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!