Day 972 -- Sisseton Wahpeton College

Sisseton is behind me, now, but I just found Sisseton Wahpeton College. It's a small technical college--they don't even seem to have a math department--but it's worth a visit. This is some of the faculty and staff in their academic regalia for the 2009 graduation.

I didn't get out of bed this morning, but I went for a four and a half mile run after church. I'm glad that I did, because since then, I've just been sitting on my duff, watching football and grading. Another weekend has slipped way without me having much time to relax. Oh, well, our Fall Break is this Friday, and I promise that I'll take some time off.

Day 971 -- Interstate 29

Via AA Roads, the interchange from highway 10 to I-29. I ran onto the interstate yesterday morning. I ran about six miles yesterday, and it was tough going. It was one of those rare days when even a run didn't get me fired up. I dragged all day, and slept in this morning.

An Open Letter to the Mom who contacted the Provost to complain because her son had to take an evening exam in my Stats class

Dear Mom,

I understand that you have been communicating with the Provost here at [my university] about my course policies. I hope you don't mind if I inject myself into the conversation.

First, I hope that you understand that I view evening exams as a benefit for the students. For one thing, having the exam in the evening gives me more class time for review. The Stats exam was Thursday evening, and on Thursday morning, we spent most of the class reviewing. I'm sure that this helped consolidate the students' understanding, and led to better scores on the exam. The other thing is that an evening exam is untimed. Stats class is one hour and 18 minutes. I had people who took close to two hours on that exam. Since they weren't rushed, they had time to consider their answers, and to find and correct their mistakes. This also undoubtedly helped their scores.

Evening exams are actually not easy from me. I have to take time away from my family, and spend up to fourteen hours at work. I'll do that seven times this semester in my various classes. I do not get paid extra to do this. I do it because I think it's best for the students.

The second thing I want to tell you is that I do know that students can have conflicts. They have other classes. They have jobs. They have personal commitments, ranging from parenting their own kids to practicing for the intramural dodge ball tournament. I recognize these conflicts, and I always give my students the opportunity to arrange another time for the exam. Students in that stats class took the exam as early as Wednesday afternoon, and as late as the following Monday. If [Stu] had asked, I would gladly have arranged for a better time for him to take the exam.

The thing that I most want to stress is that I am seriously offended by the way you have attempted to handle this issue. I understand that you are a faculty member at [your university], and I can't believe that you welcome conversations about your course policies between parents and your chief academic officer that don't even involve you.

If [Stu] has a question about my course policies, he is more than welcome to come talk to me about them. I am very open about the reasons behind my policies, many of which were developed from years of experience. If [Stu] and I couldn't agree on something, he would have the option of talking to my department chair. If he was still unsatisfied, he could talk to the dean, and then, and only then, should he talk to the Provost.

Note that I said "he". You really don't belong in this conversation at all. [Stu] is an adult, and you aren't doing him any favors by running interference for him. He is old enough to make his own choices and his own mistakes. At this point, your job as a parent is to give him advice if he'll sit still to listen to it. But you should not be trying to fix his problems. That cannot end well.

For what it's worth, I think [Stu] will be fine. I talked to him after the exam about what had gone wrong. He is one of the few student in any of my classes who initiated this conversation. We talked about some of his mistakes, and made plans for preparing for the next exam. The issue of the exam time never came up, by which I infer that he really doesn't think it's that big a problem.

I acknowledge your right to be concerned about [Stu], but I really think that you need to back off and let him handle his course load by himself.

Sincerely,

Prof. Jogger

****

So what do you think, JogAmericaBlog fans? This woman has not actually contacted me at all, and my Provost pretty much backed me up. Should I find out her e-mail address and send this, or should I be content to vent anonymously on a blog that almost no one reads?

Day 970 -- More Sisseton

Apparently, even at a mere 2500 residents, Sisseton is big enough to be the county seat of Roberts County. Here I am, going for a quick run in front of the county courthouse.

If it is a quick run, it will match the three miles that I did this morning. The weather was OK at 5:30, but it quickly developed into rain, which lasted, on and off, all day. I hope that it's clear tomorrow.

Day 969 -- Sisseton

Sisseton is the heart of the Wahpeton-Sisseton Indian Reservation. Other than that, it doesn't seem to be much. It's population at the 2000 census was only 2,572. But it does have this nice tower, which I found at city-data.com.

I woke up yesterday to the sound of a cold rain. Yes, I could tell it was cold from the sound. Since I had an 8:00 class, I didn't have time to wait for the gym to open. So I skipped my run. I actually had time to run in the afternoon, but I didn't. This morning, I got in six miles. It wasn't bad. There was a brisk wind, but it wasn't all that cold.

Day 968 -- Wahpeton-Sisseton Indian Reservation

Some time in the past few days, I ran into the Wahpeton-Sisseton Indian Reservation. This sign, which I picked up from Wikimedia Commons, gives you an idea of how big it is.

Today was my last run at 44. Yes, today is my birthday, but I was born at 7:22 pm, so this morning, I was still 44. Tomorrow will be my first run at 45. I'll let you know how it goes.

Today was fine. I ran a fairly brisk 6.5 miles, and felt pretty good, overall. Then Monday hit, and by now I'm pretty tired. The Packers are playing the Vikings on Monday Night Football, but I don't know if I'm going to make it to the end of the game. We'll see.

Day 967 -- Is this a great country, or what?

Well, my birthday is tomorrow, but Monday nights are usually pretty manic around the Jogger household. So we decided to celebrate tonight. Mrs. Jogger made another great cake. Here, let's get the close up.


I know, it's not as fancy as some of the stuff that she has done, but it's still a really cool idea. We've already eaten the entire east coast. We've got the whole midwest, the Rocky Mountains, and the west coast yet to go.

I just ran 3 miles this morning, and that was hard enough. The tough thing is that I know what the problem is. It's not that I'm exercising too hard. It's that I'm not getting enough sleep. So, to bed.

Day 966 -- Eden

Eden doesn't look very idyllic in this photo, from BuckeyeMel's Flikr stream. It looks downright cold, actually. Good thing I'm running, to generate some heat.

I got out this morning and ran about nine miles. It might be a little soon after the marathon to run that far, but I made it. I didn't feel very strong at the beginning, or at the end, or in the middle. But I did keep on plodding, and I finished. Can't knock that.

You may have noticed that the counter to the left is now counting down to the Madison Marathon in May, 2010. Registration for Madison opened on Thursday, October 1. And I registered on Thursday, October 1. I couldn't resist. The main thing that I want to do in the next seven months is to lose some weight. The marathon will go a lot better at 200 pounds than at 225. We'll see.

Day 965 -- Roslyn

I ordered photos from Action Sports International, the official photographers of the Fox Cities Marathon. I actually ordered downloads of all my pictures. I'll make some prints in the sizes that I want. What I'm wondering about is the license:

This license allows you to make prints from this file, and to use the image for any other personal use, but does not grant any copyright to the image. Other than the use or uses expressly listed above, no other use of the attached image(s) is authorized and any other use is specifically prohibited without express written permission of Action Sports International. No other express or implied license of the attached image(s) or any copyright is granted as part of this release. Action Sports International retains all copyrights to the attached image.

So, is cutting out a picture and posting it in front of the International Vinegar Museum considered "personal use", or not? I'm betting it is. Considering this blog sometimes gets readership in the double digits, I'll probably get away with it. This is the first time that my cut-out has been an action shot.

Wait, wait, wait! Back up! The International Vinegar Museum? Of course. Here it is, in Roslyn, SD. Where else would you put the International Vinegar Museum? It was founded by the city of Roslyn and Lawrence Diggs, aka "the Vinegar Man", to increase traffic flow in the community. No doubt, it has. [Vinegar Museum photo by Idawriter on Panoramio.]

Oh, by the way, I ran 5.3 miles this morning.

Day 964 -- Jogger's Progress

	Trip	YTD	Sep
Distance	6018.3	1434.0	120.6
Time	40 days, 4 hrs, 8 min	10 days, 4 hours, 58 mins	21:01
Days	964	207	19
States	20	5	1

At only 120 miles in 19 running days, September is not quite my lowest month of 2009. that honor goes to May, which was 119 miles in 18 running days. As you no doubt recall, I lost a lot of days to a sore tendon that month.

This month, I lost a lot of days to the marathon. I didn't run for two days before, or for three days after. So really, I averaged only a little over 4 miles for those six days. I didn't get in another long run all month, so it just didn't add up. That's OK. At 207 days and 1434 miles for the year, I'm seriously ahead of any previous September. In fact, I've already run more miles than all of 2006.

No big plans for October. I'd like to make 24 days and 120 miles, which is what I did in October 2006. But mostly I'm just going to run when I feel like running and rest when I don't.

Days 962 and 963 -- Langford

I ran 4.3 miles yesterday morning, and 3.1 this morning. I didn't blog yesterday, because after supper I went back to school and worked until close to bedtime. I came home and poured myself into bed. I'm just getting overwhelmed. I need to figure out some things that I can cut out to leave myself a little peace.

Days 959, 960, and 961 -- Pierpont

Where in the world is Pierpont, SD? It’s four miles south and seventeen miles east of Putney, SD! This according to their quasquicentennial* t-shirts. They are looking for a quasquicentennial logo. If you have a good idea, click on through and let them know.

Well, it's been a week.

Monday: I didn't run. I was still extremely sore, but also still had that after-marathon glow. A couple of people who knew I was going to run it asked how it went. One other person, who didn't know, saw me hobbling down a flight of stairs and asked if I had hurt myself. "No, I just ran a marathon yesterday." Man, it's fun to say that.

Tuesday: Still sore, but the glow is starting to wear off. This is the day when I started to second-guess my marathon. If I had just started out a little slower...if I had just pushed myself a little harder...if I had just worn different shoes...

Wednesday: I meant to run, but didn't get myself out of bed. I could feel myself getting crankier and crankier. It was a long day.

Thursday: I finally got out and ran 4.5 miles in the morning. It's a good thing, too. The first thing that happened was that my office computer broke out in a virus. All kinds of things started popping up with messages like "Your're [sic] computer might be infected..." Thanks. If I hadn't had my run, I probably would have fixed the problem with some lighter fluid and a match, but as it was, I called in the OIT people. My person told me later it was the worst infection she'd ever seen. I also had to stay late for my second evening exam. Long day.

Friday: Six miles, first thing. In the evening, I had to drive to Madison for a professional meeting. I hate Friday afternoon traffic in Madison. The meeting was productive, but I got home late for the second night in a row. For the second night in a row, I was grateful that I'd at least gotten a run in.

Saturday: I slept in, but went for a run at noon. I've spent most of the rest of the day grading. I've made some progress, but I have a lot to go, yet.

I'm enjoying the feeling of just running when I went to run, however far I want to run. I'm not training for anything. I'm just running.

*125th anniversary. I had to look it up.

Day 958 -- Community First Fox Cities Marathon

For the past three weeks, I've been grading my runs. I read that Dean Karnazes rates his runs, and if he has too many fairs or poors in a row, he knows that he's working too hard. I figured if it's good enough for Karno, it's good enough for me. Of course, being a professional educator, I give grades, rather than ratings. My highest grade so far has been an A-. My lowest: C-.

I'm giving today's run two grades. Physically, it was at best a C. I just wasn't as strong as I wanted to be, and I ended up with some really unexpected problems. But mentally, it was pure A. I had some tough moments, but I didn't curl up in a ball by the side of the road and wait for them to come scoop me up. Today, that was a victory.

Lets start from the beginning. I didn't sleep really well last night. That was the third rough night in a row, which certainly didn't help me to be at my physical best. I was up before the alarm. I ate a banana and a bagel, got dressed and headed out.

There was much more activity that one would normally expect at 6:00 on a Sunday morning. There were quite a few runners in my motel, and once I got out on the road, there was a fair amount of traffic. I was a little sorry that I hadn't scoped out the parking in advance, but I mostly just followed the traffic. I found a parking space not far from the shuttle bus stop, and I waited.

The half marathon started at 7:00, and the marathon at 8:00, so they were rushing the half marathoners onto the buses, and making us wait. I'm still not sure why it was a good idea to start the half before the full marathon, but hey, that was the plan. So, they finally let us on the bus, we shuttled to the start line, and I waited.

My plan took a hit right away, when I met the 4:30 pacer. He wasn't planning to run 10:20 miles. He was going to go out at a 9:45 pace, and walk through the rest stops. His plan was to average about 10 minute miles for the first 20, then coast home. It was probably a decent plan for him, but I have to wonder how many of his pace group were up to it. Anyway, I decided to stick with my plan of walking every mile. I saw the pacer's bright green cap a couple of times for the first three miles, and then never saw him again.

This first half of the marathon went pretty well. I was hitting my pace, walking every mile, and keeping hydrated. I felt good, although I felt that my legs weren't quite as strong as I wanted them to be. But I hit the halfway point at 2:10, just right where I wanted to be.

At about 15 miles, the wheels came off. It just hit me like a wave. I was tired. I was hot. It was one of the two lowest points of the run, and it was way too early. I just started walking and thinking "Eleven more miles? Eleven more miles? Eleven more miles?"

Eventually, I sucked it up and started running again, but within a few miles, I hit the really unexpected problem. I had a blister. I never get blisters. Occasionally, a new pair of shoes will give me a blister on top of my little toe, just until I get them broken in. But this was a veteran pair of shoes, and the blister was on the ball of my foot. This was the time when curling up in a ball was really tempting. I swear that if there had been a SAG wagon right there, I would have hopped on it and said, "Take me to the finish line."

The weirdest little thing kept me going; I hadn't gotten my t-shirt. Most races, including many marathons, give you your shirt when you check in. There's an unspoken (an not always observed) rule that you don't wear it until you finish the race, but you've got it. The Fox Cities actually does this for all of the shorter races of the weekend. But for the marathon, they have a "Finisher" shirt. You get it at the finish line. If you make it. You don't get it for planning to run. You don't get it for starting to run. And you don't get it if you drop out at 17 miles with a blister. I wanted that shirt.

So I kept going. The next two or three miles were rough. A lot of walking. A lot of cursing my fate. A lot of cursing myself for foolishly being out here. A lot of general cursing, to tell the truth.

But a funny thing happened at about 21 or 22 miles. I didn't start feeling better. I was still sore, hot, and blistered. But I somehow changed my attitude. I just decided I was out here, and I had paid my money, and I was going to run. I didn't run the whole way, but I definitely ran more than I had in the last four miles of my previous two marathons. And I managed to smile in between grimaces.

My time was 4:58:22, which was faster than Des Moines, but slower than the Quad Cities. It wasn't pretty. It was ugly, ugly, ugly. But I found something in myself that was, if not pretty, at least not bad to look at. Overall, I'm satisfied that I made the best of a bad day.

I think I've got one more good marathon in me. I'm thinking about running Madison in the spring, if I can get in shape. Get out to a good start, stay cool, and wear a pair of shoes I can trust, and I think I can run 4:30. We'll see. For right now, I'm just going to get some rest.

What the Hell have I gotten myself into?

A question that I have asked myself several times today. It all seems like a good idea, until you realize that you are in for 26 miles.

I have a plan. I think it's a decent plan. I am going to line up with the 4:30 pace group. I will run with them for the first mile, then take my walk break. I hope to be able to catch back up to the pace group right at the end of the second mile. Then take my walk break. Then catch up in the third mile, and take a walk break. And so on. This should keep me from going out too fast.

I feel confident that I can run the first 20 miles in fairly good shape. It's that last six that will get me. If I conserve my energy and if my legs hold up, and I get a good pace in the last six miles, it will be a good run. If I hit the wall, well, at least I know that I've been there before.

Wish me luck!

Days 956 and 957 -- Aberdeen

It has been a crazy week. And it's only the third week of the semester. It will just get crazier from here.

Monday was the organizational meeting for the Children's Choir. This will be the littlest Little Jogger's second year in the Children's Choir. Tuesday was Cub Scouts. The neighbor took the LLJ over, since I was up on a ladder, painting the part of the house where the gutters are supposed to be. Wednesday was a nasty day at work. I basically worked steadily from 8 to 6. And Wednesday is the day where I have no classes! Not much in the evening, with just a half hour piano lesson for the LLJ. Thursday, I gave an evening exam in Calculus, so I was at work from 7 am to 9 pm. Also, the first Little Jogger had to go work at the concession stand for the volleyball game. All this with one vehicle, since we loaned the car to our friends who broke an axle on their van.

So tonight, I'm tired. And I need to get to bed early, since I have a little race on Sunday morning.

I will be going up to Appleton alone. Mrs. J was going to come up with me, but we just couldn't get ourselves organized. She has started a new job, as the receptionist at our church, so she hasn't been home as much, and she's feeling a little stressed by her new schedule. I'm sorry that I won't have any support there with me, but I'm glad that she's not going to have to deal with the stress of the travel.

I'll bring my grading with me. I have the Calc exam (currently about half graded), a Calc worksheet, and a paper from Stats. And a lonely hotel room in which to grade them.

I'm lucky to have a hotel room. Some time after I got my hotel, they announced the fall NFL schedule, and this Sunday is a home game for the Packers. So hotels in Appleton will be at a premium. I suppose I could make some money renting out the second bed, if I didn't mind sleeping with some drunken Bengals fan.

I'm excited. And nervous. I dreamt about the marathon last night. I didn't dream about the finish, so I don't know how I did. We'll just have to find out on Sunday.

Day 955 -- Mina Lake Recreation Area

I picked campsite number 20 at the Mina Lake Recreation Area, since the marathon is on the 20th. It looks very comfy.

I did not have a good run this morning. Not nearly as good as you would like six days before the marathon. I just didn't have it, even after taking two days off. I think my main problem is lack of sleep. I was up until after midnight on Saturday, because we went to see a Henry V at the American Players Theatre. It was an excellent show (of course), but midnight is way too late for me. Then last night, I was up until close to 11, because the Packers had the Sunday Night game. At least they won. I'm glad that I didn't stay up that late for a loss. Anyway, I need to get caught up on my sleep by Sunday.

By the way, the Fox Cities Marathon is offering tracking. If you want e-mail or text updates of my progress, go to http://www.foxcitiesmarathon.org/updates.html and enter my bib number, 177.

Days 953 and 954 -- Mina

Almost 10 years ago, on October 25, 1999, a Leer jet carrying golfer Payne Stewart and five others crashed in a field near Mina, SD. I'm not much of a pro golf fan, so it didn't mean that much to me. Other than a famous person dying much too young. In fact, six people died much too young. However, if you Google Mina, SD, it dominates the hits. And this gives me a chance for a post where I'm not wearing the ugliest pants in the photo.

I took Thursday off. Since I have an 8:00 class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, those are good days to take off. I ran 4.5 miles on Friday. I slept in Saturday, but I went out an noon and ran another quick 4.5 miles. That was fairly hot. Then I slept in again today, and it doesn't look like I'm going to get a daylight run.

It's just one week until the Fox Cities Marathon. I'm feeling good about it. If the weather is OK, I think I'll give it a good go. The long range forecast for Appleton calls for sunny and a high of 68 degrees. Oh, man, I hope that's going to hold up. It would make for a good day.

Days 951 and 952 -- Ipswich

How about two libraries in a row? This is the Ipswich Public Library, in Ipswich, SD. My biggest problem here is spelling "Ipswich." I keep wanting to put a "t" into it.

I ran a quick 4 miles yesterday, then a slower 6 miles today. Overall, I'm calling it two good days in a row.

Day 950 -- Roscoe

Well, it doesn't look like the Roscoe Public Library holds a whole lotta books. Of course, at less than 300 people, Roscoe itself doesn't hold a whole lotta people. Still, I try not to pass up a chance to visit a library. This one is from Nicki83's flikr stream.

Having taken Friday off, I felt strong yesterday. So I ran a nice brisk six miles, over some non-trivial hills. Then I still felt strong this morning, so I put in another solid 12 miles. They say that when you are tapering in preparation for a marathon, you are supposed to reduce the volume of your running, but keep the intensity. I guess I accomplished that this weekend. Overall, it felt good.

I get one more day of weekend this week, but I think I'm going to skip the run and sleep in.

Day 948 -- Bowdle

Well, this is a first for JogAmericaBlog. I couldn't figure out any reasonable way to put myself into this boat with these two fisherman, so I simply took over the body of one of them. They caught this fish while staying at the Bird Down Lodge in Bowdle, SD.

As I type, it's early morning on Friday, September 4. Day 948 was actually yesterday. I ran a steady three miles before my 8 am class. This morning, I got up early, but I really felt like physically I needed a day off. So I blog.

I think the adrenalin rush of the early semester has worn off, and now I'm looking at all the stuff that I'm committed to and thinking, "Oh, shit." It will definitely be a busy semester. But I think it will be a fun one. In any case, I get another three day weekend this week, and I intend to enjoy it. As soon as I make it through Friday.