FAT & 40

Over the weekend, I did my first race since Grandma’s Marathon. The Fat Tire 40 was actually my first mountain bike race ever. The course follows much of the Birkie trail between Hayward and Cable, along with some gravel roads. While I had fun, it wasn’t nearly as fun as skiing – maybe not even as fun as running. In any case, I’m glad I tried it.

Running is picking up a little, as I’m averaging about 40 MPW in September. Recently, I’ve done a few things that are starting to get the juices flowing.

First, the weekend of Ironman Wisconsin I happened to be the Wisconsin Dells with the family. The morning of the race I decided to get up early, drive to Madison and watch the start of the race. I’ve done this a few times and it’s always cool. The energy radiating from the fans and the participants is amazing. The Monona Terrace is the perfect set up for the race and this year the weather couldn’t have been any better. Wish I could have stayed longer, but I had to leave after the swim.

Second, the youth cross country program that I’m helping out with is in full swing. We have 34 kids ranging from 3rd and 6th graders. So far we’ve had a time trial, a dual meet, and ran in a larger invitational. The invitational had 8 races in all and a total of 2000 runners. Again, the energy these kids put out is amazing. And seeing a kid go from 15 minutes for 1 mile, down to 10:40, or seeing someone run the entire mile for the first time without walking is inspirational.

So while I’m not blogging as often, things are still good.

Quote of the Day;

“There’s a lot of b.s. that goes down in that race. It’s unavoidable. But the race also offers a lot of people the chance for self-knowledge, and nobody’s immune to it, from the guy who finishes last to the guy who finishes first. That’s the big draw for people.” – Scott Tinley