Racing

In 2000 I went out for the track team on a whim and ended up doing pretty decent in middle distance racing, even managing to land a track and cross country scholarship at a small college in Nebraska. College running, however, was riddled with injuries, and from 2003 to 2009 I didn't do much running at all.

Then, in 2009, Laura asked me if I wanted to run the Twin Cities Marathon with her. It seemed like a good idea, so I jumped in.

Since then, I've done 26 marathons and ultramarathons. It's been an up-and-down journey, but being a runner has definitely become part of my identity.

The past few years haven't been great for racing. I hadn't put in a ton of miles and had gained a fair amount of weight, but this year I've gotten back on track. At the Twin Cities Marathon this year, I raced a 3:01:49. It was my fastest Twin Cities Marathon, and my seventh Boston qualifying time. 

Two weeks ago, I ran a 5K in 18:22. It was my best race of any distance in over five years. It was a pretty chilly morning, and I ran the race by myself. I also didn't do as long of a warmup as I was planning, so I think I could have maybe run even a little faster.

I'm not going to be doing any intense training for the next couple months, but I did start back up on weightlifting this week. Soon, I'll finalize my next race and start a training plan in January or February.

2026 Twin Cities Marathon: Race Report

Last year, our family moved from Eagan, Minn. to Rochester, Minn., and this was my first training cycle in Rochester. It was one of my best training cycles since starting marathoning back in 2009. My mileage was solid, I had some great workouts, and I incorporated weightlifting into my schedule.

My races leading up to Twin Cities improved each time, and I clocked a solid 1:27:06 half marathon, so I felt ready for the Twin Cities Marathon.

The weather on Sunday was almost perfect. Cool, not much of a breeze, and not humid. My friends Brittany and Jared picked me up around 5:45 AM, and we drove to downtown Minneapolis. Jared was running the 10 mile, so we had plenty of time before the race started. Jared headed to the start and Brittany and I went to her in-laws', Wayne and Jen, hotel to relax indoors before the race. I had already eaten oatmeal and drank some coffee, but I snagged some coffee and a banana at the hotel as well.

We chatted about running for a while, then it was time to make our way down to the start. We walked down and met up with Michelle, who would be running the marathon with Brittany. After a photo, we went our separate ways to the start.

Since my goal was to run 3:05, I looked for the 3:05 pacer. I thought that it was going to be an old running buddy, but it turns out he had been moved to the 3:00 group, so the 3:05 pacer was someone I didn't know.

The race started, and we settled in to our goal pace. I gave the pacer a, "nice job, pacer," as we went through the first few miles in almost perfect splits.

I was feeling pretty good as we cruised along, but at around seven miles my foot started hurting a little bit. It had been flaring up here and there during training, but it never really slowed me down. I was hoping the pain would just stick right where it was at and wouldn't become a problem later in the race.

The miles ticked along. I love the Twin Cities Marathon course — lots of trees, lakes, and plenty of spectators. I saw an old friend and co-cross country coach, Jeff Webber, an old boss's son, Christian Hall, and a member of a running club I used to run with, Mike Kaiser. It's always nice to get a boost from familiar faces.

At the halfway point we came in a little fast. I was afraid that the 40ish second cushion could cause problems later, but I was feeling pretty good, so I didn't worry too much. I stuck with the pacer and for twenty miles I ran close behind him or right next to him. 

Around 20 miles I was still feeling pretty good and hadn't hit the wall, so I decided to forget about the pacer and just go by feel. If you've run Twin Cities before, you know about the notorious Summit Ave hill. I was a little nervous about the hills. I live half a mile from the Douglas Trail in Rochester. It's pancake flat, and I did the majority of my miles on it. I tried to get some hills in my training, but unfortunately from my house there's not a lot of good options that don't have a bunch of stoplights. It worked out though. I must have done enough hills, because it didn't end up being a problem. 

The entire race I was looking forward to mile 24 where my family and a couple of friends were going to be cheering for me, so I didn't think about the hills a ton as I anticipated my cheering zone. 

It was awesome getting to see my kids and wife along with some friends at mile 24. I gave some high fives, my daughter handed me my sunglasses, and from there I cruised to the finish line. I moved at a pretty good clip and passed quite a few runners at the end. I pulled through the finish line at 3:01:49. 

It was a great finish. I ran the first half of the race in 1:31:53, so I ran a negative split of over a minute, and I ran my last 2K at a 6:39 pace.

My goal for the race was a 3:05, so for the first time in seventeen years of marathoning I beat my "A" goal. I was really happy with this result. Based on my half marathon time a few weeks ago, the VDOT calculator had a marathon prediction of 3:01:45. The McMillan calculator came in at 3:03:18. As I've said before, I usually do better at shorter distances, so to almost nail the VDOT time is a big accomplishment for me.

After the race, I grabbed my post-race refreshments. I ran into Michelle (from The Runner's Plate and an old friend), chatted briefly, then headed to the beer garden. I had taken a break from alcohol for the seven weeks leading up to the marathon, which made the Summit Oktoberfest taste that much sweeter. I chatted with a couple of runners, then met up with Laura and the kids. We took some pictures, than headed to Cossetta's for lunch before driving back to Rochester. 

Thank you to Gayle and DJ for letting us stay with you for the weekend. Thanks also to Wayne and Jen for letting me hang out in the hotel room before the race.

Twin Cities Marathon weekend of 2026 was a good one!

Twin Cities Marathon: It's Goal Time

View from above my tune-up run in Winona this morning

Tomorrow morning I'll be running the Twin Cities Marathon. I'm pretty excited for the race as it will be the first time in several years that I've followed a training plan for a marathon. I wrote the training plan myself, and when I write training plans I draw from a variety of sources, but a lot of what I base my training plans on is from a book by Matt Fitzgerald and Brad Hudson called "Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon: How to Be Your Own Best Coach." 

This training plan generally involved a speed or interval workout, a tempo run or cruise intervals, a long run, easy runs, and two weightlifting sessions. I started the plan at about 30 miles a week and built up to a peak week of 67 miles.

Since training went so well, my goal for the race is a little loftier than I would have thought when I started this plan a few months ago. I did a few 5Ks during this training plan, and three weeks ago I raced a half marathon as a tune up race. Based on my time of 1:27:06, the VDOT calculator has me predicted to run a 3:01:45, and the McMillan calculator predicts a 3:03:18.

While I'd love to run a 3:01 or a 3:03, I've always been a little faster as the distance gets shorter, so 3:03 sounds a little faster than I think I could do. 

So, here are my A, B, and C goals:

A Goal:
3:05. I think this will be tough, but doable. One cool thing about this goal is that there is a 3:05 pacer, and I know him and have run with him before.

B Goal:
3:09:43. This is the time I would have had to run this year to get into the Boston Marathon.

C Goal:
3:15. Running this time would qualify me for the Boston Marathon, but this year qualifiers needed to run over five minutes faster than their qualifying time to get in (they randomly draw for additional entrants).

I've never hit my A goal in a marathon before, but I feel like I have a good chance tomorrow. I plan on going out with the 3:05 pacer and just seeing what happens.

Thanks to everyone who's offered words of encouragement and support and thanks to all my readers. I'm looking forward to writing about how the race went soon.

Marathon Training

Twin Cities Marathon is almost here. It's been years since I've done a structured training plan for a marathon, and the first time since high school that I've incorporated weightlifting into my training.

Going into this training cycle I planned on getting to a reasonably high weekly mileage, and I was actually able to up my mileage a little more than I was planning. I managed an average of just over 44 miles a week in 14 weeks of training, and my peak week was 67 miles.

Besides running more miles than I have in years, I've also been hitting some pretty solid workouts. For a lot of my training cycle, I did some solid tempo runs between 20 and 30 minutes, and an interval workout just about every week. In 14 weeks of training, I only bailed on two workouts as my legs just weren't feeling it those days.

Besides the tempo runs and interval workouts, I also got in some good long runs. I did three long runs of 20 miles or more, and did a handful of long runs where I ran the last few miles at goal marathon pace.

My highlight long run was a two mile warmup, racing a half marathon at 6:39/mile pace, four easy miles, then two miles at goal marathon pace for a total of 21 miles.

I've really enjoyed this training block, and a big part of that was getting to train with my kiddos. Quite a few times this summer I did the first part of an easy run with my 10 year-old, and as I've mentioned before, he biked with me on several of my long runs. My six year-old daughter also joined me on her bike on a couple of my runs. On our last outing, we were going along and she said, "Three miles is my record."

I said, "How about we go four miles?"

She said, "Let's do six." And she did do six miles. It was great.

It's been a solid three-and-a-half months of training, and I'm feeling pretty good going into the Twin Cities Marathon. I'll give my goals for the race in my next post.

Healthy Human Race Half Marathon

Three weeks before the Twin Cities Marathon, I decided to do a tune-up race and run a half marathon. I'd done a few 5Ks in this training cycle, but I knew a half marathon would give me a more accurate gauge on how fast I could race a marathon.

The morning of the race I decided to ride my bike to the start to get in a little warmup and avoid having to mess with parking. With the days getting shorter, I had to dig through my bike stuff to find my headlight, and I ended up doing the first half of my half hour ride in the dark. 

The race started at 7 AM, and I got to the start with enough time to run a two mile warm up.

After the little jog, I got lined up and chatted with an old friend from a running club in the twin cities. 

The race started, and I settled into what I thought would be a good pace. After a couple miles, I checked my watch and noticed that I was running just a couple of seconds per mile slower than I had been planning.

I was able to pick up the pace a bit, and I felt like I was moving along at a challenging but somewhat comfortable pace. It was a pretty small field, and there were only a couple of people running close to me, and after around five miles I was running by myself other than one guy who was about 30 seconds behind me for most of the race.

The course was pretty flat and I enjoyed running through various parks and along the Zumbro River. The aid stations were adequately spaced, and I took water and Gatorade along with a few Pure Fuel Maple Syrup gels.

With a couple of miles left, I was feeling pretty good and was able to pick up the pace for the last couple miles. I ended up finishing in 1:27:07. My 5K of 19:06 gave me a VDOT equivalent time of 1:27:42, so I feel like my fitness has continued to improve during this training cycle.

Laura and the kids came for the finish of the race, and it was great having them cheer for me as I wrapped up the race.

Like I said, it was a small race, so the Healthy Human Race wasn't overly competitive, but I still felt good about finishing as the sixth place male and second in my age group. My 1:27 was the fastest I've run a half since running the Pensacola Beach Half Marathon in January of 2018, and almost 10 minutes faster than the last half marathon I raced, the Louisiana Half Marathon, in January of 2025.

So, I'm feeling like my training has gone well and I'm feeling optimistic about the Twin Cities Marathon in two weeks. I'll give a recap of my training for Twin Cities in my next post.

Training Update

Training for the Twin Cities Marathon has been going great! Better than I expected. I didn't think I would be in as good of shape as I'm in when I started training seriously a few months ago.

One big key to my success has been my lack of injuries. My foot has been a little sore off and on, but it hasn't hindered my running at all. I also had one day where I started a run and my knee hurt bad enough that I wasn't able to run. I was afraid that I might be derailed, but I took two days off and my knee was fine afterwards.

My weightlifting has also been going OK. I haven't been making big improvements, but I think the strength training has still helped me stay healthy and improved my speed.

I've done four 5Ks since I've started this training plan, and I've gotten faster on each one. I ran 21:32, 20:44, 19:13, and 19:06.

One thing I've really enjoyed during this training cycle is doing my long runs with my kiddo. He's biked with me for 13, 14, 18, and 19 miles. Not only has he provided good company on two hour+ runs, he also carries the water. We usually talk about camping and fishing, but occasionally touch on other topics.

Tomorrow I'll be racing the Healthy Human Race Half Marathon. I've got a goal pace in mind, so we'll see what happens.

If you're interested in my training in detail, here's a link to my training plan for this year's Twin Cities Marathon:

Twin Cities Marathon Training Plan

Washington Running

A couple weeks ago, our family took a trip out to Washington state. It was a wonderful trip for a variety of reasons, including the fact that it was about ten degrees cooler in Washington than it was in Minnesota, and I work outside.

We saw lots of beautiful scenery including Mt. Ranier, various locations at Olympic National Park, and North Cascades National Park. We saw wildlife like elk, marmot, deer, sea lions, seals, otters, and a variety of small marine animals. We got to do several scenic hikes and drives as well as see a Twins vs. Mariners game in Seattle. We also had a chance encounter with my cousin and his family and got to spend time with some friends in Seattle. 

I also had some great running on our trip. On our first morning, I got onto my Garmin Connect app and mapped out a route from our hotel in Port Angeles. I saw that there was a trail along the waterfront that was only about a mile from our hotel, so I took off and ran through town and down to the water.

As I was running along the water, I saw something near shore. I paused and took a closer look. It was otters. Not something I see when running on the Douglas Trail in Rochester. 

The next morning I took my son with me and we drove to the trail this time, and more otters showed up along with sea lions, eagles, and herons.

I also got to go on a couple runs in Leavenworth, running through the mountains. 

My last run was the Renton parkrun. The course ran along a river and was mostly shaded. It was an out-and-back and it was very flat. At the half mile mark I took my first peek at my watch and saw that I was averaging a 6:35/mile pace. This was a fair amount slower than I was expecting, and I was hoping that I wasn't in worse shape than I thought I was. 

By the turnaround I was moving at a faster clip, and I finished the race in 19:13, a 6:11/mile pace. This happened to be my fastest 5K since May of 2021, so I'm feeling pretty good about my training.

The trip to Washington was awesome, other than me getting sick at the end and missing the last couple days of fun. Running there was great and running is going well in general. In my next post I'll give an update on how my training is going.

Marathon Training

Although I've done a marathon the past few years, I haven't really trained to run a fast race for several years. This year, I set the lofty goal of breaking 3:20 in the marathon. After running 3:53 in 2025, a sub-3:20 would be a huge improvement.

While on its face a 3:20 may look like a nearly unattainable goal, I'm very optimistic.

First, I'll look at why I ran a 3:53 last year. My mileage per week for 2025 was the lowest it had been since I started running again in 2009. I also wasn't racing, didn't have a structured training plan, and weighed more than I'd weighed in years,

Now, I have reason to be optimistic for this year. First, I'll be putting in more miles in this training cycle than I have in years. Second, I've started lifted weights, which I think has been a missing piece in my training puzzle. Third, I've gotten down closer to my racing weight, and if I stay on track, I should be down to race weight by race day. And lastly, I'll be following a structured training plan for the first time in years.

As I move through my training cycle, I'll be running a few 5Ks to get a gauge on my fitness. I did one at the beginning of this training cycle, clocking in at 21:32.  With only a couple weeks of training under my belt, I was happy with this result. According to the VDOT calculator, a 21:32 in the 5K is equivalent to a 3:25:48 marathon — not a sub-3:20, but this early in the training cycle, not a bad result.

Just three weeks later, I posted a 20:44 — a big improvement in a short amount of time. This time is equivalent to a 3:18:18, which would mean I'm on track to hit my goal.

The caveat to these 5K times is that I've always skewed at being faster in the shorter distances than the longer ones. My 5K PR, 16:17, is equivalent to a 1:14:36 half marathon and a 2:36:05 marathon, and my PRs in those distances are 1:16 and 2:50 (though my marathon PR would be faster had a couple of courses been marked correctly).

I'm six weeks into my 16 week training plan. I'm fortunate to have a work schedule where I have ample time in the morning to work out. A couple days I week I have time to get in a run and then lift weights before work.

In a week I'll be racing another 5K, and I'm excited to see how my training is progressing. I've run some good workouts, and I really think I'm going to see some solid progress.

After a Long Hiatus

I really don't know why it happened. I didn't make the conscious decision to stop posting on my blog. I didn't even have a reason. I haven't been super-busy. I can't even say I was struggling to come up with ideas for the blog.

Whatever the reason or lack thereof, I decided to get back at it. It's been an interesting few months with my fitness and my life in general, so here's a quick update:

In January I started a new job at the Mayo Clinic. I work as a door attendant. I enjoy the work, and it's been nice to do something other than substitute teaching. My job consists of greeting people as they arrive, helping people out of their cars and into wheelchairs, helping people back into their cars, and various other tasks. While it's not overly-complicated, the work feels meaningful and I enjoy my coworkers.

Health-wise things have been interesting. In December I made a medication change for my bipolar disorder, and I've been doing really well on it. I'm on as few of medications as I've been on for years, and I've been feeling balanced since the medication change.

A couple months ago I went through a rough patch where I was feeling sick to my stomach for almost a month. Several days I was throwing up, and for three weeks I wasn't eating solid food other than saltines, applesauce and toast. I lost over fifteen pounds and didn't exercise for almost a month.

Thankfully I've finally been doing better, though I still sometimes get nausea in the mornings. 

My exercising is now back on track, and in my next post I'll give a rundown of my fitness.

TV While I Pedal

In my previous post, I shared how I watched TV while I worked on my cardiovascular fitness on my bike trainer. 

There have been a couple of shows I've watched while pedaling. Once, I watched the news as it was live on Amazon Prime. Unfortunately, after about twenty-five minutes, it started playing on a loop, but otherwise it was interesting watching a news broadcast — something I rarely do.

The next thing I watched for a while was the show "Tracker." I like the lead actor, Justin Hartley from "This is Us," and the show, which is admittedly difficult for which to suspend disbelief, was nonetheless entertaining. "Tracker," follows Coulter Shaw as he sought to collect various rewards, mainly for finding missing persons. I stopped watching "Tracker," however, once we were done with our subscription to Paramount +.

Then, I started (actually continued as I'd started it a while back) watching "The Wheel of Time" on Amazon Prime. A high fantasy series, "The Wheel of Time" follows around a dozen characters as they seek to save the world from evil. When I was almost done with "The Wheel of Time" season three, I was very disappointed to find that the series will not be renewed. I probably should have just quit watching "The Wheel of Time" once I found out it was cancelled, but I still wanted to see where the show would end up after the last episode. Unfortunately, none of the loose ends were tied, and the series came to a disappointing finish. I wish I would have stopped after season two as there was more plot resolution as the end of that season.

After the disappointing end to "The Wheel of Time," I thought I'd go back to watching another fantasy series I'd started, "The Rings of Power." When I went to watch it, I found there were no new episodes. On the plus side, "Rings of Power" hasn't been cancelled, but the third season isn't due until 2027, so there went that idea.

I then watched "Person of Interest" of Amazon Prime, but I didn't love it. Then, I found another fantasy series, "The Magicians," which I think will do for now.

In the meantime I listened to the first book in the Coulter Shaw series. It was good enough to make me want to read more. I also reserved the second book in "The Wheel of Time" series. I listened to the first one quite a few years ago, so I'm hoping I won't be too lost where the second one picks up.

Feel free to let me know if you have any TV watching recommendations, preferably from Amazon Prime.

Thanks for reading.

My New Workout Routine

Our workout room.

Over almost the last two decades I've run over 800 miles each year, and most years over 1,100, with a few years topping over 2,000. Back in 2012 and 2015 - 2016 I was in the best shape of my life and ran a 2:50 marathon in 2012 and would have ran sub-2:50 in 2015 and 2016 if the course of the now defunct Milwaukee Marathon had been measured correctly. You can read the race reports (three parts) here.

This year, however, I'm doing something totally different with my training. This winter, I plan on running hardly at all, and instead focus on resistance training and pedaling the bike trainer for cardiovascular fitness.

I don't love the trainer — it's not as fun as running and the trainer also squeaks (something I've trying to fix).

Although the trainer is a little boring, I have been watching some decent TV, which makes the time go faster. In my next post I'll share some things I've watched while pedaling.

Be well.

My Kiddos

Photo by Sydnee Bikett

Today my oldest kiddo turned ten. Nine days ago his sister turned six — kindergarten and fourth grade. It's amazing to think about how much has changed in the past ten years. Three houses, a new city, and so many things the kids are doing that they couldn't do a few short years ago.

Back in 2020 I was caring for both my children at home during the COVID pandemic. I set up a daily schedule for the boy. We played submarine in the girl's room, dinosaur school (a game in which I would say things like, "Every dinosaur hop until the end of the bocce ball court") at a nearby park, and narrated some artwork for the baby.

Now the kids are playing together. The boy loves to read his own, the girl loves Dogman comics, and they both watch "The Magic School Bus" together.

For the past ten years I've been so blessed to get to spend so much time with my children. Now, I have a new job, which means I don't get to spend as much time with them, but I will cherish the time I do have — playing games, reading books, and spin-throwing my daughter onto our bed (it's been her favorite lately).

Ten years of being a father, and I can't wait to see what the next ten years brings.

A Question of Morality

When I started this blog back in 2010, I never thought I'd write a post like this, but it's too hard for me to be silent. I don't want to get into politics or debate, but I do want to share my observations on what is going on with Homeland Security in my state, Minnesota.

It had already been chaos in the state, and things hit a tipping point with the shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis. I've seen a lot if videos of the shooting (they're hard to watch), and the different angles of the videos tell different stories, but the best resource I've found is a multi-video analysis found on  CNN here. Watch the video and make your own conclusions, but however you look at it, I can't see how you can say that the shooting was justified.

Then, before any of the facts came in, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem called Good, a, "domestic terrorist." You can read an article about that idea on the Brennan Center for Justice website.

And while the murder of Renee Good was tragic, it's far from the only problem associated with ICE in Minnesota.

People are scared. ICE has been arresting and detaining people based solely on their skin color or their accents. They often will stop people who appear to be Latino or Somali and ask to see their "papers." 

Again, I don't want to get into arguments or be political, but I wanted to make people aware of the real fear that residents of Minnesota are feeling right now. And as a Christian, I want to emphasize a few things. I'll start by sharing a Bible verse: "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt (Exodus 22:21)." If you want to read more versus on this topic, read this pdf from The Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church.

I also want to emphasize that I don't condone violence or profanity toward ICE agents. God loves ICE agents just as much as he does anyone else. Even throwing snowballs at ICE agents should not be done. However, peaceful protests are more than appropriate.

Despite what you see on the news, there are many peaceful protests happening. Singing, chanting, and marching — all without violence or aggression toward ICE agents. You can read about some of these protests at the Star Tribune article, "Singers, Musicians Come Together to Perform at ICE Sites."

That's it. I've written what I wanted to write, and I'll come back with more lighthearted posts soon.

Thanks for reading.

Goals for 2026

The last couple of years I haven't done new year goals and instead did goals for my age. This year, though, I got behind on my blog posts, so I'll go back to new year goals. 

The ideal way to set up goals is to use the SMART method, the model I've used in the past. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time. 

I have so appreciated all your support with my running and with my mental health. It's been so nice to hear from you, both online and in person — sometimes from total strangers.

Here's how my goals this year shake out:

1. Run under 3:20 in the marathon

I've got a new work schedule that will give me more time to train in the morning, and I'm going to do some weightlifting too, so I'm optimistic that I'll hit this goal.

2. Eat three sweets or less per week. 

3. Do 40 minutes of strength training per week.

4. Break twenty minutes in a 5K.

If I stick to getting some good cardio work on my bike trainer, run a ton in the spring and summer, and put in some solid strength training, I think I can do this one.

5. Twenty blog posts.

More than I've written in years, but I'm hoping to write around two a month, so this should be doable.

6. Drink two or fewer alcoholic beverages per week.

So there they are. Challenging goals, but I'm optimistic that this could be one of my best years yet.

Goal Results from my 43rd Year

So I got a little lazy at the end of my 43rd year, but I started a post about my goals, so here it is:

I said in my post about my goals for my 43rd year that this was going to be my healthiest year yet. Unfortunately, I didn't have the greatest year, both mental and physical health-wise.

1.  Eat/drink one sweet a week or fewer.

I gave up even tracking this one after six months. Laura said I should have made a more reasonable goal of something like one sweet a day. If I'd have made that goal I would have reached it. But, aiming for one sweet a week I scored around 10%.

2. Drink one alcoholic beverage per week or fewer.

Check!

3. Run a marathon.

I ran the Twin Cities Marathon and raised some money for Team World Vision. I didn't run faster than last year and my motivation and execution of training didn't go so hot, but in the marathon itself I ran way better than I thought I would. A score of 100% here.

4. Break 20 minutes in the 5K.

I ran a 20:42 in an Eagan parkrun, so I made it 97% on this one.

5. Run over 1,111 miles.

I've been run/walking for a couple years now, so it's hard to say how much I've "run." I've also been doing a lot of walking to prevent injury, so I decided to modify this goal (it's my blog, I can do whatever I want) and take my total number of miles counted by steps this year and divide by two. That came to 2,311.4 miles which, divided by two is is 1,155.5. I'm only going to give myself 100% instead of 1.04% due to my "cheating."

6. Hit race weight by May and stay there.

We were moving and our scale got put away, but I didn't hit my goal by May and I've been eating a lot, so I'm going to have to give myself a zero on this one.

7. Write 14 blog posts.

Not quite. 86%

8. Average one hour of strength and mobility per week.

Sixty-seven percent on this one.

So my total for my 43rd year comes to 67%. Not a great year, but my goals were lofty, so I'm OK with my results.

Be well.

Bipolar Glossary

 As I've been writing about mental illness for a while now, I realize I sometimes use terms that may not be understood. A good resource I've found is the Glossary of Bipolar Terms on the Dummies.com website.

Here are some of the highlights from the website that I use a lot:

hypomania: An elevated mood that doesn't qualify as full-blown mania but typically involves increased energy, less need for sleep, clarity of vision, and a strong creative drive. These changes are noticeable to others but don't significantly impair daily function.

major depressive episode: An extreme low mood that lasts at least two weeks and is characterized by symptoms such as despair, fatigue, loss or increase in appetite, loss of interest in pleasurable activities, an increased need for sleep or inability to sleep, and thoughts of death or suicide.

mania: An extremely elevated mood typically characterized by euphoria, excessive energy, impulsivity, nervousness, impaired judgment, irritability, and a decreased need for sleep.

manic episode: A period of elevated mood, either euphoric or irritable, typically characterized by impulsivity, nervousness, impaired judgment, irritability, and a decreased need for sleep. The period must last at least one week (or shorter if it leads to hospitalization).

Another term I use often is mixed state, which is not on the dummies website. You can find it on the Mayo Clinic website, 

Bipolar Episodes with Mixed Features. The basic definition of mixed features (from the Mayo Clinic article)  refers to the presence of high and low symptoms occurring at the same time, or as part of a single episode, in people experiencing an episode of mania or depression.

Mania Part 1

It's been a rocky few weeks. I've gone through a manic phase, a couple hypomanic phases, and a couple depressive phases.

I started writing this post when I was manic, so I heavily edited it to give a synopsis of my last manic episode.

• I started to applying for many teaching jobs in several different districts.
• I was sleeping a lot less.
• My father-in-law asked me if I’d watched a movie, and I said, “no.” My kids reminded me that I did watch the movie with them and I made them frozen lemonade. I still have no memory of this.
• I signed up for a $250 Linkedin premium subscription. Fortunately,  I noticed an email after my episode was over and canceled it before the trial period had ended.

Mania and hypomania feel so good sometimes. The endorphins, the rush of dopamine and endocannabinoids — it feels so good. The goal-driven behavior, the creativeness — it all feels so good.

But it can get out of control fast. Posting things I normally wouldn’t on Facebook, long-winded and disconnected emails, talking rapidly and sometimes disjointedly, interrupting people. At the time of my mania, I cannot always recognize that I’m crossing boundaries or making people feel uncomfortable. Other times, however, I can see looks of fear and confusion, and realize I’m doing something wrong. Recognizing those looks is one thing that helps me cope with the mania.

I haven’t had a full-blown manic episode in over ten years, but a couple weeks ago I did. These manic episodes feel especially good after a period of depression. When I’m depressed and I move into a manic episode, I have energy for things I did not before. Playing with my kids, doing laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, writing, and running can all seem insurmountable during a depressive phase.

Then, a manic episode comes along and life feels easier, but there are some problems. Mania makes it hard to focus. I sometimes start cleaning a bathroom, then stop halfway and start doing laundry. Next, I forget about the bathroom and the laundry and start cleaning the kitchen. After a few hours, I have a bunch of incomplete tasks with nothing finished.

One way I try to cope with both mania and depression is making lists. I think it annoys Laura a bit to have Post-Its all over the counters with my to-do lists scribbled on them. It honestly annoys me a bit as well. Besides, when I’m depressed it’s likely that I won’t get to more than a couple things and spend most of my days lying on the couch or in bed. When I’m manic those things often get done partially as I flit and flat from one thing to another without focusing on any specific task. 

In the past, I’ve said that I’d rather be depressed than manic. Lying in my bed or on my couch doesn’t bother anyone too much other than not getting anything done. When I’m having a mixed state of depression and hypomania, I’m also easier to deal with because although I have a lot of energy on the hypomanic side, the depressive side usually keeps me under control.

Laura often reminds me that I’m not going to feel depressed forever — that good times are going to come again, but for the past couple years I haven’t believed that. I thought it was going to be normal to rarely want to do anything fun with my family or my friends. I’ll go several weeks feeling balanced, productive, and connected to my family, but there have been a lot of times when everyday tasks like cleaning or playing with my kids have felt very difficult.

I hope this latest manic episode will be the last, but if it isn’t I hope to be able to employ even more coping skills to cope with the manic symptoms.

I also hope to find a healthy balance and stay in a state productiveness and connection.

Be well.

Louisiana Half Marathon Race Report

Time for a much-belated race report:

My beautiful wife, Laura, has the goal of running a half marathon in every state, so for the past couple years we've been doing races around the Florida panhandle (the Big Beach 1/2 Marathon was pretty eventful when I inadvertently dressed as a pacer, all the way down to having "pacer" written on the back of my shirt).

This year, Laura checked off Louisiana. We drove from Laura's parents' condo in Pensacola for about five hours to Baton Rouge. When arrived, we paid a small fortune to park next to our hotel. It would have been cheaper to park valet, but we figured after the tip it would have come out in the wash. We walked from our hotel to the expo where we got our race numbers and shirts. We also found out about a race morning mass.

After a nice meal at the hotel restaurant, we settled into bed to get up early the next morning for the race.

Race morning we got to get a grab-and-go breakfast that the hotel provided, and we headed to St. Joseph Cathedral to partake in a 26.2 minute pre-race mass. The mass actually lasted a little longer than 26.2 minutes as they had the Eucharist, so the large crowd of runners took a while to get through communion.

The priest was also a runner, so he emphasized that the cathedral had bathrooms available. After the mass, however, I thought there would be a long line, so I told Laura we should just use the port-o-potties at the race start.

Counting on the port-o-potties turned out to be a mistake. After waiting in line for about 15 minutes, I realized there was no way we were going to make it to the start on time. I didn't really have to go, so I decided I'd risk having to stop mid-race to use the bathroom.

When I got to the start, it was a repeat of the Madison Marathon where I got myself stuck way back in the crowd. I weaved through to try and get closer to the start, but people were packed into the starting corral, so it was difficult and slow going. As the race was about to start, I saw Laura weaving through the crowds in front of me. I guess I need to take lessons from her in moving through a tightly packed crowd.

The route through Baton Rogue was decent, but I really didn't pay attention too much as I was focused on getting through the crowd. My first 10K split was 7:47/mile, and my overall pace for the race was 7:21, so I was able to pick up the pace quite a bit after getting through the crowds.

My finishing time was 1:38:56. A far cry from my fastest time, but I was happy with it for the amount of training I've been doing (about 20 miles per week) as opposed to averaging around 50 to 60 miles per week when I was at my peak.

When I got to gear check after the race, I reached for my gloves that I had put in my pockets. Laura had bought them for me for my birthday, and I really liked them. Unfortunately, I only had one in my pocket. I walked back to gear check and asked them if anyone had seen a glove, but they had not.

So, I walked to the finish line to cheer for Laura and get a picture of her finishing. When she came through the chute, she informed me that she'd found my glove around mile 6. "I was 90% sure it was yours," she said.

The post-race food and drink were awesome. They had chocolate milk,  a post-race favorite for me. Then, we had five tokens to pick out the food and drink we wanted. I got some vegetarian gumbo, seafood gumbo, vegetarian jambalaya, and a couple beers.

Laura and I had a great trip, and I'm looking forward to whatever destination race she picks out next time.

Pensacola Rex Plex North parkrun

It's become a winter tradition to travel down to Pensacola, Fla. One of my favorite things about escaping the godforsaken frozen tundra of Minnesota in January or February is time to run outside without eight layers of clothes, tiptoeing around icy patches, and trampling through snow.

This year was special as we got to do the Pensacola Rec Plex North parkrun. My boy child has been running parkruns for over a year now. We've done all the parkruns in Minnesota and one in Michigan, so he was excited to do one in Florida. (He's now done the only parkrun in Iowa too.)

The course ran through some wooded areas, and volunteers had spray painted the roots which I found very helpful as I fall at least every third trail run I do.

My boy child and I ran together, and then, as is his tradition, he sprinted ahead of me to the finish. He finished 5th out of 83 runners and won his age group. I finished 6th and also won my age group.

Laura enjoyed her run as well. We had a good time together, and no one had to push the jogging stroller as our daughter stayed back at the condo with her grandparents.

I enjoyed the parkrun quite a bit, but even after running in weather in the 60s, I also enjoy the cold weather parkruns in Eagan, and now I'm excited for the cool temperatures of early spring.

Watch for my review of all the parkruns I've run so far.

Run well.

Mood Swings

One of the most bothersome parts of bipolar is the mood swings. Last week I couldn't get myself to do hardly anything. I even wanted to skip a trip to Whitetail Woods Regional Park. I spent a lot of time laying around on the couch, not playing with my kids or doing any chores. I was in bed for close to ten hours a couple days and it took me thirty minutes to pack to lunches and make breakfast — a chore that should take ten minutes.

Then, I swung the other way. When I feel depressed, everything — work, taking care of the kids, taking a shower — all seem overwhelming. But today, I've swung the other way. I slept about four hours last night and don't feel a bit tired. I'm wanting to talk to people constantly, and I flit and flat from one task to the next.

I've talked to my therapist about these manic episodes, and she recommended harnessing that energy into productive tasks — especially creative ones. So, I'm writing some blog posts and might work on a young adult novel whose second draft I've never go through. I'm also getting cleaning done that I wouldn't normally do.

Thanks to everyone who supports me during these rough spells. Those who listen to my rambling conversation, those who let my wife know I'm struggling to be coherent, and especially thank you to my beautiful wife, Laura, who supports me through these mood swings.

Be well.