had an awesome conversation

with brother chris last night. dude finished his first marathon at the chicago version this weekend. you see, chris was an all-american when he ran track at luther and was a damn good cross country runner. its always been his thing and when he has/makes the time to train you can tell it comes back pretty quick. being a principal with a family including three young boys hasn't always made training easy or a priority (understandably). but this summer he started busting his ass and he was seeing the results. then the school year came and his miles started dropping off. then a chainsaw went after his knee. not terrible, but the stitches dictated he couldn't run a step for the last three weeks leading up to the race. when he got the stitches out the doctor was about 50/50 he'd rip the knee open again during the race. chris being chris...those are pretty good odds. apparently the race was almost as hot as last year and the first half of the race went well, followed by the easily anitcipated cramping and other ill effects the heat can cause. yes, easy to empathize. but he stuck it out. he finished and spent the next however many hours still battling cramps and the physical beatdown a marathon puts on the body. he couldn't even finish a beer for like 24 hours. damn. point being...i love hearing these stories. obviously being family makes it more meaningful, but these are the stories that get me out there. these are the stories that make me want to ride, want to race, push myself, see how far i can go. if you push yourself you might not make it...you might not finish that marathon...i might not finish transiowa...but i'm sure as shit gonna find out what i'm made of. just like chris did...congrats man.