BIGGEST. NEWS. EVER.

Yes, on Saturday, Pharmie and I ran the Securian Run Half Marathon and 10K.

But that race report will have to wait until tomorrow.

Because today, we're announcing this:

Oct 4th, 2010


Oct 25th, 2010


Nov 1st, 2010


Jan 12th, 2011: profile (nose at the top)


Jan 12th, 2011: body and head


Jan 12th, 2011: hand




Race-day outfit!

Frequently asked questions:

• Yes, I'm p.r.e.t.t.y. sure it's mine.

• She's due in June. Pharmie is already saying she wants to go in late May. ;)

• We don't know if we need to buy a cute 2-piece or a Speedo Jammer. (We're not finding out the sex.)

• We're currently saving up for a sweet jogging stroller that Pharmie already has picked out, and we're accepting donations now. ;)

Race report tomorrow! I ran with my camera during the half marathon, so I have photos from throughout the race. And Pharmie ran in that sweet homemade shirt seen above. So check back for that race report! Happy Monday!!

p.s. If you want to see some photos from the race, click here to see a slideshow on my Examiner page, along with my thoughts on why the half marathon was 1.5 miles short!

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Friday Funny 154: Proper Urinal Etiquette

....well, now I know what I've been doing wrong.

Tomorrow is the Securian Run - I'm doing the half marathon, and Pharmie's doing the 10K. Because it's NOT an "A-Race," I'm thinking about running with my camera and taking video like I did last year. We'll see.

Oh, and there will NOT be a race report up on Monday. That will have to wait until Tuesday. There will be something much better for Monday..... ;)

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Friday Funny 153: New Diet Plan

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Snowshoeing and Upcoming Half

This past weekend, Pharmie and I headed into WI to hang out with some friends at a cabin. On Saturday, we had temperatures climb into the teens, so a few of us headed out to snowshoe across the lake and back before sunset. (When we don't have 19 below windchill like I did for my 14 mile run, it's a GREAT time to get outside! Ha!)

Here are some photos from our hour-long snowshoe trek:

Getting geared up.


The view across the lake (with ice houses in the middle).


Me and Pharmie (she lent me her pink shades).


Stairs are hard when you're in snowshoes.


Some of the gang along with the cabin.


Jess and Pharmie.


Heading across a frozen lake.


Luke and Maddy running to catch up.


Jess and Pharmie.


The gang.


Passing the little island (to the right), headed back into a bay ahead.


On the way back to the cabin.


The girls getting home as the sun set.


Back up the steps.


Al showing a little nipple (and chest hair) in his sweet, sweet track suit back at the cabin.

I know I don't need to really say this, but Al and I get along jjjjjuuuuuussssstttttt fine. ;)

So this weekend is the Winter Carnival Half Marathon. (More formally known as the Securian Run.) I feel pretty uneasy about how I'll perform at this race. But that's OK because it's totally just a FUN race - no pressure to break a certain goal.

That being said, I'd LOVE to "Winter Half Marathon PR" as I mentioned before, which is sub-1:28. But no pressure. They changed the route this year, and I don't know what to think. Before, it was a true out-and-back race. Now, it loops through downtown for 2 miles before hitting the trail along the river. The only bad news about this is that THEY'VE ADDED IN ANOTHER HILL. Here's the elevation chart, and do you see that big hill coming up to mile 1? That didn't used to be there.

The good news through all of this is that a runner who I met over a year ago is racing the half, and she's hoping to start off easy and see if she can pick it up to finish around 1:25. So I might try to hang with her! I've rarely had a "race partner" in the past, so this could be fun!

Check back for photos and to see how it goes! Thanks!

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Winter Ironman Training

A reader sent me this link. Check this out - it's pretty funny.

Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2yGFTKjQTs

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Frozen Long Run

On Thursday, we heard that Thursday night / Friday morning had potential to be the coldest night in 15 years! Sooooooo.... P-E-R-F-E-C-T timing for my last long run before the "Securian Winter Run" half marathon this Saturday. Yay Winter! (FML)

It was 16 below zero (air temp) when I got up on Friday, so I put off my run until after my meetings for the day. (At that same moment, it was 46 below [AIR TEMP!] in northern MN!) When it was time to run, this is what I saw:

I "layered up." I WON'T list all the layers, but I WILL say that I came up with a new idea that worked WONDERS. Over my Under Armor and tights (but under my pants), I put on a pair of tighty-whities. I stuffed a sock down the front to help keep "junior" warm:

AND IT WORKED SO WELL!!

Here's how I looked as I was headed out:

Early in my run, I saw a can of Coors that was frozen to the sidewalk:

BUT, we all know that Coors is technically thinner that water, so it's no surprise that it was frozen....

The trail along the Mississippi was in pretty good shape. It was a thin layer of hard-packed snow:

I snapped a photo of myself 1.5 miles into the run:

Here's a close-up of the frost starting to form on my lashes in that photo:

I pulled the ski-mask up and down as I needed to - sometimes I needed to cool down my face from all of the hot air I was exhaling.

A failed snot-rocket all over my glove.


Running past the U of M around mile 3.

My camera started freezing up, and I learned that I needed to shield the lens from the wind. If I didn't, the lens cover wouldn't open up, and the resulting photo would look like this:

Just past the Greenway Trail (around mile 6).


Looks very similar to the last photo, but it's about another mile farther.


Crossing the Ford Bridge around mile 9.

I think that ended up being the most "epic" photo from the run. Here's a close-up of my eye and hat:

After that photo, my lens got a little smudged, so the rest of the photos had a bit of a streak through them. Here's one from around mile 11 that's a little "streaked:"

I did another loop through a residential area to turn the 12 mile route into a 14 mile run. This tweet that I tweeted just after my run says the story:

Numbers: 14 mile run, 1:44:01 total time, 7:25 pace, 3 below air temp, 19 below windchill, 8.4 lbs of clothes, 0 frozen body parts!

I snapped a photo when I got back to our yard:

And then I snapped a photo after I had been in the house for a minute and all of the ice had started melting:

Even though I got in a decent 14 miles in sub-par conditions, I'm STILL not super confident going into this weekend's half marathon. I'm not looking to PR - just looking to finish another race. I MIGHT be able to "winter PR," so I might shoot for that. (My 13.1 PR is 1:22, but my "winter" 13.1 PR is 1:28.) We'll just have to see what this weekend holds!!

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"Steve in a Speedo" Forcasts the Weather

I just got home, and I had 3 messages saying a local weather man used one of my photos on his blog. Of course I was curious right away! I found this on Paul Douglas' blog:

And Paul is 100% right by saying "You won't believe how good 20 lousy degrees can feel after what we've all just been through." Love it!

One of my friends who Facebooked me said "You should put a picture of Paul Douglas on your blog." Well, since Paul put ME on his blog, here's a photo of PAUL on my blog:

Now we're even. ;)

This is perfect timing for tomorrow's post: tomorrow I'll have photos from a 14 mile run with temps well below zero. Check back for that. Have a great week!

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Some Solids Weeks of Workouts (For Winter)

This goes back 3 weeks, but my training week 3 weeks ago was something worth noting. The week of Dec 27th through Jan 2nd was my biggest running week since high school cross country! I don't normally log TOO many runs (worried about injuries), but in those 7 days, I had 5 runs (including a race), and tallied up 34.38 miles. That's SUPER for me!

Here are the last 3 weeks:

• Mon, 12/27:
- 13.11 miles in 1:33:17.
- Good strength and core at the Y.

• Tue, 12/28:
- Easy 1500 yard swim.

• Wed, 12/29:
- 7.78 mile tempo run.
- Quick upper body strength routine.

• Thur, 12/30:
- A bit of core work.

• Fri, 12/31:
- 4.85 miles of intervals at the St. Fair Coliseum.
- A bit of upper body strength work.

• Sat, 1/1:
- 3.33 mile easy run with Pharmie to the start of her 10K race.

• Sun, 1/2:
- Indoor track meet: 5000 meters in 17:17, and another 2.2 miles of WU and CD.

Running behind Kirt (see him up there?) at the Coliseum on 12/13

• Mon, 1/3:
- 1600 yd swim.
- A bit of core at the Y.

• Tue, 1/4:
- Nice, longer strength routine.
- 50:00 on the trainer with Coach Troy on the TV.

• Wed, 1/5:
- 2100 yd swim (7 x 200).

• Thur, 1/6:
- 10.2 mile run. WANTED to go more like 13, but my heel was a little sore from last weeks "heavier" mileage, so I did the smart thing (I think) and cut it short.
- "Power Barz" strength class at the Y, plus some more core afterward.

• Fri, 1/7:
- 2200 yd swim (endurance).

• Sat, 1/8:
- Easy-ish 4.95 miler to "flush out" legs from Power Barz class.
- Quick strength routine.

• Sun, 1/9:
- Nothing.

The blister I peeled off after the 1/3 swim. Nice.

• Mon, 1/10:
- "Meet of the Miles" 1 mile (PR of 4:49.6!). Plus another 1.6 of WU. No CD (oops).

• Tue, 1/11:
- Easy 3.15 mile run with Pharmie.
- Long, solid core routine.

• Wed, 1/12:
- 1950 yd swim: all out 5x100 "no minds" workout.
- A little strength work after swim.

• Thur, 1/13:
- 13 miles on the treadmill in 1:34:11.

• Fri, 1/14:
- Good strength routine including legs.
- 60 minutes on the trainer with Coach Troy.

• Sat, 1/15:
- 5.8 mile run that was SUPPOSED to be a longer tempo run. But legs were fatigued and heavy, so I cut it short and made it easier.

• Sun, 1/16:
- Good upper body workout at the Y, and then some good core work at home after that.

Solid weeks of training, I think! Back with photos from my SUPER COLD run soon! (4 below air temp and 19 below windchill.) Check back for those....

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Friday Funny 152: Brett Favre Spoof

Warning: there's some PG-13 language in this, so don't blare it at work. Unless your boss likes to poke fun at Favre. If that's the case, turn it up and you'll get promoted.

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Friday Funny 151: My Fat Cat Wants Me To Be Overweight Too

Last Sunday, I was watching the NFL playoff games. I figured I could do some core work while watching. So I grabbed my balance ball and got to work.

Soon, my cat Kermit needed some attention. After just a few moments, she jumped onto my belly to get pet. Good thing my camera was within reach:

Looking for some hand lovin.


Settling in. (And yes, that's an original NES in the background... it's sweet!)


Me and Kermit.

My 14 pound cat wants me to stop doing core work and apparently wants me to be overweight too....

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