All guys have to do it at least once. If you don’t, well, consider yourself lucky, albeit no one’s best friend. Yet I think I’d rather be the former.

I have given one. I had a month to prepare, which more importantly, means I had a month to scare myself, well, you know. Let’s just say it rhymes with ‘hitless.”

I’m horrible at speaking in front of an audience. Downright awful, even. I shake and stammer so much you’d like I had hypothermia. Yet a funny thing happened. I nailed it. I had more confidence than Bon Jovi at the Staples Center. I don’t know what got into me. OK, well, the beer did, but still. Once I started talking, I felt like a professional (more…)

Guitar Gods (and Goddesses) are urged to rock their riffs at Nutty’s North this Thursday, July 3, when Red Bull and Pepper Entertainment will be holding a Guitar Hero Qualifier.

Top two finalists from the competition will advance to a head-to-head battle at the 311 concert on July 9.

Finalists also receive access to the Red Bull Music Lounge during the 311 show.

GRAND PRIZE WINNER receives a Guitar Hero controller that 311 will autograph, doodle on and “live with” for a day leading up to the show.

Day/Date: Thursday, July 3, 2008
Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Nutty’s North
Street: 805 N. West Ave.
City/Town: Sioux Falls, SD
Contact Info: 605-331-6455

I remember driving home after my third marathon in Tucson, AZ and before making it back to the apartment, I asked my roommate who was driving to stop at Burger King. I ordered two chicken sandwiches, threw them down my throat, and passed out on the couch with mayonnaise on my bottom lip.

Just this past month, I completed my seventh marathon in Vermont and afterwards, made my way along with my girlfriend to a local seafood joint lauded by visitors and scarfed down a ½ pound burger like it was an M&M.

If this sounds like an article on running, it isn’t. Only it is, sort of. It’s about food, but it’s (more…)

My girlfriend makes fun of me because I eat at Jimmy John’s three-four times a week, or more. Sure, I go there for the food, but I also go there for an entirely different reason: to smile.

You see, at this particular location, there’s a sign posted just above the counter that tells the story of a businessman who visits a tropical island, befriends a local fisherman and tries to explain how the man could become “more successful” in life by working harder and making more money.

What makes me smile is the last paragraph. Pushed by the islander to explain what the businessman planned to do once he makes enough money, the businessman replies, “I intend on retiring to a tropical island.” (more…)

After my rant on food and entertainment options in Sioux Falls, a few people have come to the table with suggestions:

“Have you tried …, “ one friend suggested. “What about …,” another added.

“Maybe you should move,” another friend said with a sly grin.

So when my roommate mentioned that the new Asian restaurant Coco Palace had opened recently, my ears perked up much in the same way my dogs’ do when I ask “Go bark park in the car?”

Then I paused. “Wait, have you actually been there?” (more…)

I have very few rules in life, mostly because I hate them. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I do stop at stop signs and pay my taxes, but beyond that, most of life seems, I don’t know, negotiable.

Having said that, here are my existing rules:

1) Cereal is perfectly suitable for dinner.

2) Treats animals, especially dogs, as you would do children.

3) Dance in front of the mirror every morning to keep yourself humble. (more…)

I remember a year ago I walked into a local gym in Sioux Falls where I worked out and noticed it had posted a “Local Best” award plaque. I thought, “That’s nice. I like to know that I’m working out in the best gym in Sioux Falls.”

Three weeks later, I quit that gym and started working out at another because it was significantly closer to my house. The first day I was there, I was just about to get on the treadmill when I noticed a familiar-looking sign out of the corner of my eye.

Yup, this gym also had a “Local Best” award plaque hanging on its walls.

I did more research and found out that three additional gyms had the same award. That didn’t seem right. Isn’t that like giving every kid on the Little League team an MVP award? (more…)

Through Mile 20

If you’re like me, you’ll start getting fatigued around mile 16 and then to you horror, realize that you still have 10 miles to go. This is when your mental strength starts to help or hinder you. If you are mentally strong, you’ll press on at a good pace and not lose much time. If you are weak, you might find yourself slipping.

Hydrating yourself during these next seven miles is important because doing so will keep you mentally sharp, since glucose (carbohydrates) fuels the brain. Plus, if you err and don’t drink plenty of fluids through mile 20, the remainder of the marathon will be absolutely punishing.

Miles 13- 20 are when your running pack starts to come in handy, so consider wearing one. I wore one during my last race for the first time, (more…)

The Night Before the Marathon

I’ll make this simple: stay off your feet, get to sleep early, eat your last meal (carbs) 12 hours before the race, make sure you are hydrated, and set out all the little things you will need to bring with you. Determine which of those items you are going to throw in a running fanny pack, and which ones you are going to place in a bag and have available for you at the finish line.

Don’t forget the small things, too. Check your shoelaces, plan a small breakfast for the following morning, find out what time you need to be at the start line or what time you need to catch a shuttle, and last but no least, program your preset stations if you are running with a radio. (more…)

Finishing a marathon is an extremely difficult challenge if you don’t run like a gazelle. It is both mentally and physically grueling, which is why 35 percent of first-time marathoners fail to finish. Knees fall apart, muscles cramp up and you mind starts playing tricks on you—begging you to stop despite your legs’ capacity to push on. People bleed and puke up the spaghetti dinners they ate the night before. Yet we, as runners, take the good with bad, knowing that crossing that finish line will be one of the most defining moments of our lives.

There’s a reason CEOs worth millions of dollars enter marathons: they seek a high that no amount of money in the world can ever give them.  

I’m no expert runner. In fact, at best, I am an average runner. I have completed six marathons, and the fastest I have run is 4:19. The times of my other five were 4:31, 4:32, 4:33, 4:37 and 4:45. If that’s not consistently average, I don’t know what is. And while I try not to run on (more…)