Just got notified that I was accepted for sponsorship from Hammer Nutrition for next year. I think this will be the 7th year I've been associated with them. Hammer Nutrition is a great company that not only provides great products, but also great support for endurance athletes. I'm excited to spread the word and some gels next year. I plan on fronting a couple of runners with some product, provide some products for a couple of small races and do a few clinics and running store talks. It's going to be fun next year!

 Just published a fun little running poem book on Kindle. Funny Running Poems from Google Search was created when I started searching for running terms on google and noticed that sometimes the suggested search results created little poems. If you have a Kindle or Kindle reader on your computer, check it out. If you try it yourself and generate a funny running poem, post a comment here.

 Find it on Amazon: Funny Running Poems from Google Search

The off season is always a challenge for me. I usually take October off, then start my base training for the races I like to do in late January and February. Every year I plan on doing some weight training in the winter along with running and every year I do weights for about 2 weeks and quit. This time is different. Last summer, I was introduced to CrossFit. I only did it a few times since it was during my summer events, but I was hooked. For me it is a tremendously hard workout that I can barely survive, but it concentrates on my weak areas, upper body and hip flexers. Also, my trainer is there to continually push me through the workouts. If I do weights on my own, I never reach the levels I do now with someone making me. Anyway, I've been doing CrossFit religiously twice a week, but now I haven't been running enough. I do our Thursday night beer run and a Saturday long run, but I haven't been able to get back on schedule for my runs during the week. If I keep this up, I'm going to be ueber strong, but not able to run more than 20 miles! So next week, I'm going to run on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. That will do it!