Twas the night before Christmas...

Hey Steve, look who's typing in their blog.

This is most likely going to be a solid short post! I'd rather be doing like 27465 other things right now but I haven't posted in a while AND if I don't do it tonight then I probably won't do it til after the new year. So deal with me for right now :)

Running has been going pretty solid lately. Last Saturday I got in a quality 11 mile run before we got squashed by a snowstorm. We got 7 or 8 inches but it seemed like nothing compared to what they were building it up to be. Most of the snow melted during the week as it warmed up a bit. Friday night I went running after work and I did a tempo run in the streets of the neighborhood adjacent to my apartment since I knew I wouldn't have to dodge many cars. One point of my run took me to a section of dirt road...the first couple steps on it were pretty slick, so I carefully slowed and turned around. I thought I was in the clear, except for that damn last step before I hit pavement again. Emphasis on hit....I've always known to hit and roll when I take a fall and that's what I did, but I landed on my hip to start it. It was tender when I got up, but felt better as I started moving again. All day Saturday it was sore, but I still planned on doing a long run Sunday. It all went fine, it never hurt at all during the run.

Sunday's run was a little crazy, weather-wise. I woke up at 7am and we were under a severe thunderstorm warning. On December 23. In Michigan. Come on... when I went out to run at 8:15, the sun was coming up with blue skies and the temp was 47 degrees. There was still some snow on the ground, so it honestly felt like a crisp spring morning. What I knew though, was that Mother Nature was gonna give us a cold snap in no time. When I came back from 12 miles about an hour and a half later, the temp was 31 degrees....it felt good, but I wish the temp went up and not down. Oh well.

Other than that, I'm leaving Wednesday for Florida to see MSU play Boston College in the Champs Sports Bowl (the 28th) and then leaving a couple days later for Hawaii...gonna be there until January 15th. So, happy holidays to everybody and make good decisions into next year.

And I really like these quotes...

"[Leadership is] somehow getting 52 other guys to raise their level of play. To get them to believe in what we're trying to do. You do that by setting an example, by doing things the right way. I've always shown up, I've always been prepared, I practice every day. I practice hard. I study. No matter what happens on the field, I never point the blame at anybody else. Everything I do comes back to leadership, the example I want to set." --Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre, in Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year issue

"I've got so many plays running through my mind. The funny thing is, it's not only about the touchdowns and the big victories. If I were to make a list, I would include the interceptions, the sacks, the really painful losses. Those times when I've been down, when I've been kicked around, I hold on to those. In a way those are the best times I've ever had, because that's when I've found out who I am. And what I want to be." --Brett Favre, on his favorite memory

Hello again

Don't worry, I'm still alive and kicking. Three words: med school apps.

Sooooooo what has happened since I last posted almost a month ago? Not much and a lot at the same time....you know how it is.

Let's start with the MSU football team. Something funny happened after the heartbreaking loss to Michigan....they became a stronger team. They beat Purdue in that next week and in the final game faced a stiff test from Penn State. MSU was already bowl eligible at 6-5 but needed one last win to make it solid. I didn't have high hopes, and when Penn State took a 24-7 lead shortly after halftime, I was starting to lose any optimistic thoughts I had been hanging onto. But as Yogi Berra once said, it ain't over til it's over. MSU came back and then held on (and I mean, HELD ON) to win 35-31. I don't think I had ever heard Spartan Stadium that loud before, it was just amazing. Now at 7-5, it was announced last weekend that the team is going to the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando on December 28 to play Boston College. And I'm gonna be there :)

How's the running going? Well the hamstring/butt are finally better. A couple of weeks ago I hit 30 miles for the first time since September, but I noticed I was beginning to get shin splints. They always seem to come and go with me, but you know there's always a reason for something like that and I think I figured it out. In last month's issue of Runner's World they had a page about nutrients that runners tend not to get enough of - and one of them was calcium. As I took a look at my daily calcium intake, I realized I was really only drinking one glass of milk a day and maybe one thing of yogurt, and that's not nearly enough. The bones get broken down when we run and they need the calcium to rebuild, just in the same way that muscles need protein to rebuild and get stronger. So I bought a big jug of Tropicana OJ with calcium since Vitamin C helps the body absorb calcium....one serving of that is 35% of the recommended daily value. Add in one serving of lowfat milk (30%) and a light Yoplait yogurt (20%) and there's a quick 85% of what you need. It almost seems like common sense that runners need protein and calcium but it's so easy to overlook those things...heck, I've overlooked it all these years. Needless to say I took all of last week off and swam/biked/ellipticaled all week instead, just to make sure I wasn't stressing my shin more than I should. I went 4 miles last night and things felt good, so I'm happy with that.

I also ran a race in the past month - the Lansing Turkeyman Trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning. I wasn't planning on doing it....I told my buddy Greg I'd do it if he did it and I really wasn't expecting him to man up. But on that Monday he gave me the go ahead and it was all systems go for me. Funny story about the race is that I did it two years ago for the first time...it snowed 4 inches overnight and the temp on race day was 15 degrees with a wind chill of 0....brrrrr! Last year I didn't run it but Greg did for the first time and it was (relatively) nice with temps in the 40s. This year of course it snowed again overnight, leaving an inch or two on the course for me, but this time the temps were in the mid to upper 20s.

I really wasn't expecting anything with the race either because I hadn't done much speedwork in previous weeks, but it's amazing what can happen when you don't have any pressure. I started off on my pace and just went with it. The first mile and a half were on roads while the last mile and a half were on the river trail...and the wooden bridges on the trail were a bit slick. Also the wind was with us for the first half and totally against us in the last half of the race. That said, the roads were all clear of snow and I did the first mile in 5:38 which REALLY surprised me because of the temperature and because I didn't think I had that in me. But whatever....I kept at it because I felt good. My buddy Steve caught up to me shortly after the 1st mile and I made it a goal to stay with him. We surged back and forth and eventually I left him in my dust around the end of the 2nd mile. I really don't know where the 2nd mile ended either, they didn't have a mile marker down there. I knew we were about a mile from the finish so I looked at my watch and read 6:15...I was sure I hadn't slowed down on the 2nd mile so I figured I just didn't see the mile marker or something so I kept trucking. The 3rd mile was the most slick. I had set my sights on the kid in front of me but I couldn't make up any ground because I started being tentative with my stride. (The picture is from the 3rd mile...you can see how snowy it was and you can see Steve's leg next to my left leg) Eventually I finished though....in 17:35! That's 5:42 pace, so I stayed very consistent after my first mile, which is something I've really been trying to work on in the past couple of years. Also it made me think....17:18 is my PR, could I have beat that if it wasn't for the snow?? Who knows...it makes me excited to see what can happen with quality training.

I also registered for Boston this morning. It's not official until they approve my qualifying time, but for all intensive purposes it's official. So there's no turning back now.

"You've been broken too many times...it's time for something to go right for you. Running can't be frustrating forever." --My friend Nancy

"You could see in our kids' eyes that they were gonna will themselves to victory." --MSU offensive coordinator Don Treadwell

A drinking town with a football problem

Lots to talk about in this post....as Pete Murthum would say, Lots of pressure! Feel the heat!

First off, how's my running going? Seems great actually...Monday I was only planning on doing 6 or 7 miles, but I ended up doing 8 because I felt so good. Tuesday I biked for 40 minutes and then this evening I did an "easy" 4 miles. I say easy because I turned it into a fartlek at the end....I wanted to see how my legs would react to a little speed and they seemed to react favorably. It's also been cooooooold here lately...Sunday it was 38 degrees when I ran and today it was 35, and both times were in the evening in the dark. I've become a firm believer in Smartwool. I wore a midweight zip-tee and then a safety green shirt from the Run Thru Hell over that so drivers would see me, and I was perfectly toasty after about half a mile. The fabric doesn't seem that thick so I was skeptical about how warm it would keep me, but wow...it's amazing.

Staying on the running topic, but I'm sure everybody heard about the passing of Ryan Shay this past weekend at the Olympic Marathon Trials. It's something you never hope happens, but sometimes it does and it's terrible to hear about it. He was originally from Central Lake, a town in the northern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan, and one of my co-workers (Tony) actually ran against him in high school. Ryan was known as a real workhorse and Tony could definitely attest to that. Congrats to the top three at the trials though - Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein, and Brian Sell....we'll definitely be rooting them on in Beijing next summer.

Ryan Shay was also the first runner in Michigan high school history to win four straight individual state titles....which is a nice transition to this year's state finals. Maverick Darling (a senior) claimed his third straight individual title (he finished 8th as a freshman) with a time of 14:52 - the third fastest time at Michigan International Speedway since the state meet moved there in 1996, behind the aforementioned Dathan Ritzenhein's 14:10 in 2000 and Jason Hartman's 14:50 in 1998, who also coincidentally finished 10th at Saturday's Olympic Trials. Maverick verbally committed to Wisconsin after the race, so look for him to make some noise in the college ranks. Also....not really a big surprise but the Williamston boys team took home a state title, which is really uplifting after all that they went through a couple weeks ago with that tornado....congrats to them.

And finally......football. I promised myself I wouldn't say much about the game, so here we go: It's arguably the biggest game of the year for MSU, against an always talented Michigan squad. The first half was a bit boring, neither team could really get anything going, but Michigan went into the locker room at halftime with a 14-3 lead. The second half, however, was amazing....the MSU defense was jacked up and the offense could not be stopped. The stadium was roaring and MSU scored three touchdowns to take a 24-14 lead with a few minutes left in the 4th quarter.....and then MSU went into the dreaded prevent defense, allowing sideline passes galore that allowed UofM to come back and win it 28-24. I don't understand why you have a defense play soft all of a sudden after they attacked for the past quarter and a half and rattled the other team's offense. I never will understand it, and it seems like MSU always does that when they have a late lead. Well...what can you do, that's life. After the game when I finally went back to my car, I thought I had dropped something so I turned around to get it but realized I actually had it with me. As I turned around again, a guy who was walking with his parents said "Hey man, I'm sorry." I was sort of confused so I said "what's that?" and again he said he was sorry. As I looked back, I noticed a BIG football player was talking to me and that I was wearing my band jacket. I told him that it'll be alright and that they played their hearts out, and he replied by saying that he felt like they let everybody down, especially the band, and that the team really does appreciate all that the band does to support them. As he walked away, I told him to keep his head up and we'll get them next week.....but I was floored because this kid could have walked right by me without saying a thing and I wouldn't have known the difference. The team is 5-5 now with two games left....Purdue and Penn State....let's hope for a happy ending.

The weekend was a good one for reasons other than the football game though :) Let's hope it continues.

"I remember Ryan going out when it was 20 or 30 degrees below zero, because he didn't want to miss a training day. I would argue with him after he'd come in coated in snow and icicles, looking like the Abominable Snowman. People would call and say, 'Do you know your son is out there running in this?' I'd say, 'It's called dedication.'" --Joe Shay, father of the late Ryan Shay

"That we were talented was without question, but you still have to come down and run against kids that really want to take your hopes of a title away....It's great for the community of Williamston, because things have been pretty weird after the tornado." --Williamston boys CC coach Paul Nilsson

"I find a lot of things they do amusing. They need to check themselves sometimes. Remember, pride comes before the fall." -- MSU coach Mark Dantonio, in response to verbal taunts in the media by Michigan football players

Steady Eddie

Sometimes I don't realize how busy I truly am until I realize I never have time to post anymore!

This past Sunday I ran 6 miles (my longest in the past month) and it felt really good. I felt steady, that's the way I was thinking while I was running. The hamstring didn't bother me at all, so the run made me a happy guy. Tuesday I went 4 miles and it was pretty crappy.....the hamstring and other knee were bugging me, but really I was feeling pretty crappy overall during the day so I just attributed it to that. Yesterday I went 4 miles and it was pretty decent, and I think it's because I was just relaxed and wasn't really thinking about anything. Today I did 5 miles and it felt really good. For the first 3 miles I did a loop I haven't done before and I found about 1.5 miles into it that I was really enjoying the run. It was a nice sunny day, temps in the mid-50's and people were outside having fun. That's the way I like it. Sunday I'm gonna go for 6 or 7, so we'll see how that goes. Overall I've been feeling a lot better, and I know I'll just keep improving and running stronger if I keep up on these exercises.

Ok, sports now...I'll make this part quick. MSU lost to a lowly Iowa squad last week in double overtime. I went to a wedding so I couldn't watch it...I was able to listen to most of the first half in my car before I lost reception, but by then we were up 10-0 and were in total control of the game. Then when the wedding started, one of my buddies told me it was 17-3 at halftime. Ok ok, good. An hour later after the wedding ended, my buddy looked on his phone and saw we were losing 20-17! What happened! We had no idea, so we ran to the bar in the builiding we were in and caught the end of the game...which didn't end so well I guess. Oh well. Tomorrow is arguably the biggest game of each year, against Michigan. The last time MSU won was back in 2001 on a controversial play....or at least Michigan fans didn't like it. I personally saw nothing wrong with it. The Youtube clip I have at the end of this starts with 17 seconds left in the game and 2nd down for MSU. You can watch the rest and see how biased Michigan's whiny announcers are.

Tomorrow morning is also the USA Olympic Marathon Trials in New York City....131 runners will circle Central Park 5 times and only the top 3 will make it onto the Olympic team. How's that for pressure? Good luck to all....and also good luck to all the high schoolers running in the state meet tomorrow.

"...the only enemy I know about for sure lives in the mirror. Look, I know I'm a long shot at the Trials; my PR is seven minutes slower than Ryan Hall's. But if everything goes right - my health and my preparation, the wind and the weather, and if I pray properly for protection - then I have a chance. Hey, anything can happen in a marathon, right?" --US Olympic Marathon Team hopeful Brandon Leslie, as quoted in Runner's World

Touch down

When I wait til Wednesday to write a post, I forget a bunch of my ideas. But last week was a busy week if nothing else.

My running has been on hiatus for the time being. The butt feels better but the hamstring is still acting up a little....not as bad as it was when it first acted up, but it's still there. I probably mentioned this before but we have a free injury clinic each Wednesday night at Playmakers where physical therapists and sports med doctors from the area spend a couple hours in the store and help people out with their running ailments. One lady who is there each week as well is a massage therapist, and I've been talking to her about my hamstring and getting it worked on. She's the one who told me about the protein I should be having in my diet. Anyway last week she gave me some good exercises and stretches to do, and I have been doing them. Today it was feeling ok, so I ran 4 miles after work and them came back for the clinic to talk to her. Everything felt good during the run, but now it's sore. Basically she said I can run and heal at the same time, which is what she said last week, as long as I stay on top of the healing process. The only thing is I can't do speedwork or run fast, which I wasn't planning on doing anyway until I'm pain free. Sooooo we'll see if anything improves in the next few days. I'm so sick of being injured but I'm sure everybody knows that by now.

Last Thursday, we were definitely fighting with Mother Nature. We hardly ever get bad storms around here, but that night was something to remember. Between 6pm and 1am, we were under FOUR separate tornado warnings....we're usually lucky (or unlucky?) to get 4 warnings over a span of 3 years. Most of the storms had funnel clouds but nothing touched the ground, however one actually did touch down about 15 minutes east of here in the relatively small town of Williamston. A couple homes were destroyed and many were damaged, as is often seen in a tornado, but it's weird because it's so rare to see that around here. At the end of the post I added in a youtube video of a local newscast interviewing a guy named Vance, whose house got destroyed. Vance lost his eyesight 6 years ago after an accident with a drunk driver. He's a part of the Playmakers family (as you'll see with the shirt he's wearing) and he often comes in the store to say hi and even help out as much as he can during the big sidewalk sale we have twice a year. He also runs many local races with the help of someone who can see being tethered to him. He's one of the nicest guys I've ever met and has always been positive with everything that has happened to him...my best wishes go out to him in hopes they can quickly rebuild his home.

Saturday was the MSU/Ohio State game and it was pretty much a one-sided affair. The final score was 24-17 but it wasn't nearly as close as the score says. OSU was up 24-0 when one of MSU's defensive backs returned an interception for a touchdown. Then three plays after that, MSU forced a fumble and returned that for a touchdown too. That made it 24-14 in the 4th quarter, but MSU's offense did nothing all day against a stellar Buckeye defense. It just wasn't meant to be that day. At any rate, MSU is 5-3, losers of 3 out of the last 4, and still one win away from being bowl eligible with four games left against Iowa, Michigan, Purdue, and Penn State. How they finish the season is anybody's guess...

Sunday was the Detroit Marathon! I knew some people running it....Scott in 3:19, Krista in 3:50, and then in the half marathon it was Shannon in 1:31 and Jake in 1:16, both winning their respective age groups. Also, BJ's relay team won with the lowest overall time, so congrats to all. Overall it seemed like a nice day for a marathon....sunny and windy but a bit warm with temps in the 60's.

I suppose that's it for this week...we'll see what this next one holds.

"We'll take this and build on this - the fact that we stayed together, didn't split apart, didn't blame people, didn't cash it in, didn't go in the tank and let it become a 41-0 game." --MSU head coach Mark Dantonio

"We've got four games left. And I feel we can win all four of those." --MSU quarterback Brian Hoyer

"I didn't hit the wall. At mile 16 I had to pee SO bad. I've never peed so much in my entire life!" -Scott, on why his second half was slower than his first half.

Turning things around

It's nice when things get turned around for the better, isn't it?

The MSU football team sure did their job on that note, beating Indiana 52-27. I won't say much about the game because I said so much about last week's game...but it sure looked like MSU came out hungry and played a full 60 minutes. The offense is playing as good as anybody in the nation, and that's a great thing because look what happens this Saturday - they travel to Columbus for a date with the #1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. I just hope they can make it respectable, or maybe even pull out the win....I mean, it happened in 1998 in the same scenario. So who's to say it can't happen again?

My running, on the other hand, looked like it was turning around for the better, but in actuality it's just kind of stagnant right now. Friday afternoon I did an easy 4 miles and Sunday morning I did 4 more easy miles. Problem is, I'm still getting a little it of discomfort in the left hamstrings. It's frustrating, but I know I can stretch and strengthen and everything.

This past Saturday morning I had the opportunity to work the Greater Lansing Cross Country Invitational. It's a very cool meet, where 35 local schools send their top 7 runners against each other to see who comes out on top and who can claim bragging rights as the best in the area. I've never been to the meet, so it was very cool to be able to watch it for the first time. It was put on by Playmakers, so I helped set up and sell shirts beforehand, then videotaped a little bit of the races for the store. It was a crisp, cool morning, but the course was definitely in a fast condition. East Lansing junior Maddi Reeves won the girl's race in 17:51 (a PR by 37 seconds, set earlier in the week) followed by Grand Ledge's Jennifer Snelgrove at 18:03 and Allison Rademacher at 18:06, both also setting a PR. Grand Ledge got the last laugh though, as they won the event as a team with 80 points to East Lansing's 95 points.

On the boy's side, it was a treat to watch Ovid-Elsie senior Maverick Darling. He's a man among boys, and is arguably the best runner in the state since Dathan Ritzenhein graduated from Rockford High School back in 2001. He claimed his third straight individual title with a blazing time of 14:58, the first time he has ever broken the 15 minute barrier. We were watching video of him in the store yesterday and it seems like he overstrides a little bit and swings his arms a little too much.....clean that up a little and who knows how efficient and fast he could be? It's scary, for sure. Williamston won the team title, as they placed three guys in the top 5, all under 16 minutes. I'm convinced there's something in the water out there because they're loaded every single year. Anyway, they totaled 49 points, way ahead of Grand Ledge in second place with 190 points.

I guess that's all for now. I think I've become a believer in these quotes that I add at the end of posts....hopefully they are motivational for everybody.

"I heard 14:14 when I turned the corner (before the last stretch), and thought 'now's the time.' Then, especially when everyone's yelling your name, it makes you want to go so much faster." --Boys winner Maverick Darling

"My goal was 18:15. So I'm shocked. My coach has been telling me for the last three months I could do this, but I never believed him. Last time I raced Grand Ledge, they got me during the second mile. So I knew I had to work really hard that mile." --Girls winner Maddi Reeves

"We play for respect every week. We have to. ... When the chips are down, that's when the coaches and leaders better be at their best." --MSU head coach Mark Dantonio

Scorched

We're gonna start on the sports soapbox...

I was beginning to think MSU had a decent football team this year. The defense had played well in getting the team off to a 4-0 start, but then lost a heartbreaker to then-#9 ranked Wisconsin. The defense wasn't as stellar in that game...but isn't that somewhat expected when you play the #9 team in the nation? Well...last Saturday they played Northwestern, a great chance to regroup and get things back on track......right?

No way...Northwestern's offense had its way with the MSU defense ALL day, racking up 611 total yards, 520 of those (a school record) and 5 touchdowns through the air by their QB in a 48-41 overtime win. Now let's Tarantino this thing....you know the end result, here's the details. It was a back and forth ordeal where NU would score and then MSU would answer back, and MSU never led in the game. MSU's defense was missing tackles left and right, but the offense was doing everything they could to keep the team in the game.

With the score tied at 41 with 3:06 left in the game, NU tried a field goal but botched the snap and turned the ball over to MSU. While the running game had been very successful during the game, MSU totally went away from it on the ensuing drive and turned the ball over after three incomplete passes...so NU had another chance to win. They set up a 36 yard field goal to win the game as time expired, but the ball sailed wide left.

Overtime now....NU scored a touchdown with ease of course. MSU's turn....what do they do? Throw 4 straight passes to the end zone, all of which fell incomplete, none of which were aimed at Javon Ringer or Devin Thomas. Ringer had a field day, running for 185 yards and three touchdowns and catching 6 balls for 54 yards. Thomas also had a decent day, running for 61 yards and catching 5 balls for 61 yards. So WHY did they not touch the ball in overtime?? I've lightened up a bit since Saturday afternoon, but still it's frustrating. That's what I get for being such a fan of Spartan football I guess. This weekend is a home game against Indiana, and we sure as heck better have our crap together. End rant.

As far as running goes...I tried 4 miles on Friday night and it felt ok. My high school was playing East Lansing so I ran two miles to the school and watched part of the game, then ran back home. Let's just say East Lansing had their way all during the game....which is ironic when you see the quote at the end of the post. Like I said, it felt ok but I still had a little bit of pain in my butt. So Saturday thru Monday I did some exercises and stretches and stuff, and that definitely helped. Early Tuesday morning I did another four miles and it was much better. There was a little discomfort in that area near the end of the run, but no pain to speak of. So that's a positive sign, right? Tonight it's feeling a little bit tender though. Seeing as though I have no races in the immediate future, I have no pressure to rush back for anything so I'm just gonna take it easy and make sure this heals well.

This past Sunday was the Dino Dash 5K, which was the last race in the Playmakers Race Series, so that's all over with. It was also the Chicago Marathon! And I'm sure everybody heard about the debacle they had with the heat. My sister ran it and walked the last five miles because of how hot it was. She said it was so surreal, it almost seemed like a war zone out there with all of the ambulances and wheelchairs and such. One guy I work with ran the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon that same day and he said the heat was unbelievable. I feel bad for first time marathoners....they really got a poor deal.

Well I guess that's it. Let's go State.

"On a hot, humid October day, Spartan Stadium fans and the MSU defense had a lot in common. They both got scorched." --Headline in the Lansing State Journal

"I don't think we'd have stopped East Lansing High School today." --MSU defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi

"The world isn't pretty sometimes, and you have to stand in the face of everything and be strong in the face of great disappointment. That's what we have to do right now." --MSU head coach Mark Dantonio