Labor Day roundup

Before my laptop battery goes dead, or I fall asleep on the couch again (that's become a habit over the last week or so) I wanted to write a bit about the past weekend.
It was glorious.
We finally got another round of summer weather, with temps in the high 70s and plenty of sunshine for all of our Door County activities. And the Wilcox place did not disappoint. I mean, it's hard to go wrong with their view and hospitality each time we visit. Coffee already brewing every morning we wake up, a view onto Green Bay and even into the UP of Michigan. And this weekend was marked by the YMCA Duathlon in which Ann and I competed Saturday morning. I think we both considered it the makeup event for the Millenium triathlon in Grand Rapids from last month. Even better was that we got to replace the swim with another 2-mile run! The weather was perfect, turnout was decent but not a mob scene, and my legs cooperated for the 1 hour 9 mins it took me to complete the course. Yes, I beat Ann by 3 minutes, but the real victory for me was that I didn't feel completely wasted during the last run. In years past either in triathlons or the few times I did the Beloit duathlon, the last run was always a brutal affair. A real sufferfest. But this time my legs came back fairly quickly and I was able to keep the pace I wanted for those last 2 miles. I know time dims the memory of some of the pain, and I'm sure I had plenty of it on that ride, but I really think it was fun out there on the road. I just love being on that bike - and having others all around me going through some of the same pain is a real rush. Especially when you can smoke some of them as well.
Ann actually did better than me respectively, coming in 2nd in her age group 35-39.
The men's 35-39 group however not only had the overall winner of the whole race, but some other really blazing times as well, so even though I came in 4th in my age group (of 8), i was a full 6 minutes behind the 3rd place guy. Ouch. Oh well, I really WAS happy just to feel good about my pace and have some fun on the road. And I'm hoping that Ann's new bike has given her the bug to want to get out and ride more this fall.
The rest of the weekend was spent doing the usual DC things - visiting Marina Fest in Sister Bay, playing at the playground and beach, eating great meals and drinking some good wine while watching the sun set, taking a 21-mile ride with Jock on Sunday, bike rides with the kids, fishing in Green Bay with Clare and Jock, watching Clare nearly jump out of the boat when our freakish catfish started flopping around on the bottom of the boat.
It was a great, long weekend that went just as fast as nearly every other one this summer. With a few more weeks we'll be looking forward to all that fall has to offer here in the woods. A few more projects, some MASSIVE leaf collection, and many campfires with beer in hand.
This weekend has really allowed me to finally think about letting go of summer 2009. I know it's not over yet, and I certainly won't do anything to hurry it along. But it's been a fantastic time.
We've had great experiences with friends and family from all corners of our little world. And even more are in the works. (Not the least of which is going to be seeing U2 this Saturday at Soldier Field. Those of you who know me well also know that seeing them is one of my true happy places/times on earth)
So, with a tip of my virtual glass, here's hoping you had a great summer as well.
Cheers.