Not that anyone has been waiting, but I am excited to create my first blog entry in quite some time. The time killer over the past month has been a paper route. That's right, a good old-fashioned paper route. Let me try to explain below.

I THOUGHT I would have the energy and stamina to: 1. run before the paper route. OR 2. run after the paper route. Week one and two consisted of option 1. I woke around 1:30am to run before the paper route. A bit scary outside at that hour (the bar closing time put some fear in me) and while in the bathroom one morning getting ready I thought to myself, "This is by far the most crazy running thing I have done yet."

Okay, so option 1 didn't go so well. Option 2 requires waking at 3am for the paper route which consists of getting out of the Ford Escort around 80 times and walking to between 90 and 135 houses. This option went okay for a few weeks before my times for my easy eight mile skyrocketed by about six to eight minutes. MY QUADS WERE THRASH, PERIOD!

So, after some classic Andy waffling, I have twenty days left on my thirty day notice countdown before I can hang-up the paper satchel. If you are a runner and have the desire to really shock those quads and risk overuse injuries to all parts of your body from the waist down, you may want to consider giving the paper route a try, although I wouldn't recommend it. But, if you are just looking for a way to stay fit without any other exercise involved, I think I would recommend it. Why you ask? Here are some reasons:

1. The carriers are really nice. Seriously, for a group that gets up at 2:45 am everday and earlier on Sunday, they were great as a group to work with. I met some very nice people!

2. You don't want to miss someone throwing-up while you hand him his paper. By the age of the person, I don't think it was related to last night's lasagna. A bit scary, but it only happened once. Nothing touched me :)

3. It is not often that you get to have a neighbor of a subsriber ask you about the wind and have him follow that up with a "s@!#" when he realized what that meant for the day's deer hunt. That one made my day.

4. One fellow greeted me at the door almost everyday for a brief chat. It brightended both of our days.

5. Only once did someone apologize for being underdressed when being handed that paper. It was still rated G. Don't worry!

So, there is the long version of my last forty days or so. Along with my regular workday, I have bitten off more than I can chew. My legs are looking forward to celebrating the end of the paper route with a Saturday long run that doesn't feel like mile 16 at mile 1.

Happy Holidays!

For those of you who haven't heard the news out of Esko, the temperatue reading is back on the electronic sign at the main intersection downtown!! That's right, two exclamation points!! It was perhaps the most exciting day of my fall when I discovered it was 44 degrees on Wednesday morning.

The previously mentioned sign sits on the school lawn at the corner of Highway 61 and Thomson/Canosia Rd in downtown Esko. In it's early years, the sign's main screen was time, date, and temperature, followed a few seconds later by scrolling community and school messages. Said messages range from school picture announcements to the main attractions of Esko Fun Day, the Kristin Burkholder 5k and Esko Duck Races.

THEN, about a year ago, the sign's main screen went to strictly time and date, followed by scrolling messages. The heart of the sign was ripped out of it. Speculation ran rampant around our house. Did the temperature gauge break? Was the temperature gauge really accurate anyway? Did lightning strike the sign? Was the issue fixable? All these worries started to pile up.

To ease the load, my wife and I called on the resources of Town of Thomson board member Ruth Janke when we saw her out and about. We come to find out this issue may simply be a programming issue with the sign, fixable by Esko Community Education. Not one to point fingers, but this important piece of information may have slipped throuh the cracks when the director of community education changed hands.

"Wait a minute!" I said to myself. "This is simply a programming issue!?"

I don't know if the frustration eased the pain of the friend we had lost or what, but I ceased to think about this concern for the next few months. Sure, I could have brought this issue to the attention of the community education department, but then, they would have really known what a boring life I lead. It's not weird enough that I spend fifteen minutes per day doing toe raises on either my porch steps or those at work.

THEN, out of the blue, like a long lost pet returning home, there it was, 44 degrees!!!! !!!!

Now, like I did before, I will have one more thing to write about in my running log and one more thing to talk about on my run. Was it -30 or +101? The ironic thing is that I don't really care. I will be out there anyway, running.

One of the best times to run for me is before "big" events. I classify "big" events as being out of the ordinary. This past Saturday, I did my longer run before my mom and my wife and I went to a Twin's game. It gives me time to have the experience sink in and to anticipate the days events. It really doesn't get much better in my world than a run like that.

I really don't care what time I have to get up to run before something. I don't mind getting up at 2:30am if I have to. This year, my sister ran the "Half" at Grandma's. My whole family drove her to the DECC to get on the bus, so I got up to run at 2:30. Very quiet that time of day. Even as guy I get a bit scared of being alone on the roads at that time of day, but it is the perfect start to an exciting day for me. 

After a quality weekend of running, I decided for a day off today. I know, it is a tought thing to do, but "they" say you adapt and get stronger when you rest. I didn't really feel like it was needed, but I am trying to error on the side of caution. Last week was four miles on my off day.  I think I felt a bit more sluggish at work, having not run. Running really does give me energy, just like the bumper sticker I have been seeing on my way to work, "Cover me. I'm changing lanes." It makes me smile.

In the LunchBucket style, it is okay to get wet while running. If you have a job/career and it is raining, the boss doesn't usually call you to say, "Well, it's raining. I don't think it would be a good idea for you to come in today." Well, I called my running partner Gleez last night to converse about our run this morning. I said, "As long as it isn't lightning, I will be running." We happily ran our usual Friday morning run, getting wet, and not minding a bit. The warm shower after felt good too!