Yes, I am just as slow as I thought

(Click on photo collage for a larger view0

I thought there was a very nice turnout today for the Spartan 5K. Probably 50-75. I'll post results after I get them from Brett. Brendan Sherman won with a 17:10. I thought I'd run a 22:something. What did I run? 22:something (22:45 on my watch). Guess I should have told myself that I'd run a 19:something, no?? HA!! We did get rain pretty much the whole race, but actually it felt good. I'd run down to Mayo H.S. (3.7 miles) and was going to run home, but got a ride from Tom Woo due to the heavy rain. Thanks, Tom. I owe you a cookie or two. ;-) RTC members spotted at the race: Jim Hebl family, Tom Woo, Couser family, Harry and Will Hoffman, Josh Erwin. Thank you, Tom Woo, for the photo of me. I had been trying to catch this young guy in the blue shirt. Can't even remember if I did. And I was trying to stay ahead of Harry Hoffman. I look like I'm in pain. I probably was.


Met a new fellow runner ... Noah Retka. He had a confession to make--he's an avid reader of my blog. Yes!! That's certainly bloggable. Here's Noah, who just ran Grandma's marathon (sub-3:30) last weekend. Introduce yourself should you see him at a local race (or volunteering at the tri tomorrow).
John Shonyo said there were 8 Off-Season Striders this morning at Dunn Brothers. Next week, we're back at the RAC parking lot at 7:00 am. 10 miles. Or so.

Sounds like an exciting women's 10,000m last night at the Olympic trials. Representing the U.S. will be: Shalane Flanagan, Kara Goucher (Duluth, MN connection) and Amy Yoder Begley. Katie McGregor came in fourth (Team USA Minnesota). Final today in the women's 100m which is super competitive. Photo from NBC Olympics Tonight: 7-8 pm on NBC.

Lots of things on sale at the adidas outlet. Of particular interest to some might be the official Boston Marathon apparel. About a 30% discount.

Want to try something new? Try geocaching , a treasure hunt of sorts. You need a GPS receiver, an Internet connection and the energy to hit the trail. Look up nearby caches, enter the coordinates in your GPS and go find them. I typed in zip code 55902 and got 968 hits. Might be a fun activity for the whole family. Kind of like orienteering, which uses a compass.

Ah ... it's pouring rain again. And Ted is out on his new bike which he doesn't want to get dirty. ;-( Guess he'll be spending some quality time with a rag when he gets home. I look forward to seeing all those cool-looking road/tri bikes at the triathlon tomorrow. Always gives me the itch to get out on the bike. With the unpredictable skies today I think my strawberry picking will have to wait until Monday. But I'm very happy to be getting some precipitation on my thirsty garden.

I'm thinking of going down to Decorah, IA for the Elvelopet 5K and 15K on July 26. Anyone who might want to car pool, let me know. It's an hour 15 down there. Nordic Fest (annual Norwegian celebration) is that weekend as well. Uff da!

Want some environmentally friendly socks? Check out Fox Sox . They're made in Osage, IA (quite near Decorah) and are made from corn kernels spun into Ingeo fiber blended with recycled polyster, nylon and Spandex. They're eco-friendly in that the Ingeo fiber decomposes after about 47 days in a landfill, unlike other manmade fibers. Available at Fleet Farm. I have a fun pink pair with white hearts. My son Eric has some that are kind of army green and he really likes them. Calls them his 'corn socks'.

Well, that's all I know for today.

"Be cheerful! Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important."