Day 1085 -- Little Chute

One of these people -- presumably number 18 -- is Riker Le Noble, a baseball player at Little Chute High School. I found Riker's picture on an interesting web site: BeRecruited.com. The site says its job is "Connecting High School athletes and College Coaches." So if you are a college baseball coach, Riker is available. As far as I know. BeRecruited.com lists six athletes from Little Chute -- two baseball players, one boys basketball player, one boys soccer player, one girls cross country runner, and one softball player. I'm sure that if you dig around, you can find out the criteria for getting yourself listed on the site. I'm willing to guess that money is involved.

I didn't feel bad this morning. I ran a little over five miles, with some bursts of "speed" alternated with my normal jogging.

Day 1084 -- Appleton

I just about got fooled again. I Googled "Appleton Wisconsin", and came up with this image of a big penny, from George Barker's web site where he documents his motorcycle tours of the country. If you scroll down, you can see where George says "Appleton, Wisconsin is located about 30 miles south of Green Bay and about 100 miles north of Milwaukee. Here is a sample of one trip to one of the world's largest things." Sounds like the penny is in Appleton, doesn't it? But no. I checked with The World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things, and this penny is in Woodruff, Wisconsin, way the hell up north. So I'm not here, and I can't use this photo.


Instead, I will use this nice photo of a Houdini-themed fiberglass lion from in front of Appleton's History Museum. That is, I assume that it is in front of Appleton's History Museum, if the Intelligent Traveler blog from National Geographic Traveler is to be trusted. And if I didn't misunderstand them.

I did an easy five miles this morning. I'm still sore, but not too bad. I survived, anyway.

Day 1083 -- Neenah

I'm approaching Neenah, which is the finish line for the Community First Fox Cities Marathon, so I thought I'd post this montage that I made from my FCM photos. I made a print of this and put it in a frame on my desk at the office. A few people have commented, although it's often hard to see behind the mound of crap on my desk.

I did a tempo run this morning -- ten minutes slow, fifteen minutes fast, ten minutes slow. It felt OK, but we'll see how the week progresses. I'm awfully tired, and I've got a long week scheduled.

Who's on your list?

I sat down today to make a list of people I know who have battled cancer. It didn't take long for the list to fill up. My brother. Both grandmothers. My aunt J, who just died of cancer this last month. Other relatives and friends, teachers, students, and colleagues. Some have lost the battle, but others live on, perhaps to fight again some day. I'm sure you have your own list, and it's pretty extensive.

We have made progress. More people are surviving longer. The American Cancer Society estimates that 11 million cancer survivors will celebrate a birthday this year, thanks in part to the work of the ACS.

This year, I am again raising money for the American Cancer Society through their Charity Runner program, which has been renamed DetermiNation. (Hey, I didn't name it.) If you'd like to contribute, please go to my fundraising web page. My goal is to raise $500.

Day 1082 -- UW-Oshkosh

I couldn't leave the Oshkosh area without a stop to visit the math department at UW-Oshkosh. This is their Math/Stats Club. The fellow in the tie right in front of me is their adviser, just one of my many friends at UW-O. As a group, they are very active in the Wisconsin Section of the MAA, so I know quite a few of them. In fact, the spring Section meeting will be in Oshkosh this year, on April 16 and 17. Be sure to come on by. It will be a whee of a time.

It rained overnight, and was still at least threatening at noon, so I used that as an excuse to go to the gym for my long run. The real reason, of course, is that I didn't know if I had 15 miles in me, but if I ran on the track, with no hills, there was an outside chance that I would make it. As it was, I just barely did. The last three to five miles were on pure stubbornness. I think it helped that I had posted my goal twice here in JogAmericaBlog in the last two days. I didn't want to have to get back on today and say that I only made 13, or 10, or 7, or whatever. So know, world, that I made the full 15 today.

I might as well say that next Sunday's goal is 17. Wish me luck!

Day 1081 -- Nearing Oshkosh

Not quite to Oshkosh today, but if I actually run 15 miles tomorrow, I'll be passing it. So some time tomorrow, you'll be able to see this sign. Except that I think there's still a lot of snow on the ground in Oshkosh. And Don Irminger apparently hasn't updated his web page since 2002, so it's likely that he isn't there any more.

I slept in this morning -- Heaven! -- then got up and graded. At noon I went out for an easy five miles. It was fine, but I don't know if I'm going to get 15 in tomorrow. We'll see. Then, just for a change, I spent the rest of the day grading. I have two more problems to grade on the Calc exam, and I'm seriously thinking about letting them go until tomorrow.

Day 1080 -- Ripon

Ripon is ten or fifteen miles to the west, but its worth a little detour to visit Ripon College. Its a nice little liberal arts school. I have a couple of connections there. I went to graduate school with one of their graduates, who in fact worked with the same adviser as I. I also know several people on their math faculty, including one who was the chair of our section of the Mathematical Association of America. I like him and respect him a lot. Enough to take the time for a quick visit.

Ripon, the town, is also the birthplace of the modern Republican party. But we wont hold that against them.

By the way, this is Middle Hall, which I found on the site for the Historic Campus Architecture Project, from the Council of Independent Colleges.

I ran six miles this morning, but it wasn't easy. I could just barely drag myself out the door. I wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep until, say, Wednesday. But I had to run, so I did. Now I'm supposed to do five miles tomorrow, and another fifteen on Sunday, for a total of...wait a minute...I have a calculator around here somewhere...Anyway, it's going to be a good long weekend. If I make ti.

Google Ads

I hadn't really noticed that Google has added ads to the confirmation page when I post a new entry, but this one caught my eye. Since I had just posted a link to a dairy, obviously I'm in the market for Organic Valley Milk e-coupons. Makes sense to me.

Day 1079 -- Rosendale

Green Source Automation says that "The Rosendale Dairy, part of the MilkSource dairy group, is the largest, most innovative facility's of its type in the state of Wisconsin." Of course, this is because Rosendale Dairy is a customer of Green Source Automation. So right there, you know that they have business savvy coming out their wazoos.

I ran this morning at the fitness center. Not really long, but with bursts of intensity. It felt good. I'm almost caught up on sleep, and starting to feel vaguely human.

Days 1077 and 1078 -- Waupun

This collection of travel photos by Galen R. Frysinger is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to photos of Waupun. I had plenty of choices for which photos to stick myself into. I opted for the pink house, because it's so cute, and the library, because I love libraries. Actually, I guess it's the old library.

Frysinger has a bunch of other photos of various towns and events throughout the state. I suspect I'll visit him again.


I ran yesterday, but never got a chance to post it. I gave an evening exam, which lasted until almost 10:00. Way past my bedtime. I ran another six this morning, and that was just about all that helped me make it through the day. By the end of the day, I was really dragging. Tonight, an early bed, and hopefully a full night's sleep.

Day 1076 -- Jogger's Progress

	Trip	YTD	Feb
Distance	6665.3	271.0	127.6
Time	44 days, 15 hrs, 53 min	1 day, 20 hrs, 52 mins	21:10
Days	1076	45	21
States	22	3	1

Not a great month, but a good one. One running day and 4.6 miles short of last February. And I was supposed to run 5 miles yesterday, and I didn't. It wasn't so much that I was too tired, it was that I couldn't find the time! I slept in (clear until 6:30), and then the first Little Jogger had a Girl Scout thing at the University. So I took her down there, and went to the office. My plan was to spend a couple of hours, then slip off to the fitness center for a run. But things just kept piling up, and I wasn't ready to go until about 11:30. At that point, I was too hungry, so I came home for lunch. I spent the afternoon grading (Ok, and a little napping) and never got around to running

Oh well, today was a good run. It was close to 40 degrees at noon, so I did my long run outside. It was a lot of work, but I felt stronger than my last outdoor run, two weeks ago. And I went two miles longer. So that was good. I'm already up to 13 miles, with three months until the Madison Marathon.

No goals for March, although I'd like to try to stick with my six-day training plan, and not take extra days off. We'll see.

Day 1075 -- More Beaver Dam

From Waymarking.com, the Swan City Band shell. They say,

Swan Park is Beaver Dam's pride and joy. It has a natural spring in the park that has now been piped underground from the spring house to the pond. The park also has a horseshoe pit, playground, picnic tables, and lots of open space for those special events held here throughout the year. Don't forget to see the amazing Victorian-style picnic shelter with all of it's colorful frills.

I ran a hard six this morning. I wasn't sure I was up to it, but I survived. And tomorrow, I'm going to sleep in.

Day 1074 -- Beaver Dam

I love the web. Did you know there was a Retail History Blog? Who reads it? I guess people who want to know the answer to the burning question, "Why is Beaver Dam Mall faltering?" The blogger blames mismanagement, along with a national trend away from indoor malls.

Four easy miles this morning, though not quite so easy as I would have liked. I'm only halfway through my running week, so I hope I'll pick up energy over these next three days.

Days 1072 and 1073 -- Lowell

There's bit of an empty spot here between Columbus and Beaver Dam, so I went off the road a little bit to visit Lowell. Lowell is where Ray Peacock spotted this locomotive in 2006. He uploaded it to RailPictures.net, which is where Google found it for me.

I ran a quick tempo run yesterday morning, and then six miles today. I didn't get a chance to post yesterday, because I was out for dinner. My university is looking for a new chancellor, and the four finalists are visiting this week and next. They are arranging dinner for the candidates with various campus leaders, and as a faculty senator, I qualify. For one candidate. The real important people are invited to dinner with all four candidates. Anyway, I liked this guy a lot, and I'd be happy if he became chancellor. But I don't actually get a vote, so I'll just sit back and see what happens.

Day 1071 -- Columbus

Interestingly, this picture of Columbus, WI, is from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. They have an article about movie tourism in the Midwest, and the Johnny Depp movie Public Enemies was shot partially in Columbus. It was also shot partially in Oshkosh, and one of my friends who teaches at UW-Oshkosh was an extra. Or so I'm told. I haven't seen the movie.

I got in five miles yesterday, and eight more today, to top off an easy week. Next week, I have to pick it up again.

Day 1069 -- Sun Prairie

Hungry for Mexican? Burrachos Fresh Mexican Grill has just opened in Sun Prairie.

I ran yesterday, but I skipped this morning. I regretted it all day. But there was no way I could get a run in later in the day, so I got an unscheduled day off.

Day 1068 -- More Madison

Well, I couldn't leave Madison without stopping to see Frank. I've been known to stretch it by a good 20 miles to visit a state capitol with Frank, and this time, I ran within a couple of blocks of the capitol building. I think I was actually that close late yesterday. By the end of today's five mile run, I was on the edge of town, heading northeast. Next landmark: Lambeau Field.

Day 1067 -- Madison

In 1991, Mrs. Jogger and I landed in Madison, a relatively young married couple, in pursuit of an education and good Thai food. Five years later, we left with a doctorate and a toddler, each of which has proved to be a blessing in some ways. I guess the toddler must have been the one we liked more, because in the intervening 15 years, we've added three more kids, but no more advanced degrees.

Two fun things for today's post. Above, you'll see a picture of the Sidewalk Math tutoring, which occurs at the UW-Madison every spring. At least, it has occurred every spring since 1992, when my friends and I started it. It is really cool to see that it is still going on, long after all the grad students (and many of the professors, I'd guess) have forgotten me and my friends.

The other fun thing was that when I googled "Van Vleck Hall Madison", searching for images of the math building, the eight image that came up was this one:

Longtime readers may remember the Virtual Run Across America, from early 2009. While I was running from west to east, a bunch of us were running from east to west, all at different rates. But, if you click through, you'll see that we petered out by mid-March. But of course, the blog is still out there.

I took a scheduled day off yesterday, and almost took an unscheduled day off today. I didn't manage to struggle out of bed in the morning, but I did get in a quick four at the gym at noon. Enough to get me to the UW Campus, and Van Vleck Hall.

Day 1066 -- Fitchburg

Fitchburg is a suburb of Madison. It has grown considerably in the 20 years since we first moved to Madison. Here you can see the sign for Mckee Farm Park, where they are apparently having much nicer weather than we are having just down the highway.

I had planned to go to the gym today at noon, to run on the indoor track. But it was so nice at noon -- about 30 degrees and sunny -- that I decided to go ahead and run outside. Big mistake. You know what they have outside? Hills! Not pretend hills, like the gentle incline on the dreadmill. Real, steep, big honking hills that you have to drag your flabby ass all the way up. Also it was cold. I came up slightly short of my scheduled 11 miles, but it felt more like 50. I swear I haven't been this tired at the end of a run since the marathon.

Day 1065 -- Troll Capital

John Romeo Alpha points out that the Mustard Museum has moved from Mount Horeb to Middleton. Nothing Gold Can Stay, I guess. So I thought I'd better make another stop in Mount Horeb to visit something that I know ain't going anywhere: the trolls. Mount Horeb, as I'm sure you know, is the Troll Capital of the World. These are just two of the many trolls that line Main Street. And let's see Middleton try to steal them!

Another easy five on the treaded dreadmill. I slept in a bit this morning, but still went for a run before breakfast. Then I've spent most of the day grading and preparing lecture notes for Monday. You know, typical Saturday at the Jogger House.

Days 1063 and 1064 -- Mt. Horeb

Four miles yesterday, and six miles today, carries me close to Mt. Horeb, and the Mustard Museum. I really have to stop into the Mustard Museum for real, one of these days.

Yesterday's run and today's were both at the fitness center, on the dreadmill. ESPN had the trainee closed-captioner on duty this morning. Half the time, I didn't know what they were trying to say. But my favorite was one I did figure out, eventually. The commentator said that U.S. skier was Lindsey Vonn was worried that Bruce Chin would keep her from the Olympics. And I thought, "Who in hell is Bruce Chin? Her coach? Some Olympic official? A deranged stalker?" After a little reflection, I realized that they've been talking all week about Vonn's bruised shin. Perhaps the closed-captioner didn't know that.

Day 1062 -- Goat Cheese, Anyone?

Just past Dodgeville is the little town of Ridgeway. I've driven past Ridgeway a hundred times, and never stopped. But maybe next time I will stop at Fantome Farms and pick up some handmade goat cheese. I didn't even think goats had hands.

Today was one of those days when I just had to drag myself to the gym, but I'm glad that I did. I had a good, brisk six mile run, which gave me the energy to get through what was frankly a very long day. No classes at all, just paperwork and grading. Ugh.

Day 1061 -- Lands' End

While in Dodgeville, I thought maybe I'd go for a run with this guy. Who is this guy? I don't have any idea, but I do know that he's wearing a ThermaCheck(r) 100 Stretch Half Zip from Lands' End. Lands' End Direct Merchants, whose clothing is much better than their punctuation, is headquartered right here in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. They are one of the largest employers in Southwest Wisconsin. I know several people from here in town that work there, and they even employ some of our students seasonally.

Six unexciting miles this morning.

Day 1060 -- Dodgeville

Nine miles this morning, brought me fairly close to Dodgeville. Still a few miles south, but I can probably squeeze a couple of days out of this town.

I took an unscheduled day off yesterday. My alarm went off, but I just turned it off and went back to bed. It was just supposed to be a four mile maintenance run, so I don't think I've put my training way behind schedule. Perhaps I'll do an easy four tomorrow, rather than the scheduled rest day. But perhaps not.

I did my nine mile run early this morning on the dreadmill. I'm planning to try to get my Sunday long runs at the indoor track at noon, but today there was a lunch at church that I wanted to go to. It was a good run. I watched Super Bowl prognostication on ESPN and on NFL network. The Colts are definitely going to win, unless the Saints do. You heard it here first.

Day 1059 -- Art Point

Just a little northeast of the town with the the railroad depot is Art Point. No, the name isn't really Art Point. If you look closely at the water tower, you can see what it is. But the town aspires to be a little artsy community in southeast Wisconsin. They have a bunch of little arty shops and frou-frou restaurants. They have artists in residence in the summer and plays in the park. It's really kind of cute. Mrs. Jogger and I like to run over there when we can dump the kids and just walk around. A year or so ago we got into a great discussion with a potter about the various kinds of clay and pottery techniques. He was just sitting in his quiet little shop, and we came in and started asking questions, and off he went. It was a blast.

I ran six miles this morning. It wasn't a real strong run, but I finished my goal, which was good.

Day 1058 -- Railroad Depot

William J. Manon, Jr., has a pBase gallery with "Surviving Railroad Depots of America". He includes this one, from the next little town to the east. I've been in that town (which is not very big) but I've never seen this depot. Of course, I haven't combed the town or anything.

I got an easy four on the dreadmill today. Just a boring maintenance run.

Day 1057 -- Mound

Six miles this morning took me past my house, down the street, across town, and onto the highway, headed northeast toward the state capitol. From there (if it weren't covered with snow), you would be able to see this letter on the hill outside of town.

This is, in fact, the largest version of the 13th letter of the English alphabet in the world. Yes, it is featured in the "What's Large Where?" section of The World's Largest Collection of The World's Smallest Versions of The World's Largest Things. The casual observer may be a bit puzzled, as neither the name of the town nor the name of the state begins with M. What begins with M is the name that the University used to have. Many years ago, the Wisconsin School of Mines was here in Joggerville. The M was built at that time, and maintained ever since. Even though the Mining school is long gone, replaced by the University of Wisconsin-Joggerville.

Day 1056 -- Home

Well, not quite. I ended today's run 0.9 miles short of Chez Jogger. But with six miles on the schedule tomorrow, I'll run right through town and be on my way up the road by tomorrow. So today was the day to post the picture.

In fact, today was the day to take the picture. This photo, snapped this very afternoon, shows Chez Jogger covered with its fresh new two or three inches of snow that fell last night. (Alas, not enough to cancel or even delay school. The Little Joggers were devastated.)

When I reached Washington and turned right, back in late 2008, I knew that I was headed to Joggerville. I imagined getting here and running one run where I actually covered the miles that were going into my virtual run. I did not imagine getting here in the dead of winter. So that plan is out the window. Tomorrow's six will be on the indoor track, and I'll lay them out on the map to take me out of town.

Day 1055 -- Jogger's Progress

	Trip	YTD	Jan
Distance	6537.7	143.4	143.4
Time	43 days, 18 hrs, 43 min	23:42	23:42
Days	1055	24	24
States	22	3	3

Not a bad month, all told. I'm pleased with my progress. Having started in Minnesota and cut across the corner of Iowa, I've already been in three states. In 2008, I was in four total. Of course, I was out west, and states are bigger out there.

I went to the gym and did seven miles on the indoor track today. It was a good run. Not too swift, but that's OK.

Days 1053 and 1054 -- County Seat

From Flikr, the county courthouse in my county. I haven't been over there, lately, but I don't think the grass is quite this green right now.

I'm a little south of the county seat, just about 12 miles from my house. I expect to be here on Tuesday.

I ran four miles yesterday, and five this morning, both at the fitness center. I pushed the pace a little yesterday, but just took it easy today.

I have been watching TV at the fitness center. Mostly I watch Sports Center, because you don't really need to pay attention. You just kind of let the slam dunks and touchdown dances flow over you. I don't have sound. Sometimes, I turn on the closed captioning, and sometimes I turn it off.

I mention this, because the closed captioning itself can be kind of fun. Sometimes it's funny to see how something comes out. Often, I can figure out what the announcer really said, but some times, it's a mystery. This morning, they had a piece about retiring quarterback Kurt Warner. The special features reporter took four or five minutes to recap his career -- you know, the usual stuff. Then they went back to the studio, and the first thing the studio guy said, according to the closed captioning, was "Chicken skin." I'm still puzzling over that one.

Day 1052 -- Hey, Culligan Man!

I'm still seven or eight miles of the county seat, where this particular Culligan Man lives. But I figure I can squeeze a couple of photos out of the county seat. Then it's just 16 miles down the road to Joggerville.

Back on the treaded dreadmill this morning, for an easy five. Well, the first two or three miles were easy, but the last couple were kind of rough.

Day 1051 -- Wisconsin

This construction firm is putting new roofs all over this part of Wisconsin. I'm running slightly east of this church, and slightly south of the house below.

I have decided that Wednesdays will be a good day to go to the indoor track. It's the only day of the week that I don't have an early class, so I can wait for the gym to open. That means that this was the third day in a row that I avoided the dreadmill. But it's back to it tomorrow.

The schedule said "Easy 4", and that's about all I could do. But I was happy that I managed to hold the pace (albeit a slow one) for the whole four miles. My slowest mile and my fastest were probably within 10 seconds of each other.

Day 1050 -- Wisconsin

This blog is "psuedo-anonymous". Some of my readers know who I am, because they know me in real life. For the rest, it's not hard to find out, because I've dropped enough clues. However, I don't use my real name, and I don't use things like the name of the town where I live, or the name of my university. Mostly, I don't want the blog to show up on a Google search by any of my students, or for that matter, fellow faculty.

For the next couple of weeks, I'm running in the county where I live. So I arbitrarily decided that while I'm in this county, I'm not going to use the name of any towns or recognizable features. Of course, you can figure out the town by following the link. For that matter, in this particular shot, you just need to look closely at the water tower.

Today was my first official day of training for the Madison Marathon. And I almost missed it. I neglected to set my alarm, and didn't wake up until Mrs. Jogger's alarm went off, which was way too late for me to run and still feel comfortable about getting to school before my class. However, I don't have a 1:00 class on Tuesday, so I slipped over to the gym and got in an easy 5 miles, just like the schedule says I should. The indoor track is open again, so that's two days in a row (well, two running days in a row) where I've actually run, rather than flapping my arms on the treaded dreadmill.

If you are interested in pictures of the InStep Icebreaker Half Marathon, head on over to RunningintheUSA. There doesn't seem to be any way to sort them, but I'm kind of hard to miss. Look for the polka dot tights. If you want to see Sylvia, she is number 1368, in a gray top and black tights.

Day 1049 -- Welcome to Wisconsin, and Race Report

[Note: I started to post this yesterday, and Blogger completely flaked out on me...]

I'm surprised that I haven't run into Jim's Project 50 before. Disdaining state capitols, Jim is trying to get pictures of himself in front of Welcome signs in every state. This sign is actually on the border of Illinois, down by Beloit, rather than over here in Prairie du Chien. Nonetheless, it's a sign. Welcome to Wisconsin.

Saturday, I ran the InStep Icebreaker Indoor Half Marathon at the Pettit National Ice Center. It was a great time, and I'm happy with my effort.

I wasn't sure we were going to make it. It's about a two and a half hour drive over to Milwaukee, and my friend Sylvia and I agreed that we were not going to risk our lives to get there. We had had a mixture of rain and freezing rain for a couple of days, and freezing rain was going to cancel the trip. There was a little bit of mist, but the temperature stayed high enough that it wasn't a problem. There was some fog that slowed us down, but we still made it in time for the gun.

There were actually two half-marathons Saturday morning. The first, which had a two-hour time limit, ran at 7:00, when Sylvia and I were still on this side of Madison. The second, which had a three-hour time limit, was supposed to run at 9:30. However, some runners in the first run took up to about 2:20, so I don't think that we started until about 10:00.

The run itself was a bit weird. After the first few miles, we got spaced out, as usually happens, but because the track is only a quarter mile oval, the faster people started lapping the slower people pretty quickly. And "slower" was certainly a relative term. There were a bunch of people who I kept passing. So at any given time, you might be trying to pass someone who was running much slower than you, while at the same time, someone much faster was coming past you. On a two-lane track. But everyone was cheerful and polite, and it all worked out.

The other nice thing that they had was a group of volunteers at the water table. We all put our bib numbers on our water bottles, and if you wanted a drink, you just gave one of the volunteers a wave, and the next time around, they'd have your water bottle ready. I chose to carry my bottle around for a lap, then hand it back, so that I never actually had to stop. And I didn't. I ran the whole way. I don't know if I've ever had a thirteen mile run that I didn't even stop for a short drink break.

You may have noted that the picture up above has the old photo of me in my Running Funky tights. That's because I wore them yesterday. The temperature in the ice center is in the mid fifties, so tights were definitely in order. They garnered a lot of comments. In fact, after a while, a group of young men at the water station started yelling, "Go, Mr. Jogger!" I thought one of them must be one of my students. Who else would call me "Mr."? So afterwords, I talked to them and no, they just liked my tights and looked up my name in the program. I guess I'm just old enough to look like a "Mr."

I think I actually ran an extra lap. They had a computer screen where every time around, they would flash your name and the number of laps you had completed. Of course, I was also counting on my fingers. So on my 45th lap -- what I thought was my 45th lap -- I never saw my name. And at the end of the next lap, it told me I had just completed 45. Now, maybe I just lost count. I had already run over 10 miles. I'd really like to get a look at my lap splits, and see if that 45th lap was twice as long as any of the others.

Not that it really matters. I had a decent time, and I still felt strong at the end. It was a very nice race, well-organized, and I'm already thinking about going back next year, maybe for the full marathon.

I have to say one more thing about how great the organizers of this race were. Sylvia had pulled a muscle, and she wasn't able to run very long. She ended up walking more than seven miles. So she wasn't finished in the three hours, or anywhere close to it. Meanwhile, the organizers had to get set for one more race, the marathon relay. (The full marathon was Sunday morning.) Sylvia said they would have been perfectly within their rights to kick her off the track. But they didn't. They took her timing chip, so it wouldn't mess with the timing in the next race, but they let her walk it out, staying well to the outside so as not to interfere with the marathon relay runners. They saved her a medal, and cheered her right into the end. That was a a classy move. I know that she really appreciated it.

Days 1047 and 1048 -- McGregor

If you happen to be looking for a property in McGregor, Iowa, I happen to know that the Diamond Joe Trading Buildings are for sale. "Located close to Mississippi River. Old Bank Bldg. & Prime Main St Retail with potential residential 2nd & 3rd floors w/river area views!" Asking price, $425,000.

Day 1047 was Wednesday, and Day 1048 was yesterday. I could have blogged Wednesday night, but I didn't feel like it. Then yesterday, I was out in the evening with a candidate for the open position in the math department. I got home latish, and didn't even turn on my computer.

And I took today off.

Day 1046 -- Effigy Mounds

Somewhere to the east of here, along the Mississippi River, is Effigy Mounds National Monument. There are over two hundred Native American Effigy Mounds, which depict images like birds, bear, deer, bison, lynx, turtle, panther or water spirit. It's not really very far from my home in SW Wisconsin, but I've never been. I should rectify that.

Five easy miles on the dreadmill this morning.

Day 1045 -- More Rossville

John Romeo Alpha was apparently dissatisfied with my attempt to pass off Rossville, Georgia, as Rossville, Iowa, so he directed me to this photo, from the Allamakee County web site. Thanks, John, I owe you one. If you ever need me to find you a picture of a zumzwang, just let me know.

I ran out too fast this morning, and ended up taking a couple of walk breaks on my way to a slowish overall 5.8 miles. But I did finish out the full 60 minutes, which didn't seem at all certain long about 30 minutes in.

Day 1044 -- Rossville

If you google "Rossville Iowa", many of the images on the front page are of this monument. Alas, it is a monument erected to memorialize fallen soldiers from Iowa, and it stands in Rossville, Georgia. So, I'm a thousand or so miles off track right now.

Which is odd, because I only ran 5K this morning. After yesterday's hard workout, I decided to run an easy one today.

Day 1043 -- Waukon

From RoadTripAmerica, Paula the Cow, in Waukon, Iowa. Paula seems to be an e-Cow. From their web site:

eCow Products was founded in 2005 as a marriage between technological advances in nutrition and simple, practical solutions to some of the problems that face animal agriculture today. Put simply we have an eye on the future while at the same time we know where we’ve come from. Our technology and products have a long history but our company name is relatively new in the marketplace. We invite you to look at our site to learn more about us, our products and what we do.

I've read that twice, and I don't know what it's saying, other than "we're a new company with a lot of experienced people."

I ran seven miles this morning. I managed a hot pace for the first half, but I had to slow down for the last half. It was a good run, overall.

Day 1042 -- Frankville

Here's an interesting web site. IowaBarnSavers.com is exactly what it sounds like. They locate barns that need to come down, and try to connect them with people who will move them and preserve them. This particular barn, in Frankville, Iowa, didn't make it, but at least the Barn Savers found someone who can use the lumber.

I did a fast six miles today. This marks six days in a row, so tomorrow should be a day off.

Days 1040 and 1041 -- Decorah

Decorah, Iowa, is home to Luther College. I always try to stop at colleges and universities, and I confess I have a soft spot in my heart for Luther. Some of my high school friends went here, and I visited several times. This is apparently the math building. At any rate, it's the photo on the Math Department's home page. I can't say that I know anyone currently on the faculty at Luther.

Yesterday, I got in a good, hard workout in the morning, but never got a chance to blog it, because we went out for dinner to celebrate the 25th wedding anniversary of two of our friends. It was a good time. Today, I slept in, but got in an easy five at lunch time.

Day 1039 -- Burr Oak

From the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum (which is, itself, in West Branch, a considerable way down the pike from here) I find that Laura Engels Wilder lived in Burr Oak, and that her family helped to operate the Masters Hotel, seen here. I'm not sure if one of those two young ladies is Laura herself. The web site also says that "Laura did not include her year's stay in Burr Oak in the Little House books," so perhaps not.

An easy 5K on the dreadmill this morning. I'll work harder tomorrow. I promise.

Day 1038 -- Welcome to Iowa

This is my second venture into Iowa. Back in 2006, I ran up from the south, ran as far as Grandma Jogger's home town, then cut back south into Missouri. This time, I'll be cutting through the northeast corner.

I picked up this welcome sign from the Keepin up with the Melfis blog. They drove through from Illinois in October, 2008, so this is definitely not on Highway 52 from Minnesota. But it will do. I feel welcome.

I did nine miles on the dreadmill this afternoon. It was an okay run. I'm pleasantly tired.

On the other hand, I'm unpleasantly distressed by the Packers performance in the playoffs. At the end of the first quarter, they are down 17-0. I hope they can settle down and make a game of it.

Day 1037 -- Canton

Debora Dower's Flikr stream actually has three photos from Canton, MN. The others might be a bit easier to stick myself into, but this was the first one that came up in my Google search.

I took yesterday off. This morning, I woke up early. Real early. I was up about 3:30, with a weird headache. It happened that I had to get up in another hour or so, to deliver the first Little Jogger to school for a First Robotics trip. So I stayed up, delivered the girl, then went to the fitness center for sixty minutes on the dreadmill. Then I came home, ate breakfast, and had a nap. Not my typical routine. Right now, I'm feeling pretty good. We'll see how early I konk out this evening. There's football to watch. Only 11 more games in the season, and I don't want to miss any more than I have to.

Days 1035 and 1036 -- Harmony

I feel welcome to Harmony, Minnesota. How about you?

I did run yesterday, a relatively easy 4 miler in the morning. I didn't get a chance to blog about it because the littlest Little Jogger, the oldest and newest Little Jogger, and I went to a basketball game at the University with the Cub Scouts. It was a fun time, and the home team won.

Today, I slept in a little, and went for a run at noon. I pushed my pace a little, and it felt gooooooood! It was the best I've felt running in a week or so.

And tomorrow, I will rest. I will be up late watching the national championship football game, so I'll want to sleep in again. I suppose I could go out at noon again, but I think I won't.

Day 1034 -- Preston

Folks, we may have a controversy on our hands. I googled "Preston, MN", and found this fish statue on RoadsideAmerica.com. Naturally, I wondered if it was on The World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things, but it's not. In fact, they list the World's Largest Trout as being in Kalkaska, Michigan. That's a photo of it, below, from Anthony and Leslie's Traveling Puppy Page. I don't know about you, but it looks to me like the Preston Trout is clearly bigger than the Kalkaska Trout. I can't find dimensions for either. (Not that I have looked hard.) In any case, I think TWLCotWLVotWLT had better get to the bottom of this!

I did run this morning. After a day off yesterday, I expected today's run to be, if not easy, then at least not hard. But it still took a lot out of me. I'm not sure why.

Day 1033 -- Fountain

Back in 2003, Tim, Laura, Annamarie and Matt took a driving trip to Laura's house, and it went somewhere near Fountain, where Tim snapped this photo. I'm sure if you care to dig around, you can figure out who those people are, and where they were coming from, and where Laura lives.

A cold snap has snapped down over the upper Midwest. This afternoon, it has gotten all the way up to about 10 degrees Fahrenheit, and that's the warmest it's been in several days. I imagine the frigid temps cover Fountain, as well. Old Man Winter has even reared his ugly head in Becky Hirta's home.

Today, I didn't feel much like running. A good, brisk nap was more my speed. But a runner runs, and that's what I did. Thirteen miles, which will be my last run of that length before the Instep Icebreaker Indoor Half Marathon at the end of the month.

Day 1032 -- Chatfield

According to their web site, Chatfield, MN, is known as "'The Chosen Valley' or 'Bandtown, USA.'" OK, if you say so. This photo of main street is actually from the web site for Historic Bluff Country in southeastern Minnesota. The Chatfield site has more information specifically about Chatfield, but the Bluff Country web site has better pictures, in general.

Today I had my first run of 2010. It was fine. A nice, easy six miler on the treaded dreadmill. Tomorrow, I'll try to get in a long run. We'll see.