Training for Marathon #2

A marathon is a great goal. It is something you have to train for, it isn't easy, and you feel great when you finish. Many people see a marathon as a "bucket list" item, something they only need to do once. Others do multiple marathons. Of those that do more than one, there are many reasons. Some people just love the challenge. Some want to run different courses. Others might just have nothing else to do. I am currently planning on doing a second marathon, and the goal is to PR on a new course.

A little over 5 years ago, I ran the Twin Cities Marathon. I finished in a respectable 3:25, but didn't quite hit my goals, and saw some clear room for improvement if I ever were to run another marathon. I told myself that I wouldn't, though, as the training really did a number on me, as I went to physical therapy several months later with a knee/hip issue that pretty much prevented me from doing any tough runs in 2009. After a while I thought maybe I would do one if someone close to me wanted help training. Then I had a pretty successful running season in 2011 and 2012, with 5k wins and a 10 mile PR in 2011.

Fast forward to December 2012, and I've continued to run often, and have had some strong 6-10 mile runs in recent weeks. The marathon I plan to run is in June 2013, so I have a long time to train, but I want to be comfortable with a 12 mile run prior to my "real" training, which will likely begin in February.

I will probably use a similar training program as the last time, but I hope to run fewer miles, so I may substitute some runs for group fitness classes and cardio workouts. I am hoping this keeps me from injuring myself. Since I know I can finish a marathon, there is a mental game that will be played as well. In 2008, I hit a pretty big wall right around mile 21-22. I finished, but the last 5 miles of the race (minus the 1/4 mile to the finish) were really slow.

I'm looking forward to the challenge, and I'll keep everyone posted on how the training goes. Happy holidays! 

Visiting Haiti

Recently I was fortunate enough to go on a trip with 11 others to Pwoje Espwa, a children's refuge near Les Cayes, Haiti. We spent six days there, which was a great learning experience for me. We helped paint a couple of homes that young boys were staying in, had a mini track and field meet, played soccer, and brought down over 1000 pound of useful supplies to help the village.

We arrived in Port au Prince and rode in a large van, where I got to really see the hustle and bustle of the city. The road was rather chaotic, with street vendors knocking on the car window while trying to sell muffins and drinks. The rules of the road were new to me: honk if you are passing, honk if people are walking too close, and honk for a long time if you don't think someone sees you. There were many motorcycles weaving in between cars as well, so it was really an action-packed ride. This was so exciting that I actually threw up after a couple of hours (fortunately I was able to give warning and hop out of the van to take care of business). We arrived at Pwoje Espwa a few hours later, where we unpacked some of our things and took a breather.

Over the next few days, we had lots of interaction with the kids who live in the village, and a few that live in the surrounding community that hang out in the area. So many of them were really happy and I had a lot of fun playing with them. We played baseball, soccer, and ran some races with some of the kids (in total something like 600 kids live on the premises). There are older boys (and a few girls) living there too, and it was interesting to hear some of their interests. Many of them were interested in music and dance, and it was very entertaining seeing them perform. Some of the kids (ok they are around 20 years old, so I should probably say young men) have a group that performed for us. They have a youtube video (see below)which they had help from a local studio to produce. I think its really good, so check it out!

Of course, not everything we saw was so positive. While it is believed that the country has made some progress since the devastating earthquake in 2010, there is still a lot of work to be done. Sanitation is nothing like you would expect in the US. Many roads are in really poor shape, and of course, housing for many is quite minimal.

I did see first hand, though, that there are a lot of kids with hope and desire to make positive impacts in Haiti. They have goals to become doctors, businesspeople, wood-workers, welders, and many other great things. It was really the best part of being down there.

We left Les Cayes on one of the days to go to a beach community about an hour away called Port Salut. This town has a beautiful beach, not so different from other places in the caribbean. While it wasn't too busy, it did show me that Haiti does have some potential to attract more tourists.

Visiting Haiti was a great experience for me and everyone who went on the trip. If you or anyone you know is thinking about doing a mission trip to Haiti, I definitely reccommend it. Pwoje Espwa was a great place to stay and I think they are really doing excellent work.  

Great River Bluffs State Park (MN)

I recently got the chance to visit Great River Bluffs State Park, which is located just south of Winona. I camped at the park with a few friends (and one dog). We all had a pretty good time, seeing some great fall colors and wonderful views of the Mississippi river. It was a cold weekend, though, so having the appropriate clothing made the trip comfortable.

We arrived in the early afternoon on a Saturday and set up our tent right away. The dog being just a puppy, we tied his leash to a picnic table (park rules, and for our own sanity). We set up the sleeping arrangements so we wouldn't have to in the cold night, and had some lunch.

After that, we went on a short hike to check out some of the views. The first overlook we went to was about a quarter mile from our campsite, named "The Hill of many Timbers". It is the southern-most overlook in the park. Next, we went to the "East Overlook", which is about a half mile from the Hill of Many Timbers. Both of these overlooks provided nice views. The Hill of Many Timbers primary views were of the hills in Minnesota and some of the park roads. The East Overlook had views of the Mississippi river and of Wisconsin in the distance.

After checking out those views, we decided to head back to camp and get some dinner going. We made hobo hot dish this time around and had some chips as well. We got a solid fire going, though we were careful that it didn't get too big as it had been a really dry season and didn't want the fire to spread. We put the fire out and went to sleep, the puppy joining us in the tent. It was a little under 30, which was a bit cold for this dog, but he stayed warm by sneaking himself in betweeen two of us.

The next day we walked over to the North and South Overlooks, which are a little over a mile from the campground, but only .2 miles from eachother. The trail over there runs through the woods, and there is an minor overlook on the way there as well. These overlooks both had great views of the Mississippi and Wisconsin as well, and made for a rewarding hike. We didn't make our way over to the other overlooks, which include "King's Bluff", as the puppy was a little too tired. We still had a good time, though, and having a sleeping dog on the way home is better than having a dog with energy in the car!

Visiting Banff National Park

After visiting Glacier National Park in Montana (see my previous post), my friends and I headed north into British Columbia. We stayed a night in a small campground just across the border and took off early in the morning. It didn't take long for our drive to get scenic that day.

We entered Kootenay National park (still in British Columbia) and drove though seeing beautiful scenery. In addition to the mountains, we also came across a group of bighorn sheep. We made a few stops in the park to take pictures, but our goal was to get to Banff National park, so we moved on.

We entered Banff (Alberta), and headed up to Lake Louise. Lake Louise has an iconic view from the large hotel. The lake is an almost unreal blue and then there are the mountains and (Victoria) glacier in the background. Just stunning. Not far away is Moraine lake, home of the ten peaks. This was pretty. I remember seeing this view as a background for an old phone. To see it in person was really quite impressive.

We took tons of pictures during our time at Lake Louise and Moraine lake before heading south to Banff, the town. We went shopping and ate in town that night, before spending the night in a campground. Again, we woke up early, this time to go mountain biking. We didn't hit up any really crazy terrain, but we had fun making our way around town on our rented bikes. I did tear a shirt, though, so I suppose I can brag about that!

Banff was so beautiful that I would love to go back some day. Not sure when that will be, but it will remain on my list.

Backpacking in Glacier National Park

A few weeks ago I went on a road trip with a few friends. Our first big destination was Glacier National Park. We arrived in St. Mary, Montana in the late evening after driving from Bismarck, North Dakota. We got a campsite, grabbed some dinner, and went to bed early with the intention of getting up early enough to get a permit with some solid campsites for our backpacking trip starting the next day.

We succeeded in getting up early and tearing down our camp quickly, and made our way to the Two medicine ranger station a few minutes before they opened up. We were the first in line, but barely. We got into the station and I came with a few of the ideas that I had in mind for trips. I already had some knowledge of what could be available, as the park has a website showing which sites are available which nights, but i didn't know if when i looked at the site was the most up to date as possible. Fortunately, I was able to figure out a route that seemed to make sense. $60 later ($5 per person per night) and we were off!

Our first day consisted of us heading out of the Two Medicine Ranger station and ending at the Upper Park Creek campground. This wasn't easy. We ascended about 2500 feet to the summit of "Chief Lodgepole peak", and descended about 2800 feet to our campground, 11.7 miles from our start. We arrived at the campground tired and thirsty. We were also weary of what we would have to do in two days: cross two medicine pass again to get back! We had a good dinner (a friend packed some Mountain House Lasagna) and enjoyed our company around the campfire.

On the Second day, we made a decision to do a day hike to Lake Isabel, about 2.5 miles from Upper Park Creek. Our permit actually had us staying there overnight, but by not staying there, we saved ourselves for the next day, where we would have to hike to Upper Two Medicine Campground, which was already a 12 mile hike from Upper Park Creek. If we were to have gone from Lake Isabel, it would have been closer to 15 miles! Lake Isabel was a nice looking alpine lake, with good fishing according to some of the people we ran into. We went for a swim and hiked back to Upper Park Creek Campground before dinner.

On the third day, we had our big hike: back over two medicine pass and over to Upper Two Medicine Campground. We woke up early, made sure we had plenty of water, and got off to a strong start. We took several short breaks on our way up the pass, many of which included picking huckleberries. Once we got to the top of Chief Lodgepole again, we took a long break to celebrate the finish of the toughest part of our hike. We made good progress down to Twin Falls, where we took another long break. By this time, we were pretty close to our destination, Upper Two Medicine Campground.

Upper Two Medicine Camp was very scenic, and shortly after having dinner we saw two moose. This was a great place to stay, though campfires weren't allowed, so we didn't end up staying up too late.

On the Final day of our trip, we left Upper Two Medicine and made our way back to Two Medicine Campground/Ranger station. This was about 5 miles, and not too tough of terrain. When we arrived at the campground, we washed our faces, put our packs in the car, and picked up some goodies at the gift shop.

It was a great hike, totaling about 34 miles through a beautiful place. We left in need of showers, but in awe of the scenery.  

Kayaking the Brule River (WI)

I haven't done a lot of kayaking, and absolutely none on an actual river until last weekend, when I went on a trip on the Brule river in Northern Wisconsin.

The Bois Brule river flows into Lake Superior, and my friends and I did a section that starts at "Pine Tree Landing", which is just off Dead end road, and ends at highway 13, which is a few miles down the river.

I got off to a slow start as I was right behind a few of my friends in a canoe that lost control and then I ran into them, filling up my kayak with water in seconds. So I hopped out of the kayak and with the help of a friend, drained it. After that, i was careful not to follow anyone too closely. The river was quite low, and my friends who were in canoes ended up abandoning the trip due to their slow progress and a hole that appeared in their old boat.

The meandering river offered many highlights, including several sections with rapids that kept everyone alert. There were a few ledges that i rode over with caution, but i still got a decent amount of water in my kayak. It was an adrenaline rush. My favorite part, though, was when there was a slow current and I could just relax and enjoy nature while still making some progress down the river.

The trip took us quite a long time as there were 6 of us in kayaks and we tried to stay together as best as we could, so there was a lot of waiting around. Even so, it was worth going. If I go again, though, I'll try to get a skirt for the kayak so i don't have to empty the water out so often!

The highest Point in Iowa, Hawkeye Point

I know I left the readers for a real cliffhanger in my last post http://jonsconquests.blogspot.com/2012/07/climbing-at-blue-mounds-state-park-mn.html , so I've decided to tell everyone where we were off to after visiting Palisades State Park in South Dakota. We went to the highest point in Iowa, Hawkeye Point.

We were pretty tired by the time we actually hit the road to go to Hawkeye Point, as we had been climbing and it was really hot outside. Fortunately it wasn't too far of a drive from eastern South Dakota.

When we arrived at Hawkeye Point, we were pleasantly surprised. Despite being the easiest highpoint I've been to as far as sheer effort from where I parked my car (yes, this was easier than Rhode Island), this was actually a pretty neat place. No, there wasn't an incredible view of anything other than fields, but the spot is well taken care of. I enjoyed looking at some pictures in a barn and liked seeing the arrows pointing in the directions of the other highpoints. I also liked the mosaic compass (pictured above). People really put some work into this place!

While I don't think I'll be returning to Hawkeye Point anytime soon, it was a great example of why I like highpointing- going places you normally never would can turn out to be interesting.

Climbing at Blue Mounds State Park (MN) and Palisades State Park (SD)

On a recent weekend, I made the trek to southwestern Minnesota to go camping and climbing at Blue Mounds State Park, near Luverne. It was around a 4 hour drive, so  we were hoping for a great experience. We were not disappointed.

On Friday night it was raining as we set up our tents (it was also dark out as we got there around 10 pm), so we had to be quick. It rained overnight, and I woke up somewhere around 4:30. A little too early for me, but  I tried and couldn't fall back asleep, so eventually got up. It wasn't really raining too late into the morning, but we knew it would be too wet to climb until later in the day. So we went to a local diner and had breakfast to kill some time and avoid eating oatmeal packets.

After a few hours, the rock dried out and the climbs were set up. It was really fun and we had a couple of very challenging routes to try. I wasn't able to complete the 5.12, but I did get the 5.10, a route with a great heel hook to get over a small roof. There were several other routes, and I think they were in the 5.7-5.9 range. After several hours, we were tired, and took a break by swimming in the lake at the park. Afterwards, we ate and eventually sat next to a campfire and stared at the stars. It was a clear night and the stars were really shining.



The next day we woke up a bit sore from the long day of climbing, but we ended up going again, only this time we made our way to Palisades State Park in South Dakota, something like 20 miles west of Blue Mounds state park. There were some really cool rock features along a river there. We set up the climbs, and began climbing, although not nearly as hard or as long as the previous day as we had a long drive home (and had some other plans, which I'll mention in a later post). It was also very hot, so we got pretty tired. With that said, this was definitely a really cool place. I had no idea that eastern South Dakota had such cool landscapes. I definitely want to go back.


Visiting the two state parks was really a great time, and I definitely recommend visiting either of them if you have the chance. They aren't too far from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, so if you are ever in that area, keep these places in mind!

Camping at Lake Wissota State Park (WI)

Recently I spent a weekend camping in Lake Wissota State Park, located just outside of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. It was a fun weekend, as we enjoyed our time in the park and in town.

We had a nice wooded campsite, and set up two tents for six of us. The campsite had the usual, a fire ring and a picnic table, but also had plenty of firewood-enough, in fact, that we didn't need to purchase any at the park.

We left our campsite on one of the days to do some hiking around the park. One of the trails followed the lake and took us to a beach and playground. The playground was pretty nice, as it included a mini climbing wall! We took another trail back to the other end of the park, which led us through the woods, and eventually to a lookout over the lake. It was a good view on a beautiful day.


Later, we headed into Chippewa Falls to check out Irvine Park & zoo. The highlights were seeing a tiger, seeing Glen Loch dam, and going inside a small cave. Pretty cool park for a small town! Next stop was the Leinenkugel brewery, where we went on a brewery tour and sampled some of the brew-a great way to cool down!

We had a great time at the State park and in Chippewa Falls that weekend, and I'm sure we will keep the area on the radar for future trips. 

Climbing and hiking in Devil's Lake state park (WI)

Devil's Lake State park is located in Southern Wisconsin (Baraboo), not too far from Wisconsin Dells. It is a very popular park, and it is easy to see why when you go there. I had the opportunity to go there recently and did some hiking and climbing while there.

 The Park has several miles of trails, and I took what was certainly one of the most popular in the "East Bluff" trail. There were several named rock features along the way as the trail followed the top of a bluff, offering many great views of the lake. Two of the coolest rock features were called "Balanced Rock" and "Devil's doorway". I definitely recommend this trail to anyone who is thinking about hiking in the park.

Hiking through the park wasn't enough for my friends and I, though, so we went rock climbing early the next day. There is an area along the railroad tracks called "Birthday Rocks" which we climbed. We set up two ropes and had some fun. After a little while, more climbers showed up and one group set up a rope close to us. They were pretty friendly, but it just goes to show that it pays to be early when setting up your climbs at this park. There are hundreds of different routes in the park, though, so I'm guessing that if you look hard enough you will find something.

In addition to climbing and hiking, there are several other activities that make Devil's lake state park a great place to visit. We played some volleyball, had a picnic, and went to the beach to cool off for a while during our time at the park. One thing we didn't do that I would like to next time I'm there is rent a canoe or kayak and paddle around the lake. To anyone looking for a cool park to visit this summer, I recommend Devil's Lake State Park. I had a great time.

Climbing at Interstate State Park (MN)

I have visited Interstate State park more than any other state park in the over the past few years. I've enjoyed hiking and camping there, but until recently, I hadn't gotten the opportunity to go climbing there. I was excited at this opportunity and ended up really enjoying the experience.

 My friend and I got to the park early in order to watch a more experienced climber set up some anchors for top rope climbs. It was interesting to learn about some of the different types of equipment that are used in order to have a safe anchor for climbing. For the routes we were climbing, there were 3 anchors for each rope.

 After watching the anchors get set up, we got some climbing in. Two of the three routes that I did that day were pretty easy, probably around 5.6-5.7 (but I'm no real expert here). They were both right alongside a paved trail that many park goers walk down. I think the hardest part of those climbs was that there were a lot of people watching and that it wasn't obvious where to put your feet vs in the gym when holds are taped. The final route that I did was significantly more difficult, and I found out afterwards that it is rated a 5.10a. I had a lot of fun climbing this route, which featured a long crack. I was able to finish the route, which made me feel pretty good.

 By the time I left, there were a lot of people climbing at the park. So getting there early was a good move on our part. It was really a great day for a lot of outdoor activities, but I couldn't have been happier with the climbing experience. I definitely recommend going there, for the reasons I've listed before, and now because it I learned first hand that it is a great place to climb.

Camping in Lake Maria State Park (MN)

About a month ago I had the opportunity to go camping in Lake Maria State Park, located just outside of Monticello, MN. It is another great park to go to if you live in the twin cities and want to get out of town, but don't want to travel too far. The site we stayed in was a backpack-in site, making it a bit more of an adventure. The trip to the park began with some significant rainfall on our drive to the park, enough so that had we not been planning to meet some friends there (who we confirmed were already there), we wouldn't have bothered to go. This set a bit of a negative tone for a while, as I was camping with someone who was a bit uneasy with getting wet. Fortunately, after about 15 minutes of waiting in the car at the park, the weather began to clear and we hiked to our campsite. There are several miles of trails going through the park, some of which are used for horses. The trail to the backpack-in sites went into the woods and came close to two small lakes. The lakes looked like they would have been excellent places to go canoeing, which maybe we'll have to do in the future. We didn't explore the park too much, though, as the trails were a bit muddy and it felt good to sit by the campfire. Our campsite was in a scenic spot, and I felt like we had the park to ourselves. I don't think I'll have this feeling at a state park for a while now, as the parks are much more popular now and will be into the fall. Lake Maria was a great getaway and I hope to go back someday.

Camping in Willow River State Park

Willow River State Park, located just outside of Hudson, WI, is a convenient park for people who live in the twin cities and western Wisconsin. I first visited in the fall (and wrote a post about it then), and recently visited again. This time I went camping and enjoyed the park even more.

Naturally, I visited the waterfall and did a little exploring around there with my friends. This was the obvious first stop as they had never been to the park, and you don't see waterfalls like that too often in Wisconsin.

The next task at hand was to set up our campsite. We ended up having 3 tents for 5 people (we had 2 person tents). We easily had enough space, and we were fortunate to have a little distance between our campsite and the other campsites in the park. There were still quite a few people walking around, though, so it wasn't as peaceful as some places. Either way, it was a wooded campsite in a nice park, which was pretty good for what we were looking for.

I went on a run a little later in the day, which included a hill that was just brutal. I never stopped, but during part of it I felt like I could walk faster than I was running! It was a paved path, but most of the running I did was on the trails. I think I went about 3-4 miles total.

As the night came, we got our fire going, cooked up some dinner, and told campfire stories. A great way to spend a cool spring night.

Jerimoth hill, the highest point in Rhode Island

I recently did some traveling for work, and found time to visit another highpoint! I drove to Jerimoth Hill, the highest point in Rhode Island. Located just across the Connecticut border, this was an easy highpoint to summit.

I was on my way from Boston to Hartford, and I wanted to visit a highpoint while I was in this area, but I didn't have too much time as the rental car needed to be returned on time. The highpoints of Massachusetts and Connecticut were a bit out of reach, but Rhode Island's wasn't too far out of the way.

So I drove to Jerimoth hill. I saw a sign for it along the road, parked, and walked a few hundred feet down a wooded trail, following signs that were left by a highpointing club. It was very well marked for being a pretty short trail. One would never know you were at the highest point in the state if there weren't signs there. Definitely very different from being on top of Mauna Kea in Hawaii!

I did drive through some very quaint parts of Connecticut on my way back to Hartford, although I didn't stop due to some rain and the need to get the car back in time. I remember several hills and some towns along the way. Maybe I'll come again and explore when I'm not in a time crunch!

Ice climbing in Sandstone MN

Several weeks ago, I got the opportunity to go ice climbing in Sandstone, MN, at an old quarry that was turned into a park, not far outside of the small downtown area.

Once we arrived at the park, the first thing that needed to happen was to put anchors in place. The guide and one volunteer did this while I waited on the ground, 50 feet below. This took a little while, and I was starting to get a little cold, but I was very excited, so it didn't bother me too much.

After the anchors were set up, we were ready to do some top rope ice climbing. There was one other group climbing that day, but there were several routes available to climb along the wall of the quarry.

One side note, in order to ice climb, we had special boots, crampons, ice axes and helmets. On top of wearing snowpants and a winter jacket, this was much less comfortable than the shorts and t shirt with rock shoes outfit that I usually have underneath my harness.

I tried 3 different routes. The first one gave me some trouble, and I had a short fall. The second one was really easy for me, and the third came pretty easy as well.

It was great to finally give ice climbing a try as it was a goal of mine. It was quite different from rock climbing, but definitely provided a similar thrill.

Exploring (some of) the Big Island of Hawaii

I was recently fortunate enough to go to Hawaii. I went to two of the Islands: Oahu, which is the most populous island, and Hawaii,aka the "Big Island". Both were amazing places, but my time on the Big island will be the subject of this post.

I stayed in Kona, which is on the dry side of the island. The weather was predictably great, and the people were friendly and laid back. A common sight was seeing people riding in the beds of trucks. Some of them even had their own chairs! Not ok on the mainland.

As far as adventures go, I made it to the top of Mauna Kea, the highest point in Hawaii. This is my 4th highpoint, and first one outside of the midwest. It wasn't physically hard to get up there, but it did take an SUV with 4WD. Part of the road to the summit is gravel, so they don't want other vehicles going on that stretch of road. Before I got that far, though, I went on another interesting path called "saddle road". Ok, so it wasn't that interesting, but there were several one lane bridges, scary hills, and some pretty good curves.

I also drove to pololu valley, which is on the northern part of the island. It was a beautiful sight, as I saw some waterfalls off cliffs into the ocean. The sands were black there, making this beach unique. It wasn't too crowded, but there were other people there.

For the most part, though, I spent our time on the big island relaxing and going to comfortable beaches in Kona. Each beach offered something a little different, from big waves to sea turtles. It was a great trip and I hope to visit Hawaii again!

Luminary Loppet

The annual City of lakes loppet in Minneapolis held the popular luminary loppet again this year. The event was a walk through the wood this year, compared to last year, when it was a snowshoe/ski event. The location also changed, as it was held in Theodore Wirth park, instead of on lake of the isles.

Despite the change in location and activity, the event felt quite similar to last year. The luminaries, the real star of the show, were lining the course There were some neat designs, like an ice pyramid and tall cylinders.

During the day the temperatures got in the upper 30s, melting some of the ice luminaries down a bit prior to the event, and melting some of the snow on the trail through the woods. The trail was a bit slippery in spots, causing a bottleneck when walking down a small hill. Even with a bit of ice on the trail, though, it was a fun 1.5 mile walk through the woods.

While I preferred the location on Lake of the Isles, Theodore wirth park mad for a nice location as well. One problem, though: I still am waiting to use my snowshoes, and its February!

group fitness classes

I used to be of the attitude that I could easily get a better workout on my own and didn't need group fitness classes. While it is true that I've gone on many long runs and have exhausted myself, I find a strong value in group fitness classes now that I am not training for anything specific.
I have participated in 3 different classes: bootcamp, tabata, and abs.

Bootcamp is a tough class, and may involve some running (though not very far), core exercises, lifting light weights quickly, and general muscle burnout. This class has made me sweat hard every time, and has even made me dizzy a couple times when I was ill-prepared. I often feel the after effects of this class the next day.

Tabata is similar to bootcamp, but every move is only done for 20 seconds, then you get a 10 second break (usually just to do an easier exercise). You repeat this over and over, and it doesn't take long before it becomes very tough. With enough repetition, any move is tough, and that is what this class is all about.

Abs class is pretty straightforward. We perform movements to engage the core muscles. The class goes for 10-15 minutes, so its never easy.

Another benefit of group fitness classes is the fact that you are doing the workout with others. I find that I will push myself a little harder when others are around.

If you are on the fence over a group fitness class, give it a try.

Red bull "Crashed Ice" in Saint Paul

Near the Cathedral in St. Paul, there was a lot more going on than usual from the 12-14th of January. Red Bull cae to town with another one of it's extreme events. Attracting thousands of people to watch skaters go down a track of ice with jumps and other obstacles, it was fun to watch. I didn't see too many crazy wipeouts, but there certainly were a few.

The biggest surprise to me was just how big the ice track was. It stretched from the cathedral down a couple of blocks. It took them a couple of weeks to put up, and I know it took some serious generators to keep the track frozen. You could hear them humming the days before the event. They have since cleaned it all up, but it certainly created a lot of temporary jobs for the building ad take down.

I know the event was filmed, so I'm sure there are plenty of highlights on red bull's website. Check it out if you want to see an action packed sport that you doesn't take long to understand.

No Snow in Minnesota-Yet

January in Minnesota- usually not the most comfortable place to go, has been unseasonably warm and snow-free this year.

I recently went "winter camping", though, it didn't get much below about 25 degrees outside, not exactly your cold adventure. We've seen temperatures over 40 several days already. As far as the snow goes? Nothing worth noting, especially when you compare this year to last, where I went snowshoeing several times already by this time.

There have been some positives, though. I'm getting the feeling a few more people are actually sticking to their new years resolutions! People are still running and walking all over the place outside. I've also seen many people out riding their bikes and rollerblading on the trails in Minneapolis. Of course, it also makes for a more mild walk to work in the morning.

I'm looking forward to skiing, snowshoeing, and more winter camping, but we'll need some more snow!