On Your Mark, Get Set...

Go!

The Robinson Family Forth of July felt like one big race, and a good one at that. It began on the 3rd with fireworks in Morton with Mom and Dad Robinson. We have been heading over there for fireworks for the last several years. We had some great dessert, snacks, and a few drinks. Then we moved out to their driveway for the pre-show festivities...Nora and Nigel working the sparklers, or sprinklers as Nigel calls them. The show was nice and we did not have to deal with all the crowds. The night ended with Nora and Nigel staying with Grandma and Grandpa Robinson for a sleepover.







The next morning came early. It was the morning of the Peoria Firecracker 5000. Both Robin and I were running the race. For her it was her first and I was going for a personal record. Needless to say we both had some nerves working. Robin and I got there around 7:00 a.m. and the kids showed up shortly there after with my parents. During our warm-up the rain began to fall, it was going to be a damp run. Since Robin and I had very different goals we lined up in different areas for the start. I eased toward the front and Robin towards the back. The gun signaled the start of the race and a slow but steady increase in rain. By the end there was a solid rain falling and we were totally soaked.
I ran a pretty good race and finished with a time of 20:56. I was hoping to break the 20 min barrier, but I think I expended too much energy trying to get clear of slower runners. Still I cannot complain as my time was good enough for 2nd place in the 36-40 age division, and 49th overall out of 506 runners. My favorite post race comment came from my Mom. I had talked about the race and my goal so she knew what I was gunning for. When I found them after the run she greeted me with, "What happened?", instead of good job or congrats. Thanks Mom!



Robin ran a great race. This was her first race and has only been running for 12 weeks. Her goal was to finish the run strong and finish around 36 minutes. She did both. She ran in 36:28 and had a very strong finishing kick. I am VERY proud of her, and very excited that she was talking about her next race the following day.



Well as I mentioned we were having a soggy start to the Forth. The rain was set to clear out by 1 that afternoon. It did not. Eureka was forced to postpone their celebration activities to the following day. I cannot say I was disappointed. Robin and I were both a bit tired and could use the rest as the next day was going to be packed.

On Sunday the 5th the Forth of July was back on. Eureka's parade had been rescheduled for 4 p.m. We were part of a float for our church. Due to a lack of time and resources our float was a pickup truck, fringe, posterboard, and kids throwing candy. We mainly wanted to have a presence for the church and advertise our VBS. Goal accomplished and the kids had a blast. I think the highlight of the parade was the dune buggy that was in front of us. I am pretty sure regular maintenance had not been performed on said buggy as it continually stalled. In order to get it going it required a push start. Guess who provided the push. Me. It puttered out a total of 6 times during the parade. After the 6th I politely suggested that the driver did not make the turn with the rest of us and instead go straight and off the route. The rest of the parade went off without a hitch..unless you call running out a candy a hitch.









That night called for more fireworks. Unfortunately I get up too early for work on Mondays and did not think I would be able to stay up that late. I was right. I fell asleep in the chair prior to the start. Fortunately the kids were a bit tired as well and saw a good show two nights earlier. Also, you could hear them and catch a glimpse of them from our house.

All in all it was a good but long weekend...kinda like this post. Hope all is well.

Cheers