Saturday, July 30, 2011

What a Week!

What a week it has been!

Saucony and FloTrack have paired together for a shoe design contest. I had to upload a blank template for the Kinvara 2 shoe, and I went with a Stars and Stripes theme. The winner of the contest will have his shoe made as a Limited Edition. My design was selected in the Top Ten, and the winner will be decided by which design gets the most Facebook "Likes." I am currently in third, but I feel that my design is exactly what America needs. Should I not win, I've got a feeling there may be some demand for Saucony to produce my shoe anyway!
Since May 20, I have had some trouble with my peroneal tendon. It's a tendon that runs from the side of the knee down to the ankle; because the area just above the ankle gets little blood flow, the healing process generally is a little longer.  A few weeks ago, I was running every other day, only 15 minutes at a time -- mind you, it still felt tight and sore during and after running. It has been progressing nicely, as I have gradually increased up to 40 minutes and it has been sore neither during nor after activity.  Two days ago, I started a two-days-on/one-day-off routine.  Even though it's not much, it is very exciting to be where I am!

Yesterday I helped some very dear friends move.  Ben and Heather Kampf closed on their very first house, so I helped them move from their apartment to their new home just 0.71 miles away. It was a blast helping them move...no major issues, a very quick process, and the weather cooperated as temperatures seemed pretty mild.

More to come next time -- a new favorite song that could be a personal theme or testimony for any distance runner, and anything else that may come about this next week!

Stay posted!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

I AM BLESSED


Hello fans!
I am new to this whole blogging thing, but it is something I must do to keep all of you informed of what I am doing.  I usually don't do too great of a job keeping family in the loop of upcoming races, or just in general how life is going, so if I don't contact you directly, this may be the next place to look!  
Well, I've just finished Year One as a professional runner with Team USA Minnesota, as well as Year One as the Volunteer Assistant Coach with the University of Minnesota Men's Cross Country and Track & Field program.  As a coach, we had a very nice year, once again qualifying for Nationals in cross country, and the track team defended its last two Big Ten Indoor titles with another win, but lost a very close heartbreaker to host Iowa at the Outdoor Championships.  As an athlete, I had a very nice year, especially given that I was hampered with injuries from June, 2010 until mid-February, 2011.  I ran personal bests in four out of my five races, so I am confident that with health and great training, I can be one of America's best!
Now for the real meaning of this post: I am truly blessed!  Since the time I first starting running as a chunky little freshman in high school, I have been provided great support from my family, coaches, and my teammates.  I received that same support when I went off to college to run at the University of Minnesota.  In a sport that I truly love, I cannot ask for more support than I currently have.  I still receive great support from my family and my girlfriend, Melissa, as they all believe the sky is the limit for me; Team USA Minnesota and our sponsors (PTOSI Physical Therapy, LynLake Chiropractic, Lifetime Fitness, and Twin Cities in Motion to name a few) have allowed me to pursue my dream of becoming one of America's top distance runners.  I have a great coach in Dennis Barker who has done a tremendous job with all his athletes, and I look forward to running at the same level as Katie McGregor and Antonio Vega someday.  I have great teammates who are all supportive of each other, and I always look forward to seeing them at workouts.
I am truly blessed to have a great support system around me to allow me to follow my dreams!