Oh, what a beautiful day!

What a beautiful spring day, from the get-go! I pulled in to the parking lot and saw Deb Thomford and David Nagorney running on Soldier's Field Drive. How I wished I was out running, but just couldn't do another day on the roads. Back to the Stairmaster and Arc Trainer for me. ;-) Spotted at the Y Fitness Center: Paula Patterson! She and Chris O'Brien had been swimming.

Well, I was awake at 4:20 AM yesterday, so I decided to head down to the Y for our 5:15 AM run. The first time since April 2, when I fell. For whatever superstitious reason, I was a bit apprehensive and made sure to lift my feet (I'm usually a bit of a shuffler). We ran the usual 8.4 mile course without incident. Whew. Then I did a quick trash pick-up in our adopted park--the bike path around Soldier's Field. Photos below.

After work, I stopped by my brother's house. It was niece Kaleigh's 2nd birthday. So I brought her a big bag of Spongebob Squarepants this 'n that. She love it. She's a huge Spongebob fan. Her mom had gotten her Spongebob balloons and cake. Photos below.

Afternoon adventure? Venturing down to Decorah (Luther College--my alma mater) to get all Eric's 'stuff'. He was done with finals at 3:00. His dorm: 8 stories, 24 rooms/floor, 1 elevator and just about everyone but the seniors trying to move out. Needless to say, everything came down the stairs. Eric's room #? 722. Glad I didn't decide to lift yesterday morning. But everything got loaded up without incident. It's amazing how much dirt and dust is in those rooms when they get there stuff out. Yuck. I can just about guarantee that nary a dust cloth made an appearance between August and May. ;-)

There is am Amish community in the Harmony and Canton, MN area and it's very commonplace to see buggies on Highway 52 either coming into or leaving town. Having trouble with Photobucket again. Might have to come back and post a few individual photos. It was a picture perfect day down there.

The Rochester store has added two new clinics! In addition to the many fun and motivational clinics we have also added: Half Marathon walking and TC10 mile!
Here are the specifics, but check the website Running Room or call the store for more information! 507-287-3341

Half Marathon Walking- July 9-October 22 Wednesday's 6pm- the goal race is the walker friendly half marathon in Des Moines, Iowa

TC10 mile-July 10-October 2 Thursday's 6pm- the goal race is the Medtronic TC 10 from Minneapolis to St Paul.

From a TCM email this morning: Twin Cities Marathon is 96% full. Saturday is the last run at the RAC until fall training starts. I believe some cookies might be in order ... Be there!

Med-City is in need of course marshals in two-hour shifts from 7 AM thru 1 PM. If you can volunteer contact the Y by email or phone 287-2260 ext. 348 (Sorry--there's no hyperlink for a phone number. Ha! Someday, I'm sure...) Chester Woods Trail Run is in need of volunteers. Contact Jim Mason or 507-951-2415 if you can help.

Mother's 5K Cross Country results have been posted. Thanks, Mark Carey!

Upcoming events: This evening, Beer Run at 5:30 at Dos Amigos on 4th St SE TONIGHT. Stay Out of the Sun 5K and 10K Friday evening, Hayfield Fire Department 5K and 10K on Saturday. Nice writeup in the Post-Bulletin about race organized, and new RTC member, Johann Sonenberg.

From Running Times: The Runner's Cookbook Alison Wade, the very talented webmaster, photographer and now editor, is announcing a new cookbook that is now available. Wade organized and edited "The Runner's Cookbook: Winning Recipes from Some of the World's Best Athletes", a compilation of 100 favorite recipes from over 90 elite runners. You will find Adam Goucher's favorite dinner, Sara & Ryan Hall's wedding dessert & Jelena Prokopcuka's pre-workout breakfast, among many other delicious things.

The cookbook is a fundraiser for the Ryan Shay Memorial Fund and the Jenny Crain "Make It Happen" Fund. All proceeds from the sale of the book will go directly into these two funds.
It is being published by lulu.com, a print-on-demand publisher. Right now, it is only available there for $14.95. Eventually, it should be available via amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and other sources. We are encouraged to buy it at lulu.com though, because a much larger percentage of the price will go to the fundraising efforts when we buy it there. More information is available at Runner's Cookbook. To purchase the book directly, click HERE >>

Well, I'm off to dig some dandelions and enjoy some of the day outdoors.

Until next time.