Continue Forward?

Posted on March 24, 2012 by jimlindlauf

Well folks, I’m at a crossroads in my running career. Do I continue forward; training for and running in marathon races, and hopefully move ever closer to my ultimate goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon? Do I make a turn; accepting what my body keeps trying to tell me, and focus on shorter distances instead?

My legs, and especially my calves, are giving me all kinds of problems. Although my left hip has a slight deformity, and my left leg is shorter than my right, they seem to be handling running rather well. It’s the muscles that are screaming at me to take it easy. They can handle 12 mile runs with ease, but if I ask them to go 16 miles or more, something happens, and they take days, or even weeks to recover.

I don’t see my pains as a result of my recent 100 day streak of running, as I felt as though I was getting stronger with each passing day! Daily running greatly sped up my recovery, and I experienced amazing energy; even when I ran more than once in a day. It wasn’t until my daily runs began to include distances greater than 12 miles that I began to feel broken, and as though I wasn’t recovering fully between runs.

This is not the first time my legs have broken down during the course of training for a marathon: It’s happened every single time! Each and every long run I have ever attempted, including every marathon race, my calves have caused me to stop running and I have been forced to finish by walking and jogging. The first marathon I thought I wasn’t yet quite ready for the 26.2 mile distance. The second marathon I thought I needed to consume more sugars during the race. The third marathon I thought I was dehydrated. The fourth marathon I thought my electrolytes were out of balance and that I was recovering from a cold. I’ve taken steps to correct all of these issues and it’s still happening! What is wrong with me?!

I’m now thinking that my calves are perhaps being physically damaged by the motion of running for over two hours. I’m going to try some compression socks that should hold the calf muscles still, preventing little micro tears from occurring as I run for hours on end. My friend Denae, who is a dietician, has agreed to look into possible diet related problems that I may have overlooked. My friend Stacy has recommended a massage therapist that specializes in diagnosing problems common to runners. I’m going to use all the resources available to me before I consider scrapping this year’s Fargo Marathon, but that is a distinct possibility if I don’t start getting some answers.

On a high note, I do run some pretty impressive shorter distances. Doing the half marathon in Fargo, wouldn’t be the end of the world: I could possibly finish in the top 25% of participants at the 13.1 mile distance. On the other side, I would know that my potentially impressive finish would be partially because the best runners were registered for the full marathon. The worst part would be that there is no Boston Half Marathon! By focusing on the shorter distances, for which my body may be better suited, I would need to give up all hope of ever qualifying for the “Super Bowl” of foot races. I’m not quite ready to give up on my dreams yet! I hope that somehow I can discover the cause of and prevent these calf pains that are keeping me from effectively competing in the marathons that I long to be a part of!

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Pooch Poop Patrol

Posted on March 17, 2012 by jimlindlauf

It was a beautiful March Saturday! I completed a short recovery run this morning, and then I ran my normal Saturday errands, which I finished by 3:00. Sue was in Barnesville, and Carl was busy playing World of Warcraft with a friend. The snow and ice were gone from the yard and it was mostly dry. I could no longer avoid the inevitable springtime chore that plagues all dog owners: I was going to collect the winter’s worth of dog poop scattered around the yard!

I lined my garden pail with a plastic “Target” bag, grabbed my flat tipped shovel, and stepped onto the lawn to begin the arduous task. This year I purchased a small toy rake that little children use to help their parents, and used it to pull the canine excrement onto the shovel. I poured load after load of fecal material into the bag until it was full, which I then tied off, ready to fill another.

Bag after bag of dried butt bombs began to appear around the yard as I filled one after another. Maxie frolicked around the yard as I labored, sometimes trying to play with me as I scraped up every little nugget of colon crud she had deposited throughout our short, mild winter. There were dog doo chunks that had pieces of plastic sticking out of them; obviously the indigestible remnants of her frequent nocturnal sorties through our kitchen garbage can.

Two hours and 13 bags later, the task was finally done. My entire body was tired, but every little stinky land mine had been cleared from the yard. After I had put everything away, Maxie celebrated the feat by depositing a brand new warm steamy offering right in the center of the lawn. Oh well; I have come to accept that when you have a dog, your yard never stays completely clean for very long!

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Stay & Play Pet Resort

Posted on March 11, 2012 by jimlindlauf

Our dog Maxie spent the weekend at “Stay & Play Pet Resort” while we were away in Minot. The best part about picking Maxie up from “Stay & Play” on Sunday afternoon is seeing how excited she is to see us again. The second best part is reading through the “Report Card” they fill out. Here is part of the report:

They always find Maxie absolutely wonderful, which is a great relief since although we do love our big girl; we don’t always find her behavior all that wonderful. We have started to read between the lines just a bit to better understand how Maxie really behaves during her time at the pet resort.

Last summer “Stay & Play” reported that Maxie was “such a clever girl” and that she “liked to visit her friends.” We guessed that she probably escaped from her kennel during the night and was discovered running around the other dogs in the morning.

This report stated that “Maxie enjoys being out with her caregivers.” We are guessing that either she was fighting with some other dog and had to be put into a “timeout” with an employee away from the other dogs, or she escaped from the play area and was discovered in an area where dogs weren’t supposed to be.

Maxie seems to really enjoy going to “Stay & Play Pet Resort,” and we like the way they interact with her too. We are totally confident that Maxie will always receive quality care while being boarded at “Stay & Play” and that she will also get plenty of opportunities to interact with other dogs and the staff. The “Report Cards” are a fun way for the staff to tell the owners that they enjoyed having the pets at their establishment. I feel fortunate that the people of Grand Forks have such a great place to leave their precious pets when they are out of town. Keep up the great work “Stay & Play!”

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100 Day Streak

Posted on March 4, 2012 by jimlindlauf

I’ve got two items to share in today’s posting. I usually split items like this up into two separate stories, but these two are so intertwined that I just can’t share one without the other.

Today was my 100th consecutive day of running. My friend Andrew has started referring to this accomplishment as simply “The Streak,” and asks me about it every time he sees me. I didn’t start out “streaking” with any real goal in mind, I just simply did it. My trainer, Martin, advised me to run more often at a slower pace to increase my endurance which should help me reach my goal of running a marathon in less than four hours. I’ve covered 576 miles during the past 100 days with my shortest run being 3.1 miles, and my longest one covering 14. While this may seem like the big news for the day, the next story is truly the main event, so keep reading!

My friends at Red River Runners decided to honor me yesterday with a plaque commemorating my 100 day streak. Andrew made the presentation before the group run began, and Cathi brought chocolate cupcakes for everyone to enjoy after they finished. I was truly touched by all the congratulations I received throughout the morning.

Now, let me tell you, Red River Runners is the best group of people I’ve ever encountered in my life. There are college students, and there are people nearing retirement age. There are men and women from a wide range of career fields. The people of Red River Runners are as diverse as any group I’ve ever been a part of, but yet their cohesiveness more closely resembles a family than a club. You see, for most all of us, running isn’t a sport or a hobby; it’s something that defines us as people, and we are drawn together by this common identity. We are runners!

We spend hours a week chasing our individual dreams up and down the streets and greenways of Grand Forks, and we support each other in these pursuits. When someone succeeds, everyone is honestly happy for them and we celebrate together. When we experience disappointment, we console and help one another bounce back for yet another attempt to reach that elusive goal. They are great people, and I’m honored that they have accepted me as one of their own. Thank you, Red River Runners, your friendship and support has meant more to me than you will ever know!

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Just Shut Up and Run!

Posted on February 26, 2012 by jimlindlauf

This week has been a “recovery” week in my training plan for the Fargo Marathon. I’ve never used such tactics before, but Martin obviously believes in them because he has periodically incorporated recovery weeks into the workout schedules of all of his disciples. I experienced three weeks of progressively more challenging training prior to this recovery week, but I must admit that this week was the one that had me the most worried. You see, Martin likes everyone to test out their level of conditioning at the end of the recovery week, and well, let’s just say I don’t like fitness tests.

My test was to run a 5K (3.1 mile) race as fast as possible with a 1.5 mile warm up jog prior to the race and a 1.5 mile cool down jog when I was done. I’ve been training to run the Fargo Marathon in 3 hours and 40 minutes, which means that I should be able to run the 5K in 23 minutes and 5 seconds, or with an average pace of 7:27 per mile.
I pride myself in being a distance runner, and I hate racing short distances like 3.1 miles, because I don’t feel I’m very good at it! To top that off, I donated blood three weeks ago, and I’ve been feeling the lack of hemoglobin most when I run shorter, faster distances. Yes, I was going to fail this test miserably!

I’ve had a stressful week, and I think I’ve been fighting off a cold. My joints have been achy, and I’ve just not felt very good. I ran three, one mile intervals on Friday night, with a little recovery jog between each mile, and I averaged only 7:28 per mile. I was going to have to do this test even faster, without “resting” between each mile. I was considering just skipping the test and telling Martin I would need to lower my goal for the Fargo Marathon. I was going to fail this test so bad that I may as well not even try!

Most of my running friends did their tests yesterday, Martin included, but very few posted any results on our little network called “Daily Mile.” Martin said he was OK with his test, but my friend Jon, who’s a great runner, posted the headline: “Failed-5K Test!” If Jon couldn’t pass his test, I was in deep trouble. It was snowy and blowing outside: I may as well just stay inside my house and announce to everyone that “The Streak” was officially over after 92 consecutive days. I also thought about just skipping the Fargo Marathon this year because I certainly was going to fail that as well!

I finally told myself that I may as well try the 5K test, and at least see how bad I really was. I got dressed, and headed over to the UND Wellness Center, full of doubts and ready to turn my test into another slow run if anything at all went wrong. I got in my 1.5 mile warm up, which felt pretty good, stopped for a sip of water, and then began the dreaded test!

I knew I would have to run the 25 laps in an average time of 56 seconds each to pass the test, and my first lap was right on pace. I was feeling pretty good, so I picked up my speed just a bit, hoping that at least my first mile would be a good, strong one. I finished it with a time of 7:18, nine seconds faster than needed!

I was still feeling pretty strong, and for the first time, I began to entertain hopes that I would at least be close to my goal time. I had a plan: If my second mile was right on pace at 7:27, I would still have those gained nine seconds for the final mile. I finished the second mile in 7:19: Things were looking up!

I knew I was now in a position that if I became too winded, I could slow up for a lap, and still finish strong, passing the test. I wouldn’t need the recovery lap however, as the adrenaline kicked in and I picked up the pace even more. I always tend to finish short races faster than I start, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when I clocked a 7:15 on the third mile, making it my fastest of the day!

With only 1 lap remaining to complete the extra tenth for a full 3.1 miles, I still had enough energy remaining to kick it up one more notch. I made the circle in 51 seconds, making my final lap the fastest one of the day (6:48 pace)! I finished the 5K in 22 minutes and 43 seconds, with an average pace of 7:16!

I slowed into my cool down mode for the remaining 1.5 miles, but I was bursting with excitement! Not only had I passed my test, I had blown it away! I was covered with sweat, but I felt shivers pass through me as I considered that I had just completed something that I honestly believed I was incapable of doing. Next time I hear those nagging doubts in my head I’m going to simply repeat what I did today. I’m going to tell myself: “Just shut up and run!”

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The New Normal

Posted on February 20, 2012 by jimlindlauf

Running has become a pretty big part of my life. A quick look back at my recent blog postings tells me that I’ve been thinking about running, a lot! Well, what can I say, there are just over 12 weeks of training remaining before the 2012 Fargo Marathon, and I’m excited like never before! I’m thrilled with how my training is going, and I feel that a personal record is within reach if I stay healthy, so here is yet another blog posting that has me writing about running.

I’ve been running every day since Thanksgiving weekend. Today was my 87th consecutive day of getting in at least 3.1 miles. In the past, I rarely had a week with over 40 miles of running, but my last 6 have all been over 40, and my last two were over 50! I’ve ran 326 miles so far in 2012!

My new trainer, Martin, or the “Martin De Sade” as I usually refer to him, has me running really slow some days, faster on some, and really fast on the others, giving me a well rounded workout schedule that has been pushing me to my limit. Now I have a well needed recovery week that will have me doing most of my miles at a slower pace, and my total should be under 40. Then I start kicking it back up again. I hope I can do it!

My weight has remained the same, although I keep thinking running would be easier if I dropped a few more pounds, but it hasn’t happened yet. I did have my body composition measured this past week, and the pounds of muscle went up, while the pounds of fat went down. It’s taken me three years of running, but I’ve now lowered my percentage of body fat to12.7%. I started out in the “excessively fat” category for men my age, lowered it to “normal” during the first year, and then entered the “fit” category last summer. I am proud to announce that I am now considered “athletic” in regard to my body fat percentage. Not too bad for someone who turns 49 this fall!

I like to think that this is the new me: A leaner, stronger, healthier version of the Jim many of you have known for years. I like the way I feel, and I hope I can continue down this present path for many more years. This is the new normal for me, and I love it!

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Running With Carl

Posted on February 18, 2012 by jimlindlauf

I’ve been wanting someone from my family to run with me ever since I began almost three years ago. I’ve asked all of my sisters, but they’ve made it pretty clear that they want to leave the running to me. I’ve asked my nieces and nephews to join me when the opportunity has arisen, and although some have said “yeah, that would be fun,” I’ve yet to have any takers. I beg poor Sue and Carl almost weekly to go for a run/walk with me, but they always dismiss me with a little “maybe someday.” I guess most everyone in my family is highly competitive and think if we’re going to run, we’re going to race, but nothing is further from the truth: All I really want is someone to join me for a nice slow little jog.

Tuesday evening, all of this changed. When I got back from a little run/walk with some beginners that I’m helping to train, Carl told me that he would really like to run with me sometime. I suggested that Saturday morning may be the best time, so he agreed that we would do it then. When I asked him last night if he was still willing to run with me, I half expected him to have changed his mind, but he confirmed that he would indeed be ready to join me after I finished with the beginner’s class that I’m helping to lead.

Carl was waiting for me to return home, and as soon as I walked in the door, he asked me for my opinion in regard to what he should be wearing. I gave him a pile of clothes to try out, and he soon had them all thrown on with the exception of the head band. After going into the bathroom to examine his reflection, he then seemed content with the headband too, so we hooked up Maxie and headed out for our first run!

Carl said he hoped we wouldn’t run into any people, so I suggested the greenway, and it proved to be a good choice, with it being quite peaceful this particular Saturday morning. We ran while Carl told me about the History class he’s taking this semester called “The Great Wars.” The conversation centered around trench warfare in WWI as we drifted from “trench foot” to “cooties” to “corpses being devoured by rats.”

We agreed to walk after a while, and then talked about the scorpions his instructor had encountered during the Gulf War. We then started running again as we switched to our shared hatred of snakes, and the ones my father had told me that he had seen while serving in southeast Asia. We walked for a few blocks while struggling to hold Maxie back from chasing squirrels, and then enjoyed a good laugh when Maxie cried loudly because we wouldn’t let her.

When we were about a half mile from home, Carl said he wanted to run the rest of the way. Our pace picked up, and Carl stopped talking as he concentrated on his running and keeping from stepping on Maxie while we watched the blocks slip by. I gave my son a “high five” when we reached our back door and told him he had done a great job! I looked at my Garmin and reported that we had covered 2.1 miles, which seemed to please him.

I finally got a family member to run with me, and it was as enjoyable as I hoped it would be. Getting in a little exercise with a loved one was certainly pleasant, but spending some quality time with my son was priceless!

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Running For Sherry

Posted on February 11, 2012 by jimlindlauf


Running is usually a solitary sport for me. Yes, sometimes I run with other people and we talk about whatever comes to mind, but most often it’s just me and my thoughts. One foot in front of the other, time and time again, sometimes for hours without stopping. My i-Pod provides music for my ears and I usually listen to it, although on long runs I sometimes get into a “zone,” a state of mind where my mind is thinking about something pleasant while my legs churn away the miles. I can look at my Garmin GPS watch and realize I covered two miles and can’t remember the songs I heard or any real specific details about the route I just covered. I usually call this zone my “Happy Place.”

Today I ran in a race called “The Frozen Feat.” The temperature was barely above zero, and the strong wind was creating wind chills way below zero. I knew, for a variety of reasons, that I wasn’t going to have a record breaking run during this frozen race, but I didn’t care, because today I wasn’t running for myself, I was running for Sherry Arnold. Sherry was a mother, a wife, a math teacher, and a friend of many people in her town of Sidney Montana. She was also a runner like me.

On January 7th, Sherry went out for a run in the early hours of the morning, and never returned. It was later determined that she had been abducted by two men only a mile from her home and brutally murdered. The only item recovered was one of Sherry’s “Brooks” running shoes, which was found along the road where she had been taken.

Today I laced up my own pair of “Brooks” running shoes, and pinned the “Sherry Bib” on my outer layer. I left my i-pod at home, as I wanted to run in silence for this particular race. During the cold 6 mile run, my thoughts drifted to this woman that I had never met. Running is a solitary sport, and being alone had cost Sherry Arnold her life. All runners are vulnerable to vehicles when we are out on the street, but it’s nothing compared to being a woman alone on a deserted road. We runners become a close knit group, and my heart ached for all the people, both Sherry’s family, and her friends, that are left hurting and angry because of her tragic death.

All of these wretched thoughts prevented me from entering my “zone” today but that was what I wanted. This run was about something larger than me and I didn’t want to think about anything other than Sherry’s courage, strength and grace. I hope and pray that Sherry’s soul is running at this very moment, in her own eternal “Happy Place.”

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Running and Donating Blood

Posted on February 9, 2012 by jimlindlauf


I feel blessed to be healthy enough to donate blood. I don’t do it every eight weeks, but I usually work it in a couple of times a year. I have been told that donating blood can dramatically affect an athlete’s performance; especially for an endurance athlete like a marathon runner. I’ve tried to schedule my donations during the window of time between a race and the start of my next training period to minimize problems, and that has worked pretty well. When I have donated blood, I’ve noticed a little decrease in my energy and stamina, but nothing too substantial like what I’ve heard reported by some runners. Maybe I just wasn’t running at that high of a level yet.

I receive postcards from the local blood bank on a regular basis, and they serve as a reminder for me to give blood, like I did last fall after the Twin Cities Marathon. I received another reminder just last month, but decided to hold off donating this time until after the Fargo Marathon in May. Last week, however, I received a phone call from the blood bank, and they left a message saying that they were running dangerously low on my type. I knew what I had to do, so I gave a pint on Thursday.

Well, I had previously reached a point in my training where my recent runs have been relatively easy. Since my donation, however, my runs have left me sucking air, and my legs have been constantly sore from all the lactate buildup. I guess I’ve now become a good enough runner that I can be negatively affected by donating blood. I don’t know if I should celebrate my increased fitness or moan the fact that it’ll be harder for me to donate blood in the future because of it.

I won’t be able to give the Frozen Feat 10K race my best shot this weekend because of my donation. I will probably be back to normal in plenty of time for the Fargo Marathon, but I may not be able to train quite as hard as I planned for a few weeks which likely will hurt my final time a little bit. Yes, donating blood this time is hurting my running, and likely will continue to affect me until April. You know what, though? If my blood is able to save a person’s life, my small sacrifice will seem inconsequential. I would do it all over again if I got the urgent phone call. Helping a fellow person survive is always going to win out over running. That’s the way it has to be!

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The Super Bowl in Grand Forks

Posted on February 5, 2012 by jimlindlauf

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!

Posted in American Society, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments