Ouch!!

I had a pretty miserable Douglas Trail 11 mile race this morning. I suppose it was a combination of a lot of things: 68 degrees and really humid (our clothes were soaked with sweat in no time), no taper (thus tired legs), leg cramps at 8 miles, only one water stop this year (I needed more), ... I don't know. No excuses. It just wasn't a great day. I think I just squeaked under 1:20, so it was a PR and age-group win, but not by much. Here's my age group prize:

Splits (here's where the ouch comes in): 6:50  6:58 6:57  7:14  7:10  7:16  7:26  7:10  7:40  7:58  7:47. OUCH. I'm not proud. I know I grumble about it so often, but I sure wish that leg cramps weren't part of the race equation for me. I wish it was just a matter of mental toughness and fuel, or lack thereof, in the tank. But it is what it is. I ran a few extra miles and got in 15 total.

Pete Gilman was the overall winner (by a LOT) and Mary Chestolowski was the women's winner. Congrats!! After the race, it was off to Brothers for ... yup, a walnut pancake. I feel guilty, as I didn't run 20 miles today.

Andy and Dave in their Douglas race shirts

I made a deal with Tom Woo. If he runs 18:00 or under for 5K tomorrow in Red Wing, a home-baked pie shall be his. :-)

We still need lots of help at the Rochester Half Marathon on 8/28. If you're not running, please consider giving us a little bit of your time that morning. We need course marshals. What's involved? Standing on a street corner in a blaze orange vest making sure people stay on course and don't get impeded by traffic. If you can help, shoot me an email. Thank you so very much.

Here's a pic from Thursday night at Team RED:

What are Tod and I doing? Showing off our matching surgical scars. We both had the same back surgery (micro discectomy). Mine is slightly to the right of center, about 1 to 1 1/2" long. I think you can see Tod's right on his spine. We're both happy to be running.

A friend of Tish Torchia asked me to post this for her: My name is Katie Stinson and I'm a friend of the Torchia family. I'm captaining a Ragnar team and have been asking around for one more runner to complete our team after one of ours ended up with shin splints. I was talking to Tish Torchia and she said you might interested or perhaps would be able to ask around and see if there is anyone that is brave enough to join a team of strangers! I'd really appreciate it as I've been asking around my group of runner friends from work, college, high school, coaching, church, etc for almost 3 weeks now! Our group is pretty eclectic and friendly - made up of runners who run 6:30min/miles up to 10 min/mile and ranging in age from 25 to almost 60. The race is August 20-21st. If they need more info they can call me at 507-250-4522 or email me at khmueller@gmail.com .Thanks a million!

I'm taking the boys to a Twins game on Labor Day. It's Matt's birthday. KROC had a package deal: bus ride, ticket and Subway for $35. I think it will be a fun day.

Yesterday over lunch, this was a question I posed ... What are some of your favorite sounds? The list included: the plink of a metal bat, the sound of a tennis ball hitting the sweet spot, the pffftttt sound when you take a tire pump off your bike wheel, a baby laughing, moving water (stream or waves crashing on a beach), rain/thunder, howling winter winds (when you're inside!), the crackle of a fireplace/campfire, a Harley, a muscle car, the sound of a jar of home canned food sealing (it's a little "pop"). That's all that comes to mind. :-)

My iPod became nonfunctional on Monday and I can't get it to work. It's an old nano and the click wheel isn't working. I am bummed. Nothing I've Googled seems to help. :-(

Well, I better get busy. I'll close with the quote from the Women's Race prize this year ... "May your feet take you where your heart wants to go."

Enjoy your day.