Ultimate Frisbee

Ultimate Frisbee.

Discs and bodies all flying

gracefully in air.

Spirit of the game.

Reinforcing sportsmanship;

good friends all around.

A cool relaxed vibe

permeates throughout the sport.

Ultimate Frisbee.

Trip to Iowa

On a trip down to Iowa yesterday we saw miles and miles of corn and soybean fields.

While visiting the campus of Luther College we were surprised to discover a doe and her two fawns resting nearby the physical education facility.  They seemed fearless.  What a friendly campus!

Solar power

Solar panels at Luther College, Decorah, IA

In an article, The Secret to Solar Power, in the New York Times Magazine, Danny Kennedy, with Sungevity, makes a strong argument for solar energy.  Mr. Kennedy observed...

Think about it this way. We’re killing people in foreign lands in order to extract 200-million-year-old sunlight. Then we burn it . . . in order to boil water to create steam to drive a turbine to generate electricity. We frack our own backyards and pollute our rivers, or we blow up our mountaintops just miles from our nation’s capital for an hour of electricity, when we could just take what’s falling free from the sky.

He further states... 

Humanity needs to be reminded that the sun’s putting out four hundred trillion trillion watts every second of every day, and we should tap that. Let’s wear it, be proud of it, push it. That’s the real motivation, I think. We’ve got to brand the sun.

Got sun, then why not tap into solar energy?  We had a solar company come out to see if it might make sense for us to install panels on our home.  Unfortunately we live by a hill and have too many large mature trees in our yard to make it worthwhile.  Long winter months when the sun is low on the horizon doesn't help much either...

Colleges and Universities on board with green technology

While visiting colleges and universities in the Upper Midwest I've been impressed with how many are actively working diligently to reduce their carbon footprints.  At the University of Wisconsin - River Falls campus they completed a student center and added $1,000,000 of addition energy savings features thanks to a vote by the students.

I recently received news that my Alma Mater, Luther College, located in Decorah Iowa, is working to reduce its carbon footprint in half by 2015, and become carbon neutral by 2030.  You can read or watch a 3 minute video about how Luther has become a leader in the clean energy economy from Energy.Gov's website.

It is a hopeful sign that tomorrow's leaders are actively aware and engaged in reducing the harmful impact of carbon emissions on the environment.

Feeding a world of 7 billion people

When it comes to feeding the world, I think often of the sage advice, "think globally and act locally".  So, if we have a small plot of dirt or even a container that would work for us to tend as a garden, what a great thing to get our hands dirty and grow locally some of what we consume.  However, most of the world doesn't have quick or easy access to fertile soil. Farm lands are not equally distributed and thus must be managed skillfully to feed those in other parts of the world, often living in large cities.

An article by Dr. John Tjostem, a retired microbiology professor from Luther College, wrote an article that  suggests that modern American agriculture is the most sustainable and the most environmentally friendly form of agriculture on the planet. ("A recipe for a sustainable future, part 1", Agora, Fall, 2011).

Some of the greatly improved farm yields and reduction in erosion are a result of no till and minimum till thanks to Monsanto's Roundup and Roundup Ready herbicides. Dr. Tjostem further observes that commercial fertilizer, plant breeding and genetically modified crops (GMO's) have resulted in abundant yields that can feed the world's population, which has mushroomed to 7 billion.  He further states that were we to practice the organic farming techniques of the past it would cause massive starvation.  Those practices were adequate when the world's inhabitants counted 1.6 billion in 1900 or even 2.55 billion in 1950.  Besides not being able to attain the high yield rates brought about by modern agricultural practices, organic farming also involves tilling, and soil erosion, which Dr. Tjostem contends is not a sustainable practice.

In a rather startling assertion, Tjostem suggests that despite the fears many of us have of GMO crops, they are actually safer than conventional crops. He notes that conventional crops have developed poisonous molecules to combat plant eating pests, and hence they may cause serious allergies in humans.

Dr. Trostem concludes this article by observing the vital role genetic engineers must play in order to speed up the process of biological evolution through the production of genetically engineered crops.  Given the reality of global warming it will be essential to have plants that can survive in a warmer world. He concludes that our Creator gave us an intellect that He expects us to use in order to make the world a better place.

This article suggests that while we may find solace in a small organic garden plots at or near to our home, this gardening practice isn't likely to work on a larger scale in order to adequately feed the 7 billion residents with whom we share the planet.  Now that's something to think globally about...

Beginning on the trail

Grand Marshalls, Mr and Mrs Finanger

I’m going to be doing a series of entries on the importance of trails, inspired by hikes at Holden Village.

XC Team at Parade

This past weekend I was at Luther College in Decorah Iowa, to visit with classmates for our 30th college reunion and also join in a cross country celebration. So, to start off this trail series I’m sharing pictures and reflections from my time on the running trail at Luther.  The person that taught me the most about how to cover a set trail quickly on foot is Coach Kent Finanger.

I was honored to walk in the homecoming parade, where Coach Kent, a long time college health instructor/professoor and cross country coach was the Grand Marshall, along with his wife Lois. Members of the 1985 Division III Cross Country team, along with other Luther runners, were invited to march along too. Following the parade coach Finanger hosted runners in his son's home to celebrate and recognize Luther’s great running tradition.

Some of the attributes that Coach Finanger instilled in his runners include:

1. Be enthusiastic and have fun. He loved to say WOW, FUN, WOW. Coach gave pep talks like no other! Most of us would run through a brick wall for Coach Kent.

2. Work hard. The harder one works, the luckier one gets. Coach provided us with challenging workouts, including hills, long distance, intervals, and fartlek (speed play). We knew there were no short cuts to success.  Those long, long Sunday runs were especially memorable.  Mater of fact, I believe the Hutchinson Family campsite I stayed at during homecoming was in route of one of those 14-16 milers.

3. Set goals and work to achieve them. Coach encouraged us all to have goals, and inspired us during workouts and races to meet the challenges set before us.  He also left us with some great notebooks filled with our times and personal records.

4. Encourage one another. He endorsed pack running with teammates, and running on a teammate's hip. Even when we had bad races, I don’t recall coach ever belittling any of his runners.

5.  Establish yourself early in the race.  Don't hang in the weeds and wait for others to dictate the pace.  Go out strong and be a force from the start of the race.

6. Don’t boast. He encouraged us to let our running do the talking. If anything, he loved to understate to competitors the ability of his teams.

7. Fitness for Life. Coach didn’t want us just to be active on his teams in college. Rather he encouraged to have an active lifestyle that would encourage life long fitness.

8. Don’t give up. A couple of runners testified to having meetings with coach Kent as freshman, and feeling like they needed to give up on running for various reasons. Coach indicated that he believed in them and encouraged them to keep at it. One of these Luther athletes later became a national championship cross country and track runner, the other has dedicated his whole working career to running clubs/events and personal fitness coaching.

Paul Quere (left) Dan Finanger (right)

Over homecoming weekend Paul Quere, one of Luther’s outstanding runners, was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame. In addition to being a great runner and triathlete, he’s had tremendous success keeping the running tradition alive in Bolder Colorado, having coached numerous state high school track and field championship teams and even a few future Olympic athletes. He noted that a good dose of Coach Finanger is transferred in to the coaching he’s been doing with hundreds of athletes over the years. What a legacy!

Personally, Coach Finanger helped me considerably in my running career. I started out at Luther as a freshman, deathly afraid that I would fall so far behind during training runs that I might never find my way back from those Iowa cornfields. By senior year I had become a cross country co-captain and one of the lead runners on the team. Following college I continued to stay active, and even ran a few marathons, including New York and Boston. I continue to be physically active with biking, nordic skiing, running and hiking. Coach Finanger was hugely influential for me and hundreds of others, helping us along life’s physical fitness trail.

Trail rider on bridge over Upper Iowa River

While at homecoming I camped at Hutchinson Family Farms on the beautiful Upper Iowa River.  I was surprised to share the campgrounds with numerous trail riders and their horses. It reminded me of off those great Luther "horses" I was so fortunate to run with over the years.

Kittleson brothers on
Decorah bike trail

It was also a great pleasure to vist with many friends from the class of '80.  Even got in a scenic 20 mile bike ride on trails around Decorah with classmate David Kittleson, and his brother Dale, who rode his newly handcrafted electric bicycle.

Upper Iowa River