Throw seeds to sprout Make your own break - Let them growLots of people out there inspire me to try and be as great as I can possibly be. You know - get the absolute best out of myself and my abilities- family, friends, strangers. The girlfriend, Miss Julie, has really been a huge influence on my attitude and life over the last half year. She brings the postive energy and just makes me feel happy. That's the point. She has made me realize ....'I am swift.'
The past year has just zoomed by. I was down in the proverbial dumps around this time last year, and it is crazy to think that my frame of mind right at this time is completely different from a year ago. I could barely get out the door, and was just seriously depressed. At this point, I am roaring to go. Although last week was down and out due to a hamstring prob, it is nearly resolved and I have actually felt pretty good on the daily run over the past few days. I needed to scale it back anyway. Sometimes, we do too much in a short period of time around here, and this time the body was telling me to step off the throttle. I listened and it worked. A tough workout looms tomorrow, and will be a good indicator for Gate River Run next Saturday in Jacksonville. I could care less about workout times at this point, and want more of a general 'good' feeling from sessions. This is better feedback I feel like...anybody can scrape through a workout. I would rather have that ' feeling.'
Moen and I 'White Pined' it yesterday for a while on the paths around the Mnpls Lakes. It was absolutely beautiful....no wind, blue skies, snow still on the ground, in the 30s. It felt so great to be out there. The old White Pine is getting married at the end of the month to Theresa Anderson. All the best to the Moen-Anderson duo.
Finally, I wanted to mention 4 people who I appreciate for being extremely good to me over the years:
My mother, Cyd Klein - Pretty much raised three boys aged 6, 5, and 1 on her own back in the mid-80s after having to deal with some serious strife. That's inspiring in and of itself. Tough. My mom and stepdad Paul recently purchased a treadmill for the basement making walking out on the country roads of Dubuque
County, Iowa, during the winter time simply just an option.
Kurt Decker - I still remember the first day I walked into Runner's Edge in St Paul 9 effing years ago and met old Kurt Decker for the first time. Kurt manages TC Running Co now so we have worked together in two different stores. Kurt knows everything possible about distance running, sports in general, and music. His blog is linked on my blogroll here at Mattychamps. Anyway, Kurt has always been able to uniquely help me keep my running in perspective, but also to make me realize that I need to dream BIG. Thanks Kurt. Kurt has also completed the Western States 100 mile run which is very nuts.
Carrie Tollefson - Carrie is sort of like a big sister to me I guess. She's been through about as many ups and downs in a running career as is humanly possible, yet always perseveres. This girl is a complete example of never giving up on your dreams. She has always kept the positive attitude and energy flowing and probably ran one of the greatest races I have ever seen - leading the Olympic Trials 1500m final back in 2004 wire to wire. She will become a mom in about a month, and her belly is huge at the moment. Her comeback will be monumental after, and if anyone has given up on her, I will say I am sorry, but big things are in store.
Katie McGregor - This girl is the toughest distance runner I know. Our friendship has blossomed since 2001, after a drive to Wisconsin on a Sunday to celebrate our first season in MN coming to an end. I highly doubt there is anyone out there who wants the Olympic dream to come true more than Katie. Even though she is a Michigan fan, I appreciate here affinity for college football, and good food. And I don't have to worry about putting a filter on anything I say around Katie, which if I think about it I don't generally put the filter on anyway, but at least I know it's highly unlikely I will offend her with any of my comments.
So I'm lovin' life at the moment. Can't wait to race and feel good doing it and beat some of these DBs. Peace. And love.
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