Chasing the Rainbow! Cheryl's 20 Mile Run.

It has been a challenge completing the long runs this year.   Perhaps it was the weather,  or perhaps it was the extended scoring gig (or both!) But Cheryl has not had her "head in the right place" each time we attempt anything over 14 miles.  However,  today we managed to complete 20 miles.

Watermelon and cooler weather helps!

That is 20 miles.  20!  And the best part about it was that I was not snapped at or threatened during the entire process!

I don't have any pictures of the event, as the camera does not take very good moving pics... And Cheryl is not very photogenic when she is morphing into Mr. Hyde!

Dark Cheryl arises!

I credit the weather, for the most part.  It has been a wonderful combination of sunny and cool here the last several days.   The predictions are that it is not going to last.  And looks like it will be back in the 90's by Monday.
One of the interesting things about running 20 miles ( That is 20!.. 20 miles!)  is that we were able to see a new section of the trail that we usually are unable to experience.  At the 10 miles mark,  we noticed that the trees were entirely lines with HOPS!

A new Found Stash of Wild HOPS!

Remember my blog posting about hops?   Last year there was a couple of plants that sprung up near mile 4 on our usual route.   I was so thrilled, that I picked a few and brought them home.  Unfortunately,  I was not able to make any beer with them.    Not that I wanted to anyway,   but the thought that I have a secret stash of wild hops close by was a cool feeling.

They were everywhere!  Climbing numerous trees and bushes. 

However,  today I discovered that on the other side of country road M 38,   There are more wild hops than I could ever use!  I'm curious of the local brewery knows about these things...or if they order their hops from Michigan.
  There certainly seems to be plenty there for anyone who wants to pull them down and process them.  I pulled one off the vine and tasted it.   They have a wonderful mild piney flavor.   I would not lump these hops in the "Citrus" camp.   And who knows if they all taste that way.

Speaking of Beer!   We decided to investigate another Wisconsin Beer that one of the scorers at College board recommended.   The Spotted Cow!   Very tasty!  Mild creamy flavor.  Creamy is my term...Cheryl disagrees with that idea, but does agree is is a wonderful taste.   Very smooth.

Other than that,  Cheryl has decided to take the remainder of the day off.  20 miles will do that to ya.  Luckily,  the blisters she had developed earlier this week did not effect her run, and she is in a pretty good mood after it was all said and done.  Let's hope that the next long run will mirror this one.  Hope everyone is having a great day and the weather is pleasant in your part of the country as well.

Cheryl's "Almost" 20 mile run.

We just finished the 20 mile training run.    They are always tough, and somehow, we managed to complete it without any loss of limps or marriage counseling.   I say "almost"  20 miles, because Cheryl's Garmen blanked out on us after about mile 3...so it was all guess work from there on.  Luckily, we are familiar with the trail enough by now so I'm fairly confident in our guestimation.


This is an impressive feat....more than simply the mileage.  There have been many distractions this week.   As if  the car, the cat, the jobs, the weather were not enough....there is always the economy, famine pestilence, war, Global Warming,  and the certainty of our own mortality....making any amount of human achievement worth celebrating.

There was probably a bunch more that I wanted to write, but I'm currently tapping out this post between prompts.   And besides,  sometimes I just need a break from papers.   This post is one of those ways without getting too sidetracked.

Hope everyone is enjoying the weather....( cool and misty)   and the weekend.   With a little luck...Subie will be fixed and back up and running .   BTW.   I have never been a ford fan.   Not that they are "bad" cars...I'm sure people who have had luck with them will swear by them.  But I feel very much like a turtle without his shell in this Ford Taurus that the auto place loaned us. I'm not totally "anti-american" when it comes to vehicles.  My brother works for GM after all..and I have owned a several AMC vehicles and a Chevy....  But I miss the Subster...  I am looking forward to having him back home safe and sound.