Welcome & Background

Thanks for checking out my running journal.  I have decided to create this site for many reasons.

Personally, I have found myself wanting to create an archive of my adventures so that I can share stories with my kids someday.  And when I get really old, these records will help me recall my youthful days.  Additionally, since ending Lincoln's Logs on caringbridge, the desire to write entertaining updates has smoldered but was never completely doused.  Further, I often find myself sharing running snippets from my life on facebook, but felt that I was boasting to a crowd that doesn't at all understand what an intense fartlek session entails for example. .........



From a training standpoint, I also feel this site will be a useful tool.  First, I hope to recruit fellow runners to visit my site and share in our training even if we never actually train together.  I set very high goals and the prospect of uncovering new ideas to help attain those goals is also driving my efforts.  Additionally, I plan to share this site with the athletes I coach so they can follow my progress and find a way to relate with their own struggles and successes.

Finally, here's a personal little background.  In the past year, I turned 31 years old and ran a new PR at every distance between 1500m and the marathon.  I attribute much of this success to a string of 15 months of consistent training and a little to mental maturity.  Also, this year I have already amassed 2,000 miles in my training for the first time ever.  My training has included an average of 60 miles/week since mid-May with a couple back-to-back weeks in the mid-70s.  Spring training was very hard to get in because I coach HS T&F at one of the top programs in Iowa and the commitment is hard to balance.  I also coach in the XC program and teach math full-time.

I have two amazing kids.  My son Lincoln was born 15 weeks premature in Dec '08 and barely weighed 1.5 pounds.  He spent over 100 days in a NICU, overcame numerous issues and surgeries, and is remarkable today.  I did not run a single mile for five months while our family endured his struggles.  My daughter Natalie was born 5 weeks premature in Dec '10 and was home within a week.  She is a burst of sunshine.  Somehow, January and February were record distance months for me in 2011, which is a testament to the tremendous wife I am blessed to have.