A Rendezvous with Sneakers

This past weekend, Kevin and I headed north for a ‘weekend get-away.’ It was planned around the Lake George Half Marathon and 5k, in which we participated. As it was Kevin’s first time to the lake, and my first time back in over thirteen years, we decided to do some sight seeing the day before the race.

Even though our destination was Lake George village, I had to take a detour to Bolton Landing, to visit “The Camp,” a lakefront house where I spent summers, and some winters, growing up. It was all too familiar, and yet eerily unfamiliar, as we navigated to the house. Kevin was a little nervous and sat in the drivers seat as I enthusiastically trespassed on someone else’s property to get a glimpse of childhood summers of the past. Indeed, the property was just like I remembered… Memories of family, holidays, swimming, skiing, boating (I could go on) flooded back as I showed Kevin around…The room where I’d sleep, where we would fish off the dock, where my grandmother did her pottery…Such joyous, warm memories.

We ventured into Bolton Landing, which brought back it’s own share of memories: the Ben and Jerry’s we’d go to on occasion, and the “Indian Tepee Store” (not the most politically correct name of a store, I must say) which we’d visit whenever  at the Camp. A store I remembered being full of amazing handcrafted arts, games, amazing jewelery…A store, when revisiting it thirteen years later, I realized was a slightly upscale tourist shop filled with “Made in China” gifts, cheap jewelry, and, basically, junk (why my parents allowed us to spend our savings on items from this shop I will never know).

After stopping at Bolton Bagels for a bite, we ventured down to Lake George, a village rarely visited when I was a child. And now I know why we never went there when we were young…What was once a town filled with history has become a tourist trap, with (more) junk filled, seasonal stores than are needed. Really, how many “purse” stores does a town need? Not to mention, not ONE of the six ice cream shops within a mile radius were open.

We explored the village by foot after checking into our hotel, which, to our surprise, was actually very pleasant with amazing lake views.

We did some sunbathing,

And spied in windows of lakefront houses.

We ended the day by engaging in pre-race hydration of locally crafted brews (and water, of course).

Race Day

Sunday morning brought sunshine but weather slightly chiller than we had planned, however I cannot complain, as it was perfect weather for running. Here is a breakdown of what happened:

Lake George at dawn

There was some last-minute weather checking,

And potassium filled breakfasts.

During the race, I rocked serious compression socks …

…And stopped at mile 8 to take photos of the church my parents were married in…At least where I think they were married.

Personal records were broken*…

…And mandatory post-race photos were taken.

…Including artsy shots…

…And dorky shots…

First place for frozen dorkiness

Things the Lake George Half taught me:

1. Do not rely on special map-logging, high-tech gadgets or apps.They will let you down. Timex $30 watch, thanks for always being there for me.

2. Do not take off your iPod and fiddle with Pandora whilst running. It is dangerous, and the focus away from running will lead you straight into a yellow barrier cone. Literally. I’m glad I could bring laughter to runners behind me.

3. It is possible to run your fastest time without being a slave to speed-based training runs. Although, fartleks could have helped.

4. It’s also possible to do the above after waiting in line for a portajohn. Something I have never had to do mid-race…Germaphobe in me had a MAJOR meltdown. 

5. It’s always good to have an idea of the course elevation, i.e. if it is hilly or not. One would think the fact the race was in the Adirondack mountains would have given me a hint as to the extent of its elevation changes.

6. In the words of Moby, Run On…

*This was Kevin’s second 5k race ever. He’s a natural, and I am so proud of him. Perhaps this has sparked the start of his running career??