A list might be boring, but that's what I've got.
Things for which I'm particularly thankful this year, in no particular order...
Big Boy and little boy
roasted chestnuts that actually turn out
the whole fam and my fantastic friends
Sky and the time I've had with her
serenity
TODL and all of her mad skillz
gainful employment
barefoot running
Luna and Tonks
my awesome house
the fact that I didn't succeed in cutting my finger clean off
push ups work wonders (even when you're 42)
the luxury of boredom
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
2009 MN State High School CC Meet
It was a beautiful day for a cross country meet. TODL and I dropped Big Boy off at Central so he could take the party bus down to Northfield. After a brief mental hiccup during which I could not remember which highway would be the most efficient way to drive south, we headed out.
If you're going to introduce a non-parent to the awesome frenzy that is a high school cross country meet, you can't go wrong with State. There's music, lots of runners, tons of spectators, fans wearing capes, signs, banners, pizza, buses, drama, chaos... It's easy to watch from one place if that's what you like, but of course, it's much more fun to run all over and try to catch your runner at multiple points in the race.
The Central cheering section was hanging out by the soccer goals throwing around a football and a frisbee (often at the same time). We started there, but after seeing the pack run down the first hill (little boy is right in front!), we took off to see them run the loop just after the 1600m mark.
The front pack stayed together through about 4000m, no one wanted to make a move. From the loop, TODL and I ran back towards the finish.
Although he didn't stay up with the front runners, little boy kept passing people all the way through the last 1000m. TODL and I managed to wedge ourselves into the throng of finish line spectators and see little boy race towards the finish chute. I wonder how much time his feet spend in contact with the ground, because there are an awful lot of pictures where it looks like he's flying.
I counted the runners as they came in. little boy's teammate Kemal was third! My counting got a little shaky once more boys ran by, but I was pretty sure little boy was in the top 30. He finished 29th!
MSHSL Boys Class AA Championships
St. Olaf College, Northfield
Individuals:
1. Aaron Bartnik, 11, Eden Prairie, 15:55.1
2. Marty Joyce, 12, Woodbury, 15:58.0
3. Kemal J, 12, St. Paul Central, 16:02.4
4. Cole O'Brien, 10, Burnsville, 16:02.7
5. Jake Autio, 12, StMichael/Albertville, 16:04.8
6. Adam Zutz, 11, St. Francis, 16:08.5
7. Jon-Michael Brandt, 12, Winona, 16:09.9
8. Mohamed Mohamed, 11, Eden Prairie, 16:11.4
9. Blayne Dulian, 12, Coon Rapids, 16:11.6
10. Oliver Haughland, 12, Wayzata, 16:12.5
11. Josh Thorson, 10, Wayzata, 16:12.9
12. Bryant Blahnik, 11, Red Wing, 16:14.8
13. Trent Lusignan, 11, Shakopee, 16:15.3
14. Steven Dado, 10, Totino Grace, 16:15.5
15. Grady Anderson, 12, Grand Rapids, 16:18.4
16. Dan Fitzpatrick, 12, Saint Thomas Academy, 16:26.4
17. Christopher Mueller, 12, Eden Prairie, 16:26.8
18. Ben Saxton, 10, Lakeville North, 16:27.4
19. Erick Meszaros-Jones, 12, Eden Prairie, 16:29.3
20. Jimmy Dean, 12, Brainerd, 16:30.8
21. Alex Ciesielski, 12, Minneapolis South, 16:31.0
22. Christian Skaret, 11, Minnetonka, 16:32.0
23. Brian Brochman, 12, Stillwater, 16:32.6
24. Max Flanagan, 12, Saint Thomas Academy, 16:32.9
25. Landon Lozano, 12, Wayzata, 16:33.0
26. Ryan Ness, 12, Woodbury, 16:33.2
27. Brian Anderson, 12, Saint Thomas Academy, 16:33.4
28. Elliot Fenske, 11, Farmington, 16:36.0
29. Michael V, 12, St. Paul Central, 16:36.2
Big Boy and little boy rode the party bus back to town. TODL and I went on a rampage through Fleet Farm. Jeans! Cheap stuff! Diesel coupon!
If you're going to introduce a non-parent to the awesome frenzy that is a high school cross country meet, you can't go wrong with State. There's music, lots of runners, tons of spectators, fans wearing capes, signs, banners, pizza, buses, drama, chaos... It's easy to watch from one place if that's what you like, but of course, it's much more fun to run all over and try to catch your runner at multiple points in the race.
The Central cheering section was hanging out by the soccer goals throwing around a football and a frisbee (often at the same time). We started there, but after seeing the pack run down the first hill (little boy is right in front!), we took off to see them run the loop just after the 1600m mark.
The front pack stayed together through about 4000m, no one wanted to make a move. From the loop, TODL and I ran back towards the finish.
Although he didn't stay up with the front runners, little boy kept passing people all the way through the last 1000m. TODL and I managed to wedge ourselves into the throng of finish line spectators and see little boy race towards the finish chute. I wonder how much time his feet spend in contact with the ground, because there are an awful lot of pictures where it looks like he's flying.
I counted the runners as they came in. little boy's teammate Kemal was third! My counting got a little shaky once more boys ran by, but I was pretty sure little boy was in the top 30. He finished 29th!
MSHSL Boys Class AA Championships
St. Olaf College, Northfield
Individuals:
1. Aaron Bartnik, 11, Eden Prairie, 15:55.1
2. Marty Joyce, 12, Woodbury, 15:58.0
3. Kemal J, 12, St. Paul Central, 16:02.4
4. Cole O'Brien, 10, Burnsville, 16:02.7
5. Jake Autio, 12, StMichael/Albertville, 16:04.8
6. Adam Zutz, 11, St. Francis, 16:08.5
7. Jon-Michael Brandt, 12, Winona, 16:09.9
8. Mohamed Mohamed, 11, Eden Prairie, 16:11.4
9. Blayne Dulian, 12, Coon Rapids, 16:11.6
10. Oliver Haughland, 12, Wayzata, 16:12.5
11. Josh Thorson, 10, Wayzata, 16:12.9
12. Bryant Blahnik, 11, Red Wing, 16:14.8
13. Trent Lusignan, 11, Shakopee, 16:15.3
14. Steven Dado, 10, Totino Grace, 16:15.5
15. Grady Anderson, 12, Grand Rapids, 16:18.4
16. Dan Fitzpatrick, 12, Saint Thomas Academy, 16:26.4
17. Christopher Mueller, 12, Eden Prairie, 16:26.8
18. Ben Saxton, 10, Lakeville North, 16:27.4
19. Erick Meszaros-Jones, 12, Eden Prairie, 16:29.3
20. Jimmy Dean, 12, Brainerd, 16:30.8
21. Alex Ciesielski, 12, Minneapolis South, 16:31.0
22. Christian Skaret, 11, Minnetonka, 16:32.0
23. Brian Brochman, 12, Stillwater, 16:32.6
24. Max Flanagan, 12, Saint Thomas Academy, 16:32.9
25. Landon Lozano, 12, Wayzata, 16:33.0
26. Ryan Ness, 12, Woodbury, 16:33.2
27. Brian Anderson, 12, Saint Thomas Academy, 16:33.4
28. Elliot Fenske, 11, Farmington, 16:36.0
29. Michael V, 12, St. Paul Central, 16:36.2
Big Boy and little boy rode the party bus back to town. TODL and I went on a rampage through Fleet Farm. Jeans! Cheap stuff! Diesel coupon!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
More running
I have a plan in place for some races next year and I have all my runs scheduled through May. Not that I'm obsessive about it or anything. I just like to know what's going on (not that you can ever really know anything but what's happening right now in this moment).
I want to do a credible job on the Trail Mix next year. I ran as part of a team in the 50k this year, but I was the one who was dragging. It's such a fun race, but I was too undertrained (and still moderately injured) to enjoy it as much as I should have. The Madison Half is also on the schedule. They completely changed the course and after looking at the course map, I think that the sucky parts from 2008 are no longer featured.
If all goes well, I will think about a fall marathon. I should have plenty of time to train for it, because I will no longer have little boy around to keep me busy. He is in the midst of college application season. Although he wants to run in college (and is getting some very nice recruiting calls from some cross country coaches), his focus is on academics and he's applying to some big schools. The state schools to which he's applying are all Division I schools, so the running part is somewhat more iffy. I'm confident that he'll be able to walk on to a team if he ends up going to a D-I school. But I'm optimistic like that for my boys.
I want to do a credible job on the Trail Mix next year. I ran as part of a team in the 50k this year, but I was the one who was dragging. It's such a fun race, but I was too undertrained (and still moderately injured) to enjoy it as much as I should have. The Madison Half is also on the schedule. They completely changed the course and after looking at the course map, I think that the sucky parts from 2008 are no longer featured.
If all goes well, I will think about a fall marathon. I should have plenty of time to train for it, because I will no longer have little boy around to keep me busy. He is in the midst of college application season. Although he wants to run in college (and is getting some very nice recruiting calls from some cross country coaches), his focus is on academics and he's applying to some big schools. The state schools to which he's applying are all Division I schools, so the running part is somewhat more iffy. I'm confident that he'll be able to walk on to a team if he ends up going to a D-I school. But I'm optimistic like that for my boys.
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