...

I love reading even when I was a baby.

Last one is the earliest picture I could find of my tie club destiny!!!! :P Pretty Sweet.


State ranked junior high cross country team. I'm the tall one.
I think everything after this is from JH/fresh/soph years.


My dad is the 4-H archery adviser so he teaches archery classes, safety and such. We have a range in my backyard and I practiced quite a bit. I ended up placing 2nd in the state 4-H archery competition in 1999 I think it was. The second pic is again me and my sis bonding. The deer is Bob, one of the archery practice targets. I must have really liked that shirt.


Next hobby in junior high and high school was music. My dad was a big time trumpet player so I started with that, played tuba in the orchestra, and then finally bass guitar in a jazz band. Only still can play the bass though, specialty is jazz but I can dabble. Apparently I like to be in duos alot. Two with my sis and one with my grandpa in Minnesota.


Freshman year went to Longs Peak in Colorado with some of my teachers and track teammates. Love it. Wanna go out there again so bad!!!

Most of my extended family lives in Minnesota so I go visit alot. There is a family cabin on Rush Lake in the center of the state. Basically loads of fun in the summer and then freezes over for snowmobile racing across it in the winter. My cousin who went to state every year in the 500yd freestyle used to swim across it regularly. I think the short side is just over a mile.

I think I saw a really big fish or something.

So I think I told you that I took a ton of woodworking classes in high school because we had to pick a vocational focus and mine was woodworking and welding. Naturally I built alot of things. I'm handy. Here I am starting to build a shed.


And now finishing it!

And actually finished. This is my sis and I painting our soccer goal. Note the soccer ball painted on the back of the shed!!




I also tried some woodworking business ventures. Since I have a Norwegian heritage, I started making runic carvings of quotes. This is the first one I believe so its definitely rather rough.
Quote is "Time is the steam I go a-fishing in. I drink at it, but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is." By Thoreau.


The most successful enterprise I took on was making Adirondack chairs. I think everyone in my extended family has at least one and profit payed for a lot of my first car. My dad is inspecting this one with me. I think there was a weird glitch on it. Woodworking is one of his favorite hobbies so he was a good resource. I can reopen the shop if you want one but shipping will cost you.....


Delivering pizza to my parents house. So professional.


I made a toga at one point freshman year. For a speech or something.

Gotta include running photos. I did the 1600, 3200, and 4X800 freshman year.

3200


My relay....the 4X8. Team this year went to state. I believe we are far ahead in this pic as I was the 3rd leg so there is only a half mile left.


AND now for something ridiculous/sweet that I ran across.....

Positives and Negatives

Going back to last Thursday. Did a 9 mile run on the treadmill with 6 at 6:40 so averaged 7:09. Speed is feeling good especially over 9 miles. Need to keep working on increasing and maintaining endurance.

Went down to Champaign on Friday and did an easy 6.2 averaging 8:12. Nothing really eventful. I did see IMPE in its almost completed glory and my new apartment, which is pretty nice. Woke up Saturday and just did an easy3 at 8:30 just to loosen up. Drove back home that night after moving out of the Champaign apartment.

Sunday planned 20 miles. I really need to get longer. Managed 10 at 7:55 in the heat and just felt really fatigued. Went home and slept the rest of the day, depressed.

Only got 40 miles for the week. Halfway through training Im averaging 41 mpw which is acceptable. Hopefully the injuries are behind me and I can have a successful second half.

Planned 14 tonite. Gonna hit the DPR trail after work.

Been a week

Been a while since I posted and theres not too much to report on the running front. Last week was a dismal 27 miles after I bailed on my long run this weekend.

Went into the weekend feeling good. Did 5 with dad on the lakefront saturday at 8:24. Sunday morning couldnt get up and went home to attempt to run at the hottest part of the day. It wasnt happening so next tried the treadmill. Made 6 and I was dead....pretty much a total fail week then except the tempo run. Going to try and focus on sticking to the plan more effectively next week.

Wicked was good as was Chicago in general with the family. They will be back in 2 weeks for the half so hopefully they can get more shopping and such in. I am trying to decide what to do about the half. I could either run it at race pace and try for a PR or do my planned day of 15 with 13 at marathon pace, where I would do a 2 mile warmup then run 7:10 the whole time. Ill decide this weekend.

Started this week off right by completing 12 on the t-mill at 7:53. Little drenched but not too bad. Have the poster presentation in 2 hours so Ill probably be pretty wiped. Good thing its just a 6 mile recovery run tonight.

Tempo Wednesday

First off, on Tuesday I was supposed to do a tempo workout but couldnt get motivated after my dinner with Miles White so ended up just doing a very short 2.7 mile recovery run at 8:51.

Therefore, I had to do it on Tuesday. I wore the new shoes and they are stellar. Definately will hold up well for a half or marathon. Did 2.5 wu at 8:00, 5 tempo at 6:45 and 1.5 cd at 8:00 again. Overall pretty successful run. I wasnt sure when I started the tempo if I was going to maintain that pace for 5 but it was surprisingly easy and I still had gas in the tank.

I like this quote for this run:

“Every step you take beyond your limit is one step stronger than you were before.” -John Rhines

Weekly Recap

Made just over 50 miles at 7:50 pace. Pretty good week considering I was healing a bit. Looking at 59 for next week with a good LT workout. Should be 20+ mile long runs from here on out.

Dad managed to squeeze in 3.5 after the back spasm so it appears hes healing up ok. Looking forward to seeing the parents this weekend and maybe getting a recovery in with one of them on the lakefront.

20 mile PR

So, on Saturday I was lazy and didnt get up til forever and got on the treadmill at 1PM. Worked out well because the Open was on ABC. Did 5 recovery at 8:44 pace. Thought about going downtown but ended up staying and just going out for sushi in town and then going to bed at a reasonable time.

Sunday I woke up at 7 and missed the 7:17 trail at Great Lakes. Raced it to Lake Forest (2 stops later) and got on at 7:24. The ride was uneventful as always. I started my run heading to the lakefront with overcast and low 70's. Went through Millenium Park and then turned north as soon as I hit the trail. Pretty crowded morning with runners. People must be getting up into the longer distances. I still have not seen CARA. Maybe next week since I will be staying in Chicago. Anyways, went all the way to the trailhead north (roughly 8 miles) and then turned around. I used 2 gels and overall felt pretty good. The first few miles were probably a little too quick but didnt really hurt me that bad. Saw a lot of tri-people in the water between North Avenue Park and Navy Pier as well as some crazy buff runners. Once I got back to Millenium, I jogged up Michigan to meet Fang at the Apple store. Total Distance: 20.39 miles Average Pace: 7:31

I crossed the 20 mile mark just over 2:30 which would be a 20 mile PR had it been a race. I guess I am getting faster.

Fang and I ate at Ditka's and I got a rack of ribs. We then walked back up to North Avenue to play some v-ball on the beach. It was probably in the 90's and I felt bad for all the people that I saw running. I cant imagine why someone would torture themselves like that. I guess they will be more prepared if we have a scorcher again this year at the marathon.

As an aside: I am writing this the next morning and I am sore. I dont know if I will switch to a recovery on Tuesday (probably since I have the Abbott House dinner) or go with the scheduled LT.

Bah

11.6 more miles done. Roughly 7:46 pace. Im going to figure out today what Im planning on running as far as my long run and which day. Would really like a 20 this weekend if my leg cooperates. Got new shoes last night - Saucony Fastwitch 3's. They weigh roughly 7.4oz. First impressions are that they fit ok but are a little loose in the toebox. If they work out ok I may need to look into getting 10's instead.

Recovery planned for tonight. 5 miles or so.

Batman was pretty good. Im so glad that they left alot of surprises out of the trailers. Made the movie so much better. Heath Ledger was pretty rediculous. Give him the Oscar.

Recovery

Did 5 miles of recovery on the treadmill yesterday at 8:48. Still trying to shake off this leg pull. Once its very I should be back on track. Planning 12 at 7:45 today. Then batman tonight. Should be pretty awesome.

Back

So...first run in 5 days wasn't so bad. I thought that I would feel a little fresher. Planning on switching up my plan a little bit due to the recent injury. Originally on Pfitz70 I was running a pretty fatigued long run on Wednesday and recovery run on Thursday. I will be switching them up to resemble more of Pfitz55 but with an extra day. Basically it should be a Pfitz60-65 or something.

As far as the run. Hit the DPR trail south and did 8.4 at 7:51 pace. 5 Recovery today hopefully. Then 14 tomorrow and batman!

Back

So...first run in 5 days wasn't so bad. I thought that I would feel a little fresher. Planning on switching up my plan a little bit due to the recent injury. Originally on Pfitz70 I was running a pretty fatigued long run on Wednesday and recovery run on Thursday. I will be switching them up to resemble more of Pfitz55 but with an extra day. Basically it should be a Pfitz60-65 or something.

As far as the run. Hit the DPR trail south and did 8.4 at 7:51 pace. 5 Recovery today hopefully. Then 14 tomorrow and batman!

Rest

After the last 14 miler, my groin was pretty beat up. In an effort to stay healthy, I took 5 days off. Hopefully tomorrow will be a strong comeback day.

A bit of Redemption

After my horrible run on Tuesday, I wasnt sure what to think about the planned 14 that I had. I picked a conservative 8:15 pace for this run so I wouldnt push it too hard early. Decided to go south on the DPR Trail and it provided a lot of shade. Quite a few bikers, not many runners. Really nothing too eventful happened. My percieved effort was a lot lower than the day before. Maintained an 8:09 pace for 14.26 miles. I did have a large lunch and dinner the night before. I may have just been strapped for energy after the long run this weekend.

Planned 5 recovery tonight 9:00 pace. We will see if I decide to totally complete it. Right groin is pretty tender.

Horrible

So...planned 9 miles with 4 at LT HMP which should be roughly 6:30-6:45. Couldnt pull my heart rate down and legs felt heavy through the first 4. Decided to pitch the LT idea since I wouldnt be able to hold it and did 9 stride pickups in the next 2 miles. Finished the 9 at 8:12 pace. Not how I expected to start the week. I dont really know what made it so hard. I had only 48 miles last week and was coming off of an off day. Im guessing it might by somewhat nutrition related more than heat. Need more sleep too. Gonna try and eat 2000 cals before the run today to see if that helps things out. Ate roughly 1400 after the run last night. Gonna try and be asleep by 9 tonight too especially if I have to recover in the morning which is probably what I will do. Cancelled the 10k this weekend in light of the bad workout.

Planned 14 for today at 8:15 pace.

Songage

Songs Ive liked running to recently:
Through the fire and flames - Dragonforce
The pretenders - Foo Fighters
Iron man - Black Sabbath
Total Eclipse Remix - Nikki French
Animal ive become - Three Days Grace
Into the night - Kroger & Santana
Best around - Karate Kid Soundtrack
Jesus freak - DC Talk
Bulletproof - Paul Stanley
Where angels dare - Paul Stanley

Need to think of some new ones to mix up my playlist some.

Vaca....

....from my blog and from Waukegan. In order:

Wednesday: Pretty crazy. Planned 14. Started south on the Des Plaines River Trail but saw some awful blackness coming at me. Turned around after a mile and headed north. Roughly 1.25 miles in I was in the thick of the storm. I thought the wind wouldve pushed it away from me but it must have changed. Its the most scared Ive been in a long time with lightning all around me. Ran like a bat out of hell and averaged under 6 per mile. Finished with a total of 3.8 miles, only 10.2 short.

Decided to go to Hancock since I had some free time. I wasnt blown away but wasnt totally disappointed. I give it a 6/10.

Thursday: 2nd attempt at 14. Much better weather. Fang told me he wanted to get a jog in and wanted someone to push him. Im always down for company. He wanted 10 but I figured it wouldnt really be happenin. He hasnt ran in a while. Did 2 loops of the IG trail for 5 and then met up with him. Managed roughly 5.5 going south but were stopped by flooded areas from the day before. Prolly good though because our pace was starting to suffer. Came back and did one more lap for an even 13.1. Total time: 1:45:31 - 8:04mpm

Friday: Planned 11. Jumped on the treadwill and jumped off 5 seconds later. Felt wierd on my knee and I kinda just wanted to go back to bed and pick up Amanda at the airport. It was awesome seeing her. We got a sweet hotel, the Marriott Magnificent Mile. Prolly need to try and get it for the actual race as it is pretty close. The start happens to be where Taste was. I went again with Amanda and it was delicious. We really just chilled and talked alot. Later, hit up Bice (Bitch-Ay) and somehow got tricked into buying a 7 dollar water.

Saturday: 5 miles easy recovery on the lakefront. Not very eventful. We went to Ginos East for lunch. By far my favorite pizza crust of all time. Then did some shopping. It was pretty cool. Amanda found a sweet shirt for me and gifts for her parents. Also, hit up Tiffanys for some necessary jewelry advice. Went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner and couldnt move effectively the rest of the night.

Sunday: Church, Packing up, checking out, looking at some last minute things, taking pictures took up most of the morning and Afternoon. Hit up Fleet Feet to pick up some Gu's, and then dropped Amanda at the airport. Kinda hot so waited til 7 to strap on the shoes. Bike trail next to the train. Ran up to Fort Sheridan from Great Lakes and hit some trails around there. Got pretty dark. Cut it off at 17.3. Prolly should have pushed the second half harder but worked out alright. Total time 2:19:04 - 8:03mpm

Weekly thoughts: Best weekend overall this summer with getting to see Amanda. Week was up and down. Managed 48.32 miles this week, shouldve been more but left quad and groin are struggling a bit. Need to decide whether doing the 10k this weekend is realistic. Gonna be a cutback week as far as the long run goes no matter what. Thinking 13 or 14.

Alan Webb does not make the olympics. Interesting. Should prolly take down the poster of him in my room at school.