My wife Theresa and I are finally homeowners! We decided early in the summer it was the perfect time to purchase a home. The interest rates were dropping and home values were near the bottom of the market. After looking at probably 15 homes or more we found the perfect home in Eden Prairie, MN. It's a nice fixer-upper with some good bones. We had some great agents, Brian and Marian Peterson, from Edina Realty. They are a mother/son team. I've worked with Brian for some time and was pleased when he wanted to help us find a home. They went to bat for us when it was time and knocked it out of the park. Sorry for the terrible analogy, but I can't recommend them enough.

Our dog, Ollie, is a new addition to the family. He's a red heeler/border collie mix and about 1 year old. I like to think he's an old soul in an old puppy. Mellow, Beggin' Strips, and thick, black whiskers best describe him. He LOVES to run. In fact, in the past seven days he's put in about 25 miles of running. Half of that was chasing squirrels. I'm a rookie when it comes to training dogs, although I've had some success with Ollie. Teaching him not to pull on a leash has been my biggest success followed by playing fetch.

Training has been getting heavy leading into the Olympic Trials marathon. Luckily, I have some great training partners in Matt, Jason, and Andrew to keep me company. The mileage is getting higher each week now and it doesn't get any easier. I'm learning that the running in Eden Prairie is much better than the Minneapolis chain of lakes. This is quite a surprise to me since I thought the lakes were the next best thing to Reeses' Peanut Butter Cups.