The wild Norwegian-American rover

FOREVER...

2006-09-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

So now that I’m a married man bring on the cardigans! I can come home from work, slip on my favorite slippers, sing a song about my neighbors and feed the fish…time to settle down, right?

Not really. Meow and I are pretty much the same people we were before the wedding, except we get to live together, the expectations have changed, and we’re both a whole lot more relaxed (end wedding/honeymoon anxiety). On the flip side the whole thing has been a blast so far. Back from our honeymoon in the land of Vikings, Fjords, and Heavy water (D2O), Meow and I have been setting up shop. So far meow has been painting and unpacking during the day while I’m at work… and our apartment is really starting to take shape. By next week we will probably be able to start unpacking wedding gifts and get a start on the thank you notes.

Looking back at the wedding and honeymoon the whole thing was a giant, fast moving tornado that sucked us all up and spit us out a little dizzy but for the most part intact…some more than others. The groom’s dinner was a blast, including 68 people, a chocolate fountain, gifts for people in the wedding, and only minor anxiety attacks. The wedding was awesome, we had a great day, the musicians sounded great, the pictures went well and we were able to make most people happy. I now know the crazy nervousness that grips people the moments directly before the ceremony starts. When I was the best man in solar racer’s wedding…I understood he was nervous and even offered little jokes to lighten the mood. But in hindsight I really didn’t have a clue. From now on I will not forget that feeling. Note: Solar Racer was a huge asset for me…and now I really know why.

Interesting things that have happened at the wedding and to this point…
1) Luther Runner (best man) didn’t have his wedding shoes…but got them in time for the ceremony thanks to Irish training buddy’s girl friend.
2) I took off with Irish training buddy and Solar Racer at 11:40 am, day of the ceremony to go throw the Frisbee and have a quick, good luck, pull of Jamison at the local state park. Some people apparently thought I was running away and Meow was worried I would come back and see her in her wedding garb early. It all worked out fine in the end and I worked off some pre-wedding energy in the process.
3) Most of the guys in the wedding didn’t have places to stay until the week of, and still a few just planned to “crash somewhere”…
4) I got more than my share of married men giving me the “run” advice… then after the wedding congratulating me enthusiastically… is that some sort of married guy initiation? Since most went through it, they (I mean we, cough cough) will continue the tradition?
5) Groomsman Chili Frye busted out a solo dance to N’SYNC and definitely kept the party going. Point of clarification…Chili’s dance was the only N’SYNC played.
6) The Groomsmen kept partying at the hotel after the dance and apparently were loud enough for their neighbors to change rooms at 3:00am. Nice work gentlemen!
7) Luther Runner (best man) got punched in the face and after falling, got kicked in the chest. Whoa… following that Luther Runner promptly made the offender leave the hotel. Thankfully Luther Runner is still running.
8) Now that we’re back: Meow has made me breakfast, packed me a lunch for work, washed laundry, painted the whole apartment, put together our table and chairs, and moved 90% of the furniture by herself…I took out the trash. (hehehe)
9) Meow and I continue to sleep on the floor. Tonight we plan to buy a mattress set.
10) Frisbee this Sunday… Woot Woot!

Triathlon

2006-08-15T18:23:00.000-07:00

I raced my annual Brewhouse Triathlon in Duluth for the third year in a row (a couple weeks ago). The trip was a success and I finished with my personal record by 4 minutes… not that it’s anything to brag about, I did come in 15/19 in my age group (not satisfactory…I’m just going to have to work harder next year).

The night before the race we went to the traditional Olive Garden to load up on Carbohydrates (yes I know they take 24 hours to be useful but racing is more mental than physical so if you think it’s going to help, it will). I enjoyed a great dinner with Irish runner and Irish roommate and Irish roommate’s fiancé Cat. I spent a little more than was necessary but in the end it was well worth it…steamed mussels, bruschetta, chicken-alfredo, red wine, and tiramisu…mmmMMMmmm.

The race was okay. I came out of the water about a minute behind Irish runner and about 5 minutes ahead of Irish roommate. I ended up passing Irish runner about two miles into the bike and didn’t notice…so yeah I tried to catch him for the entire rest of the race without knowing I had already past him. The run came and went…I ran 7:39 pace, which is good enough for this year. In the end I finished about 10 minutes ahead of Irish runner and about 20 minutes ahead of Irish roommate. After the finish we laughed about our almost perfect spacing and then packed up for home.

It’s odd to have trained for something and then just have it be over… I think I enjoyed all the training and time with my friends far more than the race. Several days later I sat outside my apartment with Luther runner… We had just both realized that our summer was over and our lives will both change very soon. Saying good-bye to the summer also means saying good-bye to dear friends… As I get older it gets harder and harder to say good-bye knowing what it might bring. I miss my friends already.

Can you turn down free food?

2006-08-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

Today I was really looking forward to lunch at another random store front restaurant, but alas I had to do without…

Here was my problem: Just as I was washing my hands and leaving the lab for lunch I was stopped by one of the ladies. “You aren’t leaving are you?” followed by, “It’s my birthday and were having free food.” At this point I had to stay. Do you seriously tell someone that you would rather eat out than eat their birthday food? Well as you can guess I stayed for the free food and acted about as excited as I could.

The lunch turned out pretty good. We had BBQ ribs and fried chicken with vegetables, fries, mashed potatoes, grapes, and cake and pie for dessert. In the end I enjoyed the conversation about as much as any new food. I got dirt on some other gal at the hospital (I’m at the hospital’s reference lab) and got to hear horror stories about the male supervisor. Good Times…

The fun was interrupted when the male supervisor (in pink again today…possibly the same shirt) started yelling in his office and then exclaimed “I’m not happy!” Immediately the female chemistry supervisor (one step below him) rushed in and cooled him off. She actually did a really good job and didn’t incriminate any of her fellow techs… but at that point I knew it was my cue to leave…so I went back to work.

Moral – Free food and good conversation is as good as new and exciting food.

Note: I really don’t like it when I can’t predict people. It was to the point this afternoon that I avoided the explosive male supervisor (in pink) at all costs…Maybe tomorrow will be a better day.

Back in NYC!

2006-08-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

Finally. Too much office time about made me crack. Why do these trips start to feel like vacations? I think I might have a couple ideas…

First, the food in New York City is awesome. Not just the fact that NYC has food, but it has authentic food. Take my lunch for example; I stepped into a French restaurant and was greeted in French. Never mind the fact that my server couldn’t speak any French and the water bringer (not sure what to call him) only spoke Spanish. I had a cup of soup and a crêpe. The crêpe came with greens, the kind that would not talk to iceberg lettuce. The best part of the whole thing is that this little place is just a hole in the wall right across from my account. Tomorrow, I’m not going back! That’s why I love NYC… I had a great experience and tomorrow I can walk another 50 feet down the block and have something else completely different and just as authentic. The possibilities are so endless it’s really energizing… Yes I too have fallen for the energy and possibility of New York City. On the other hand being on the company tab certainly helps.

My second example involves the funny women I’m working with this week. My personal opinion is that they get far too little testosterone at work. Case in point, I think I was flirted with by 3 out of the 5 women that work there. The only male was slightly odd, demanding, and wore a bright pink shirt… I think he also resented me a little for being a guy. Now for the interesting stuff…

Flirt 1) I was complimented on my green shirt and matching tie. I said something along the lines of “thanks…but now you’re going to be disappointed when I show up in a polo tomorrow.” (Which I thought was funny). She responded by turning flush and saying I would look good in either. She then mumbled something and giggled to her lysing chemicals. Now anyone that knows me, knows that I am the worst at knowing when flirting is happening… In rereading this it appears to me that I initiated the flirting but I will assure you I did not go anywhere near that line…

Flirt 2) Pretty tame but the gal I was talking to (too?) would quit anything she was doing and talk to me…while mostly smiling and making more eye contact than was necessary. Now she was probably just being nice and went home to tell her significant other about this jerk at work that kept asking for things.

Flirt 3) I was given a phone number. I told the gal I would come in tomorrow about 9:00am when the rest of my supplies arrived…she responded by making sure that I had the number of the account and then making sure I had saved it in the phone. I then said something smart about it being dangerous to be in my cell… she responded by laughing and turning red then saying something about calling her in the morning…unless of course I talked to some one else… but either way she would be there and might answer.

The best part is that I didn’t really recognize the flirting until I sat down to write this and thought about my day…I could be wrong, but those ladies were in serious need of testosterone.

In retrospect, the second example doesn’t make the trip feel like a vacation (I don’t have random women flirt with me outside of work)…I just thought it was funny.

Note: My female sales consultant didn’t get any love from the women but the male supervisor liked her quite a bit. Maybe it’s just about change…

Double Note: All previously mentioned women were in their 40’s and were probably just being nice.

Triple Note: I love my fiancé very much and can’t wait to go to Norway with her (where I expect to be flirted with).

S-3...

2006-07-28T08:15:00.000-07:00

S3…

Well S3 just saved the day. Apparently there are about a dozen customers that need to be called ASAP and this should take me about a day to get through…plus as a bonus if I get done early I can call the other 377 customers with regular priority...

Hooray for getting some work!

PS. I might still sneak out early…

Throw me a fricken’ bone…

2006-07-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

I have a traveling job (say it with me, traveling) and will have been in the office for 10 weeks straight next week. Apparently my sales team has run out of sales and I get to sit here and wait for them to drum up more business. What that also means is that for the last 6 weeks I’ve had relatively little to do. After exhausting every “project” and calling all my customers for the 20th time…It’s becoming more difficult to make the hours pass.

Enter the art of looking busy. Remember the movie “Office Space” when the main character is up for review…he starts by telling the review board about his day. He sneaks in 15 minutes late, gets to his desk and proceeds to space out…oh it looks like he’s working but he’s not… and on and on and on…and it concludes with him saying that in any given week he probably only does 15 minutes of actual work. Well I’m not quite there yet…but if I don’t get some work soon I might just be.

Also, I’ve got a problem. I hate doing little side projects for people… It’s great for them though…that way they look ridiculously productive whereas I look like I have nothing to do…no matter how hard I work, it’s someone else’s project. So should I go looking for more work, possibly get noticed as a hard worker, but probably get handed some crappy side project? Or should I sit here quietly and possibly sneak out an hour early? Or I suppose I could dream up some crazy side project…

Note: Yesterday I finished another crappy side project. Basically taking numbers from one document and transposing them into an excel sheet and doing a few basic calculations. The project was so much crap that I decided to get it over quickly (like tearing off an adhesive bandage), so I spent 6 hours mindlessly transposing numbers...my soul hurts.

Where did everyone go?

2006-07-28T08:09:00.000-07:00

Today, Friday, everyone is gone. It feels a bit like I accidentally came to work on Saturday, thinking it was Friday. Or, that everyone is just hiding and will soon jump out of some closet to catch me blogging instead of working. ….Anyone?...hello? Hello!? hello hello hello…nope no takers…

My immediate supervisor is out, tending to her parents. Both my colleagues get to do their jobs and are taking the day off as compensation for being on the road so much. My supervisor’s supervisor (S2) took the day off as a personal holiday. My supervisor3 is MIA…and I haven’t walked over to the other building to check if the VP will be here today.

There are few things worse than working on a Friday with nothing to do…
I might just blog all morning…that way I would look like I’m working…but I’m really not… oh well…better to look busy and be inconspicuous than to have it clearly known that you are worthless.

PS. For some reason I chose today to show up an hour early…BLAH! Since no one was here to notice how early I was, I walked around with my coffee and talked to everyone that was here early…come on…you would too.

Jesus fish...

2006-07-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

As a person that commutes 2 hours a day; I have plenty of time on the road to notice obscure happenings. This is my latest discovery:

Have you ever noticed that you’re just as less likely to be cut off by someone with the Jesus Fish on their car? It could just be a function of the vast number of Jesus fish being displayed on the backs of cars…but I’ve wanted to flick off the Jesus fish people often enough…

Last night I was driving home in rush hour traffic when a Jesus fish car cut me off. Not only did they cut me off but they cut in line in an exit lane. Would Jesus drive to the front of a long line of cars and then cut in? Would he cut off other motorists so he can get home two minutes earlier? Would he drive by himself and still take the car pool lane? (Okay, that could be a trick question…or is it?). Would he even drive, let alone drive a gas guzzling SUV?

As I pondered the whole 3 in 1 thing and Jesus taking the car pool lane (made me laugh a little…if he got pulled over do you think he could talk his way out of it?)…it occurred to me that the Jesus fish is simply another car fad…like the “baby on board” signs and the little Garfield with suction-cups on the paws of the 1980’s. I wonder if a cut of the money from the Jesus fish goes to any charity or church or starving CEO…

Personally I really like the Darwin fish with the legs…but not for biblical reasons…it just appeals to the scientist in me…On that note the Darwin fish would be a sweet tattoo…

Watch your back...

2006-07-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

Remember to check to see who is behind you before doing anything silly.

This morning I was working on a customer issue and while hard at work I turned on the streaming radio and put my head phones on. I was in a fairly good mood so eventually I was bopping my head to the music and basically “dancing” a little in my chair. All while continuing my work mind you. This continued on for some minutes until I got to a particularly exciting part of a song and I started a couple seconds of “air drumming.” Just then I became acutely aware that I was not alone and turned to see the head of our department giving a tour to about 12 VIPs in suits, standing not 3 feet away from me. You might ask; how could he be 3 feet away and not physically in your cube? Well the answer is that we had torn down the center walls of our cubes and made 4 cubes into 1 big office. The head of the department was there to show some VIPs the new “pod” formation that is being considered for work groups throughout the entire company.

I then proceeded to take off my headphones, and turn off the music. All while trying not to cause a scene, and looking as if I was just continuing on in my busy (and rather unaware) state. 2 minutes later the tour moved on and my embarrassment went through the roof…

I guess I’ll just have to wait and see if my department head brings it up…so much for looking professional.

Creatures of Habit...

2006-07-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

I was talking with a colleague when the topic of bathroom breaks came up and some thing strange occurred to me; can you have bathroom buddies? And is it okay to acknowledge it?

My colleague was saying that she visits the restroom the same time each morning and afternoon. What occurred to me is that she probably sees a lot of the same people who are on the same “schedule” as she. Then I thought about my habits and realized that I see the same few guys in the bathroom each time I go…and since I also see them in their offices we must be on the same schedule.

The next time I walk into the men’s room and see some one familiar should I say some thing? Or would that ruin the bathroom relationship as well as cross multiple lines of bathroom etiquette??? What if they have also noticed and have thus far decided not to say any thing?

On a slightly unrelated note…I’ve noticed that if there is only one urinal (and a couple stalls) the restroom is usually pretty silent, even at the twin sinks. When 2-3 urinals are present you get some talking (even at the urinals). Some times, like in airports where there are 20+ urinals, men will just shout to each other no matter how close they stand. This could also be a function of the size of the restroom, but I think there is a direct correlation between talking and number of urinals.

NOTE: Talking between stalls is always across the etiquette line (sorry for that visual).

Bloggity blog blog blog…

2006-07-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

Like I said earlier I almost always fail these little journal projects after about a week. True to form I’ve completely dropped the ball once again…blah. But, if you’re interested I’ll throw out a few updates…

Marathon –
I finished in 3:49:41. The day started with me waking up 45 minutes late and missing the bus to the starting line…thankfully my fiancé was on the ball and got me to the starting line before my bus would have gotten their anyway.

Irish training buddy couldn’t run the race because his girlfriend’s mother passed away unexpectedly. It was very sad and we all continue keep her family in our thoughts. I decided there wasn’t much I could do to help and therefore decided that I should still run the marathon. I know Irish training buddy wants another shot at racing all of us…so we’re both doing a triathlon on August 6th…more on that later.

Antelope runner had convinced me earlier that week to increase my goal of breaking 4:00:00 to breaking 3:50:00 so the two of us could run together, and so we started with the 3:50:00 group. The start of the marathon was AWESOME! They played the “chariots of fire” theme song (which gave me chills and an adrenaline rush) and had a train blow it’s whistle as we all took off…actually I more like walked for two minutes until I got to the starting line. All ~7,400 of us had to run through the start line so our electronic times (by chip) could be recorded. My gun time was almost exactly 2 minutes slower than my chip time.

All was well through the first 5 miles. We ran with the huge crowd and watched over-hydrated guy after over-hydrated guy run off into the woods to drop a little excess fluid. I thankfully was well under-hydrated and did not have that problem. At mile 5 we saw our fans to cheer us on…Luther Runner was there and ran out to give me a couple gel packs.

Next news comes at about mile 12…The fog had burned off completely and was just starting to get hot. Antelope runner decided that he was going to stop by the rent-a-john and said he would catch back up in a couple miles…so I decided to latch on to some fast looking runners and kept going. That was the last time I saw antelope runner that day.

Mile 16 I saw the fiancé, Luther runner, and the rest of the crew. At this point I was looking pretty tired so Luther runner came out to run with me for about ½ a mile. He asked easy questions about the pace and how I was holding up in the heat. I told him I was going to try to push through 20 miles and see what happened.

The hardest 2 miles of the race for me were miles 17 and 18. I had got my last boost from seeing my friends, it was starting to get hot enough to force all the runners to one side of the road for the chance at shade, and the finish line still seemed a thousand miles away. Mile 17 was also the first time since mile 2 that the 3:50:00 pace car passed me! (Pace car = guy running with balloons and a sign that says 3:50:00). Falling behind my goal was a little demoralizing…but I resolved myself to catch him by mile 18. Mile 18 came and went and I was falling further back…It was decision time. Give up, and try to stay ahead of the 4:00:00 pace car, or put in a kick and catch up quickly. I decided to go with the latter…

As we entered Duluth, there were so many people cheering that it was hard not to run like a pro. In the end I actually got to the finish before the rest of the crew got there to watch. Apparently the line of cars into Duluth was ridiculous and on top of that they had to park about a mile away. I saw them running to catch up and yelling…so a nice boost once again.

Two things about the end ticked me off…the last 1.2 miles seemed like about 5 miles and we made about 3 turns at the end of long straight-aways where I expected the finish line to be. I mean seriously…how about letting us see the finish line for more than ¼ mile? After mile 25 I did a steady increase all the way in…partly due to my wanting to break 3:50:00 (I was with the pace car exactly at mile 25) and partly due to the fact that I kept thinking the finish had to be just around the corner! BLAH!

Well long story short (actually still pretty long) after I came through the finish line I grabbed my stuff and made my way over to some grass for a rest. My fiancé and friends came over and shortly after I got the worst cramps of my life. It was way too hot, I was way too dehydrated, and way too exhausted…so my muscles decided to punish me…

I told my two guy friends there with me that I needed to go to the medical tent because I was passing out (hyperventilating to be exact). I don’t care what people tell you, when you’re hyperventilating it’s really hard to slow down your breathing. I wasn’t even cognoscente of the fact that I was breathing too fast, nor was I able to put the two thoughts together until I was blacking out. I basically felt an incredible urge to sleep and started to just loose control when I would catch myself and regain the ability to control my thoughts and actions.

After that, we decided to move. I tried to stand up and realized that I couldn’t pick my right leg off the ground (seriously). My nurse friend then took off for the medical tent to get a wheel chair…a huge blow to my ego…but necessary. The moments that followed were just blindingly painful. My legs locked and hurt an unreasonable amount. You would think that the legs hurt as much as they could when I finished…but you would be very wrong. As we waited for the wheel chair my two friends just held me up as I went limp from the inability to use my legs. The medical tent intern that came to help (my eyes were closed so I didn’t get a good look at him) came over to reassure us that a qualified person would be right over…and no there was nothing he could do. Finally, a woman arrived with a wheel chair and water. Unfortunately the leg rests on the chair didn’t really work…but considering I couldn’t bend my right leg yet…it wasn’t a big loss.

I arrived at the medical tent, got a very good message from a sports trainer, had a banana and some “Ultra Replenisher” (tastes like bad candy) and 20 minutes later I was back on my feet and back with the crew. Thankfully no IV was needed and I was released without too much trouble. After that we made our way back to my fiancés Uncle’s place for tea and coffee cake and to eventually stay the night.

Okay, now you know my marathon story and I can get on with my life. I’m a lot more excited about finishing with a decent time now than I was on June 17th and that day I swore I would never do another one again…but now, over a month later, I’m starting to think it might be a good idea. For the mean time, I think I’ll stick to triathlons…

By the way, Antelope runner finished 4 hours 38 minutes. I think the heat got to him, because the day was just hitting its hottest point when I finished, but if I had to try to race any longer I would have had to walk/crawl/cry…Put it this way…even the elite runners were 10+ minutes slower than normal…so none of us were immune to the heat.

Dreams

2006-05-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

Throughout my life I’ve had reoccurring dreams that continue until I figure out what ever problem I have in the dream. One dream had to do with a giant tree and a trap-door (odd I know). Another with sanctioned war games between rival Universities of which I was a participant. The first dream ended after I found the trap-door. The second concluded after my team won the match. Lately I’ve been having another.

The set-up is pretty comfortable. I’m approaching a high cliff that drops off sharply to the white sand beach and bright blue crystal clear water several hundred feet below. The grass is delicate, bright green and moves slightly in the breeze. Near the edge of the cliff I notice the dirt, a light brown that appears to fall apart easily (probably sandy and dry). There are no trees on this cliff but behind me I know that some exist. The temperature is comfortable and I am wearing business casual clothes. I’m possibly on vacation or business somewhere slightly tropical. As I get close to the edge to have a look, an old friend enters from my right. The issue is that I haven’t seen or heard from Bill for about 6 years, but in my dream it’s just casual. We don’t even catch-up we just start talking as if it was normal.

Bill’s purpose in approaching me is apparently to warn me to stay back from the edge of the cliff. I agree after having a nice long look and turn to leave. After about three steps the ground under Bill (directly behind me) gives out and I watch as he falls several hundred feet to the beach below (oddly he didn’t look scared). At this point I run several miles back down to try to get to the beach.

Now the weird part starts. Just before I get to the beach I forget why I am running and just go back to my hotel. The hotel is right on the beach but about a mile from the spot Bill probably landed. After a couple hours in the hotel lobby talking with random people and maybe working a business deal I suddenly remember why I had tried to get to the beach. So I run out of the hotel along the beach toward where Bill should be but am not able to get there because the military (in forest green uniforms) won’t let me through. One especially tough woman keeps pointing an assault riffle at me and telling me to leave (either in English or some language that I easily understand). The rest of the dream consists of me trying different ways to get past the military. This usually ends the dream because I get frustrated and wake up, but as I am waking up I get a strong feeling that Bill is not there anyway and has probably survived. Not only do I feel like he survived but I get the impression he is on the run. So there are several issues to solve in this one…why Bill? Why did I forget? How do I get past the military? And when I find him what wisdom will he give?

A colleague told me that I am probably coming to terms with a big change and a part of me that is leaving / changing that I won’t ever be able to get back. Hmmm…I’ll have to think about it.

Update

2006-05-24T12:54:00.000-07:00

At this point life on the marathon training schedule has gotten pretty routine. My training buds and I are now at the point where we can knock off a 12 mile training run without any real difficulty. Last weekend I did about 8 miles running on the Superior Hiking Trail on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The trail was pretty rocky and quite dangerous for injuries but the scenery was really worth it. A buddy and I did the run at a pretty tough pace but stopped often to enjoy the awesome views...and thankfully we escaped without any injuries (but some sore ankles).

On Monday we decided to do a 12 miler and add three amazing hills into and out of St Paul. And since I drove over Lemon Drop hill (Grandma's Marathon's only hill) this last weekend the hills were quite refreshing (and quite a bit larger than lemon drop). All in all things are holding out pretty well. My shoes are still in good shape and my last 20 mile run went off without any real problems. At about mile 13 I felt like I would not be able to finish, but by mile 15 (and kicking up a hill) I felt great and ran the last 5 miles at about 8:20 pace...a full 40 seconds faster than race pace. My on-line training guide calls this the 2/3 - 1/3 workout. Stay slower than your pace for 2/3 and then if you feel up to it, pick up the pace for the last 1/3. I was pretty excited to finish the last 5 miles at a really good pace including a 7:50 split and about a 7:10 split for the last two. I know mixing a speed workout into my long run is probably a recipe for injuries but it is getting increasingly hard to throttle back when the runs are getting easier and easier (still really tough in the middle but much less so at the end). The problem is that if I don't feel like I'm pushing my limits I don't feel like I'm gaining. Also, this is my last week of high mileage before I start to taper...my last 20 miler is going to be on Saturday morning (right about race time) and we are planning on having a friend drive us out 20 miles and drop us off. A good point to point training run for mental toughness. So next week I start to knock back the mileage for the rest up before the marathon.

I'm actually a little sad to see the end in sight so soon...but then again as soon as I'm done I can start the triathlon training...hurray for bike training!

Rain

2006-05-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

So far it has rained 100% of the days that I’ve scheduled my 20 mile runs. The training must go on…so I have been running every long run in the rain (3 hours 16 minutes last time). A few days ago I called red-headed antelope for a run (another training buddy…apparently amazing at running hills…I found out the hard way) because it was raining. Our last run was no exception; a steady down-pour for the majority of our run kept us familiar company.

What was exceptional was the fact that just as the rain got started we were targeted for a random anti-runner hate crime. Yes, as you might have assumed it was water balloons. Just as our paved running trail neared a city street a car full of teens swept in close for their drive by entertainment. Not really paying attention to them I was only mildly interested. But as they got very close I be realized that they were going to trouble. The giggling teenage boys/girls should have been my first clue but alas I was caught unawares to their rebellious fun. This all transpired in a matter of about 8 seconds. A male riding “shotgun” (*which by the way has its roots in prejudice and tyranny) threw a balloon and a female directly behind him threw one as well. Both balloons hit me in the right leg, one in the ankle and one in the thigh. It might have been a soccer instinct but I evidently tried to block the balloons from hitting anything else with my leg. Not only were my other runners next to me (Irish training buddy was their too), we had just passed a family that was out biking with their very small children. I mean seriously, who would endanger children. My issue is not about the water, it is about the speed at which the balloons were traveling. A piece of straw (the kind that grows in fields) can be stuck through the center of a grown tree when propelled with a high enough velocity (via tornados). These water balloons carry enough weight to land a serious bruise or even break weak bones if given sufficient force.

As my training partners laughed, I started fuming. What sick part of the psyche elicits pleasure from randomly harming others. As a student of science and having taken a few philosophy / psychology courses I can say I have a basic understanding on psychological theory. One such theory has to do with taking pleasure in your rival’s discomfort. Basically, what is bad for your rival is usually good for you…maybe even enough to be evolutionarily important. What I still can not explain is why these teens thought it was funny to harm or cause discomfort to random people? If they thought of us as rivals I could say that they were not able to control their primitive urges (which make you wonder which other urges they are struggling with). But I have no clue who these kids were, and unless they just feel threatened by runners they have no excuse. My theory is that they were excited about the prospects of random violence. I’m definitely a proponent of allowing access to video games (including violent ones) but I also believe that some people are unable to draw a line between reality and fiction. When you drive around killing random people in the game Grand Theft Auto (admit it…it’s half the fun) there is no consequence for the actions…worst case scenario you have to restart the game. My issue is that when people cross the line from fiction into reality, there needs to be ways that we can educate them on the difference.

Call me sensitive but I really think these punks crossed the line. They had no way of knowing that I was about 5 miles in to my 20 mile run, but I am holding on to my grudge anyway. Thankfully I was not injured and was able to complete my 20 mile run…maybe even a bit faster because I was so outraged by the situation. So, in the end there wasn’t any real harm done…I’m just thankful it wasn’t a random drive-by shooting (big city = could happen).

Later in the run we were again harassed by a different passing motorist. Given at this point we had run into a rather homogenous area of a certain minority group, and we stuck out like florescent light bulbs, we probably had that one coming. People who are not friendly to outsiders in general is understandable…children intentionally harmful to random people in a common running area = ridiculous.

BLAH!
*FYI. To my knowledge riding shotgun was derived from early wagon trains of American settlers heading west. The wagon driver would drive and the person sitting beside them would be ready with a gun incase of a Native American attack. Also the terms rifle right and rifle left are derived from the same issue. These two would be sitting directly behind the driver and firing out the sides / back. Just so you know…

Luggage mishaps...

2006-05-01T17:28:00.000-07:00

Before yesterday, when I went on business trips I would get entirely annoyed with the random travelers that bring their huge roller bags on as carry-on luggage. Honestly, how self centered? Ethical travelers with their one small piece of carry-on luggage often pay the price (no overhead storage space) for the conceited business traveler.

Well, yesterday I found out what it is like to be on the other side of the equation. A certain unnamed airline (NWA) lost my luggage on my way out to Burbank, CA. According to unnamed airline (NWA) I would receive the luggage at my hotel by 8:00pm that same evening. Well about 22 hours later I still haven’t received my luggage and I had to go to my customer’s account in my jeans and souvenir polo. Hopefully before tomorrow I will have my clothes…or I will have to go back to the account in the same jeans and polo as today (not to mention boxers). My honey mentioned that she thought it is about time I started packing a little less and just taking a large carry-on…hmmm. Should I really break down and join the unethical masses or should I hold strong to my ideals and continue to be the example of courtesy and character (a little exaggerated…but you get the point).

BLAH.

Luggage mishaps...

2006-05-01T17:20:00.000-07:00

Before yesterday, when I went on business trips I would get entirely annoyed with the random travelers that bring their huge roller bags on as carry-on luggage. Honestly, how self centered? Ethical travelers with their one small piece of carry-on luggage often pay the price (no overhead storage space) for the conceited business traveler. Jerks.

Well, yesterday I found out what it is like to be on the other side of the equation. A certain unnamed airline (NWA) lost my luggage on my way out to Burbank, CA. According to unnamed airline (NWA) I would receive the luggage at my hotel by 8:00pm that same evening. Well about 22 hours later I still haven’t received my luggage and I had to go to my customer’s account in my jeans and souvenir polo. Hopefully before tomorrow I will have my clothes…or I will have to go back to the account in the same jeans and polo as today (not to mention boxers). My honey mentioned that she thought it is about time I started packing a little less and just take a large carry-on…hmmm. Should I really break down and join the unethical masses or should I hold strong to my ideals and continue to be the example of courtesy and character (a little exaggerated…but you get the point).

BLAH.

Fun with Poo...

2006-04-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: The following is for humor only. I actually feel quite strongly about the unequal distribution of wealth that plagues our generation…as well as the issue of no affordable housing for those who really need it. All references to boxes or pigeons are made for humor only…possibly in bad taste.

So…Lately I've been using the facilities before I shower and then not flushing because it takes forever for the shower to recover (no hot water) and then forgetting to flush before I run out the door to work (2 hours before Irish roommate gets up in the morning).

Anyway, I just thought it was funny and I really have no idea why I keep forgetting to flush... GROSS! So the following is Irish roommate and my email conversation today.

Irish Roommate:
Hey there,
I think something has a key to our apartment!

Here's my logic behind it.
1) The door was locked when I woke up this morning
2) There was poo in the toilet
3) Wasn't me
4) Couldn't have been you, I asked you to flush
5) Therefore, we have a pooping monster that has a key to our apartment

Lets hope it at least keeps it in the toilet. I hear they fling poo for fun.Have a good day
Irish Roommate.

Me:

Ho there -

Yes, as you might suspect I have been giving out our key to vagrants in need of a shower and shave. I told them not to use the toilet any more because of their flushing issues...but they always forget. They're just in such a hurry to get back to their off-ramp by the interstate. They always try to sneak out before you wake-up because I told them you know Jujitsu and buried the last vagrant you caught in our floor.

I'll make sure they get the memo. I would appreciate it if you didn't start randomly picking-off vagrants by the interstate...the vagrants already have a hard time sleeping in boxes and eating left-over pigeon.

Me

PS. Steps for a safety flush if you think the vagrant might have been there and forgot.

1) The toilet seat and cover are usually up
2) If the vagrants are there they probably would put the seat and cover down before getting in the shower
3) If you come in to the bathroom and the seat is down you could suspect forgetful vagrants
4) Use safety flush technique

Irish Roommate:

AH VAGRANTS! I knew something was amiss. I would have blamed it on Luther Runner but he wasn't there, (he's dirty).

Wedding Advice?

2006-04-26T13:12:00.000-07:00

What is with people and offering up wedding advice? It seems that when ever the subject comes up around women, the vote is mostly a definite yes, good for you, what a good idea! Conversely, around men, the vote is more like wait 10 years. Especially in pop culture where men are supposed to not only fear marriage but steer clear of it so that we can accidentally father as many illegitimate children as possible. Having a degree in Biology I can understand the evolutionary importance of increasing your number of offspring (fitness), especially from multiple sources…but has this really held true since we learned to walk upright?

Example: Eating lunch with colleagues.
Single Colleague A: ____’s getting married this fall.
Crowd of Colleagues: Mixed responses from laughter to slight boo’s
Married Colleague B: Really? I would wait. I changed so much from your age to mine. I’m not even sure I would have gotten married knowing what I know now.
Colleague C: Yeah man, you should really think about putting that off for about 10 years.
Me (to myself): Colleague B has three kids and drives a mini-van…that is a little scary. Colleague C is single and about 36…is pretty out of shape and has developed a consumerist life justified by having a nice watch and talking about the Great things he gets to do…as if we all wanted to go around wasting money. Nice try.

Example 2: Haircut
Barber Ed: So how would you like it?
Me: Clean cut, but not too short…that makes me look ridiculous.
Barber Ed: Do you ever slap any gel in it?
Me: Yep
Barber Ed: Okay…I’ve got it.
Barber Ed: So, Do you go to the University nearby?
Me: I graduated a while ago…I’m still living in the area.
Barber Ed: Oh yeah? So what do you do for work?
Me: Well I travel to hospitals across the country and do validation work for new assays.
Barber Ed: Blood tests and such?
Me: Yeah…I validate the tests that will be added to hospital labs so they can run more tests on your blood.
Barber Ed: So what does your girlfriend think of all this travel?
Me: Well my fiancé is pretty great about it.
Barber Ed (interrupting): Fiancé? What is a guy like you doing getting married?
Me: Hahaha…yeah I’m getting married this fall.
Barber Ed (more serious): Wow…If I were you I would wait about 10 years. With the job traveling you have right now…I would be living it up not getting married.
Barber Ed: The next thing you know you’ll have a few kids and your life will be over before it even gets started.
Me: No…we’re not planning on having kids for many years.
Barber Ed: Well that’s what she might tell you…but soon she’ll want a couple and then stop taking birth-control without telling you and next thing you know you’ve started your family.
Me: Huh…well I think she’d tell me.
Barber Ed: Yeah well you know men should have more control over that kind of stuff.
Me (to myself): I wonder what women messed with this guy. He’s in his 50’s and his kids are in their 20’s meaning he waited to have kids. So does he mean that I should do what he did? Or did he get tricked? I hope his oldest doesn’t read this!

Example 3: With Irish roommate and Luther runner
Note: Irish roommate and Irish training buddy are two different people
Luther runner: This poor fool is getting married soon…I hear you’re taking the plunge as well?
Irish roommate: Yeah but I’m 28…I have an excuse. I don’t have a clue what this guy is thinking…
Me: Haha…No one really knows.

So what can we learn from all this? Well Irish training buddy helped restore my confidence. He pointed out “why do you have to stop having fun and going out just because you are married?” I tend to agree…although I know my life will change forever, I don’t see why we would suddenly have to stop having fun. In fact I’ve talked to several married couples that said that the first several (poor) years were some of their most fun. I’m already completely devoted to my fiancé…so it’s not like I would run around trying to increase my fitness. Most of our trips involve the two of us and friends camping / grilling / relaxing at a lake…so how exactly will it be the apocalypse for all things fun?

Marathon Training

2006-04-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

For the past 10 weeks I have been training for a marathon. To quickly get up to speed, my first long run was 10 miles at about -5 degrees Fahrenheit. Follow that with a few weeks of disgruntled weather and we arrive at my first real test. 13 miles; it doesn’t sound like a problem now but at the time it was the longest run of my life. Staying out late partying the night before and not sleeping pretty much convinced me that marathons might not be my specialty. But, continuing on with my training the next weekend I ran 14 miles and felt like a million bucks. Oddly enough it was the morning after St. Patty’s Day…and like a true friend of the Irish I was out enjoying the festivities. Moving quickly to my next big hurtle was a 17 mile run about 3 weeks ago. It was cold, raining heavily, and windy. And like running idiots we decided it was perfect for a hard-core training run…well once again I had to seriously consider how far I am willing to go to be a good runner. 2 weeks ago I enjoyed an easy 12 mile run. Not long ago it would have been really tiring…but now it’s a chance for me to rest a little. And now you know…

Sunday I ran 19 miles! What should have been my hardest test thus far turned out to be a great run. After this run both my Irish training buddy and I agreed that we were a little too pampered. We started the run on a beautiful 60 degree (F) sunny morning (9:30ish) with an awesome slight breeze (perfect for running) and ran about 5 miles when we decided to stop for water. This involved us actually buying water from a gas station and Irish training buddy consumed one gel pack (high energy long chain sugars and electrolytes + caffeine). From there we continued to the half way point where we had more of the same. This time both of us consumed a gel pack as well as sharing a 20oz of Gatorade and a 20oz of water. From this point on, we ran all the way back, even pushing the last ¼ mile to a strong stride-out. Marathon confidence up two points!

Monday, Irish training buddy and I got our bikes out (mine’s Fuji, aluminum composite with carbon forks on front and back as well as areobars and Campy Veloce components…if you are wondering). The ride was about 20 miles and we were working against a time constraint. The ride was excellent; complete with a great view of both downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul from just outside both cities. The bad news for this workout was that we had to ride two ridiculous hills. Our supposed easy cross-training day turned into a full on bike work-out with both speed (we were running late…of course) and hills. The wind didn’t help either. For some reason over the course of our ride the wind shifted so that it could be in our faces the entire ride.

Yesterday, I went for a 10 mile run with a buddy from Luther College. This recovery training run turned into the 10 mile dash. First, Luther runner was stuck in traffic and really only wanted to run 6 miles so I decided to run the first 4 by myself. 2 miles into the run Luther runner calls me to tell me he is at my place. So, I ran home much faster than I should have (it was really great to blow by everyone on the trail though). When I got there Luther runner was practically ready to hit the road so after a few minutes I was back out for a 6 mile loop. For Luther runner, 7:20 + per mile is much too slow…but as I am training to break 4 hours in a marathon (9:07 / mile = 4 hours) my pace is considerably slower. End of story Luther runner and I compromised and ran about 7:40 pace.

10 miles at far to fast a pace = CRAMPS! About half way through the run my calves tighten up such that it was actually painful to run. After stopping to stretch twice I decided that I would just have to run through it and hope that they would loosen up on their own. Thankfully they did. I might have learned a lesson though…last night my calves and knees were so sore and stiff that I could hardly fall asleep (not to mention the uncomfortable chafing). Note to self: Buy running shorts and take it easy on recovery runs!

End boring running Blog.

Name Recognition?

2006-04-19T13:52:00.000-07:00

First a few explanations:

I am starting this blog to become more aware of the people / things / happenings that I probably miss on a regular basis. I once had a college professor who asked us to keep a journal of all the things we noticed for 30 consecutive days (I made about 6). The goal of this exercise was to make the writer more aware of what was going on around him/her. Now that I’m out in the working world I figured finishing a few college assignments might not be a bad idea. Plus, I secretly miss school and so am giving myself an assignment to ease the transition.

Why name the blog, “the wild Norwegian-American rover?” Well that has several answers and some clues to who I am. First, I am almost 100% Norwegian. But, being 6th generation Norwegian-American I can hardly say that I am culturally Norwegian. Technically I also have dark hair and dark eyes which is a mystery to most other Norwegian-Americans. But, growing up in a large Norwegian-American family that celebrates Lefsa, the occasional Lutefisk dinner, a Norwegian flag on the family farm (yes I grew-up on the original 1854 homestead), and old sayings / songs / prayers in Norwegian has led me to consider myself Norwegian-American.

Second, I have within the last year taken on a traveling position within a medical diagnostics company. Meaning, I travel around the US about 75% of the time and have started to count the days in my apartment as remarkable. (Hence the “rover”) I am also planning on chronicling my trips and adventures when necessary. In the last two months I have been to NYC, LA, Seattle, Phoenix, and a whole host of small towns and cities in between.

Lastly, one of my favorite drinking songs is the “wild Irish rover.” My love affair with this particular song began when a friend of mine started playing it as entertainment at a large (sober) group gathering. Since that day I have thoroughly enjoyed Irish music, beer, bars, and friends. Coincidently many of my close friends are indeed Irish. For entertainment purposes I am including the lyrics…this song is more fun than poignant but for names sake I thought I better mention it. Enjoy…

I've been a wild rover for many a year

And I spent all my money on whiskey and beer,

And now I'm returning with gold in great store

And I never will play the wild rover no more.

chorus: And it's no, nay, never,

No nay never no more,

Will I play the wild rover

No never no more.

I went to an ale-house I used to frequent

And I told the landlady my money was spent.

I asked her for credit, she answered me "nay

Such a custom as yours I could have any day."

chorus

I took from my pocket ten sovereigns bright

And the landlady's eyes opened wide with delight.

She said "I have whiskey and wines of the best

And the words that I spoke sure were only in jest."

chorus

I'll go home to my parents, confess what I've done

And I'll ask them to pardon their prodigal son.

And if they caress (forgive) me as ofttimes before

Sure I never will play the wild rover no more.

chorus