Day 390 -- Jogger's Progress

	Trip	YTD	Jun
Distance	2179.5	805.0	120.4
Time	13 days, 12 hrs, 1 min	5 days, 3 hrs, 7 min	18:53
Days	390	133	22
States	11	4	2

June was the first month of 2007 that I didn't surpass the mileage of the corresponding month in 2006. In June, 2006, I ran 138.8 miles, which was actually my longest month of the year. Of course, this June, I'm in the early weeks of my marathon training program, so it's not surprising that I didn't run that far. And 120 miles isn't bad, either.

The weather in Wyoming continues to be nice. It was 60 degrees and comfortably dry this morning. I ran a paced 6 miles, and I held the pace pretty well, but dropped off a little in the last mile or so. That's OK. It was a nice run, anyway.

Day 389 -- Wyoming

As promised, here I am, entering Wyoming. This photo is from someone at RobertBody.com. I don't really understand what this website is all about. It seems to just be one person's vacation photos. I can't tell if this welcome sign is anywhere near where I am on the Nebraska/Wyoming border. But they all probably look pretty much the same anyway.

I ran an easy 3 miles today. A cool front came through last night, so the temperature was 12 degrees (F) lower than it was yesterday, and correspondingly drier, too. It was very pleasant. I was tempted to make a joke about how the weather was much nicer in Wyoming than it is in Nebraska, but I'm not sure how that would go.

Dayy 388 -- Last Day i Nebraska

I've been in Nebraska since Day 319, which was March 24. Just over three months. And I was already halfway across when I entered, having come up from the south. Imagine if I had started in Omaha! Anyway, tomorrow I'll cross over into Wyoming.

Not much for pictures, so how about a generic Nebraska corn field, from RoadFan.com?

Day 387 -- Oliver Lake

This is out of order. Oliver Lake is between Kimball and Bushnell, and I'm a few miles past Bushnell. But I could find photos of Oliver Lake, and couldn't find any photos of anything west of Bushnell. Besides, I wanted to go fishing.

I ran an easy 3.4 miles this morning. It had to be easy, because it was already 74 degrees and humid at 6 in the morning. It's going to be a long summer.

Day 386 -- Bushnell

This photo of Bushnell, Nebraska, was uploaded to WebShots.com by someone with the handle USRoadman. We're brothers under the skin. Of course, he's actually going out and visiting all these places. I'm just riding his coattails.

I ran 12.5 miles today, my Sunday long run. It was a little warm, and terribly humid. I was dripping with sweat when I finished. I don't know why people run in the afternoons during the summer. The last couple of miles were pretty hard, but once I stopped and got some fluid into me, I felt OK. My legs aren't too sore.

Day 385 -- Kimball

It's a busy weekend in Kimball, Nebraska. They are having the first annual Carp Festival out at the Oliver Reservoir. Accompanying that is a Kids Fishing Derby. And there's the summiting of Panorama Point, part of some fundraiser for juvenile cancer. Apparently, this morning people are climbing the highest points in all fifty states. As the Kimball website wryly points out, Panorama Point "looks less like a peak than like a tall spot in a pasture." Anyway, I've arrived just in time for all the festivities. Too bad I neglected to bring a fishing pole.

I ran six miles this morning. It felt good and relaxing, but I came home to a fight among the Little Joggers over whose turn it was to listen to a particular CD, so I'm all tensed up again.

Day 384 -- Kimball County

According to RockyMountainRoads.com, as highway 71 crosses into Kimball County, "the highway enters a more populous area than Banner County." It's not hard. Every Nebraska county that touches Banner county is more populous. I was surprised to find, however, that there are at least eight counties in Nebraska with fewer than Banner County's 819 people (Census 2000 data, reported by NegativePopulationGrowth.org.) All of them seem to be in north central Nebraska.

I ran three easy miles today, just beating the rain home.

Day 383 -- Approaching Kimball

According to RockyMountainRoads.com, somewhere in here, the road narrows from four lanes to two. This may present a problem, as I try to pass people in heavy traffic.

In other news, I found out why Harrisburg is the County Seat of Banner County. It is literally the only town in Banner County, according to Mapquest.

I ran six miles today, at a nice pace.

Move Over, Walt Disney...

via Shakespeare's Sister:

Day 382 -- South of Harrisburg

I'm about five miles south of Harrisburg, Nebraska, and a good 15 miles, at least, from the next town. Not much around to picture myself in front of. Fortunately, RockyMountainRoads.com has a whole series on Nebraska 71, the road I'm on. This is allegedly just about the right spot. I say allegedly, because it looks like any other road in western Nebraska to me. They could have photoshopped a sign that says "71" onto just about any road, and I would have believed them.

An easy three miles today. It has cooled considerably since Sunday, so I barely worked up a sweat. But I will tomorrow. I'll run six, and I'll try to pick up the pace a bit.

First Day of Summer

My semester was over about a month ago. But the Little Joggers had school up until June 8, and then I turned around and went off to DC. So in a very real way, this was the first day of summer -- the first day that I was home with the kids all day. I'm ready for September to come.

Not really. But it was quite a day. The two boys had tennis practice first thing this morning. That went OK. Then I started to take the oldest and newest Little Jogger and the medium Little Jogger grocery shopping, but the oldest and newest said she felt sick to her stomache. So I turned around and brought her home. She basically moped around in bed most of the day. I missed my noon book club meeting, because I didn't want to leave her. Then it started to rain, so I had to call all the soccer parents to cancel soccer practice. But the littlest Little Jogger's team did have practice (in the rain!) so I had to run him out and then run out and pick him up. Then, after supper, we played a rousing game of Animalopoly, and the kids are now in bed.

Tomorrow, more of the same.

I felt safe...sort of

Security is a much bigger deal in Washington than it is in my hometown. Just this evening, we went off for an hour or so and left the house unlocked. We weren't gone that long, after all.

I stayed in a dorm at George Washington University. We had scanner cards, like you get at hotels these days. To get in, you had to scan your card outside the building, just to open the door. Then you had to walk in 10 feet and scan your card under the watchful eye of the security guard. Then you had to walk another 10 feet and scan your card to call the elevator (or, in my case, to get into the stairwell.) It's all just meant for redundancy, of course. If it were just the front door, you could slip in while someone was going out. If it were just the guard, you might slip past when they weren't looking. If it were just the elevator, you could hang around and pop on when someone got off. But the odds of doing all three without getting caught are pretty low.

And that, of course, is just the security for a little dorm with no particular value. The security at the important buildings is really impressive. I didn't try to get into the White House or the Capitol, but I did see guards outside some important building looking under a car with mirrors, to make sure nothing was hiding underneath.

So, I was probably just as safe in Washington as I am here. I was never really far from a guard, and never even close to alone on the streets. But it sure did feel different than it does in small town Wisconsin.

Day 381 -- Harrisburg

Nebraska Highway 71, near Harrisburg. You probably can't read the signs at this size, but one says "Harrisburg," and the other says "No Services." That shouldn't be surprising, as Harrisburg only has 100 people in it. Oh, maybe it's a little surprising, since it's the county seat of Banner County. I truly am in the middle of nowhere.

I ran eleven miles today. It was hot and humid. I'm sure that it will get worse before it gets better.

Catching Up: Days 376, 377, 378, 379, and 380

Day 376 (Sunday) 6.2 miles, 58 minutes (Wisconsin)
Day 377 (Monday) 3 miles, 29 minutes (DC)
Day 378 (Wednesday) 5.8 miles, 55 minutes (DC)
Day 379 (Thursday) 4.5 miles, 45 minutes (DC)
Day 380 (Friday) 6.3 miles, 61 minutes (DC)

The distances in DC are all estimated, based on my time and what I guessed my pace was. I also did a huge amount of walking, none of which counts towards my journey. It was about a mile from the dorm where I was staying to the conference site, and I walked that six times each way. I also walked down the National Mall three times, two of which were also museum visits. And I did more assorted walking than I usually do around here.

I had a great time. Washington, DC, is very unlike my little hometown in southwestern Wisconsin. (It's this kind of keen observation that makes this blog what it is.) I will write more about it as I get caught up this week, but right now, I have a bed calling my name that doesn't have a plastic coated mattress, but does have Mrs. Jogger. A vast improvement over the bed I've been in for the last few days.

This picture is not me, but it could have been. I ran right there.

And...I'm Off!

What am I doing in front of the Lincoln Memorial? Have I suddenly turned around and run back to the East Coast? No, my virtual journey will continue in Western Nebraska. But my actual running will take place in Washington, DC. I'm off to a workshop on the Mathematics of Asia's Past.

I'm not sure how much web access I'm going to have this week. I'm not bringing my laptop, so I'll be at the mercy of the conference site. Rest assured, even if I'm not posting, that I'm getting my runs in. If nothing else, I'll be back here on JogAmericaBlog next Saturday.

Photo from Arrakeen.

Day 375 -- More Bridgeport

Finally, some real runners on this page! This is the Girls Cross-country team from Bridgeport High, which placed 2nd in the state in 2000. Not much seems to have happened in Bridgeport since 2000. At least, they haven't updated their web page very often.

I ran five miles this morning. It was nice and cool. I know the warm weather is coming. But for right now, I'm enjoying the cool mornings.

USJogger and the Fib From Outer Space

The story Larry Boy and the Fib from Outer Space is a VeggieTales video from Big Idea Productions. In it, Junior Asparagus breaks his father's favorite souvenir bowling plate. Rather than confess, Junior tells his father a little fib, that his friend Laura broke the plate. Of course, the fib grows into a monster that almost destroys Bumblyburg. The only person who can stop it is Junior, by telling the truth.

Sometime between the ages of 7 and 13 (I remember because I know what house we lived in), I did something similar. I was the kind of kid who snuck snacks when I shouldn't. Actually, I still am. I ate two pieces of cake. It must have been someone's leftover birthday cake, although I don't remember whose. I was insufficiently expert to cover my tracks. My mother knew someone had eaten the cake, but she didn't know who. She called us all in and asked her to look her in the eye and tell her that we hadn't taken the cake. I looked her straight in the eye and lied. I have a memory (no idea whether it's real or not) of her telling my father that the thing that she was really mad about was that some child (she still didn't know which one) had been able to look her in the eye and lie. I've forgotten a lot of my youth, but I haven't forgotten that. I've never told anyone that story until now. (And Grandma Jogger reads this blog. Sorry, Mom.)

Why bring it up? Because some version of one of those stories is almost certainly being played out in our house right now. Someone took a pack of gum. We know which Little Jogger likes gum, which one is most likely to take something without telling us, and which one is most likely to lie to our faces. But we don't have evidence.

We aren't sure what to do. There should be a penalty for having gum when you aren't supposed to, for stealing, and for lying. But, what about that one-in-a-million chance that the Little Jogger is innocent? Maybe it was one of the others. Or Mrs. Jogger accidentally dropped the gum behind her desk. Or something.

In the Veggietales version, Junior comes clean. The fib disappears, and Junior has learned a valuable lesson. I never came clean (well, not for 30 years), but I did live with the guilt involved. I grew. I matured. As an adult, I have a very hard time lying, which is probably just as well. I wasn't cut out for a life of crime.

And what will happen to the Little Jogger? I don't know. It may be 30 years before I find out.

More Blogthings

Your IQ Is 130

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius Your General Knowledge is Above Average

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

My "Logical Intelligence" is below average? Please don't tell anyone. Oh well, at least I passed eighth grade science:

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

OK, I'll stop now...

When I get bored, I play with Blogthings

I've visited Blogthings before, mostly in response to someone else finding one that sounded interesting. It's a whole bunch of on-line quizzes like, "What kind of wine are you?" and "What's your vampire name?" Usually, they ask a few questions with forced choices. From "What kind of wine are you?":

If you were giving a casual toast among friends, what would you toast to?
* To friendship
* To world peace
* To fun times
* To life
* To health

Then they compute your score somehow and give you something to post on your blog. Some people really have too much time on their hands.

Anyway, the test "What April Fool's Prank Should You Play?" is a bit different. It has one question: "How would you describe your sense of humor?" Instead of a forced choice, it has a box to type in your answer. I typed, "Understated." I believe that the blogthing had a little trouble with that word....

Your April Fool's Day Prank Should Be

Putting eyeballs in your friend's coffee

What April Fool's Prank Should You Play?

Day 373 and 374 -- Bridgeport

Not much to see out here but big rocks. Courthouse Rock and Jail Rock are just outside Bridgeport. If you've played Oregon Trail on the computer, you probably recognize them. They are "erosional remnants composed of clay, sandstone and volcanic ash. The rocks are listed in the National Register of Historic Places and in the Nebraska Natural Areas Register."

Not much reason why I didn't post yesterday. Just really didn't get around to it. I ran five yesterday and three today, and now I'll take tomorrow off.