So this is really late but I’m going to say it anyway. Happy Fourth of July everyone!! I love our country so much and I am forever grateful for the men and women who sacrificed their lives for us and those who are currently serving our country, that I feel like we should celebrate this holiday every day. I especially love that I have the freedom to run the streets and country roads of my town on this most important holiday.
Every year for the past 34 years, Milton has had an Independence day run/walk event on the Fourth of July. There is a 10K run, 1 mile run, and a 1 mile run/walk for fun option. This is the 3rd year I have participated in the 10K run. As I see it, I might as well. I am going to either be running or working out in some fashion that day anyway so I might as well get up and run with some other crazy runners! It’s totally worth it for the low price as well. If you get your registration in early enough the cost for the 10K was only $17 and you get a t-shirt! That is super cheap! Plus it helps the Milton Optimist Club which puts on some really nice events in the community, such as sports teams, theater projects, summer reading program at the library, breakfast with Santa, and many other community projects. It really is a fun event and one of very few that I will actually dress up for. Wearing red, white, and blue in a race is pretty easy after all.
Race outfit ready and nails ready as well! I love Jamberry!! Have I mentioned that lately??
I like running this race too because it starts about 1.5 miles from my house and the start time is 8:30 which means I don’t have to get up quite as early as my other races and neither does the rest of my family. They appreciate that, I’m sure. Plus this year they were able to come and see me at mile 1 and then they went to the gas station for some breakfast goodies and home to eat them before coming back to see me at the finish line.
I picked up my packet at the high school before race start and waited around with my fam until start time. We have race bibs for this race but no timing chip. They have volunteers along the course using stopwatches to time the runners. It’s a little old school, but I love my little homegrown town! There is a really nice downhill at the start of the course so that helped me out in the first mile but then put me in a position to want to run that fast for the remainder of the race and I was booking it! First mile was 9:07, followed by 9:44, 10:12, 10:40, 10:17, 9:56, and 1:44 for the last 0.2 miles. This is really pretty speedy for me. I usually run a comfortable 11-11:30 mile pace on my runs in the morning. However, it is nice to know that I can run this fast in a race and not be completely dying! Official time was 61:36 so that is a PB for me for this course. Not my fastest 10K but a very decent time overall.
I saw some fellow runners that I knew from a couple different running groups in Janesville, which was nice to see. They are all a lot faster than me, but a couple of them recognized me and waved which is always encouraging. I had a really great time at this race. The temps were decent and we ran under cloud cover so that helped with the heat as well. Best part of the race as always, is seeing and hearing my kids and hubby cheering for me as I crossed the finish line. Best feeling ever!
After the race we came home so I could shower and we relaxed for a bit before heading to the parade. I am sad to say that this is the first year that we have actually gone to see the whole parade. We’ve lived in Milton for 9 years and this is the first year that I remembered and was actually on top of getting a tarp out on the main street to save a spot for the parade. Because Milton is so small, people get their tarps, blankets, chairs, and even tents out days before the parade. I managed to remember to get out a tarp and place it in front of the elementary school on Friday before the parade on Monday. Luckily for us also, we live about two blocks from the start of the parade so we don’t have to drive to get there. We just had to walk down the road and find our tarp (I did label it with our name on duct tape since everyone has a blue tarp!).
The parade was so much fun! The kids got a bunch of candy thrown at them and there were even groups giving our ice pops! Really this is such a nice parade! The high school groups and all the other patriotic groups were amazing. EJ loved all the big trucks and tractors. And Maddie loved the horses, of course!
Milton High School Band
Milton Middle School Band
Boy Scout group (This float was awesome!)
Lots of tractors but the old ones were the coolest!
Maddie’s favorite part! (Ok it was mine too!)
After the parade we came back home to chill and relax for the rest of the afternoon. We ended up grilling steaks for dinner, Ma made her awesome macaroni salad, and we had sweet corn as well. It was delicious.
We played Ticket to Ride after dinner while waiting for the fireworks to start. Once it got dark we drove down the road to watch the fireworks. We ended up staying in the truck because the mosquitoes were so bad next to the corn fields. The show was beautiful as usual. I love fireworks though!
We came home to finish our game and have some ice cream for dessert. We didn’t stay up too late as both Jay and I had to work the very next day. That’s the first time that’s ever happened!! I’m not going to lie, it was tough getting up that next morning!
So there you have it! Our fun family Fourth of July!
I hope you all had a great day and were able to spend it with those you love!
Until next time!!
RUN ON!!
Laura
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