We dodged a bullet!

I am soooooo glad that we didn't get that snow they'd predicted for us earlier in the week! So tomorrow's long run should be pretty much ice and snow free. Yes. While we were eating supper last night, there must have been almost a dozen robins flitting around the backyard. Spring will eventually get here. I just know it ...

Like my new banner photo? It's taken on Mayowood bike trail during the Spring Classic 2006. The bluebells are just spectacular in early May. I so enjoy the 15K/10 mile distance--probably my favorite racing distance (when I'm in shape!). Less than a half marathon, during which I usually cramp, but longer than a 10K, which feels like more pain. There's also a 5K option. It's not too early to sign up! Entry forms went out in the March RTC News and there's online registration as well. If you're not running, they also need volunteers. Contact Laura Lenz if you are available to help. Back will be ... chip timing ... the now famous monster cookies ... and a great race. The 15K is part of the Grand Prix. The 5K is part of the Youth Grand Prix.

Fetzer: The entry list has been updated. As of this morning, I have 138 entered between the two races (21 in the 2-mile, 117 in the 20K). At this point last year, I had about 65, so this is great. I hope the trend continues. At midnight tonight, the price on active.com goes up. But I won't be sending in the entry list until Sunday so if I get your entry by Sunday afternoon, you'll get your name on your bib. If you're mailing your entry, if you drop it in the mail today you can still pay the lower fee. It doesn't have to be to me by today. I still need a lead bike for the 2-mile in case anyone reading this is inclined to try their hand at being a lead cyclist ... Let me know if you are. I have the two 20K lead cyclists now. Thank you Ted and Mike!

I'm at the point in directing the race where the 'devil is in the details'. All the easy stuff is done--shirts ordered, medals ordered, hats (for volunteers) ordered, school is reserved, food either ordered or purchased (mostly), etc. Now, it's all the little stuff. Things you start thinking about at 4:00 am and then can't go back to sleep. How many tables did I ask for in the school gym? Why haven't I heard from Fuel Belt? (I called yesterday. They didn't receive the RRCA request for product. It's been taken care of and I now might be receiving up to 8 Fuel Belts to give away!) How do I draw for prizes and notify winners before everyone leaves? The list goes on ... and on ... and on. I leave a pad of paper and pencil on my nightstand so I can jot things down as I think of them, by the light of the streetlight, so I can eventually get back to sleep and don't lay there hoping I'll remember everything when I get up ... Such is the life of a race director.

My hip flexor has been doing great all week. Stairs? No problem. I'm so glad. So a long run tomorrow, then taper the next two weeks. I'm not going to try to press my luck and run Fool's Five. I'd probably end up injuring myself again trying to run hard. I'll leave well enough alone, thank you very much! I have to do a wedding tomorrow, so I'll run from home, run to the RAC run most of their route but cut off and go home at some point. I'll use one of the route mapping tools to try to figure out what my route will be. My dad and stepmom are driving up from Florida for the race and we have some extra time out there. I think it would be nice to drive out to Cape Cod one day. Can't wait.

There are some hot topics with the RRCA (Road Runners Club of America) of which the RTC is a member and from whom we obtain insurance. The have a new forum. Hot Topics: proxy votes, national convention being expensive (travel/fees--I agree!). Check it out. Voice your opinion.

Mike Schmitt passed along a link to a new movie about Fred Lebow called Run for your Life. Fred was the founder of the New York City marathon. There's a trailer on the site. Thank you Mike.

I got Running Times in the mail yesterday. It's got a new look to it. I think I liked the font on the old mast head a bit better, but the only thing that's constant is change, as they say. Haven't looked at the inside yet.

I finished Atonement by Ian McEwen. I had a hard time getting into it at first. It read kind of slow for me. It's the kind of book where you have to read every sentence. You can't skim. But I really enjoyed it. A few book club members hadn't caught a sentence here or there in the final section of the book, and made a huge difference in their understanding of the whole book. Great read. I wish I'd seen the movie. Those who'd seen the movie said that the story line was a bit different than the way it was laid out in the book, time-wise. What was portrayed as very sad in the movie was a half sentence in the book (which some of them missed) I don't want to give anything away ... but I heartily recommend it. My friend Maro brought a banana rum upside-down cake that was frightfully delicious. Here's the recipe.

Let's meet Kerry and James Rosane, pictured below last year at the Fetzer 20K. You can just see the top of Jameson's head...




Family? James, Kerry, Jamison- 1-1/2 yr. old son, Baby due in August

Hobbies? Other than running -- triathlons, catching our favorite college teams playing whatever on TV or in person, and playing with our son

Languages you speak? Just English. I (Kerry) took 4 years of Spanish in high school, plus a little in college, in which I only retain a little. Enough to try to teach our son a few colors, numbers, and other miscellaneous words.

How did you get started in running? I started to run a little on my own in high school, got a little more serious about it in college, and really got into it once James pushed me to do some races in 2004. James occasionally jogged but decided to start logging his miles on Jan. 1, 2004, and start entering some races.

Miles per week on average? Really varies. We stopped logging our miles this fall. James is nursing an injury. I am mixing up running with biking on my trainer, the elliptical and stairstepper, and swimming.

Your defacto, comfortable as a broken-in shoe training route? Starting 3 miles north of Douglas on the Douglas Trail. Running into Douglas and back. Otherwise running around our neighborhood in Oronoco.

How often do you run it? In the summer 3-4 days a week.

Favorite carbo loading food? We pretty much stick to spaghetti.

Favorite indulgence food? Good question.

Next race? I will run the Avera-McKennan Breast Cancer run this May to honor my mom. Otherwise, I plan to just do my own thing. James may do some shorter triathlons this summer.

Running goals? James acheived his my completing Ironman Wisconsin. I would like to follow in his footsteps someday when I have the time and energy to train to complete it. Otherwise, I would love to better my PR in the marathon someday.

Running dream? My favorite part of running is not racing but when I am out running and I have to tell myself I am running because it feels so effortless. I almost think of it as an out-of-body experience. I love to experience that whenever I can.

Next up, Kristi Quade-Wiedrich.

Thought for the day: "Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it."

See you on the roads.