Day 1031 -- Jogger's Progress

	Trip	YTD	Dec
Distance	6394.3	1810.0	128.3
Time	42 days, 19 hrs, 1 min	12 days, 19 hours, 51 mins	20:54
Days	1031	274	21
States	21	6	1

Thus ends the fourth year of JogAmericaBlog. I exceeded my yearly goals by 151.6 miles, 19:51 running time, and 16 running days. Not bad, not bad at all.

I don't know what goals to set for 2010. I really don't think I can increase all those numbers again. I think I've about hit my limit. On the other hand, the one goal that I didn't meet this last year was to set a personal record (PR) at some distance. So that's my goal: a PR in the marathon. I am running the Madison Marathon in May, and I could still run a fall marathon, so I could get two cracks at it. It's a goal, anyway.

My last run of the year was late this afternoon. We drove up from Grandma Jogger's town right after lunch, and after we unloaded, I went over to Snap Fitness to stretch out my legs. It was a good run.

Tomorrow, we start the fifth year....

Day 1030 -- More Rochester

When one thinks of Rochester, Minnesota, the second thing that comes to mind (after the world's largest ear of corn) is the Mayo Clinic. This image is from a CNN/Money story on companies that were hiring in 2009. (The story was published in January.) The image is attributed to mayoclinic.org, but I went over there, and couldn't find anything I liked as much.

I got up early this morning, and headed over to Snap Fitness for a very easy 5K. I wouldn't have run at all, the day after a long run, but I'll be taking the next two days off, since there's no place to run here at Grandma Jogger's house. We drove down this morning. There was some blowing snow, which slowed us down a bit. But we made it in one piece. Now we'll try to relax a little.

Day 1029 -- Rochester

Rochester provides the opportunity for me to visit two old friends. I found the above image at Beans Around the World, a website devoted to photographing this can of beans in all sorts of unlikely places. As soon as I saw the water tower, I realized that I had seen it at The World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Version of the World's Largest Things, and sure enough, the image below was one of their former headers, still tucked away on the What's Large Where? page. It is, of course, the World's Largest Ear of Corn.


I ran 15 miles on the dreadmill today, my last long run of the year. In fact, I don't know how many more runs I'm going to get in this year. Tomorrow, we head down to Iowa to visit Grandma Jogger and the Photographer, and I don't think I'll have the opportunity to run. We're coming back up on New Year's Eve, and I'll try to squeeze in one last run. Perhaps I can go over to Snap Fitness at midnight and run into the new year.

Day 1028 -- Pine Island

In July, 2007, Jim and Tom took a bike tour through this part of the country. Here are Tom and his bike, standing in front of the road work in downtown Pine Island. Who are Jim and Tom, you ask? The page where I found the photo doesn't have many clues. I guess if you are reading it, you should know who they are. I do know that the page is hosted on the faculty server at Slippery Rock University, where Jim apparently teaches Geography, Geology, and Environmental Science.

I didn't try to push myself this morning. I did a quick 5K. The dreadmill at Snap Fitness actually has a "5K" program. I managed just under 10 minute miles, which is OK. We'll see if I have time to run tomorrow.

Day 1027 -- Christmas!

Happy Christmas from the Jogger Family!

We managed to sleep in a reasonable amount. We opened presents first thing. The main present was a new Wii gaming system, which is very popular, but also has led to some fights. Too many kids, not enough joysticks. The medium Little Jogger is, of course, the crankiest. When he's the one playing, life is great, but if he has to wait his turn, it's horrible. Horrible, I tell you.

Yes, I did get out to run. I went to Snap Fitness, and I was not the only one. There were four people there when I got there, and two different people when I left. I went around lunch time. I didn't run quite as far as I had planned, but any run is better than no run. And I'd skipped yesterday, because of the rotten weather. So it was good.

Happy Christmas to all who are celebrating today, and a happy day to everyone else, too.

Day 1026 -- More Zumbrota

Zumbrota, Minnesota just kind of trips off the tongue, doesn't it? "I drove my Toyota from Zumbroata, Minnesota to North Dakota to pick up a case of cherry soda." It's just a nice name for a town.

The City of Zumbrota web site informs me that the bridge I ran through yesterday is Minnesota's only remaining functioning covered bridge. Also,

The City boasts an active Main Street, growing commercial & industrial sectors, strong residential roots and well maintained parks & open space. The population is now over 3,100 with about 1,300 households and 210 businesses.

And it sounds great.

I did a sneaky tempo run today on the dreadmill. Every five minutes, I bumped up my speed just a little bit, until I was running at close to an 8:30 pace. I sustained that pace for 10 minutes, then backed down. It was a nice workout, and different from the steady runs I've been doing.

Day 1025 -- Zumbrota

This covered bridge should protect me from the snow. We got four or five inches in the last 24 hours, and it's still snowing. I think up towards Zumbrota, they are expecting even more. This photo is lifted from Flikr, where it was posted by "cursedthing". As usual on Flikr, there's not much context, but it's in a photo set called "Zumbrota, MN", so I think it's fair game.

With the snow, and with the indoor track closed, it was back to Snap Fitness today. I managed to eke out six miles in 60 minutes. It was OK, except that I was watching the NFL network, which insisted on replaying the Packers last-second loss from Sunday. They are replaying the whole game tonight, but I think I'll give it a miss.

Day 1024 -- Cannon Falls

Thirteen miles today brings me somewhat south of Cannon Falls, but not yet to Zumbrota. So I'll take the opportunity to run in front of The Church of the Redeemer in Cannon Falls, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1867.

As I did last Sunday, I went to Snap Fitness after church for a long run and a football game. Well, two football games. I kept switching back and forth between Jets/Falcons and Dolphins/Titans, four teams about which I don't care one way or the other. It was a much better distraction to watch the Packers last week. I admit, it feels a little indulgent to watch TV while running. But it does relieve the boredom of the treaded dreadmill.

Day 1023 -- Northfield

I'm not actually running through Northfield. I'm on highway 52, running 10 miles or so to the east. But Northfield is the home of not one, but two small liberal arts colleges, both with fantastic math programs. So I thought I'd better run by for a visit.

Above, you'll find the Old Music Building at St. Olaf College. That's the building pictured on their math department web page, so presumably that's where the math department offices are. Below, Carleton College shows the Center for Mathematics and Computing, which is more what you would expect on the math department page.


I did sleep in this morning, but then I went for a run at noon. It had warmed up to close to freezing, and we hadn't had any fresh snow, so I decided to pop out for and actual run on the city streets. I think that was my first outdoor run of December. With snow in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow, it might be the last, too.

Day 1022 -- Hampton

The Minnesota Country Mouse Folk Blog provides this picture of the Cambodian Buddhist Temple in Hampton, MN.

I did make my six miles this morning, on the dreadmill. I went out considerably slower than yesterday, and it was still kind of tough. I think I'd better take tomorrow off.

Day 1021 -- Coates

If you happen to need a dumpster from Alpha Container Service and Recycling in Coates, MN, you should know that they come in three sizes. They are, left to right, 30 cubic yards, 20 cubic yards, and 10 cubic yards. So you need to decide how much junk you have to throw away before you call.

I went back to Snap Fitness and their dreadmill this morning. I had ambition to run six miles, but I only made five. Perhaps tomorrow.

Day 1020 -- Rosemount

Hey, what are all these skateboarders doing here? Oh, I guess one of them is Ian Sherman, whose home town is Rosemount, Minnesota, about where I am, now. I can't shake the feeling that I have been to a Rosemount before, but I'm too tired to look it up now.

I took yesterday off, because I was plenty sore after my two-hour run on Sunday. Then this morning I had an early exam, so I didn't run first thing. At noon, I slipped over to the gym on campus. Alas, they are tearing up the indoor track (for the second time in three years) so I had to do the treaded dreadmill there. Hmph! Oh, well, I did a quick three miles, then got back to grading.

Day 1019 -- St. Paul

I'm south of St. Paul, and heading south, but I thought I'd better stop in for another visit with Frank, the State Capitol Guy. I first met Frank in Trenton, NJ, back in January of 2006. I've visited him again in Harrisburg, Indianapolis, Topeka, Cheyenne, Denver (nearly), Salt Lake City, Sacramento, Salem, Helena (sort of), and Pierre. I want to point out that in the almost four years that I have known him, Frank has not added one single state capitol to his life list. I, on the other hand, have added eleven, at least virtually.

I had fun today. After church, I went to Snap Fitness. Each dreadmill there has its own private TV, so I watched the Packers/Bears game while getting in a long run. A long, long run. I ran from the middle of the first quarter till late in the fourth. In actual elapsed time, it was two hours, with a slight break halfway. It was fun. And the Packers won, so overall I'm pretty happy this afternoon. I should be grading, but I'm not. Which also makes me happy.

Day 1018 -- More Minneapolis

For anyone who has spent time in Minnesota, this is a familiar sight. No, not me--the road construction. The Twin Cities Daily Photo has a little complaint about the construction on 35 W. Complaining about road construction is another Minnesota tradition.

Speaking of complaining....yesterday I complained that the treaded dreadmill wasn't really running, and today I went right back. I didn't have much choice. The gym at the university is closed today because of the commencement ceremonies. So it was the dreadmill or nothing. Well, it was the dreadmill or running outside in sub-freezing weather over packed snow and ice. So it was the dreadmill. And you know what? It didn't feel easy compared to yesterday. So yesterday might have been a matter of being tired, rather than the track really being harder than the dreadmill. Or maybe I'm just becoming a wimp.

Days 1016 and 1017 -- Minneapolis

The World's Largest Collection of the Word's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things lists this as the World's Largest Spoon and Cherry. They do not, however, have a picture. They directed me to the web site of the Walker Art Center. Of course, there are pictures of this thing all over the web.

I'm sorry that I haven't checked in. I did take Wednesday off. The only exercise that I got was shoveling snow. Then Thursday, I did a quick 5K at Snap Fitness. This morning, I went to the actual gym, and ran laps. You know what? The treadmill is just not the same. It has been over a week since I ran, and I could feel the difference. I need to remember to get to the gym once in a while. Flapping your arms and legs on the treadmill feels like running, but it's not.

Day 1015 -- New Hope

From city-data.com, Cooper High in New Hope.

Day 1015 was yesterday. I did five miles on the treaded dreadmill. Then last night the Packers were on Monday Night Football, so I was up late, and I skipped my run this morning. Tomorrow, we'll see. The Blizzard of '09 is bearing down upon the Midwest, and I may not even make it out of the house tomorrow.

Days 1013 and 1014 -- Maple Grove

This is cool. Maple Grove, Minnesota, made CNNMoney's list of the top 100 small cities in America. They are number 41. Two of my former homes are on the list. Ann Arbor is number 27, and Madison is number 89. I don't know what their criteria are, but I liked Madison more than Ann Arbor. Both are very nice. As, I'm sure, is Maple Grove.

I went to Snap Fitness both of the last two days. I did five miles yesterday morning, and five more today at noon. I'm still not fond of the treadmill, but I'm getting used to it. The noon run was OK, because I could actually watch a football game. Try that running outside.

This morning, we went to see the local High School's production of "Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory." The first Little Jogger was on the backstage crew. She enjoyed it, but I think she'll be glad that it's over. She's had some late nights this week. Tonight, she's at a cast party. Charlie Bucket's father happens to be the principal of the High School, and the part is at their house. I think we can probably trust them to keep the party under control. And since they live right around the corner, the First can walk home when she gets tired.

Days 1011 and 1012 -- Rogers

I'm away from my home computer, so you're going to have to imagine me running in front of the City Center Restaurant in Rogers, MN. I'm sure that the folks at Sabongi Consulting Group, which did the design for the remodeling, prefer not to have their artistic vision interrupted by a sweaty marathoner, anyway.

I ran a solid six miles yesterday, but didn't get a chance to blog it. I spent a lot of time last night proofreading my exams. Which I'm giving tonight. Right now. That's why I'm away from my home computer. I did also get in a quick three this morning.

We got our first snow today. It's been coming down lightly but steadily all day, and it's finally managed to build up to about a half an inch or so. It hadn't started early this morning, so it didn't interrupt my run. But it may do so tomorrow. Hello, Snap Fitness!

Day 1010 -- Jogger's Progress

	Trip	YTD	Nov
Distance	6266.0	1681.7	141.4
Time	41 days, 22 hrs, 7 min	11 days, 22 hours, 57 mins	23:59
Days	1010	253	24
States	21	6	1

The end of the month calls for a check on my progress. It's been a good month, particularly the last half. I ran 12 of the last 13 days, and a total of 24 days overall. My mileage was the highest total since August, and I ran 39 seconds short of 24 hours.

I thought I'd better check on my yearly goals, to see how much I needed to do in December to make sure that I meet them. I wanted to run 258 days, and I've already run 253. So I only need five more days in December. I ought to be able to do that. I wanted to run a total of 12 days of running time, and I'm already at 11 days, 22 hours, and 57 minutes. So in my five days of running, I only need to average 12 minutes a day. Most impressive is my mileage. My mileage goal for 2009 was 1658.4, and I'm already over! I passed my 2008 mileage last week!

So, I can take it easy in December and still make my goals. Knowing me, I probably won't take it all that easy. Which will make it even tougher to beat 2009 in 2010.

Day 1009 -- More Monticello

The Monticello Community Center, the unit address of the 257th Military Police Company. MP cannot be an easy job. You get all the hassle of being a cop, and the added pressure that the community you are assigned to police is mostly macho guys with guns.

I ran an easy 3.7 miles this morning. I wanted to get in some exercise, before the drive home from Grandma Jogger's house. I'm glad I did. The drive was OK, but the boys were noisy, and I'm running low on patience. Now we're home, and I'm trying to relax a little before I have to wade back into the swamp tomorrow morning.

Day 1008 -- Monticello

This is Hi-Way Liquors, the municipal liquor store run by city of Monticello. I could use a belt, after almost 10 miles this morning. It wasn't quite as long as I could have gone, I think. In any case, it was a good run.

Day 1007 -- Clear Lake

Clear Lake is just east of Clearwater. Apparently, the water is really clear up here, or at least it was when they were naming things. This image is from a bike journey of the Paul Bunyan Trail through Minnesota. OK, there's one problem. This is Clear Lake, Iowa, where the bikers launched their journey.

This is Clear Lake, Minnesota, from the web page of the Traveler's Country Club on the Mississippi. OK, if I mixed them up, do you think you could really tell?

I had to run outside this morning, since I don't have access to a gym or a treadmill here in Grandma Jogger's town. it was cold, but I survived. I ran just 4.5 miles. It was enough to loosen me up. I've been diddling around most of the day, doing a little grading.

Day 1006 -- Clearwater

This might be the Clearwater city hall. It's hard to tell. It's the main image on their web page.

Another nice thing about Snap Fitness is that they are open on Thanksgiving morning. I got up early and went down for a five mile run on the treadmill. Then the Little Joggers and I piled into the minivan and drove down to Grandma Jogger's house for a terrific Thanksgiving dinner. Now I'm watching the Packers and digesting.

Day 1005 -- St. Augusta

St. Augusta is a small town south of St. Cloud. As far as I recall, we only ever drove through it. There are lots of little towns around St. Cloud that we at least went to a garage sale or a church bazaar, but I don't think St. Augie was among them. (We're very informal about our saints up in Central Minnesota. St. Augusta is "St. Augie", St. Joseph is "St. Joe", and St. Benedict is "St. Ben". St. Cloud is just "St. Cloud". No nickname for him. (In case you're wondering, I believe that St. Cloud is a corruption of St. Claude, the French missionary.))

This picture of a garage fire in St. Augie is from the web page of the St. Augusta Fire Department. The fire was in September, 2008.

I went to Snap Fitness for the first time today. Our town has not one, but two 24/7 fitness places. Snap Fitness was having and end-of-the-year special, and I signed up. The main advantage over the gym at school is that they are open any time. I started my run at 5:30 this morning, a half an hour before the gym is open. The main disadvantage is that they don't have a track, only a treadmill. For now, I'm keeping both memberships, to see how much use I get out of each one. Anyway, after starting out a bit too fast on the treadmill, I backed off and had a slower seven-mile run.

Day 1004 -- St. Cloud

From City-Data.com, an entrance to St. Cloud State University. When I taught at St. John's, we lived in St. Cloud, because that's where the rentals were. There were some rentals in St. Joseph, where the College of St. Benedict is, but a lot more in St. Cloud. However, I didn't spend a lot of time at St. Cloud State. It's funny, because I actually know more people in the math department at St. Cloud State now than I did back then. Anyway, I don't know whether this archway was there in the early nineties. I don't remember it.

Today I ran a quick three. Shortly after I finished, it started raining, and it's been raining periodically all day. It's threatening to turn to snow tomorrow. We'll see.

Day 1003 -- The College of St. Benedict

The College of St. Benedict is the sister school to St. John's. They are actually pretty much joint programs. All classes at both colleges are open to students from either. When I was there, most people in the math department taught on both campuses, as least occasionally. Most of my classes were at St. John's, but some were at St. Ben's.

The seven or eight miles between the campuses present a logistical problem: ten minutes between classes ain't gonna do it. They have (or at least they used to have) seventy-minute periods with thirty minutes passing time. Since they can't get that many classes into a day, they have a six-day schedule. Monday would be a Day 1, then Tuesday would be a Day 2, Wednesday a Day 3, and so on until the next Monday would be a Day 6. Then Tuesday would be the next Day 1. Most classes met on either even or odd days, but some labs and stuff would meet only one or two days of the cycle. It was easy enough to get used to, but it did make it kind of a challenge to schedule doctor's appointments. "Are you free in the afternoon on Tuesdays?" "Well, it depends...."

This is the Bendicta Arts Center on the St. Ben's campus. I'm pretty sure that it was there when I was, but apparently it has been rehabbed. It won some sort of Design award from an organization with the initials AIA. I fished around on their web site, and I was unable to determine what AIA stands for, although one of the A's is clearly "Architecture" or "Architects".

I ran five and a half miles this morning. It was a bit warmer than yesterday, but a bit breezier. I have no grounds to complain, considering that we are this far into November, and haven't had any really bad weather, yet. I have only had to run indoors a couple of days.

Day 1002 -- St. John's University

In December of 1988, I earned my Master's degree from the University of Michigan, and started looking for a job. Back then, it was possible (barely) to get a job at the college level with a Master's degree. In fact, I got a two-year position at St. John's University, here in Collegeville, MN.

This was a good experience for me. The math department (which is a combined department between St. John's and its sister school, the College of St. Benedict) was terrific to me. They gave me some decent courses, and not just the junk that no one wanted to teach. They gave me freedom to teach my own way, but they were also there to help me when I needed it. It's no stretch to say that that job, my first full-time teaching job, helped shape the teacher that I am today.

This is the Abbey Church on the St. John's campus. Collegeville is little more than the college, the abbey, and a handful of houses. If you were to travel back in time to the early 90's, you would not see this scene. First of all, I was a much younger Jogger. But actually, I wasn't a jogger at all. I didn't start running until about a decade later.

I ran nine miles and change today. It was a little cold, but I got warmed up pretty quickly. Nine miles is sort of a drop-back long run for me, after 11 last week. I'll planning to try for 13 this next weekend, but that depends on the weather, and on where we are for Thanksgiving.

Day 6B5 -- Avon

When I'm out on a run, I almost always say hello to pedestrians: fellow joggers, actual runners, walker, dog-walkers, etc. I'll wave to a car if I think I know the driver. And I always wave at the police. It's my way of saying "Thank you". It can't be an easy job. No doubt it is 90% boredom, 9% hassle, and 1% downright danger. Today, I get my chance to wave at the police in Avon, Minnesota. I also call your attention to Avon's motto: "Lakes, Loons, Living". Now, doesn't that make you want to visit?

I overslept a bit this morning. It wasn't enough to skip my run, but it was enough to make me shorten it. I ended up running about 4.4 miles. The weather continues to be decent. It was cool, but there was almost no wind, so it wasn't a bad run. So now I have started on my second thousand.

Day 1000

Of course, it's a completely arbitrary number. If we counted in Base Eight, this would be Day 1750. If we counted in Base Twelve, it would be Day 6B4. However, we count in Base Ten, and so this number is BIG and ROUND! Huzzah!

It's arbitrary in another way, too. It's the 1000th running day of JogAmericaBlog, but I was a runner before I was a blogger. I ran for 7+ years before I began the blog, but I never kept track of my days, or my miles. Whatever I ran back then, the totals are lost to the mists of history.

Anyway, I'm not afraid to celebrate. It was a good day, and for the 1000th time. And counting.

Day 999 -- Freeport

Boy, the water tower in Freeport, Minnesota, sure is friendly. Either that, or it's laughing at my running form. This picture is from Wikipedia.

I woke up yesterday, and just didn't feel like running. So I didn't. But I did close to seven miles this morning, in penance. It was cold this morning, with a smattering of rain, but once I got out and got moving, I was fine.

Day 998 -- Melrose

Welcome to Melrose, Minnesota! From their web site, I learn that:

Melrose is a great community to live, work and play no matter what the season. Its many amenities are sure to entice you.

I guess that I have yet to visit a city's web site that says, "This town really sucks. Keep on drivin'!"

Or, in my case, runnin'. I did an easy four this morning. I could have run more, but I forgot my gloves, and my hands started to get cold. I'm trying to treasure my outdoor runs. It won't be long before the snow flies, and I'll be inside for the winter.

Day 997 -- Sauk Centre

From the Sauk Centre Journal, frost on Ash Street, December 21, 2005. The notes say that it was about 0 degrees. Perhaps I'd better put my tights on.

It was well above 0 here this morning. It was a nice morning for a long run, and long run I did. Eleven and a half miles. I even managed to pick up the pace for the last 5K, and run it in under 30 minutes. Not bad, after an eight mile warm up.

Days 995 and 996 -- West Union

I've visited RoadsideAmerica.com before, but its been awhile. They have the most delightful kitsch. Here you see some metal farm animals in front a feed store near West Union. Somebody just had some time to fool around.

Day 995 was yesterday. I got in a quick three miles, then headed off to school for a nice long day. I gave an evening exam, which turned out to be pretty long. The last two people didn't pack up until after 9:00, which is usually about my bedtime. This morning, I ran 5.5 miles at a medium pace. It was good.

Day 993 -- More Alexandria

From Randy Fischer Real Estate, this nice picture of a family enjoying themselves on the ice in Alexandria. It doesn't say, but I believe this picture was taken in late May.

I ran an easy four and a half this morning. It was relaxing after a long run yesterday.

Day 992 -- Alexandria

In Alexandria, they have a 28-foot tall Viking. I actually first saw him at the web site for the Runestone Museum, but they don't have a very good picture for pasting myself into. So I stole this photo from the City of Alexandria web site. I also checked The World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Version of the World's Largest Things, where, yes, Big Ole is listed as the World's Largest Viking. They don't have any pictures, but it's been so long since I've visited TWLCotWSVotWLT, I thought it was worth the link.

In other things that it's been a long time since I've done, I ran ten miles today. I believe that was my first double-digit run since the marathon on September 20. It felt pretty good, actually. I was tired, but not spent.

Days 990 and 991 -- Brandon

Brandon, Minnesota, has its own history blog. Here you see the construction of the Highway 52 bridge in the early 1930's. I, myself, am running for safety.

I ran yesterday and today. A quick three miles yesterday, and a slow five today. It felt OK.

I have gotten into the habit of walking Maggie after my run. Instead of just walking around the block to cool off, I stop and grab her for her morning stroll. It takes a bit longer, but it gives us a little Daddy and Doggie time. I'm sure we make quite a sight, in my sweaty clothes and funky tights.

Day 989 -- Evansville

A line up of farming equipment in Evansville, Minnesota, waiting to convoy out to Oklahoma, for the 2008 harvest. It's not entirely clear to me why it makes sense to drive this equipment down from Minnesota, rather than getting it from somewhere closer, like, say, Oklahoma. But I'm sure that there's a good reason for it.

I ran a good long seven miles this morning, and composed a memo in my head, which I then typed up when I got to school. It was addressing a proposed policy that I am against, and I wanted to figure out how to lay out my arguments without sounding defensive. We'll see how well that went over. I said to my friend that that's why running is better than racquetball. You can't compose a memo in your head when you are playing racquetball.

Day 988 -- Pomme de Terre Lake

I couldn't resist a stop at Pomme de Terre Lake. Mostly, that's because I love the French words "Pomme de Terre." Literally, they mean "apple of the earth." This is what the French call a potato. Cool.

To clarify, Pomme de Terre Lake is a lake. Elbow Lake, which I visited yesterday, is a town. Well, I guess it's a town and a lake. This photo is from the Army Corps of Engineers. The ranger here seems to be talking to the tots about water safety.

I got in a good 6.5 mile run this morning. That was a little longer than I had planned, partly because I just didn't plan well, and partly because I had a detour. As I was on my way home, I ran into a bunch of people moving a house. So I couldn't run through, and I ended up going about a half a mile out of my way. Which was good. Good exercise.

Day 987 -- Elbow Lake

If you are in Elbow Lake, Minnesota, and need a pharmacy, may I recommend Trumm Drug? They actually have two locations in Elbow Lake. The other one is inside the clinic, and they don't seem to have a picture on-line.

Today was nice. It was the end of Daylight Savings Time, so I set my alarm for 6:00, but still got up at 5:00, and got in an hour and a half run before church. The only problem is that now, it's only 8:00, but I'm already ready for bed.

This morning, I only ran eight miles, but I treated it as a long run. I wore my Fuel Belt(tm) and stopped for brief walks every mile. I'll use that as a base, and start working my way up. Next week: 9 miles.

Day 986 -- Jogger's Progress

	Trip	YTD	Oct
Distance	6124.6	1540.3	106.3
Time	40 days, 22 hrs, 8 min	10 days, 22 hours, 58 mins	18:00
Days	986	229	22
States	21	6	3

Well, it's been kind of a lazy month. I didn't get any long runs in at all, so even though I got in 22 days, I only managed 106 miles, my low month since December. I will have to pick it up in November. The one thing that I accomplished that I have never done before is that I ran in three states in the same month. Of course, that was the result of just cutting the corner of North Dakota.

Today was a great day for running, as long as you were headed east. I could have run east all the way to Beloit. Unfortunately, I had to turn around and run back west, into a steady wind. Nonetheless, I got in almost six miles, which was good.

Day 985 -- Tintah (Maybe)

Tintah is south of Nashua, so I'm somewhat past it. I don't think this photo is from Tintah, though. The students are from Campbell-Tintah School, St. Mary's, and/or Breckinridge Elementary. But the event is at Chahinkapa Park, which, as far as I can tell, is way up in Wahpeton, ND. In any case, it looks like a fun event, except for the sweaty Jogger running through. The photo is from the web page for Wilkin County, MN, which is where one would find Tintah.

Another quick three this morning. I don't have time for a long run on Tuesdays or Thursdays. We'll see if I can get in a longer run tomorrow. I don't have any particular reason to get in early tomorrow, so perhaps I'll just sleep in a little. I admit that I'm tired to the bone.

Right now, I'm still at work, waiting for the last two students to finish the stats exam. It seems to have gone OK. Nobody's head exploded. I hate it when that happens. It's an awful mess. I'll have that to grade this weekend, and a really messy Calc worksheet. I failed to work the problems out in advance, so a couple of them are horribly nasty. No one to blame but myself.

Day 984 -- Nashua

Run for your life! From the Climatology Working Group at the University of Minnesota, funnel clouds west of Nashua. Oh, wait, that was June 17, 2009. I imagine that they are gone by now.

Yesterday was Day 984. I got up and ran a quick three. But this morning, I just couldn't get going, so I skipped a day. Oh, well.

Day 983 -- Tenney

No special story, here. This photo was uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. The photographer released the rights "to be used for any purpose by any person." Probably not what he had in mind, but...

It was a rough morning. I'm starting to get the cold that has ripped through the Jogger family over the last week. I don't feel really bad (yet), but it definitely sapped my energy this morning. Even though I ran indoors, I was pretty slow. I'm just trying to take it easy so this cold doesn't get too severe, or last too long.

Day 982 -- Welcome to Minnesota

Well, so much for North Dakota. After spending three months and 70 running days in South Dakota, I spent six days and six running days in North Dakota. Just nipped off the corner. No particular reason. No offense to my hundreds of thousands of readers in North Dakota.

I didn't feel much like running this morning, but I did anyway. Not outside. I went to the gym. It was good. No hills, no wind, no rain. That was the only thing that saved me. And now, I think I'll take a day off.

Day 981 -- More Fairmount

From Stephen-KarenConn at VirtualTourist, beautiful downtown Fairmount. Looks absolutely lovely.

The forecast last night was for cold rain this morning. I don't have time to go to the gym on Thursdays, so I figured I'd just take a day off. I had run the past four days in a row, so I was due. I woke up to the sound of that cold rain pittering on the window. And I got up and ran a quick three. In the cold rain. Don't ask me why. I'm glad that I did. It made the whole day that much easier.

The weather tomorrow calls for more of the same, but tomorrow, I will have time to go to the gym. And I probably will.

Day 980 -- Fairmount

Another day, another church. This is First English Lutheran Church in Fairmount. Interesting name. I used to go to a First English Lutheran Church, in another part of the country. For that matter, I used to go to a Trinity Lutheran Church, which was my last stop. If I find a Sinai Lutheran Church around here, I'll have covered all my Lutheran bases.


I ran 6 miles this morning. It was a nice morning for it. Cool and not real windy. There was a very slight sprinkle of rain towards the end, but by that time, I was warm enough that it was welcome.

Day 979 -- Great Bend

From RootsWeb, Trinity Lutheran Church in Great Bend. Great Bend is a bit north of where I'm running, now. I jogged eastward at Hankinson, and Great Bend seems to be the next exit north. But what the heck! It's a nice looking church.

I did just a quick three miles this morning. It didn't feel too bad. I'm pretty glad that I didn't try to do four. We'll see whether I get out tomorrow, or whether I take a day off.

Day 978 -- Hankinson

St. Philip Catholic Church in Hankinson, ND. I found it on the web site for Falk Groundsource Technologies. Apparently, Falk did some sort of work for St. Philip. The page doesn't actually say.

I ran six and a half this morning. It was a little rough. Yesterday's run was at noon, so today's was less than 18 hours later. And I've gotten myself out of shape. A month ago, back-to-back six milers wouldn't have been a problem. That's OK. I'm hanging on and getting back into the groove.

Day 977 -- North Dakota

At long last, I have left South Dakota, and run into North Dakota. I ran South Dakota more or less corner to corner, so it was a long slog. I ran into South Dakota on July 12, and have run 70 days since. I won't be in North Dakota nearly as long, since I'm already almost to the eastern border. [North Dakota sign from Ed's World.]

I took Friday and Saturday off from running, and damn near took today off, too. I slept in this morning, and didn't get a run in until after church. Since the Packers had a noon game, I wasn't planning to run after church, but I got so antsy, that I just did. I missed the first half of the Packers game, but it wasn't that exciting. They pounded the Lions.

I've been grading all weekend. Friday was our Fall Break, so we didn't have classes, but I didn't manage to avoid grading entirely. I'm now done with the Calc exams, and more or less ready for tomorrow. And it's early evening, and time to wind down to bed. Sigh.