I doubt Trent Hoerr is going to read this, but good job at Nationals. Trent Hoerr, of Morton, IL, finished 16th at the NCAA D1 National Cross Country Championships this afternoon at Indiana State University. He ran 10k in 30:07 and is the first male U of I runner to earn All-American honors since Len Sitko in 1990. He is also the highest finisher for the Illini since Craig Virgin won the last of his titles.
Trent is a Peoria Journal Star Area Runner of the Year who improved enough every year of high school to place 18th at the Class AA state CC meet in 14:54 as a senior. He also placed tenth at the Foolocker CC Midwest Regional that year. Going from a 14:54 PR for three miles to 16th place at Nationals in five years is a great accomlishment and is a testament to his talent, tenacity, work ethic and coaching.
Good job Trent!
Monday, November 19, 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way....
Oh what fun it is to run an inaccurately marked course. . . ohhhhhhh.
I ran the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis this morning. It was a nice day for a run with temps in the low 50s, negligible wind and about 50% humidity. I had hoped to go under 19:00 today but I forgot how many rolling little hummocks there were on this course. None of the hummocks deserved to be called a hill but they were rolling and numerous enough to prevent me from getting into any type of rhythm.
I started off pretty conservatively and hit the mile in 6:53. I must say that it was the most strenuous 6:53 mile I have ever run. I hit the turnaround in 9:57 and went through two in 12:28. If you do the math I ran mile two in 5:35. Way to go for me! Hooray me! I think the mile mark was actually the 1.1 or the 1.15 mile mark. I covered the last 1.1 in 6:57 and finished up in 19:26.
I ran a pretty strong race. The last mile I had my stopwatch set to alarm every thirty seconds to remind me to surge. The alarm dings for ten seconds and I made myself surge until the alarm stopped. I was able to surge for 28 strides each time and was able to hold off a few 50 year old men and almost run down another. The results will look like this from 13th through 16th place: Male, 52; Male 29; Male 51, Male 50. I'm glad I'm not 50. I'd have a hard time placing in my age group. I actually placed second in my age group for the second year in a row. I was hoping to complete my collection of age group medals this year as I had placed third here two years ago. I guess I have to wait until next year when I'm thirty. Hopefully I'll get it done before I'm 50.
I ran the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis this morning. It was a nice day for a run with temps in the low 50s, negligible wind and about 50% humidity. I had hoped to go under 19:00 today but I forgot how many rolling little hummocks there were on this course. None of the hummocks deserved to be called a hill but they were rolling and numerous enough to prevent me from getting into any type of rhythm.
I started off pretty conservatively and hit the mile in 6:53. I must say that it was the most strenuous 6:53 mile I have ever run. I hit the turnaround in 9:57 and went through two in 12:28. If you do the math I ran mile two in 5:35. Way to go for me! Hooray me! I think the mile mark was actually the 1.1 or the 1.15 mile mark. I covered the last 1.1 in 6:57 and finished up in 19:26.
I ran a pretty strong race. The last mile I had my stopwatch set to alarm every thirty seconds to remind me to surge. The alarm dings for ten seconds and I made myself surge until the alarm stopped. I was able to surge for 28 strides each time and was able to hold off a few 50 year old men and almost run down another. The results will look like this from 13th through 16th place: Male, 52; Male 29; Male 51, Male 50. I'm glad I'm not 50. I'd have a hard time placing in my age group. I actually placed second in my age group for the second year in a row. I was hoping to complete my collection of age group medals this year as I had placed third here two years ago. I guess I have to wait until next year when I'm thirty. Hopefully I'll get it done before I'm 50.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Top-5 books
This list is going to be harder than the movie list. I have been a pretty rabid reader since my mom got me a library card for my 7th or 8th birthday. It was probably the best birthday present I have ever received. Thanks Mom!
My taste in books tends to run more toward sci-fi but I delve a bit into fantasy too. I'm not a total geek and I enjoy a lot of stuff that literary types wouldn't turn their noses up at. Kurt Vonnegut is my favorite writer and I also like J.D. Salinger and C.S. Forester. My tastes in sci-fi run toward David Weber, Robert Heinlein, and Douglas Adams. My favorite fantasy authors are Jim Butcher, Roger Zelazny(the Chronicles of Amber and Lord of Light are GREAT), and R.A. Salvatore. J.R.R. Tolkien goes without saying. I am also a fan of Harry Potter and Steven King.
I might have to make this list a twofer.
Top-5 smart people books:
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. What can I say? Mark Twain was a stud. I would have forgotten that I loved this book if I hadn't looked at my bookcase just now. I might actually have to pull it down and read it again.
4. Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. The movie sucked. The book was a great yarn complete with a fascist future government, giant bug enemies and a kick ass suit of powered armor that made the future foot soldier an unstoppable force armed with lasers, flamers and low-yield tactical nukes. Great stuff.
3. Breakfast of Champions/Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut. I couldn't decide between the two. I can't even really describe them to you adequately. Breakfast had all sorts of things going on: mental illness, suicide, mirrors that were "leaks" into other universes, and Vonnegut inserting himself into the story to grant his recurring character, Kilgore Trout, freewill. Slaughterhouse 5 is about the firebombing of Dresden during WWII which Vonnegut witnessed as a POW. It has elements of sci-fi, absurdist comedy and gallows humor. I love them and I miss Kurt Vonnegut.
2. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. The story of a young man born to a Brahmin who goes off to find his own way in the world. He lives every imaginable extreme and at the end finds peace listening to the song of a river. This story makes me think of my Grandpa who has to drive by the Illinois River everyday just to make sure it is there.
1. The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat. The story of the HMS Compass Rose which is a corvette in the Royal Navy during WWII. It follows the ship and crew from its commisioning in the early days of the war until Germany surrenders. Monsarrat was a frigate captain in the Royal Navy and the novel has autobiographical elements to it. This book was suggested to me by my senior English teacher and I make a point to re-read this book every three or four years. Thank you Mr. Beres!
Honorable Mention: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Any of the Horatio Hornblower series by C.S. Forester. Forester also wrote The African Queen which I have not read but have heard is good. Dune by Frank Herbert. All Quiet On the Western Front by Erich Marie Remarque. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. The Illiad by Homer.
My taste in books tends to run more toward sci-fi but I delve a bit into fantasy too. I'm not a total geek and I enjoy a lot of stuff that literary types wouldn't turn their noses up at. Kurt Vonnegut is my favorite writer and I also like J.D. Salinger and C.S. Forester. My tastes in sci-fi run toward David Weber, Robert Heinlein, and Douglas Adams. My favorite fantasy authors are Jim Butcher, Roger Zelazny(the Chronicles of Amber and Lord of Light are GREAT), and R.A. Salvatore. J.R.R. Tolkien goes without saying. I am also a fan of Harry Potter and Steven King.
I might have to make this list a twofer.
Top-5 smart people books:
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. What can I say? Mark Twain was a stud. I would have forgotten that I loved this book if I hadn't looked at my bookcase just now. I might actually have to pull it down and read it again.
4. Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. The movie sucked. The book was a great yarn complete with a fascist future government, giant bug enemies and a kick ass suit of powered armor that made the future foot soldier an unstoppable force armed with lasers, flamers and low-yield tactical nukes. Great stuff.
3. Breakfast of Champions/Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut. I couldn't decide between the two. I can't even really describe them to you adequately. Breakfast had all sorts of things going on: mental illness, suicide, mirrors that were "leaks" into other universes, and Vonnegut inserting himself into the story to grant his recurring character, Kilgore Trout, freewill. Slaughterhouse 5 is about the firebombing of Dresden during WWII which Vonnegut witnessed as a POW. It has elements of sci-fi, absurdist comedy and gallows humor. I love them and I miss Kurt Vonnegut.
2. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. The story of a young man born to a Brahmin who goes off to find his own way in the world. He lives every imaginable extreme and at the end finds peace listening to the song of a river. This story makes me think of my Grandpa who has to drive by the Illinois River everyday just to make sure it is there.
1. The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat. The story of the HMS Compass Rose which is a corvette in the Royal Navy during WWII. It follows the ship and crew from its commisioning in the early days of the war until Germany surrenders. Monsarrat was a frigate captain in the Royal Navy and the novel has autobiographical elements to it. This book was suggested to me by my senior English teacher and I make a point to re-read this book every three or four years. Thank you Mr. Beres!
Honorable Mention: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Any of the Horatio Hornblower series by C.S. Forester. Forester also wrote The African Queen which I have not read but have heard is good. Dune by Frank Herbert. All Quiet On the Western Front by Erich Marie Remarque. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. The Illiad by Homer.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Top-5 movies
This is going to be hard to do because I love movies. This might actually turn into a top-5 list with about 20 Honorable Mentions.
Here it is:
5. The Royal Tenenbaums. Wes Anderson is a great director and whenever I watch one of his movies it feels like something by Kurt Vonnegut. I like Tenenbaums because of the ultimate redemption of Royal at the end of the movie.
Favorite quote: Royal: "This brush with death has given me a new perspective on things."
Richie: "Dad. You were never dying."
Royal: "But I'm going to live!"
4. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Eastwood in the last of his Man With No Name movies. Lee Van Cleef as a great heavy and Eli Wallach upstaging them both with his loathsome and sympathetic portrayal of a dirty, low-down scoundrel. Great direction by Sergio Leone and probably his masterpiece.
Favorite quote: "BLONDIE!!! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A DIRTY SON OF A . . . Aaiieeaaiiee ahhh!!!!"
3. Platoon. Charlie Sheen's best roll. Berenger and Dafoe are both great as rival sergeants with differing veiws on how the war should be fought. The firefight at the climax of the movie is terrifying. Johnny Depp is onscreen for about 3 seconds.
Favorite quote: "Yeah, you's a killa Bunny"
2. The Godfather Part I and II. I know they're two movies but if you watch them together you get a better feel for what's going on and it is a great way to kill an afternoon and an evening. Pacino is amazing in these movies with a very understated performance (compared to Scent of a Woman which is a good flick but damn! Pacino annoys me in that one.) Only watch Part III if you want to see what happens to Michael Corleone. In fairness to Part III. It only sucks because Parts I and II were so great.
Favorite scene: The christening/hit at the end of Part I. Innocence and cold blooded murder. What a contrast.
1. The Empire Strikes Back. This movie was my least favorite of the Star Wars franchise when I was a kid mostly because of the bummer ending, Luke is the son of the most hated man in the Galaxy and the abusive ass cut his hand off. What I like is that Luke feels that he can redeem his father and turn him away from te Dark Side of the Force. I seem to have a thing with the redemption of fathers.
Favorite quote: "Luuuuke. I am your FATHER."
Honorable mentions: Patton, Legally Blonde, The Life Aquatic: with Steve Zissou, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Dodgeball, Shaun of the Dead, 28 Days Later and The Exorcist.
Top-5 books tomorrow.
Here it is:
5. The Royal Tenenbaums. Wes Anderson is a great director and whenever I watch one of his movies it feels like something by Kurt Vonnegut. I like Tenenbaums because of the ultimate redemption of Royal at the end of the movie.
Favorite quote: Royal: "This brush with death has given me a new perspective on things."
Richie: "Dad. You were never dying."
Royal: "But I'm going to live!"
4. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Eastwood in the last of his Man With No Name movies. Lee Van Cleef as a great heavy and Eli Wallach upstaging them both with his loathsome and sympathetic portrayal of a dirty, low-down scoundrel. Great direction by Sergio Leone and probably his masterpiece.
Favorite quote: "BLONDIE!!! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A DIRTY SON OF A . . . Aaiieeaaiiee ahhh!!!!"
3. Platoon. Charlie Sheen's best roll. Berenger and Dafoe are both great as rival sergeants with differing veiws on how the war should be fought. The firefight at the climax of the movie is terrifying. Johnny Depp is onscreen for about 3 seconds.
Favorite quote: "Yeah, you's a killa Bunny"
2. The Godfather Part I and II. I know they're two movies but if you watch them together you get a better feel for what's going on and it is a great way to kill an afternoon and an evening. Pacino is amazing in these movies with a very understated performance (compared to Scent of a Woman which is a good flick but damn! Pacino annoys me in that one.) Only watch Part III if you want to see what happens to Michael Corleone. In fairness to Part III. It only sucks because Parts I and II were so great.
Favorite scene: The christening/hit at the end of Part I. Innocence and cold blooded murder. What a contrast.
1. The Empire Strikes Back. This movie was my least favorite of the Star Wars franchise when I was a kid mostly because of the bummer ending, Luke is the son of the most hated man in the Galaxy and the abusive ass cut his hand off. What I like is that Luke feels that he can redeem his father and turn him away from te Dark Side of the Force. I seem to have a thing with the redemption of fathers.
Favorite quote: "Luuuuke. I am your FATHER."
Honorable mentions: Patton, Legally Blonde, The Life Aquatic: with Steve Zissou, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Dodgeball, Shaun of the Dead, 28 Days Later and The Exorcist.
Top-5 books tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Top-5
I was watching the movie "High Fidelity" the other day with my kid and it got me thinking about my top-5 lists.
Here we go:
Top-5 favorite songs:
5. Jolene, by Cake from "Motorcade of Generosity"
4. Shore Leave, by Tom Waits from "swordfishtrombones"
3. Subterranean Homesick Alien, by Radiohead from "OK Computer"
2. Paranoid Android, by Radiohead from "OK Computer"
1. Something, The Beatles, I prefer the demo version from "Anthology Vol. 3"
Jolene is a good driving-home-late-at-night-in-the-dark song. Shore Leave is actually the song I listen to before I race. It tells the story of a homsick sailor getting drunk and missing his wife. SHA was a song that I listened to ALOT when I was in the service, especially early in the morning when I was getting up to run. It tapped into the feeling of alienation, uncertainty and homesickness I was feeling at the time. . . my late teens and early twenties, oof. Paranoid Android is just a song that doesn't know what it wants to be. Slow and sweet or angry and loud? It ends up being both. Something, especially this particular version, is the song I said I was going to dance to at my wedding. Nevermind that I hadn't met my wife yet, good thing she's a Beatles fan as well.
Honorable Mention: Hotel Yorba and I Can Tell That We are Going to be Friends by the White Stripes from "White Blood Cells." Just a hell of a rollicking good tune in the case of Hotel Yorba. Friends is just a sweet song and can be heard at the start of "Napoleon Dynamite." Both songs were featured at our wedding, Friends as they announced us and Yorba just for the hell of it. We ended up having the dancefloor to ourselves for a second first dance.
Top-5 movies tomorrow.
Here we go:
Top-5 favorite songs:
5. Jolene, by Cake from "Motorcade of Generosity"
4. Shore Leave, by Tom Waits from "swordfishtrombones"
3. Subterranean Homesick Alien, by Radiohead from "OK Computer"
2. Paranoid Android, by Radiohead from "OK Computer"
1. Something, The Beatles, I prefer the demo version from "Anthology Vol. 3"
Jolene is a good driving-home-late-at-night-in-the-dark song. Shore Leave is actually the song I listen to before I race. It tells the story of a homsick sailor getting drunk and missing his wife. SHA was a song that I listened to ALOT when I was in the service, especially early in the morning when I was getting up to run. It tapped into the feeling of alienation, uncertainty and homesickness I was feeling at the time. . . my late teens and early twenties, oof. Paranoid Android is just a song that doesn't know what it wants to be. Slow and sweet or angry and loud? It ends up being both. Something, especially this particular version, is the song I said I was going to dance to at my wedding. Nevermind that I hadn't met my wife yet, good thing she's a Beatles fan as well.
Honorable Mention: Hotel Yorba and I Can Tell That We are Going to be Friends by the White Stripes from "White Blood Cells." Just a hell of a rollicking good tune in the case of Hotel Yorba. Friends is just a sweet song and can be heard at the start of "Napoleon Dynamite." Both songs were featured at our wedding, Friends as they announced us and Yorba just for the hell of it. We ended up having the dancefloor to ourselves for a second first dance.
Top-5 movies tomorrow.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Official results
Jordan placed 6th in 15:12. Winnebago handed Elmwood its head 81-122 for the title and Emerick (Elmwood guy) place 3rd overall in 14:53 getting outpsrinted for the title and runner-up places. Parker Thompson from Tremont won with a 14:49 and Brian Thompson from Fieldcrest nipped Emerick at the line with a 14:53 clocking as well.
The Elmwood girls placed third overall behind Winnebago and Eureka. 65-90-113. A girl from Elmwood finished in 7th place in 18:19, two seconds and one place behind Megan Hermann of Havana. Hermann has run pretty much the exact same time at the State Finals all three years she has been in high school and has managed to get 17th, 12th and 6th. Hilarious.
The Class A Girls' State Champion ran away from the field, winning in 17:27 to 17:53.
Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin girls win the 2A State title throwing down on two Peoria area schools (Notre Dame and East Peoria) 63-140-147. SHG packs three in the top-11 and four in the top-30 and strings their girls out between 17:53, 17:54, 18:06, 18:33 and 18:59.
Class 2A girls champ beats defending champ for only the second time ever in a race longer than a 1600, 16:37 to 16:50. Third place time is 17:44.
Chatham Glenwood boys place second in 2A while locked in a dogfight for the last two trophies. Sycamore runs away with it, no pun intended, 73-189. Second through seventh place in the team race are all within a 12 point spread: 189-193-194-196-200-201. Neal Anderson from Chatham placed third in 14:49 while in a melee for second place. It looks like it came down to a sprint for the bridesmaid spot as Nick Holmes from Bartonville (Limestone) ran away with it in 14:21. 2nd, 3rd and 4th place were 14:48, 14:49 and 14:50.
Springfield High School placed 4th and the Central State 8 conference, the conference for the Springfield area 2A schools put two other guys in the top-25 besides Anderson. Osborne from SHS placed 9th in 15:09 and Frank from SHG placed 24th in 15:28.
The Elmwood girls placed third overall behind Winnebago and Eureka. 65-90-113. A girl from Elmwood finished in 7th place in 18:19, two seconds and one place behind Megan Hermann of Havana. Hermann has run pretty much the exact same time at the State Finals all three years she has been in high school and has managed to get 17th, 12th and 6th. Hilarious.
The Class A Girls' State Champion ran away from the field, winning in 17:27 to 17:53.
Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin girls win the 2A State title throwing down on two Peoria area schools (Notre Dame and East Peoria) 63-140-147. SHG packs three in the top-11 and four in the top-30 and strings their girls out between 17:53, 17:54, 18:06, 18:33 and 18:59.
Class 2A girls champ beats defending champ for only the second time ever in a race longer than a 1600, 16:37 to 16:50. Third place time is 17:44.
Chatham Glenwood boys place second in 2A while locked in a dogfight for the last two trophies. Sycamore runs away with it, no pun intended, 73-189. Second through seventh place in the team race are all within a 12 point spread: 189-193-194-196-200-201. Neal Anderson from Chatham placed third in 14:49 while in a melee for second place. It looks like it came down to a sprint for the bridesmaid spot as Nick Holmes from Bartonville (Limestone) ran away with it in 14:21. 2nd, 3rd and 4th place were 14:48, 14:49 and 14:50.
Springfield High School placed 4th and the Central State 8 conference, the conference for the Springfield area 2A schools put two other guys in the top-25 besides Anderson. Osborne from SHS placed 9th in 15:09 and Frank from SHG placed 24th in 15:28.
All Stater. . . .
I just got off the phone with Jordan's mom and he placed 6th in 15:08. She said he went out very smart and was 25th at the 800, 12th at the mile, and 6th coming out of the "triangle". She said he almost caught the guy in 5th but came up short. He also beat the defending State champ who went out crazy fast and faded. She thinks he dropped out. A kid from Tremont, who was the favorite, outsprinted a kid from my hometown for the win but she didn't have a time for either.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Good luck Jordan!
My friend Jordan Patterson is running in the Illinois High School State Cross Country Championships' Class A race tomorrow at 1000 hrs CST. He is in good shape for a top-five finish, in my opinion at least. Illinois Prep Top Times has him ranked at 6th and other "unofficial" pundits have him ranked anywhere from 9th to 13th. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict a 4th place showing in 15:05 with him beating the defending State Champion, Matt Feldhake.
The Weather Channel is predicting race time temps of 47 degrees with 52% humidity and NW winds at 7 mph as well as a dewpoint of 30 degrees. It looks to be a pretty fall day in early November!
Is this bringing back memories to a certain two time Illinois cross country all-stater?
Results will be posted here.
The Weather Channel is predicting race time temps of 47 degrees with 52% humidity and NW winds at 7 mph as well as a dewpoint of 30 degrees. It looks to be a pretty fall day in early November!
Is this bringing back memories to a certain two time Illinois cross country all-stater?
Results will be posted here.
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