The Super Bowl in Grand Forks

My name is Jim, and I’m a football fan! I especially enjoy watching the Minnesota Vikings and the North Dakota State Bison, but all football is good in my opinion. Unfortunately, I live in Grand Forks; a city that eats, drinks, breathes and lives for hockey.

Today is the Super Bowl, which unarguably is the largest sporting event in our land. Football is our national sport and Super Bowl Sunday is probably more celebrated than Independence Day. Each year more households tune in to watch this hyped gridiron matchup than tune in for the President’s “State of the Union Address.” People all over America gather together to eat, drink, and watch the football game along with the commercials that air whenever there is a stop in action. There are fourteen hours of pregame that air on ESPN, so even the most diehard football fan will be able to get their full of in-depth analysis regarding every aspect of the game. Newspapers all over the nation are printing the comparative stats of Tom Brady and Eli Manning. There is talk of the Patriots avenging their Super Bowl loss to the Giants four years ago. The Giants are dealing with the same lack of respect they received in 2008, when nobody gave them any chance of winning. This promises to be a good game for football fans!

So how does our local paper, the “Grand Forks Herald” promote this football extravaganza, and provide information for football fans such as myself? I opened the paper this morning to find out. The front page, lower right hand corner, started a story about the advertisements scheduled to air during the big game, like Volkswagen’s barking “Star Wars” dogs. OK… On to the sports page… What do I find as the top story there? “Increased Importance?” A story about how College Hockey Inc. is working on changing the rules surrounding collegiate recruiting of hockey players. It seems like some young men recently gave a verbal commitment to play hockey for the University of North Dakota, only to later change their minds, and decide to play in the Canadian Hockey League instead.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking the “Grand Forks Herald.” They know exactly what their readers want, and are willing to supply them what they need to eat, drink, breathe and live for Hockey. The people of Grand Forks simply find a story about collegiate hockey recruiting more interesting than anything to do with any football game, even the Super Bowl. The people of Grand Forks are also more interested in the Super Bowl television ads than they are in the game itself. Those are just the facts, and I’ve come to accept them.

My name is Jim, and I’m a football fan!

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Freezing Man

This winter has been extremely mild by North Dakota standards. No snow on the ground for Christmas? Running in shorts in 55 degree temperatures in mid December? How can this be? These things are virtually impossible in the North Dakota I know!

I’ve been running outside more this winter than during any of the previous ones I’ve experienced since I’ve become this crazed lunatic who actually enjoys running! Maybe it’s been the warm temperatures. Maybe it’s been the lack of snow blocked sidewalks. Maybe it’s been improved outdoor winter vision courtesy of my contact lens. It’s probably a combination of all these things, but whatever the reason, I’ve been running outside quite a bit this winter.

Less than 1% of the population has ever completed a marathon, so those of us who belong in this exclusive group are just a bit proud of our particular accomplishment. When we’re experiencing problems in our everyday lives, we often encourage each other by saying: “You’ve run a marathon: There’s nothing you can’t do!” We all know with complete surety that if we work hard enough at almost anything, we will be able to accomplish it. We also know that most problems that we run into during our lives are easier than training for a marathon!

You may be wondering where I’m going with this. Well, we runners are also pretty sure of our abilities when it comes to winter running. We are accustomed to pushing through adversity, so when it comes to a little discomfort due to the cold, we simply push through that too. We tell each other that if we’re cold, we just need to run a little faster and we’ll warm up.

I’ve usually been taking Maxie with me when I’ve run outside this winter. Her fur is so thick, and because she never lifts her paws like dogs do when their feet get cold, I know she’s better suited for being outside than I am. On the other hand, I have Maxie beat for endurance. If we travel any distance greater than 5-6 miles, she will need to continually stop and rest, even when I want to keep going. This means that when I do my long weekend runs, either Maxie has to stay at home, or Sue needs to pick her up along the way.

Today, though, I was tugged back to earth, and reminded that North Dakota winters are still tougher than even the most experienced marathoner. I was going to do nine miles. I was also going to start out with Maxie, and Sue was going to meet me at Buffalo Wild Wings, about 4 miles in, at a set time, to drive our tired girl home. The weather service said the winds were calm, so I dressed accordingly, but by the time we got ready and left, a fairly steady breeze had crept up. Maxie was fine, but I started to feel pretty cold as soon as we headed straight into the wind going over the Columbia Road overpass. My fingers were becoming numb, so I began to open and close my hands in rhythm with my moving legs, a technique I’ve already employed successfully this winter.

I was starting to feel fairly good but then I met up with a quarter mile stretch of sidewalk in front of Columbia Heights trailer park which still didn’t have the new snow from last week cleared off. Pounding through loose snow is hard work and is the equivalent of “running a little faster.” I got warmer and even started to sweat just a bit. I continued into even more snow filled sidewalks on the next block in front of “Mini Mart” and “Panda Buffet.” This little stretch had me laboring very hard and swearing under my breath at discourteous business owners, but I eventually made it through to Buffalo Wild Wings, who by the way, HAD cleared their sidewalk.

I glanced around, and didn’t see Sue. I looked at the clock across the street on “Applebees” electronic board and saw that it was exactly our appointed meeting time. I stood in the cold wind for a few more minutes and then walked through the parking lot again looking for our vehicle. No Sue. I was starting to get cold all over, but Maxie seemed OK just sniffing around the patio. I contemplated going into the entry way to warm up, but didn’t think the management would appreciate me loitering around with a large shedding dog inside their eating establishment, so we stayed outside in the wind. I started to lose feeling in my hands again, and the rest of my sweaty body was cooling off at an alarming rate, so I knew I had to do something pretty fast.

After waiting 20 minutes, I finally knew what I had to do; start running again! I mumbled a few choice words, started my i-pod and Garmin, and started the return trip home. I ran around the building, then turned so that the wind was at my back and headed back up Columbia Road. As soon as I got past the other side of Buffalo Wild Wings, I saw Sue, sitting in a parking space well hidden from 95% of the parking lot. I ran over to the pickup, got Maxie into the back seat, and climbed into the passenger seat, my run for the day definitely over!

Sue knew I was coming down Columbia Road, and chose a parking spot just a few feet from the sidewalk in order to ensure us seeing each other. I must have run by while Sue was pulling into the parking lot, then when I didn’t see her, I stood waiting by the driveway for a vehicle that had already gone past. The odds of such perfect timing are equivalent to the Vikings winning the Super Bowl next year, and this strange twist of fate had me almost freezing to death 100 feet from where Sue was sitting in a warm vehicle!

I guess the key for us winter runners is to keep moving because if we stop for whatever reason, the January cold could freeze us up pretty fast. I’ll add today’s “freeze up” adventure to my ever growing list of running experiences and hopefully learn from it. I guess no matter how tough we think we are our North Dakota weather always shows us that it’s tougher!

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North Dakota Outdoor Running in January

I officially started my training on Monday for the 2012 Fargo Marathon, which is 17 weeks from today. This week’s been very cold so I’ve done all my running indoors until today. This morning it was just above zero with a 20-30 mph wind driving the wind chill way down, but I didn’t care: I was one of the trainers for the first group run of Red River Runners Beginner’s Running Group.

We had a huge turnout this morning, with most of the runners planning on doing the Fargo Half Marathon in May. I was excited to see that there were 5 beginners on hand, so we headed out the door into the frigid conditions with everyone else. We walked for 90 seconds, and then ran for 60 seconds, a cycle we repeated 8 times. 20 minutes later, we all returned back to the warmth of Center Court Fitness Center, feeling good about getting started running.

I knew I would need warmer gloves before heading out on my own training run, so I returned home for a heavier pair. Maxie had looked pretty sad when I left earlier without her, so when I saw her sad eyes again this time, I decided to take her with me for my six miles.

Maxie has an extremely thick coat, and her endurance has been improving with each run, so I knew she would be OK for this distance in these conditions. We went into the wind for the first three miles, before turning around and having the wind blowing us back home. Maxie pranced through the snow, kicking her heels up, holding her head high, while taking me along for the ride while I, on the other hand, didn’t enjoy it quite as much! The wind made my eyes water, and if I had been wearing glasses, I wouldn’t have been able to see, so I was once again thankful for my contact lenses. When we finally got home, Sue snapped this picture of me in my mask.

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Racist Blowhards

News Flash: North Dakota State Bison Football fans still dislike their century old arch-enemy, the Fighting Sioux from the University of North Dakota! News Flash: Some Bison fans still chant “Sioux Suck” whenever they hear the words “Here we go Bison, Here we go!” no matter who their current opponent is. News Flash: Fans of the University of North Dakota don’t like the words “Sioux Suck!”

So, what does all this mean? Is the rivalry spirit still alive in the cities of Fargo and Grand Forks? Do exuberant students sometimes say things without thinking? Probably both statements are true, but I’m still glad that NDSU publically apologized to UND for the inappropriate chants their players and fans flung into the air regarding UND’s recently retired mascot: It was the right thing to do! Are the fans at the University of North Dakota superior in intellect and sportsmanship to their counterparts at North Dakota State, as I’ve been told on a weekly basis for the past 23 years? Are Bison Football fans “racist blowhards” as UND Women’s Basketball coach Gene Roebuck told boosters at a luncheon last Friday? I have a little more difficulty believing these last two statements.

The worst thing about being a Bison fan in Grand Forks is that everyone I know feels they must convince me that all UND athletic programs and fans are superior to those at NDSU. What they forget is that I lived in Fargo for 8 years, and the fans there feel the same way about their Bison. Neither university has the market cornered on quality teams or good sportsmanship. I’ve seen good and bad examples of sportsmanship from fans in both cities, so I know firsthand that neither university always keeps its fans on the straight and narrow.

“Racist?!” This is the item that has bothered me the most about the “Fighting Sioux” nickname. The fans in Grand Forks can use the mascots of their rivals in humiliating and degrading ways, but if fans in other cities utter a “Sioux Suck” they are labeled racist. Bison are unintelligent animals, as are gophers, badgers, coyotes, jack rabbits, bulldogs, and mavericks. In my opinion, it is racist to lower the Sioux people to a point where they belong in this list of unintelligent animal mascots; even if they say they are doing it with “honor and respect.” Does Coach Roebuck perhaps mean to imply that the standards for racism have been raised, now that the Fighting Sioux nickname has been retired? Well, let me tell you: I was at the UND – NDSU basketball game last night, and the Fighting Sioux nickname is nowhere near being gone! When the fans at UND stop using the name “Sioux,” both at the end of the national anthem and on all their clothing, it will be time to expect their rivals to stop using the name too.

“Blowhards?!” Yes, Coach Roebuck, all sports fans are blowhards by nature, even those who attend events at UND. A blowhard is a braggart, someone who talks themselves up. All sports fans jump up and down screaming that they have the best team and that they are going to win. I’ve always heard, though, that it’s not bragging if you can back up what you say. Well, I hate to tell you this Coach Roebuck, but the North Dakota State Bison won the NCAA Division I FCS Football Championship on the day you believe the words of their players and fans made them blowhards. On that particular day at least, the Bison Football team “walked the talk” and lived up to the boasts made by their fans, making your use of the term “blowhard” quite inaccurate. The word that you should have used for these loud players and fans, Coach Roebuck, should have been a word that has long been associated with Bison Football: That word is “Champions!”

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2011 Running Recap

It’s a new year, so it’s time to reflect back on 2011 and see where my running has taken me. I log all of my miles into a tracker called “Daily Mile” so it’s pretty easy to add things up courtesy of their end of year report. I ran 250 days for a total of 1,540 miles. That’s about the distance from the Canadian border in North Dakota to the Mexican border in the deepest part of Texas. That may seem like a lot, but one of my running friends in Grand Forks made the return trip too; topping 3,000 miles this year! These workouts burned over 250,000 calories, or 66 pounds of pure fat. Since I pretty much maintained my weight, I guess I ate quite a bit of extra food in 2011! Here are the highlights of the year:

Frozen Feat 10K on February 12th. 47 minutes and 54 seconds set a new personal record for me on this 6.2 mile distance. The warm February morning was ideal, temperature wise, and the running surface was relatively free of ice.

Fargo Marathon on May 21st. 4 hours, 10 minutes and 12 seconds set a personal record for me on this 26.2 mile distance. Temperature was not terribly warm, but it was overcast and incredibly humid with scattered rain showers. My stomach cramped up and I experienced “dry heaves” for the first time.

Firecracker 10K on July 4th. 47 minutes and 19 seconds set a new personal record for me, topping my February outing by 35 seconds. It was extremely warm and humid, even at the early 8AM start time, but it was fun running with quite a few Red River Runners!

Twin Cities Marathon on October 2nd. 4 hours, 36 minutes and 50 seconds left me extremely disappointed. The conditions were absolutely perfect, but for whatever reason, my body was too tired to take advantage of them, and I struggled the entire race.

“The Streak,” November 26th to present. I’ve managed to get in a run each day since Thanksgiving weekend, and will complete day #52 when I go out later today. With advice from my trainer, Dr. Short, I’m building my endurance by running more often and running a little slower in the process. Running outside with my friend Maxie has helped me achieve this goal through her (not mine) strong desire to sniff dog urine along the trail! I’m hoping this new approach will result in a personal record for a marathon this year: That is my goal for 2012!

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The Return to National Prominence

“There was a real resolve and determination, especially by our seniors. We had a couple of tough years here. Our guys wanted to make sure we returned Bison football to national prominence. It’s not easy to do. I want to thank them because today we returned Bison football to national prominence.”
Bison Head Coach Craig Bohl

I am a football fanatic. I grew up watching Minnesota Viking football on TV with my Dad, Velva Aggie football in the stands with my classmates, and have always absolutely loved the game.

In the fall of 1981, my appreciation for the game reached an entirely new level when I attended my first North Dakota State Bison football game. It was a night game at Dacotah Field, and it was against the North Dakota Fighting Sioux. I sat in the student section of a sold-out crowd, and I had never experienced anything like it in my life! The atmosphere was electric, and I screamed my heart out during every bone crushing hit as the Bison destroyed the Sioux 31-7. I was hooked!

Over the course of the next 12 years, the Bison beat the Sioux every year in football, and won five NCAA Division II National Championships in the process. The University of North Dakota fielded some outstanding hockey teams during the same time period en route to two NCAA Division I National Championships. In my world North Dakota State was the nationally prominent football team, and North Dakota was the nationally prominent hockey team.

Then, weird things began to happen in football. The Fighting Sioux finally beat the Bison in 1993, and went on to gain national prominence by winning an NCAA Division II Championship in 2001. During that same time, smaller Division II schools began clamoring for parity, and the NCAA responded by reducing the number of football scholarships allowed within Division II, effectively bringing the dominant programs down to the level of the smaller schools. The Bison moved to Division I in 2004 because of this scholarship problem, and although they wanted to continue playing football with their arch rivals, the Sioux refused to meet them on the field. Things were not as they should be for the once prominent Bison football program!

The move to Division I cost the Bison the “privilege” of meeting the University of North Dakota in every sport for a few years, but they wisely moved on anyway. The increase in allowable football scholarships has allowed the Bison to quickly rebuild their program into one of success. Last Saturday, the Bison took the final step, as they returned to national prominence with a 17-6 victory over Sam Houston State in the NCAA Division I FCS National Championship. Welcome back to where you belong, North Dakota State! It’s been 20 years, but my college football world has finally returned to normal: Long live Bison prominence!

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Love and Other Drugs


A few times each year, I settle into my easy chair and watch a good love story. I watch them alone, because Sue can’t stand what she calls “Chick Flicks.” I argue that I don’t watch “chick flicks,” I just watch movies about people falling in love. Whenever I say this, Sue just looks at me like I’m a pathetic child, puts her hand gently on my shoulder and says “but dear, that’s what chick flicks are.” She says all this quite softly, but then puts her finger in her mouth to indicate that she is mentally gagging by merely thinking about a romantic story. That’s just the way the two of us are, though: I’m the hopeless romantic, and Sue, well let’s just say she’s not so romantic.

Anyway, I recently watched the movie “Love and Other Drugs” staring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway, and I enjoyed it. It had all the major components of love that I believe occur in real life, and delivered them in an entertaining and believable way.

Jamie is a pharmaceutical salesman with loads of charm and charisma, but lacking in ethics and morals. He will say or do anything it takes to make the sale or to get the woman into bed. Maggie is suffering from early onset Parkinson’s disease, which will slowly deteriorate her life away to nothing. She has a massive chip on her shoulder because of the obscene profits the major pharmaceutical companies are experiencing while walking all over the people buying their drugs.

These two unlikely characters meet, and fall into a whirlwind relationship based solely upon passionate sex. As they get to know each other, they both let their guard down a little, allowing their vulnerable sides to become visible. Jamie views himself as a perpetual screw up who isn’t good at anything. Maggie believes that her disease has stolen away any chance she has of ever experiencing happiness in life.

Of course, love always overcomes all (says the hopeless romantic)! Maggie comes to see that although she is going to require much more from a man than a healthy woman ever would, she also has something to give in return. Jamie discovers that having Maggie in his world has finally given his life meaning, and her love has cured him of his self destructive tendencies. Don’t you just love happy endings?

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Beginner’s Running Group

My last post included a link to a Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator. Was America’s obesity epidemic a poor choice of topics during the Christmas holiday, a time where just about everyone overeats? Even though I appeared insensitive, I did have a plan, and it will present itself if you’re brave enough to continue reading.

How many of you calculated your BMI last week? Did any of you discover that you would be statistically healthier if you were a few pounds lighter? Are you thinking that you may want to improve your eating or exercise habits in the year to come? I’m guessing that most Americans desire to improve these two areas of their lives, but don’t really know where to start. Well, it’s time to be making those New Year’s resolutions, and I’m here to offer you some encouragement as well as a little assistance in helping you reach those 2012 goals. You see, I made a New Year’s resolution myself a few months back, and it is to help others improve their level of physical activity.

I know a little about this topic, having gone from a totally sedentary “couch potato” to a 46 year old marathon finisher in less than two years. I’m now the owner of a “healthy” BMI after 25 years of being either “overweight” or “obese.” I’m perhaps in the best shape of my life, and while changing my eating habits was important in this turnaround, it was the increase in activity level that truly transformed me into a different person. You have to believe that there is nothing special about me: I know for a fact that if I can turn my life around, you can do it too.

I began my exercise journey after losing some weight through dietary changes, and had decided to increase my activity level to help lose a little more stubborn fat. We got a new dog, Maxie, and I began to walk her almost every day for between two and three miles. It was a large time commitment, spending almost an hour each day exercising, but I began to feel stronger, and that made it worthwhile. Maxie wanted to go faster, so I began walking faster with her. Winter came, and the walks required me wearing heavy snow boots, which strengthened my body further. After six months of this daily routine, I jogged a block during the middle of a walk one day, and that was how I got started running. I ran my first 5K race (3.1 miles) four months later and my first marathon 10 months after that: I was hooked!

I belong to a group called Red River Runners, whose only purpose is to promote running as a fun, healthy activity for people of all ages and abilities. I have volunteered to lead their “Beginner’s Running Group” (BRG) which is supposed to help people make the transition from walking to running. I’m very excited about this opportunity, and know that along with Erin, Erin, and Anne Marie, we will be able to offer fantastic support and encouragement to anyone wishing to increase their activity level. We will do it the same way I did, by starting out mostly walking, and mixing in a few minutes of jogging throughout a 30 minute session. We will meet once per week, but runners will need to get in additional workouts by themselves or with others from the group. Over the course of 18 weeks, we will gradually increase the running time until you will be able to run nonstop for 30 minutes. You will be ready for your own first ever 5K race this spring, maybe even the huge one in Fargo with 8,000 other runners, if that sounds like fun to you! Who knows where your running will take you after that: Will there be more 5K’s, a 10K, or maybe even a marathon in your future?

We will be starting our Beginner’s Running Group in January. This “class” will possibly be offered again in the summer if you need a few months of walking prior to taking your first running steps. Click here to go to Red River Runners home page, where you will be able to find the dates and times of all our activities, including the Beginner’s Running Group, once that information has been determined. Will you join us for a run? It’ll be fun! Trust me!

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Physically Fit

One third of Americans are obese (BMI > 30) and one third are overweight (BMI 25-29.99). The remaining one third is either at a healthy weight (BMI 18.5-24.99) or considered underweight (BMI < 18.5). Click here to calculate your BMI, or Body Mass Index.

Our culture has many words to describe the overweight and obese, and while some are accurate, most are simply mean. While I’ve been running, I’ve been thinking of words used to describe people with a healthy body weight.

Slender: Flattering for women, but not usually used to describe men.
Thin: Flattering for women, but not complimentary for men.
Skinny: Not flattering for either sex.
Physically fit: Flattering for both sexes.
Athletic: Flattering for both sexes.
Lanky: Flattering for men, but not usually used to describe women.
Willowy: Flattering for women, but not complimentary for men.
Lithe: Flattering for women, but not complimentary for men.
Lean: Flattering for both sexes.
Slim: Flattering for both sexes.
Puny: Not flattering for either sex.

Which of these terms sounds the best to you? I don’t believe I would be considered “athletic” at age 48, but I would be happy to be called “Physically fit.” How about you?

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The Mouse Race

I work in a research laboratory that studies obesity. We use both human and animal models in our experiments, but I work only with the animals. Sometimes I joke that the people with good interpersonal skills get to work with the human volunteers, and the rest of us are kept as far away from them as possible. Seriously though, I do realize that it takes a special person to be able to work with animals each and every day, and I’m proud to have a great group of co-workers that are both compassionate and professional in their chosen careers.

In general, obesity results from either too many calories consumed or too little physical activity, although both factors usually contribute in some degree to the condition in humans. Animals, however, provide a slightly different challenge because they tend to eat only until their calorie needs are met, then they stop. Fortunately, there are some rats and mice that will become obese when fed a high fat diet, so they are the ones we usually use in our research.

When we attempt to introduce physical activity into the experiment, we are presented with another set of issues to consider. Rats don’t like exercise, and will become quite creative in their attempts to avoid it. Mice, on the other hand, absolutely love running, and will spend hours each day on their little wheels. We have been successful using both models in activity experiments, but mice have been the easiest, in my opinion.

Mice love to run so much that we have, on occasion, experienced mice running themselves to death. They get to a point that they can barely even walk, but they continue crawling towards the wheel, obsessed with their desire to run yet a little more. One of our researchers has labeled this behavior “suicide running,” and has introduced a protocol to prevent it from occurring. If an animal runs more than 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) during a 12 hour dark cycle, they will have access to their wheel limited for the next day. Think about it: A 25 gram mouse, about the size of a man’s thumb, covering over six miles in a day! It’s absolutely amazing!

So, it turns out that I’m conducting a “suicide watch” for 60 mice during this Christmas weekend. One of my coworkers is making a list of all animals running more than 10 kilometers, and putting a piece of tape on their wheels, preventing them from turning. I need to go into work each afternoon, and remove the tape, allowing the mice some time to run before their lights come back on, and they go to sleep. This has worked so far, as we haven’t experienced any deaths in this group of animals. It is a little ironic, however, that I’ve been running each day during the time that the “suicide mice” are prevented from doing just that. Well, it’s time for another run. I just hope Sue hasn’t taped my shoes to the wall to keep me home!

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