NOTHING FANCY

This morning was just an easy 7 mile run. Nothing fancy, but it does make 8 days-in-a-row and it gave me 121 miles for the month – on 17 days of running. With a little luck, July should be in the upper 200s.

I just got back from the running store. Another customer didn't know what pronate meant, but he was worried about what color the Asics he wanted came in.

When I resumed running after my injury, I was a little worried that I wouldn’t have anything to blog about. But I actually have tons of thoughts rolling around inside my head and I have to scale back my entries. With that said, I found some “stuff” this morning that’s more interesting than what I write, so I’ll post that today.

Radcliffe and Tergat may not have blogs, but I came across these “blogs” today. I put blogs in quotes because they’re basically one-time journal entries by some of the top runners in the country. Since I’m from Minnesota, I was especially interested in all the Team USA Minnesota blogs. Here’s a peek at some of the stuff you’ll find.

Coach Vigil also possessed the tough love mentality I was looking for in a coach. Within the first week of training, frustration got the best of me. Coach Vigil’s response was, “Ryan, you must realize that you are no longer the stud of the team like you were at Notre Dame. You are going to get your ass handed to you out here, but you know what…it’s going to make you better, if you don’t let your emotions get the better of you.” – Ryan Shay

For the first few months that I lived here, my sisters kept saying how they couldn’t believe I was actually friends with Katie McGregor after being conditioned for so many years to believe that she and all of her Michigan teammates were the enemy. – Janelle Deatherage

Good crew at least on the warm-up with McGregor, Carrie, Luke, Lundo and Annie. Carrie ALWAYS leads warm-ups like it's a pissing match. No slacking. – Matt Gabrielson

Pack and leave for Nationals. The excitement is starting to build. Everyone is wishing me their best and I am starting to get the twirls in my stomach. I make sure my spikes and uniform are packed for the one hundredth time. – Carrie Tollefson

I spent a lot of time with Said Ahmed (my roommate this trip), Steve Slattery, Charlie Gruber, and Jonathan Johnson. We took time chillin’ in the shade on the hotel’s beautiful poolside terrace. People often ask me what the atmosphere is like between competitors. Even with guys like Steve, against whom I’ve been racing since high school, or Charlie, to whom I narrowly lost the 2004 US National Cross Championship in a controversial finish, it’s almost always completely friendly and fun until the warm-up, or sometimes even until we toe the line. At that point, we all just want to kill each other and will do whatever it takes to get to the line ahead of the others. But once we step off the track, it’s back to being friends. If we weren’t friendly, these trips would be unbearable with the amount of time we spend together (I race over 20 times per year). – Luke Watson

I’ll close with some more random thoughts I’ve had lately;

Anyone see NBC’s new show Windfall yet? It’s about a group of 20 people that pool together and end up winning the lottery. The “only” flaw is that, of course, these 20 people are all like 25 years old and beautiful. In other words, nothing like the 55 year old, fat, balding, factory workers who usually pool their money and win the lottery.

If there’s double yellow line painted on the road, do we really need a sign that says “Crossing the yellow line is prohibited.”? Isn’t that what the yellow lines mean?

Anyone remember the Vita Fitness Trails? Basically you run from station-to-station and perform different exercises (chinup, dips, pushups, etc.) along the way. When was the last time you saw someone using said trails?

This morning I saw a guy riding his mountain bike, using aerobars, on a paved path. That’s like putting a spoiler on a Hummer and driving down the Interstate.

Continuing with yesterday’s passion theme, here’s today’s quote of the day;

“It is funny to think of how many times I have competed at a championship event and the nerves never go away. I have the same rituals that I did almost 17 years ago when I started this sport. These are the times that I love. I only wish that everyone would find what makes them tick in life. I am so blessed to have found my true passion and I don’t think this will ever get old. Katie (McGregor) and I always say; people will have to yell at us to get out of the way before we hang the spikes up.” – Carrie Tollefson