The past week was a very fun and productive week for me, as I prepare for my life as a dad/husband/runner instead of just a husband/runner. Last Wednesday I had the opportunity to go to "Boot camp for new Dads" a free class sponsored by the local hospital to help prepare soon to be fathers prepare for a big change in their lives, and help them be more involved in child rearing duties. Both of my parents were extremely caring, supportive, loving, and just about any other positive adjective you can think of when I was growing up. Annika and I want to do the same (or better, which will be hard) for our children, and I thought this would be a good way to start.

Half of the class was a lot of the obvious stuff, obvious stuff that is also in every book about having a baby. Things like communicating with your wife, being supportive and understanding of her throughout the pregnancy and labor, stuff like that; which I have called "being a good husband." Now being obvious doesn't mean it will be easy, just that I've already thought about it. The other half was things that I haven't thought about before, and some hands on practice for taking care of a baby. The instructor taught us the process of changing a diaper, swaddling, and burping among other things. This is stuff that I'm nervous for how I will do, but figure I'll have plenty of opportunities for practice as soon as Makenzie gets here. One thing we went over which I thought was very helpful was a sort-of checklist of how to soothe a crying baby. Patience will be a big key to all of this, something I have been trying to improve on, and mentally preparing for. Overall the class was quite helpful, and got me even more excited for our baby to get here.

On the running side of things, I raced at the CVS 5k this past weekend in Providence, Rhode Island. I had run the race last year and had a good time, so was excited to go back and see how much I could improve. The race organizers did a great job of plannig, which helped the race be fun for everyone involved. I went out in the back of the lead pack, wanting to run smarter than I have in the past. I went to the lead with about half a mile to go; right next to me were Ben True and Sam Chelanga. I know both are great runners, and know (from past experience) that Ben has a great kick; therefore I started pushing a little further out than usual, hoping to get a little gap on him before the up-hill with about 250 meters to go. I accomplished this, but still had Chelanga right on my shoulder. As we crested the hill, I saw the finish line and began pumping harder; just when I felt like I had started to pull ahead of Sammy, Ben flew by us, which broke my spirit a bit, and Chelanga and I crossed the line neck and neck. We found out later that Sam had officially gotten 2nd, while I was third. It was a very exciting finish, one that was fun to be a part of, but obviously would have been more fun had I not been on the receiving end of the big winning kick.

All in all though, I was very pleased with the results. I ended up running 20 seconds faster than I ran there last year, and felt really good for it being my first race of the fall season. It gets me really excited for what lies ahead. Up next will be the 10 mile road championships in Minnesota. There is a lot on the line at this race, including a lot of prize money which is always a great incentive for us post-collegiate runners. Because of that, it will probably be one of the most competitive American road races of the year. It is also the last men's championship of the USA road running circuit, which as the result of Ben out kicking me, he is now leading with 46 points, with me right behind at 45. Look for a race within a race, as Ben and I try to beat one another for that title. Try to catch the excitement October 2nd, at 7:00 am Central time.