So much to do ... so little time!

Long overdue post! Lots going on; lots went on. Hope I don't forget anything ...

On the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is runnin' miles with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Goin' places that I've never been
Seein' things that I may never see again,
And I can't wait to get on the road again.

--Willie Nelson (with a little change from yours truly)

I finally went for a run today after taking almost 2 weeks off. 10.9 miles and I feel GOOD! What a relief. It was quite a nice morning. I left the house with a new pair of Asics on, got down Folwell Drive, then decided that my Ice Bugs would work out much better, so I went back up the hill, changed shoes (and gloves) and went back out. Just the right amount of clothes and the Ice Bugs worked great. ;-) Seen at Soldier's Field at the end of their run--K.C. Reed and Don Gabrielson.

Spirit of the Marathon road trip: We had a great time and enjoyed the movie. Between the two cars, there were 10 people from Rochester. The movie did a very credible and accurate job of portraying marathon training from the perspective of a first-time marathon to elite marathoners. You could just feel the emotion at the finish line for the newbies. And feel the frustration of dealing with injury. Very well done. Paul Christian passed along this link to an article posted on active.com and it's a very good write-up: Spirit of the Marthon article There will be an encore showing on February 21.

And today lots of Rochester-ites ventured up to the cities for the Securian Half Marathon Tom O'Leary reported that the weather was quite favorable compared to last year (and last week, actually!) and everyone had a good time both at the race and lunch afterward. Thank you Tom Woo for the photos!

We're at 89 for the banquet. Let's break 90! Please R.S.V.P. by Monday. I'll be phoning in the menu and will see what the 'absolute, drop-dead, last day to R.S.V.P' is and let you know if we have any leeway.

David Sletten (new prez) is looking for volunteers to help with the Youth Grand Prix Series for this year. I think the inaugural year was a success, but we need to make the race entry fees more affordable for the kids. If you're interested in helping with this, please contact David (see CONTACT link on RTC website ).

As of Wednesday, Grandma's Marathon was 3/4 full. Register online at Grandma's website

Boston Indoor games (track) on tomorrow, Sunday, 1/27, from 2-4 on ESPN2.

I received an email from our USATF/MN representative and he's hoping to plan at least one indoor All Comers' meet in Rochester for next winter. Adults and children. There is very little information available yet, but if you're interested let me know. This is all the info I have at this point:

I am developing a calendar of indoor meets for December 2008 through February 2009. I have preliminary arrangements for meets at Bethel University in Arden Hills, UW River Falls, St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota State University - Mankato, and would like to get at least one indoor meet in Rochester. The question is best posed to someone at the college with the facilities. Josh contacted you in hopes that you might have folks interested in this event. We will likely need assistance from the area to make it happen.

Lana Lappi is going to be in charge of the 2-mile at the Fetzer, so I can concentrate on the 20K. Whoo hoo! And THANK YOU Lana! BTW ... it's not too early to register. That prize money ($500) could be YOURS!!

Speaking of registering, don't forget about:
2/2 Frozen Goose 5K and 10K
2/9 Polar Plunge Pledge here
2/17 Lace Up Against Breast Cancer 1/2 marathon and 5K
2/19 Marathon Training Class (half and full)
3/15 Cabin Fever Stair Climb
3/29 Race for Research 5K

The online calendar should be much more populated after today's race director training. We were able to help race directors' get lots of information uploaded. New this year: Race directors update the calendar and upload results. So when you're looking for results, contact the race director, not the RTC webmaster/president. Thank you!

Race Director training went very well. After 2 hours of talking my voice had totally given out on me. Thank you to Lin Gentling and David Sletten for presenting the 'new stuff''. I think it went very well and lots of information was shared. Look for a new 5K cross country run out at Eastwood in May ...

Let's meet Josh Piotrowski, race director for the Harvest Classic.

Family? - Just me at the moment. However, I am getting married to Bethany Dekoning this September

Hobbies? - I'm a political junkie and read as much as school allows for. I also enjoy camping and hiking, especially out West.

Languages you speak? - English and a limited amount of German (4 years in high school).

How did you get started in running? - I joined the track team in 7th grade and haven't looked back since.

Miles per week on average? 30-40 in the winter and 40-50 during the summer.

Your defacto, comfortable as a broken-in shoe training route? -Kutzky Park east along the Cascade Creek trail to Silver Lake. South along the Zumbro River trail through downtown to Soldier's Memorial Park. West along the trails parallel to Hwy 14. North on 13th Ave SW through Pill Hill and past St. Mary's.

How often do you run it? -3 or 4 days a week. It is my core 7 mile route.

Favorite carbo loading food? -Toasted bagel with peanut butter (creamy) and jelly (raspberry).

Favorite indulgence food? -I'm a sucker for warm apple pie and vanilla ice cream.

Next race? -Fool's Five in Lewiston for sure. Maybe something earlier if I get the itch to race.

Running goals? -Break 2:50 in a marathon, Race the Boston Marathon before I'm 30

Running dream? -Find time to race with/against my brother again.

A political junkie...he ought to be in heaven this year. ;-)

Thought for the day: It doesn't take a lot of muscle to give the heart a lift.

Carry on.