There’s always a lot to talk about, sometimes it takes a while before I can type it out for all to read. Here’s a shot at that right now after a long weekend (for me anyway) down in the Wisconsin and even Illinois area.
Following a long weekend like that with not much workout time, other than your typical walking or lifting your arms to hold on to the giant piece of pizza you are slowly trying to eat at a place in Chicago, you don’t feel as though time in the gym will turn out the way it’s supposed to when you return. That wasn’t the case for me.
I made a trip down to the Milwaukee area to visit some friends I hadn’t seen in a while which turned out to be a great relaxing weekend. For the most part anyway. There was one moment, that lasted maybe six seconds where I felt as though I was going to slam into something while sitting in a truck, spinning in a 180 degree turn due to wet conditions and almost slamming into a sign. Stopped just in time. Alright, let’s turn around and get going!...as cars are coming at us since the light was green at the same intersection we were just at.
You take away that little situation and everything else seemed to run pretty smooth. I supposed you could consider bowling as a workout. That happened on Friday night with my friends Jes, Katie & Michael. Fortunately, the first two games were only practice rounds (according to my rules) and the final game was the one that counted. That, as you can imagine, is the one I won. Bowling isn’t my greatest hidden talent. Alright, so it’s not a talent at all and I can’t hide that fact, but I still like to win at what ever I do. Doesn’t always happen that way. But again, it was still fun!
We got to check out some interesting exhibits at a museum down in Chicago on Saturday, pretty much the entire day. The final one we went to was the Body Worlds & the Cycle of Life exhibit. If you’re into anything health or fitness related, you’d think this is very interesting. I wouldn’t be very good at trying to explain it, but if you’ve been to it before, you understand what exhibit I’m talking about. If not, look it up online, you will find it and most likely want to check it out sometime.
Sunday was a very tough day. Rough on the eyes and mind numbing for the most part. I think my body is still itching from having to wear a Milwaukee Brewers shirt for the Brewers vs. Pirates game we went to. This was just Jes, Katie and I who took part in the game. Great day for a game and the park itself is awesome! If you haven’t been to Miller Park and you’re a baseball fan, check it out sometime. An excellent facility for baseball, just too bad a decent team couldn't perform there. Once the Twins come to town, it will improve the park quite a bit. Trying to convert a Minnesota boy to a Brewers fan is like a 200 mile construction project that will take years and years to finish. Take a trip down I-94 in Wisconsin, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. Oh, just make sure you have lots of time and patience…it’s going to take you a while.
In all honesty, Wisconsin is a great place. Seriously. My favorite thing while driving is seeing at every exit the sign that states: “Cheese – Next Exit”. Always brought back the question my uncle used to ask when things didn’t smell right... “Who cut the cheese??”
You might be wondering what this has to do with running. It really has nothing to do with running. Everyone thinks I’m very serious about everything and don’t have any fun. Yes, I actually do have good times, sometimes. Only when I escape from my cage and can cut out of the straight jacket. Luckily I’ve got moves that no one knows about and can shake that thing right off.
But for those who think I am serious all the time, let’s get you a couple of serious notes to help ease your way out of this blog. My trip started and ended in a cool way, or at least I think anyway. You can judge this one for your self.
On the way to Wisconsin, I made a pit stop in Wadena, MN. I usually end up stopping in this town for some reason, it’s like a black hole that just lures you in and you can’t resist a quick stop to see the friendly people at that gas station next to the train tracks right on Highway 10. I arrived there around eight in the morning to go in, rest in the rest room and then get something to snack on for the trip. A guy in full military uniform was gassing up so I waited to chat with him. He was talking to someone else and I didn’t want to interrupt so I ended up staying there for almost 25 minutes. I almost fell asleep just laying back in my car driver seat before heading over to talk to him. I patted him on the back, shook his hand and told him thank you for serving while handing him my card and a PFT patch that I had in my car. He looked at me as though no one had ever done that before. I didn’t ask him if anyone had, I just wanted to inform him that I respect him even though I don’t know him, asked him where he’s from, how long he’s been in the Army and how things are going for him. It took less than a minute before I walked away back to my car to drive off on my way to Wisconsin. That one quick gesture, for some reason made my trip seem better. Whether he gets in touch with me or even cares to look at this website, that’s up to him. Knowing that I had the chance to thank a soldier, a simple hand shake and thank you, made my day better and possibly his too. I’ll never know.
The other thing that happened was on the way back from Wisconsin. About two hours into my nine hour trip back, I made a pit stop near Black River Falls, WI to gas up, get some food and again, rest in the rest room. While gassing up my car, I saw parked in front of me a car from Kansas. I was of course wearing my KC Chiefs hat because as we all know, normal people bleed red. It was my plan to ask him if he was a Chiefs fan when I got in there. After resting in the rest room, where this guy was too (yes, all Chiefs fans think alike) he asked me if I was from Kansas. I told him that I was from Minnesota but that I was a Chiefs fan. This guy’s fiancé from what I was told is from Maple Grove, MN. We had a little chat (we were out of the rest room by this time, so you know) while I was looking for some pizza to snag for the trip while driving. He had told me that his fiancé was into running. We talked about that for a bit then about where we work and what we do. I walked out of there after paying for my stuff and told him good luck. Right before I got into my car I picked up a couple of cards and brought them over to him before he was about to take off. I told him what I’ve been doing in terms of running and asked if he’d keep his eyes open for any runs that are good down in Kansas that I could take part in. This guy was a missionary who works with high schools, colleges and many different organizations for leadership and other great things for athletes. The little connections you get out traveling around can lead to things you never thought before.
The final thing I’d like to leave you with in this blog is a couple of links. While out in Wisconsin this past weekend an article was posted after a referral another runner had sent out to a journalist in Washington DC. A guy from Minneapolis by the name of Richard Van Patten, who I have never met personally, but stay in contact with through Facebook, gave my name and information to Donna Lyons with the Examiner and a few other publications out east. She interviewed me not too long ago and wrote up a really nice story in this edition of the online publication. The link is: http://www.examiner.com/military-community-in-national/philco-s-freedom-team-1
Check it out and let her know what you think of it.
The other link I want to share with you is of my friend and fellow runner, Jean Bringgold. Another Sconnie…I’m surrounded by them!! She sent me a message back in January telling me who she was and that she happened to be one of my dad’s students in Gonvick, MN when he taught there. She ran her first race, also with a three by five foot American flag, in Duluth, MN at the Grandma’s Marathon. All 26.2 miles finishing around 4:30 for a time! She is continuing the mission and I welcome her to the team. Thank you Jean for doing what you’re doing! I look forward to running with her sometime in the future. She just started up a blog now and I wanted to share her site with you. The link is: http://uspatriotrunner.blogspot.com/
Read up and find out what Jean is doing and where she’s headed!
Until next time, remember to always smile, or if you’re in Wisconsin: SAY CHEESE!!
Hey Michigan & Massachusetts – SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER!!
