Since 1982, Milwaukee has hosted an annual celebration of the Storming of the Bastille on the "Left Bank" of the Milwaukee River. Bastille Days, as the festival is known, runs four days long and feature bands, food, booze, shopping, a puppy parade, 5K race and more, all for free. Last night was the 5K race, which 5,000 people typically take part in. Jon and I were under the misconception that this race was much like Beer Fest, only you ran with wine and champagne instead of beer (obviously I preregistered for this).
A 40 foot replica of the Eiffel Tower, complete with light show!
And, no. People take this race quite seriously. Before the dang thing started I was getting jostled by people trying to push their way to the front. After a siren eerily similar to our tornado warning, we were off! Una, the running hater, had finally agreed to participate. 3.2 miles . . . this was by far the longest running distance he has done. And he did it! The amount of sweat that was leaked off his body was truly stupendous. He was as wet as the shirtless runners who finished first. That may have had something to do with the fact that we arrived an hour and a half early and were forced to sample some of the offerings. As in, a Jack Daniels and Diet Pepsi for me and a vodka and Red Bull for Una. (The wine was officially the worst pour I have ever seen in my life and on principle alone I refused to purchase it.)
This was followed post-run with a pork BBQ sandwich for Jon and a fried sampler platter for me comprised of: sour cream and chive french fries, fried cheese curds (a Wisconsin thing) and mozzarella sticks. And beer. I feel thinner already!
Exercising + booze = Wisconsin workout.
