by my are they good. The best one's (located at Lakeview Golf) were filled with a beef stick, a huge pickle, olives, limes, and served in a tall sundae glass. I refuse to drink a bloody mary without a beef stick involved....

Wheat fields.

Check out the local I found hiding in the wheat fields as I walked by.

Turks Inn

You know those smaller, less popular, not-very-crowded restaurants that are host to some of life's most delicious dining experiences? Turks Inn is one of them. I was blown away by the following:

-the amount of random artifacts packed in the restaurant (think old photographs, trinkets, antiques, signs, etc.)
-how unbelievable the steak filets tasted
-rice pilaf soaked in steak jus with just the right consistency
-baklava for dessert to celebrate the Stoner's 27th wedding anniversary

You have not dined in ecstasy until you dine at Turk's Inn.

Set sail.

Within an hour of waking up on our first day of vacation in Hayward, WI, Michael was hooking up the Laser sailboat and prepping it for it's maiden summer voyage. I haven't sailed very much in my life and being on that vessel with someone who truly enjoys it as much as he does is pretty inspiring.

Inconvenient truth.

The only problem with road trips during the summer is the unnecessary amount of road construction that takes place along the way. I don't think I've gone anywhere these last few months without having numerous detours, delays, and trucks with pebbles flying onto the hood of my car in front of me. I know the end result will be beneficial to those that drive on those roads, but it is a serious pain in the rear and one that I don't see ending anytime soon.

Boys of summer.

One of the coolest photography projects I've worked on came together right before we left for Hayward, WI. This is Sammers' birthday present before it was matted and framed. A pretty sweet image of some very good looking boys I know.

Twins.

We went to one of the Twins v. White Sox games a few weeks ago and there was something about being inside the stadium that was less interesting than the open outdoor air of the U.S. Cellular Field. Something tells me baseball games will be much more enjoyable once they're played at the new Twins Stadium next season. Starry nights, baseball, ice cold brews?