Happy Monday

Congrats to everyone that ran the Fool's Five yesterday. Rochester runners did really well. Results at Fool's Five results. It's a very worthwhile cause and they do a great job in Lewiston. Thank you to Jim Mason and K.C. Reed for promoting the RTC and Chester Woods.

Several of us running "Baastin" got together yesterday at Whistle Binkies to compare notes, share information, make plans to hook up in Beantown, etc. One of us even got carded. One guess who it was ... He's married and has a son. One dream I have is to once again get carded in my lifetime. Betcha it doesn't happen ...

Chris O'Brien set a pace P.R. at Altoona, WI Spring Fever 6 & 2 mile run. Chris ran the 2-mile. She also got second place! Way to go, Chris! It's always a good day when you set a P.R. She looks very stylish in her RTC jacket as well.

We had a Fetzer packet stuffing extravaganza this evening at my house. We were done in 45 minutes! Thank you to Jean Murray, Julie Murray, Sonja Kranz, Kit Hawkins, Bill Nevala, Jodi Bates, Mike Schmitt, Laura Lenz for doing a superior job! All my volunteers got hats (pictured) and freshly made Oatmeal Super Chocolate Chunk cookies (or whatever the recipe was called in the P-B last week). Start list will be updated daily this week. Hope to see you all on Saturday!


My house looks like a war zone. This week, it's all about the details. Lots and lots of details. Like ... telling the folks putting out some of the cones where the paint marks are on the path and what side of the path they're on. Making sure the 1-mile split timer gets his watch started when the gun goes off. Making sure the 2-mile turnaround cone gets put out. Sorting the pre-registered shirts so everyone that registered early gets the size they ordered. Signs, signs and more signs. The list is long ... Details, details, details.

I'd been at the shed today getting a few things and thought that it smelled like a cat litter box. Just after we finished stuffing bags, I got a call from Jean. She was at the shed and also smelled 'that smell', but there was a meow to go along with it. After (thankfully) determining the meow wasn't coming from our shed, she called me and told me about it. I called the number for the business, but got a recording. Jean was looking into calling animal control to see what could be done about this poor cat. A day in the life of a RTC board member ...

Here's a link from Mike Schmitt about Masai warriors running the London Marathon to raise money to find a water source in their homeland of Tanzania. They sound like extreme ultramarathoners to me. Thanks for the link Mike.

Well, my knee is getting better each day. The swelling is down quite a bit and the bruising is getting better. Range of motion is improving with the decrease in swelling. Haven't tried to run, but don't feel the need to push things. What's done is done. I'm in the shape I'm in and I'll just do the best I can with the cards I'm dealt.

Let's meet John Trolander. John was my son Eric's cross country coach at Mayo high school. He's really a great guy (pictured at left below along with coach, and new dad, Brett Carroll):

I'm married to my wife of 31 years, Maxine, who works at Mayo Clinic in microcomputer education. We have one son, Brian, who is currently working in Colorado as a snowboard instructor.
My hobbies include just about anything outdoors. I especially enjoy canoe trips in the BWCA as well as camping in the various state parks. In the winter I really enjoy both downhill and cross country skiing; a month ago I completed my tenth Birkebiener and hope to do many more.
Since retirement from the teaching profession, I've done some consulting work consisting of presenting to groups of teachers on various aspects of secondary reading. I taught a developmental reading class at RCTC last fall.
My best second language is 60's slang.
I always wanted to be a distance runner and got started competitively in high school. Typically, I'd run between 20 and 30 miles per week. When I was training last summer for the half marathon, I got up to 40-50 per week. There is only so much tread on a tire.
I like to run three days and then take a day off. The older you get the more recovery time you need.
I have a trail at home, we have a 3-4 acre lot, that I run on easy days. The ground is very soft and in the trees for cool summer running.
I probably do this about 2 times a week. I also ski on this in the winter.
Spaghetti is my favorite food period. Cheese snacks are hard to resist, (Cheetos, Doritos, Cheese Nips).
I don't race much. I'm entering the half marathon at Med City.
My dream right now is to run the New York City Marathon.

Thought for the day: "We are not at our best when we are perched at the summit; we are at our best climbing--even when the way is steep."

Cheers.