Wisconsin

Monday afternoon we drove back to Green Bay, Wisconsin. I was being chauffeured by our local sales rep, Ray. By the way, Ray is a super nice guy. I had only met him for a couple of minutes the week before when the sales reps were at the home office for a training meeting. I was somewhat worried about spending two days and countless hours in a car with someone I barely knew. Ray made it very easy for me. He kept me entertained and hopefully I didn't bore him to death. At least he never fell asleep at the wheel. I am indebted to him for lining up the five visits in such a short time frame. Monday night we had dinner at Curly's Pub at Lambeau Field. Lambeau Field is a really cool looking football stadium. I'm not that much of a sports follower, but it was still cool to have been there.

Our hotel in Green Bay was just of State Hwy 41 and at the edge of a residential neighborhood. When we checked in I had scoped out the neighborhood and was plotting a run for Tuesday morning. I had set my watch to 6:00 but fell back to sleep. Luckily the last person to have my room had set the alarm to 6:30 and I got up then. This morning, being on the far eastern edge of the Central Time Zone, dawned bright. The clouds had all cleared away and there was no wind. The clear skies meant colder temperatures. I turned on the TV just in time to catch the local weather reporting the temperature at 23°. I hesitated for a couple of minutes but finally decided what the heck. This may be my only chance to run in the cold weather. Besides, I definitely wasn't up to facing the treadmill again.

So I put my sweatshirt on over my long sleeve tech top. Pulled on my hat and gloves and went out the door. Oh and yes I had my shorts on too, just in case you wondered. 23° wasn't that bad after all. I headed out, up Bond Street. The streets were free of snow and in better shape than the sidewalks. There was very little traffic, so I felt comfortable on the side of the road. I only saw three other people outside, kids on their way to school presumably. They were definitely dressed for the weather. Every time I car drove by, I wondered what they must be thinking about the goofy man in shorts running outside on January 31. I ran out Bond and turned onto Platten. After about 15 minutes I turned back and headed to the warmth of the hotel. Just as I got back to the hotel, Ray was looking out his window checking out the sun and clear skies. He was a little surprised to see me out there. I'm really glad that I sucked it up and went for the run. It was really enjoyable and not nearly as bad as I had anticipated. I mapped the route later and determined it to be 3.5 miles.

We visited the last 2 of the 5 doctors, then Ray dropped me off at the Austin Straubel International Airport in Green Bay for my trek homeward. The airport has two concourses with 6 gates apiece. Pretty small but very modern. My route took me back the way I came, off to Chicago, on to Denver, and finally to Ontario, CA and a 20 minute drive home. In January, I spent 15 nights in my own bed and 16 nights in a hotel. Definitely not my normal lifestyle at all. It has been a whirlwind of activity and January is gone in a blur. Time flies!