Lap 2 underway

Running:
I'm off and running towards completion of earth lap 2.  Actually October, November and December are usually my off season months for running.  I tend to run primarily just on weekdays during lunch.  Just enough miles so that when January training starts again I don't have to start all over.  Weekend days become reserved for hunting and remaining yard work and whatever other chasing is required.  After reaching the milestone earth lap on Tuesday I've run five miles each day during my lunch break.  I ran my usual five mile loop on Wednesday (42:08) and Thursday (40:44).  Today was raining pretty hard so I opted to stay in and run on the treadmill (40:00).   Since I'll likely not run again this weekend here are the totals through today.
27 WTD
135 MTD
1606 YTD
24872 ODO


Hunting:
All indications are the rut is close.  Notice all the dead deer on the side of the road all of a sudden?  I've seen deer even on my midday runs this week.  Activity is definitely picking up.  I'm looking forward to getting out the next couple days.  I hope the wind dies down before tomorrow morning.  It's really howling outside right now.  What will I do Sunday?  Watch the big game or go hunting?  I think hunting will win.


Gardening:
The leaves have really dropped the last few days.  With the wind right now I wouldn't be surprised to see them all off when it gets light in the morning.  Lot's of raking and blowing to do, but at least I should be able to get it done before it's real cold or we have snow on the ground.

Ceremonial lap 1 2009-10-27

Click here to view these pictures larger

Link to more pictures:  http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=Jeff.Paavola&target=ALBUM&id=5397854893743966401&authkey=Gv1sRgCKyay-DLjZnoIw&feat=email

Milestone reached!

Today's blog entry is dedicated to my completion of my around the earth milestone. I'll edit with pictures as I have them available from today.





Running:
Monday I was able to get out for a six mile run during my lunch break. I ran this in 48:12. I was raining most of the way, but I had to get this run in to set the stage for Tuesday and completion of my first earth lap. On the milestone run today I was joined by Dan Murphy from work. It was great to share the day with a friend and fellow runner. Dan and I talk frequently about marathon running. This is the first time we have run together though. I was happy he joined me and look forward to doing it again. We needed to time our return to the office because there was going to be some other coworkers there to observe the ceremonial breaking of the tape and take some pictures. We ended up needing to take an extra 1/2 mile loop to time our arrival for 1:00. We ended up running it (5.5) miles in 46:23. But time didn't matter today. It was all about completing the lap. Several people were waiting by the drive when we returned. It was great to celebrate the milestone completion with several friends from work.

The history:
While I actually probably reached this milestone some time ago, any miles I put on before 1988 were not kept track of. When I was 11, I actually started to run every morning on my paper route. This was more efficient than using a bike in hilly Bayfield. I ran cross country in high school all four years. I also belonged to the YMCA and Vic Tanny health clubs during the early 80's. So I've always ran some, but never consistently until 1988. So who ever would have thought that two job changes because of layoff, a new pair of Nike Pegasus running shoes, and the free running log that came with them would have lead to this. After 21 years of running almost every lunch break since 1988 and lots of weekend days, I have on October 27th 2009 logged enough miles to complete my first documented lap of the earth. 24,857 miles according to the run log I use. That's an average of 3.24 miles every day for 7670 days.



1988 was a very turbulent year for me. After being in one place for seven years the two job layoffs completely disrupted my routine. I no longer could easily make it to the YMCA where I had been going all that time. Because of that I decided I would begin to run more. I didn't need a gym for that. I went to a local running store and purchased a brand new pair of Nike Pegasus running shoes. These shoes just so happened to have a free running log given away with purchase. Early in 1988 my new routine was to run a few miles every work day either in the morning or at my lunch break. Since I worked in downtown Milwaukee I could run along the Lakefront and use the shower at the downtown YMCA where I had transferred my membership. In the fall another layoff came, but in November 1988 my new employer Fiserv had a shower I could use at work. Since there was no YMCA close I figured I would just run at my lunch break.

In the early years when our office was located on 114th street my running would be along a couple different routes. Unless there was snow I usually ran west along the power line which was close by, or if there was snow I ran loops around and in Greenfield park. When we moved to the current location in Brookfield I quickly found different loops of varying length, but pretty much settled on two different routes one four and another five miles. Thousands of miles have been put on these same couple loops. I do use the treadmill once in a while, but I much prefer to go out. And I have gone out all year round in all types of weather. I've run in -26 air temp, I've run in -50 wind chill, I've run in 100+ temps and hotter with heat factor, wind, rain and whatever else mother nature can throw out there. In 2004 a friend and coworker (now ex-coworker) Jerry Cameron talked me into training for and running a marathon. This has lifted my running to a whole new level. Over half of the earth lap miles have come over the past six years. Almost 13,000 of them. Living west of Milwaukee where I do is awesome for a runner. There is so much varying and interesting terrain. There is state forest, quiet country roads, paved bike trails, or many wooded trails to choose from. For me it makes running fun.

That original hand entry log was filled up in a couple years, as were a few more. In 1994 I created a simple .XLS spreadsheet, transferred my hand written miles into it and logged my new time there. Each tab was a new year. In 2004 I found a real run log on the Internet that I have been using since to log all my miles. Every year I've run in the neighborhood of 300 days each year. I've now run in 15 marathons, two ultra marathons, 4 half marathons and numerous other shorter races. Being able to run the Boston marathon in 2006 was definitely a highlight of this journey.

I don't know how long the next earth lap will take, but I'll keep at it as long as I possibly can. The next lap starts tomorrow.

Big buck sighted

Running:
First off congrats to my friend Jerry who completed the North Face endurance challenge 50k race on Saturday. I'm looking forward to his race report to hear details on how it went. I made it out Saturday morning to see the race start. Ottawa lake where the race start/finish was, is only 6 minutes from my house.

After I returned home I got out for my own run. I did 8.5 miles in 1:05:21. This leaves me with only 11 miles to go for my first earth lap. I'll likely hit it on my Tuesday lunch break run.

Hunting:
Hunting was a lot of fun this weekend. I ended up not going on Saturday morning. It was rather nasty with drizzle still coming down and a stiff breeze. Saturday afternoon I went out to a property I have permission to hunt about 5 miles from my house. At about 5:45 a large deer was approaching from behind me. I could see it was a big buck, but had no shot back there where it was. Soon the deer stomped it's feet and snorted loudly. I thought it must have heard/smelled me. Turned out it saw a black barn cat that was wondering through the woods. I wouldn't have thought such a big animal would be so bothered by such a small one. Anyway it ended up not coming any closer and never gave me a shot. Sunday morning I got out before light. About 7:15 the big guy came back. He approached right down the trail towards the scrape I'm hunting over. He stopped about 15 yards away behind some trees and brush. Only 5 feet from giving me a shot. He just stood there for what seemed like forever. Finally he turned and walked out the way he came, grunting while it walked away. Again no shot. Tonight I got out again and saw the same deer for the third time. This time it was very late, right at quitting time. Again it never came right in and just walked away not giving me a shot. It's encouraging to have seen it three times in a row. I hope over the next couple weeks as the rut gets in full swing he'll be a little less cautious and give me a chance.

Gardening:
I finally got caught up a bit over the last couple days. With the wind and rain over the previous days probably 50% of the leaves came down. I spent time yesterday and this morning raking them and piling them in the garden. After finishing that I mowed the entire lawn this afternoon. I also got the last of the potato's and sweet potato's dug as well as picked enough carrots for the week.

Buck rubs appearing

Running:
First I want to wish my friend Jerry the best on his scheduled 50k trail effort tomorrow morning. The weather has been awful for two days and will make the trail conditions less than optimal for his run. Last night I went to watch my daughter run at her last XC meet of the year. The coach decided not to run her in the varsity sectional tomorrow even though she has the teams 5th fastest time this year. So she ran in the JV race. I have not seen her time posted yet, but I know she finished 21st overall in the 16 school meet. There had to be 150 or more kids running in the terrible conditions. So she did well.

The last three days my running has been during my lunch break. On Wednesday I got outside for a 7.5 mile run in 1:01:55. The last two days it's done nothing but rain. I run outside in almost any weather, but cold drenching rain is one of the conditions I usually don't. I spent two days in a row inside on the treadmill. Both days I posted 5 miles in 40 minutes. Today I bumped up the incline a bit to change it up a little. I listened to my iPod today too, to help ease the boredom a bit. Anyway that brings me to within19.5 miles of my first earth lap. Likely I will make it on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday of next week depending on if I get out for a run this weekend.

Hunting:
Since the last post I finished butchering the deer from last weekend. I really don't mind doing this if I have the time. I'm looking forward to getting out a bit this weekend bow hunting. I'll be out early in the morning if it's not still raining. Bow hunting in the rain can be done and can be productive but if you need to do any tracking of an animal it can be near impossible. For that reason I usually choose to not go. I will likely get out for an evening hunt on Saturday and again on Sunday morning. The rut should be starting soon, so things will start to get exciting in the woods. There has been signs of buck activity (rubs on the trees) showing up around the yard this past week.

Gardening:
With the short days, lots else going on, and the crappy weather gardening has gotten the short end this week for sure. Fishing buckets of leaves out of the pond every day has been about the extent of it.

37 until milestone

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/YWj8z8OqmBsIJZmSOXJpjg?authkey=Gv1sRgCJqk0uLBz8S2rgE&feat=directlink

Running:

Now I'm really closing in on that first earth lap. The snap of the page from my run log didn't show very well so I provided a link to the picture also. I'm only 37 miles away from reaching this milestone. By my calculation I will hit this next week. Now I need to figure out when I want to do it. In some ways I'd like to reach it on a weekend day. I have a few favorite runs that I like to do from home, and it would be easier to do something special afterward. On the other hand most of the miles on this journey have been accomplished at work and most of those over the same 5 mile route. It almost seems wrong to not do it there. What it looks like I should have done is sign up for the North Face 50K this weekend. Then I could do it in an exciting way. The race filled up last week though. I still have a few days to figure this out.

Yesterday I got another 5 in during my lunch break on my usual course. It took me 38:33.

Hunting:
One more leg to cut up and I'll be finished processing the deer from last Saturday. So maybe about an hour. I'm already thinking of my next hunts. This weekend I will likely hunt on my wife's bosses property where I have permission. The last couple years I've scored on a big one on this property. It's only a five mile drive from my house to get there. It's definitely one of my favorite places to go.

Gardening:

I keep thinking of all the things I need to get done yet in the yard this year. It's so hard to fit everything into the weekend days though. By the time I get home at night now it's usually dark or to late to start anything at least. May have to think about a day off from work to catch up a bit.

Packers win

Running:
Because I was able to get a deer on Saturday, that freed up my morning to get out for a run on Sunday. Sunday morning there was a very heavy frost. The temperature was down in the mid twenties. It was very calm though. I dressed up about as warmly as I do for many winter runs. I ran 8.5 miles in 1:05:35. I kind of expected to see some hunters out while I was on my run, but I saw no one in the usual spots and heard no shots the time I was out there.

Totals through Sunday:
34 WTD
72 MTD
1544 YTD
24810 ODO (47 miles short of my first earth lap)

Today I got out during my lunch break for a 5 mile run in 39:26.
Here's a link to a few more marathon pictures. These are all just thumb size. http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=Jeff.Paavola&target=ALBUM&id=5394511573709379905&authkey=Gv1sRgCPnWmdegxfbCPQ&feat=email

Hunting:
On Sunday I was hoping to get out hunting in the evening for a couple hours. After watching and/or listening to most of the Packer game, then going to watch the kids soccer game I just kind of ran out of time. The Packers won by the way, beating the Lions 26-0. I spent some time last night and this morning cutting up the deer I got Saturday. I decided I couldn't justify the cost of processing with a deer of it's size. I've got most of it done. I put the parts not done in the extra refrigerator to finish later. I have just a little more work to do before I'm finished.

Gardening:
After watching the Packer game until about half time I got out to mow some of the lawn. I listened to the second half while I push mowed and bagged the sections of lawn I usually do that way. Most of the clippings and chopped leaves end up going directly on the garden this time of year. Hopefully then I can rototill them in before the ground is frozen.

Earned my buck

Running: This picture is from last Saturday 10/10 when I was up in Bayfield. The first snow of the year.

On Friday I got out for an easy five miles on my lunch break. I ran my usual 5 mile route in 40:39. Today was a hunting and work in the yard day so I took the day off from running.
My youngest daughter was to have run in the Conference XC meet this morning. She has been sick most of this week, and woke up this morning not feeling well at all. She had to take take the day off. I don't know if this will affect her chances to run varsity at the sectional meet next week or not.

Hunting:
Well this evening I "earned" my buck. I finally scored on a small doe. It feels kind of weird though. Dad would always be the first one I would call when I got one. This is the first time I couldn't do that. Anyway after a couple of mornings and evenings without getting anything it feels good to take this pressure off. Tonight is the homecoming dance at our kids high school. I had some duties including driving them to the dance so I wasn't even sure I would get out tonight. I was able to finally make it out in the back yard around 5:45. A little later than I would have liked, but on this day it would have to do. I was only there about 15 minutes when a deer appeared out of the woods. It proceeded to make it's way into the food plot I put in. I watched it feed for about 15 minutes when it started walking towards me, but out of the food plot. I was pretty sure another bigger one wasn't coming so I had to take my chance. At about 25 yards, out of my new stand I put up I took the shot. The deer ran about 30 yards and fell within my sight. Thank goodness no tracking tonight. I tagged the deer and left it there to deal with later. I had to take the kids and some friends to the dance so I took care of that first and then came back to finish cleaning and hanging up the deer. Tomorrow I will take it in for registration and processing. I'd process it myself if I had the time tomorrow, but I know I won't. It's a nice cool night so the meat will stay in good shape.

Gardening:
Today I had to clean all the leaves from my gutters. I did both stories of the house. Not many of the leaves have come down, but there were plenty to fill up all the gutters. I also got most of the lawn furniture, lawn ornaments, and planters put away into storage. This took most of the afternoon. I don't have room for everything until bring my lawn tractor in for winter storage. The local John Deere place offers free storage for the winter if you allow then to take care of any tune up or mechanical issues over the winter. I've done this the last several years. I think there could be 2 or 3 mowings yet this year.

Hate the "mill"

Running:
Wednesday I was able to get out for my run during my lunch break. I managed 8 miles in 1:00:45. It was cool and cloudy but a real good day for a run. I broke out the tights and a long sleeve shirt for the first time this fall. Today was just a real nasty day. There was rain or drizzle all day. I opted to stay in for my run today. I ran on the treadmill at work. Did I ever say how much I dislike the "mill". Anyway I did 5 miles in 40 minutes. I'm now somewhere around 60 miles away from my first earth lap. I hope to make it by the end of October.

Hunting:
Today started a special gun season for antlerless deer. This season runs for four days. I managed to get home from work in time to get out for the last hour or so of light. Because of the earn-a-buck rules in place in this part of the state I'm really hoping to put my tag on an antlerless deer before the rut kicks in and bow hunting gets serious. How sad would it be to have to pass up that big buck because I didn't have my "buck sticker". I would not be happy.

Gardening:
A nasty day today and little time for gardening. I have a few chores that are lining up to get done before the weather gets too cold. There will be lots of leaves to clean up too, once they turn and start to fall. Most of the leaves are still way to the green side around here yet. The wind over the past week did knock some down before they turned. I did notice that the gutters need to be cleaned from the ones that have come down.

To run or not to run

Running:
Not much has been going on in the running area for a while. I’ve still been primarily in recovery mode since the marathon. Last Thursday I did manage to run 4 miles on the treadmill in 32:00.
My plan for this past weekend was to head north to Bayfield. I took Friday and Monday off from work to get in a long weekend. I had lots of chores to do before I left and of course everything took longer than anticipated so I got off to a late start. All the way up I kept playing in my mind that I should run in one of the Whistlestop races on Saturday. I was feeling pretty recovered and thought maybe I could run in the half marathon. I mean as long as I was up there why not. I was confident I would try this until I got closer and heard the local forecast for Saturday. Cold, windy and wet. I still went to the expo with the intent of signing up and actually had the form in my hand. When I saw the $75 cost for the half, my mind changed. I just couldn’t justify the cost of running in miserable weather for a non goal race that I probably wouldn’t do that well in. I scored a new pair of Asics Nimbus running shoes for $50 at the expo and left confident I made the right decision. When I woke up Saturday morning and things were even worse than forecast I was happy I made this decision. I didn’t get out to run at all over the weekend so I ended up with a measly 8 miles for the week. Tuesday I got out for a 7.5 mile run during my lunch break in 59:03. The legs felt great and it was real good to get out there.

Hunting:
I finally got out for my first hunts of the year. My original goal for Friday was to leave in enough time to get out hunting in Bayfield when I got there. Because of my late start this didn’t happen. All the way up north Friday afternoon and evening there were deer out everywhere. Probably feeding with the storm heading towards Wisconsin. The weather was perfect too, so I wasn’t happy I didn’t get out. Saturday morning was terrible. No deer in its right mind would be moving around with the kind of wind we had. I stayed home. Saturday evening it was still breezy, but considerably less than most of the day. I got out for my first hunt of the year. I was only out a couple hours and didn’t see anything, but it was good to be out there. Sunday morning I headed out well before light. There’s something unnerving about walking in the woods in the pitch blackness when you know there are bears in the woods with you. I kind of get used to this a bit after a couple of times, but I was sure jumpy on my way in. I hunted for a couple hours and again saw nothing. Sunday evening things really changed. The weather really calmed down. The woods became very quiet. The leaves on the trees were not moving at all. I could hear things as small as a mouse rustling in the leaves below me. Almost from the time I arrived I had deer all around me. Several passed by pretty close, but I saw nothing I could or wanted to shoot at. I don’t know how many I actually saw because several of the deer passed by a few times. Maybe there were 6/7 total. It was exciting though and the time passed quickly. On Monday morning I decided to try an alternate stand site. It was a nice morning but I didn’t see anything but a few squirrels.

Gardening:
As mentioned earlier I had a lot of work to do Friday before I left. This work was all garden related. With the impending freeze that was coming I had to haul all my pumpkins (maybe 60 of them) from the field up near the house and into the trailer to cover them. The squash also needed to be brought in the garage for protection. I picked about 2 wheelbarrows full. I picked about three bushels of apples of different varieties too. There also was other things to pick and other vegetables to cover to protect them from the cold. The leaves are beginning to fall too, so the pond gets covered with netting to protect from most of the leaves ending up in the water. If it weren’t for May and October the garden chores aren’t so bad. These months can be overwhelming with all the things that need to be done.

Recovery mode

Running:
This is recovery time from the marathon effort last Sunday. As of this morning I feel pretty good. Monday I took completely off from any physical effort. Tuesday I made it down to the workout room at work and did 20 minutes on the elliptical machine, some weights, and stretching. Wednesday I got out for a four mile run without the watch. I'm guessing at about 9 minute mile pace. The first half mile or so I was a little stiff, but things loosened up and the rest of the run was great. I also did a few more weights and stretching after the run. Not sure what's next. I'll have to see if there are any more races I'd like to do this fall. Usually my focus turns to hunting after my fall marathon so there may be no more this year.

Hunting:

I'm really looking forward to getting my hunting season off to a start this year. I still haven't been out yet this fall. That will change this weekend. I have some clothes to wash and some gear to get ready yet but I'll be out there.

Gardening:
I have picked all the pumpkins and squash and have them in piles down by the garden. The pumpkins really turned out great this year. We have a freeze predicted for this weekend so I'll need to cover them with a tarp to save them. I've begun to sell the pumpkins. A couple of people from work came out with their kids/grand kids and got some. Several more have been brought into work to sell, and the rest will be sold through a local garden center. I have a second crop of lettuce and some brussel sprouts that will also need to be covered, everything else left in the garden is a root crop and will be OK through a short freeze.

Race report

Running: Lakefront Marathon race report

Thanks for the picture Jerry!

Good thing I had a decent nights sleep on Saturday. As usual I woke up at about 3:00 and couldn't get back to sleep. At 4:00 I got out of bed and started the usual pre-marathon routine. By 5:20 I was ready to go and headed off to meet Jerry and his dad Tom for the drive to Grafton for the start of the race. Found Jerry's house just fine and after brief hello's and loading the car we were off. We stopped to pick up another friend of Jerry's (Dave) along the way. We made it out to Grafton nice and early and set up camp in the school cafeteria waiting for the start.

The start eventually came off without a hitch. My plan was to start the race at 7:10 to 7:15 pace and keep this up through at least half way to give me a chance at a PR. I knew it would take a great second half to reach this. I started back a little farther to try and avoid the usual jack rabbit start. The first mile was easy, but my Garmin registered the first mile early. I had set the auto lap feature so I didn't have to worry about hitting the lap button each mile. So the first mile looks worse than it was. They were calling out the times at the miles so I know I hit the first one at 7:15 minus the 7 seconds it took me to get across the start line. So right where I wanted to be. The next several miles I just tried to lock into pace. I did real well through the first 8 miles. I know I need to run a little faster than 8 MPH to be close to where I think I can finish time wise. So in my head I try to think about the race by 8/8/8 and 2.2. So I know if I run each 8 mile segment in just under an hour and get to 24 miles in a few minutes under 3 hours I'll be close to where I want to be. I hit the first 8 miles at 57:37 (7:12 pace) which was perfect. The next eight miles I just slowed a bit. Nothing really happened here and I felt fine, I just lost the pace. At half I was 1:36:50 (7:24 pace). At this point I started figuring out all my top goals for the day were already gone. This can really start to play in your head. When I met Jerry at about mile 15.5 I was still feeling and running pretty well. I made it to mile 16 at 1:57:54 (7:22 pace). There is a slight discrepancy here because the half time is from the clock and the miles are from my Garmin. Anyway I'm still not far off from my goal, but I know I don't have it in me to speed up. The next 8 miles were really a struggle and a mind game. It's hard when your goals have passed you by and you know how far you still have to go. Somewhere in here a guy passed me that had a shirt that said "for U dad" and had his dad's picture. I talked to him briefly and tried to keep up for a while. This got me back on track to at least not give up. Any time I hurt and wanted to stop I just thought about running the rest of this race for my dad and to finish without walking to make him proud of this day. I struggled on. At mile 23 you finally hit a downhill portion where you get a good view of the lake and start to see the city skyline just beyond the race finish line. When we made the turn onto this section the wind seemed to pick up and blow directly in your face, even though the main direction was West. Frustrating when you are struggling to feel the wind work against you. At mile 24 I was already at 3:03:04. These last few miles were tough and on concrete, which is really hard on those tired muscles. I just kept pushing one foot out in front of the other. I passed several people who had to stop and walk during this stretch. Finally I made it to the break wall and a last right turn to the finish. Some guy had closed in on me the last half mile, but I was not going to let him pass me. I picked up the pace for the final .2 to finish in 3:23:14. I finished 215th overall out of 1885 finishers. This also keeps my streak of Boston qualifying races alive at 14. It's interesting that my finish time is almost exactly what my 5k time plugged into the race conversion calculator told me I'd get. It's not my best time, but considering the way this year has been and coming all the way back from a stress fracture in March I'm OK with it.

After I finished I made it for a quick massage. I then picked up my gear bag and changed clothes. Found my way to the food and of course the beer tent. I then found Jerry and we went to watch for his dad to finish. We talked about a lot of things running and non running related. Just after 5 hours Tom came around the corner. We then met up and we all headed back to the car for the trip home. Over all it was a pretty good day, and good company.

Here are my splits taken off the Garmin:

Mile 01 6:47 (short mile - actually 7:08)
02 7:01
03 7:19
04 7:17
05 7:08
06 7:23
07 7:17
08 7:20 - 57:37
09 7:21
10 7:32
11 7:27
12 7:29
13 7:34 - (13.1 1:36:50 actual clock time not Garmin)
14 7:32
15 7:42
16 7:37 - 1:57:54
17 7:48
18 7:54
19 7:54
20 8:19
21 8:17
22 8:10
23 8:29
24 8:15 - 3:03:04
25 8:42
26 8:56
last .20 2:30 - 3:23:14 (garmin was .34 not .20 so 26.34 total instead of 26.2)

Lakefront marathon

Running:
Thought I would just post a brief update about the marathon today. I'll edit this post for a more complete report some time on Monday.

I finished the race today with a time of 3:23:14.
This is not as fast as anticipated and turns out exactly my time I got by plugging my 5k time into the Mcmillan calculator. Temperature was great for running. The wind was a little annoying at times, especially in the last few miles. Overall pleased to finish 212th overall out of over 2000 runners. Actually pleased to finish at all after the way this year has gone.

Packet picked up

Running:
Can't believe October has already come and race day is tomorrow. It's been a long road back from injury this past spring, but I think I'm ready for this. Thursday was my last day of running this week. I ran four miles in a real easy 32:03. Friday and today are off days. That leaves me 25 miles short of 1500 for the year.

Went down to the expo last night after work to pick up my race packet. I ran into my friend Jerry while I was there. We talked and browsed the merchandise for probably about an hour. We've e-mailed a bit and I've kept up with his blog, but it was good to see him in person. Jerry offered a ride to Grafton for the start of the race which I'm going to take him up on. Jerry's not running tomorrow, but his dad is so he was already was heading out that way. This will work well and will save me a few minutes in the morning. Not to mention the hassle of driving all the way downtown so early to catch a shuttle bus. It'll be nice having the company instead of just strangers.

Right now the forecast call for 40 degrees and dry early in the morning with a westerly wind. The temp is supposed to max out in the 50's. The westerly wind should be OK. It's not a tailwind and will kind of be at your side for most of the race. The good thing is this should keep the wind from switching to the south or east as we approach the lake, so no headwind in the last few miles.

Hunting:
In one of my first posts I mentioned an issue I was having with a local taxidermist. I brought a deer in for mounting back in December of 2006 and still don't have it back. Thursday morning I went in to talk to him again. My thinking was if he wasn't done or able to work on it now I would ask for the cape and antlers back so I could have someone else finish it. Anyway he agreed three years is to long. He pulled the paperwork and box out and told me it would now be on the top of his list. I should get it back in October. We'll see.

Gardening:
I was able to get all the fertilizing and core aeration of the lawn completed during the week. I finished the aeration with great timing. I was done just before we had our last big rain on Thursday. We also had rain Friday and expect more today. I cut all the pumpkins from the vines so the stems don't rot. I also harvested several and brought a load in to Wales Lawn and Garden so they can begin selling some for me.