Oh, what a beautiful morning!

I went out to Quarry Hill for a ski this morning. It was beautiful. Sunny. 10 degrees. Perfect for cross county skiing. I decided to bring my camera along today and share Quarry Hill and its wintertime beauty with all of you. When I got there just before 8:00, there was no one else there, but it wasn't long before there were several other skiers. I pretty much had the classical track to myself, which was nice. A different kind of beautiful day than those in Jacksonville are enjoying, I'm sure, but beautiful nevertheless. I love winter. And xc skiing is a great workout, excellent cross-training.

In the little survey to the right, note that you can choose more than one publication as your 'favorite'. I hope someone other than myself likes RTC News!

New at Running Room: Moving Comfort sports bras. Also, new RPL wear.

These tops were previously available in black and powder blue. Very stylish neckline. Also, shorts, tops, (men's and women's) and sports bras from last summer are now 20% off. And some Nike, Saucony, Asics and Mizuno shoes have been added to the sale table. So stop by and check it out!
And thank you to another contributor to the March RTC News that I forgot to mention in another post. Greg Hagen. He wrote an article and submitted photos for the Living History Farms cross country race last fall, which he and Jason Sinnwell participated in.

I neglected to mention some other awards presented at the banquet--the (multiple of) 3-year race director awards. 3 yrs--Mark Wernstrom (Bear Creek). 12 yrs--K.C. Reed (Rochester Half Marathon and 5K). 18 yrs--Steve DeBoer (Mayo CC 5K). 24 yrs--Jeanne Block (Women's Race). Thank you all so very much for your significant contributions to the RTC!!

There are 1315 spots left in Grandma's Marathon as of this writing. It doesn't seem to be filling as fast as in previous years, as it's been open for a month already. Maybe it's that relentless June heat that seems to have plagued Grandma's in recent years ... I haven't decided about a fall marathon yet. I've pretty much decided to give TCM a rest, but never say never as they say!

From TCM: Get ready to register for the 4th running of the midwest's premier road mile on March 13th. The Medtronic TC 1 Mile takes place Thursday, May 8, with a $25,000 prize purse. Guaranteed entries into the Medtronic TC 10 Mile will be given to the first 600 to register and 400 randomly drawn finishers. Online only registration opens March 13th. Click here for more details.

I've sent out ?s to RTC members for posting here through last name 'S'. Please consider replying! The response rate has been quite low. We have about 330 members! I'm not sure what I'll do when I get through the alphabet. Give it up? New questions?

For those who remember Steve and Kelly Graepel, they now have a 7-month old daughter, Chloe. ;-)

I was 'surfing the web' a little bit yesterday and came across Medal Memories, acrylic holders for medals.

I finished Running with Scissors sometime last week. Can't say as I'd recommend it. Kind of offensive and disturbing. I'm now reading another one of my Buck-A-Books from the Y--Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks. Chick lit (ala chick flick) to be sure. But it's a quick little read that I don't have to concentrate on. You need one of those once in a while. I got Water for Elephants for an upcoming book club discussion.

Well, Valentine's Day turned out to be not a very good day for me. I was at the dentist getting my teeth cleaned and when I got back to the reception area they asked me if that was my Honda out there (it was--I was the only patient there and the staff cars were off in the corner). Well, the next patient to come in had brushed my bumper as they said. Great. I've had this car 4 months. The parking lot is empty. Why did this person have to choose to try to park right next to me and on the sidewalk ramp at that? And then slide in the slush and hit my car??? The lot is virutally empty!!! Oh, well, things could be worse. It's just the bumper, not the fender. It's just such a hassle.

Then I get home and after calling the insurance co. (hers is covering it, and will give me a free rental which is nice), I hear about the NIU shooting. My sister went to NIU (and many of my high school classmates went to 'Northern' as we called it). Ted and I have good friends whose daughter and son-in-law teach at NIU. SO TRAGIC. Friday morning at the Y when I was on the Arc Trainer, they had clips of students on TV. One young man had his head bowed with his hands together pressed against his forehead. I just got all choked up. This is so close to home. I have two kids in college. But for the grace of God, this could have affected my family. The tragedy is that that it has affected 6 families and countless other friends, staff. Forever.

Let's end this post on an upbeat. Let's meet ... Dave Phillips!

Family? My wife, Pam, daughter Lisa, 26, who lives in Adams, son Greg, 22, who is attending school in Mankato and our dog, Ginger, 17, who lives at home. Also, two grandchildren - Justin, 6, and Morgan, almost 2.

Hobbies? Reading, photography, hiking and several other sports besides running.

Languages you speak? English, although not always well, and I recall a very little Spanish and German from my school years.

How did you get started in running? I've run off and on throughout my life, although more off than on. The last time I started was to get in better shape for basketball. Last year, my regular basketball playing days ended, but I'm still running, more than ever now that I found long distance running.

Miles per week on average? 30, although that is declining slightly with a different type of training I'm trying that emphasizes quality more than quantity plus cross training.

Your defacto, comfortable as a broken-in shoe training route? I call it my "around the block." I live on the north edge of Spring Valley and it takes me out on country roads (without crossing any) for 5+ miles. It's not my favorite, but it is convenient.

How often do you run it? Once or twice per week during daylight savings time. I mostly run in the dark in the winter and it isn't a safe route due to the narrow shoulders.

Favorite carbo loading food? I love most carbs, but my favorites would probably be bananas, cereal and Great Harvest bread/muffins.

Favorite indulgence food? Ice cream, which I indulge in too much.

Next race? Securian half at the Winter Carnival in St. Paul and then the marathon in Jacksonville in February.

Running goals? To qualify for Boston, which means I have to shave seven minutes off my time or run my within three minutes of my current PR in the fall when my qualifying time goes up. (Running must be a great sport: When else do you look forward to aging.)

Running dream? I'm hoping my Boston goal isn't merely a dream. Lately, I've been combining short vacations with marathons, so maybe it would be to become a 50-stater since that means I will get in a lot of traveling, which I enjoy, and will still feel the joy of running until I am very old (and a time when I probably won't be looking forward to aging any more).

I realized that the top photo doesn't really let you get a good look at who Dave is! He comes up from Spring Valley quite often to run on the weekends, so I have lots of photos of him. This is one from Bear Creek 5. To the left is Roger Heil.

Thought for the day: " Optimism is choosing to be happy anyway."

Well, I discovered I have a package of pink Susan Komen/Breast Cancer M&Ms so I think I'll make some cookies for tomorrow. See 'ya! Good luck to all running Jacksonville!!