Windy!!

149 hits yesterday. I believe that might almost be a record. Thank you, again, for stopping by!! I still find myself humbled by the number of people who think my life is somewhat interesting and worthy of a few minutes of your time each day. FEEJIT said I was the most popular blog in Rochester yesterday. :-)


I returned home from working the Century H.S. track meet not too long ago. Oh my was it ever windy up there!! The flags were standing at attention straight out to the south. When I first arrived at my spot for the afternoon, the high jump, we just about scratched the event. The wind would blow the bar off the standards after about 5 seconds. After we determined that they'd brought us a pole vault bar rather than a slightly heavier high jump bar, we decided to get the correct bar and see if we could make a go of it. And we did. Needless to say, I was cold after standing out there virtually motionless for 2 1/2 hours, even with a long sleeved shirt, fleece lined sweatshirt and RTC jacket and gloves on. My feet are still cold 2 hours later.

This gal from Owatonna came in third. She was a fun jumper to watch, though. Really long, skinny legs. She must have been at least 6' tall. Another gal from Owatonna won with a jump of 5'0" and Jana Goodrich (Rochester Mayo, RTC member) came in second with a jump of 4'10".

The two young men pictured were students helping me. Their job was to raise the bar each round. The one in the foreground looked like Ashton Kutcher to me... :-)

It was fun to watch some of the middle distance events as well when we were waiting for a jumper who was also a runner.

It was a girls only triangular meet (Rochester Century, Rochester Mayo, Owatonna). BTW: I talked to Mayo coach Brett Carroll. He's in need of volunteers for a triangular meet this coming Tuesday as well as the Mayo Invitational on May 2. If you can help out, email him.

A triathlon clinic started this evening at Running Room. You can still participate, though. It's a 10-week course led by experienced triathlete Chris Koch and will feature guest speakers as well. Topics covered include running, biking and swimming techniques, transition areas, what to expect on the course and the rules of the road. It's $49.99 and includes a shirt and discount coupons for Running Room.

Steve Gastfield has a pair of really good tickets (finish line, row 5) for the Drake Relays on Sunday, April 25. They will go to the first 2 people who can commit to attending. Call Steve at 507-450-5205.

Dan Valentine has started a trail running club in Winona. More information can be found online. The group would like to preview the Chester Woods 10-mile course on Sunday, May 17 at 1 PM. It's a beautiful course. You are welcome to join them/us. I will be there, legs permitting. It'll be one week post-marathon for me. My sciatica/hamstring issue seems much improved, though I've not tried running since Saturday. I'm planning to race the Get In Gear 10K on Saturday with my St. Cloud River Runners race team. Pace will be dependent on how it feels on Saturday. But I plan to have fun no matter what. ;-)

I stopped at Fareway Foods in Stewartville again today after delivering some "shop hop" flyers to All In Stitches quilt shop. (I picked them up at Gruber's in St. Cloud on Friday and offered to deliver them, saving them oodles of postage in return for a $5 gift card.) Anyway, I really like that grocery store. Prices virtually the same as Target/Wal-Mart, it's very neat and clean, great selection, friendly staff, ... Check it out sometime when going south on 63.

I spent my free time today working on the RTC Newsletter. I think we again will have a very nice selection of articles. Thank you to all who've contributed your time and talents to our newsletter. Look for a date/time for assembly early next week. This is generally the biggest newsletter of the year with lots of race entry forms to be included. Cookies provided to my helpers ... of course!!

Marathon Miscellany

From Paul Christian: BOSTON (AP) — Boston Marathon third-place finisher Kara Goucher wants to keep running. The American is thinking about entering the London Marathon on Sunday. Goucher’s coach, 1982 Boston winner Alberto Salazar, says it’s long shot. But Goucher has been campaigning since ending the Boston race on Monday. Goucher was outkicked down Boylston Street by Salina Kosgei after a very slow first 20 miles. Goucher says she feels like she just went out for a jog followed by tough 10K.

From Jim Benike: "Nothing then a bunch of news anchors pretending to know what they are talking about... but i guess thats the norm." I'm not sure of the details (year, commentator, etc.) but that comment reminds me of a story I once heard. A marathon was being televised and there were several commentators yakking about the race- none of whom really knew anything about running. Fortunately, Frank Shorter was also there. A couple of the commentators kept saying that they were surprised that the pace was "so slow" (the lead pack was going just under 5 min/mile). Shorter jumped in and said (something to the effect of), "It may seem slow, and I suppose it could be argued that it is. But just for reference, if you'd like to get a feel for just how slow that is, go down to your local high school or middle school track, and run a lap in about one minute and fifteen seconds. Once you've caught your breath, do it again one-hundred and four more times, and you'll still a be a few minutes slower than these guys."

Only a few thousand open registration entries remain for the 2009 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. If you are interested in participating this year, you are encouraged you to register soon. There are still openings for Grandma's Marathon .

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteers are urgently needed at the WinterBeGone! Duathlon on Sunday. Everyone will get a long-sleeved Tech Shirt and a Beanie Hat. Refreshments for all. Need help from 8 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. for sure. Please contact Bill and Wendy at 507-269-3591 or email us. (P.S. I will be working the transition area.)

Volunteers are needed at the Spring Classic on May 2. If you can help out in any way please contact Jean Murray.

Volunteers are needed at the Med-City RTC water stop on Sunday, May 24. If you can help out, please contact Jean Murray.

And don't forget ... Litter Bit Better trash pickup tomorrow at 5:30. Meet at the S.F. parking lot across from Snappy Stop. It's advisable to bring gloves.

Quote for the day: "Yesterday's failures are today's seeds that must be diligently planted to be able to abundantly harvest tomorrow's success." --Anonymous

Live well. Run fast.