Tribute to Mike

In Memory of Bruce 'Mike' Melton March 5, 1955 - May 13, 2009

Bruce Michael Melton was born March 5, 1955 in Cleveland, Tennessee, the son of Bennie Joe and Pauline (Higdon) Melton. He moved to Minnesota while in junior high school. In 1973 he graduated from Henry Sibley High School. On August 9, 1986 he was united in marriage with Beth Shafer. Mike enjoyed watching CNN News, fishing, and traveling to California to see his granddaughter. He ran a charter boat on Lake Michigan prior to working 23-years at Rainbow Foods Meat Dept. He was a member of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 653.

He is survived by his mother Pauline; wife Beth; sons Christopher and Michael (Nikki); sister Pam; loving grandpa of Giovanna "Gigi"; and many more family and friends.

Mike (as I've always known him) died suddenly from complications associated with a ruptured brain aneurysm.

I met Mike in 1995 when we moved to Cottage Grove. At the time we moved in we were one of just a few homes in our neighborhood. His son Mike and my son Christopher quickly became good friends. Over the 14-years I've known Mike we had many good times, from escorting the boys on Halloween to hanging with the Friday night crew in the driveway to our ice fishing trips to Lake of the Woods. I'm blessed to have had the opportunity to know him and will miss his friendship.

To honor my friend Mike I'm dedicating my race June 7, 2009, at the Buffalo Triathlon to his memory and will pledge a donation in memoriam to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation.

The Brain Aneurysm Foundation is the nation's only nonprofit organization solely dedicated to providing critical awareness, education, support and research funding to reduce the incidence of brain aneurysms.

So if you can, please help out by making a donation. Every donation matters - every dollar counts. Your donations are used to further educate the public about brain aneurysms, to support patients and families, and to develop awareness programs and educational materials for hospitals, clinics, and other institutions worldwide.

Awareness levels and education of the general public and medical professionals, especially in ER's and primary care settings, need to be addressed to promote early detection and prevent misdiagnosis. Your gift will help to fund essential research that can directly benefit those affected and help to reduce the incidence of ruptured aneurysms.

New Prague Half-Marathon

I can not think of a better way to mark the half-way point of my Ironman training then running in the 24th Annual New Prague Half-Marathon.

I woke this morning with anticipation; I was hopeful it would be a nice morning for a run. I poked my head out the door to blue bird skies with a few white wispy clouds on the horizon. My pre-race meal consisted of Rice Krispies with some Grape Nuts sprinkled on top, a randomly sliced Chiquita banana, and skim milk. I also made a quick latte to get the motor running.

New Prague is about 56 miles SW of cottage grove with an estimated 1-hour 17-min drive time according to Google maps. The race started @ 08:00 so I left the house at 06:00. I arrived in town @ 07:10 a little ahead of schedule so I stopped for a non-fat white mocha (hold the whip) at a local place "The Coffee Corner", a quaint little shop that has a nice looking lunch menu, so I'll have to come back for lunch some time soon.

This was my third New Prague half-marathon, so I'm a little familiar with the area and knew just where to park. The air was very brisk and the grass equally as wet as a crossed the ball diamond in route to packet pick-up. No line, got my packet and shirt in a flash and was headed back to the warm van to finish my race preparations. The event shirt is a technical shirt this year, very nice. In the race packet I found my number and timing chip. The timing chip was new as well. It was a very thin rectangular shaped plastic coated thing, cool I thought. I got my number and chip on, got my iPod and Garmin ready, finished my coffee and water and headed over to the start line. After a quick pit stop I ran around the parking lot a few times to stay warm before settling into the starting corral.

The gun sounded and we were off right at 08:00. We were escorted out of town by a 2009 Chevrolet Camaro pace car and a variety of emergency vehicles. The half-marathon course (see map) follows primarily a rectangular route, starting and finishing in Memorial Park. The first and last 1-1/4 miles is a an out back, runners head south of town and out into the countryside. The terrain is comprised of rolling hills, with a few moderate climbs. The course is USATF certified.

This is a memorable event for me. The first year because it was my very first half-marathon race, last year because I was fighting with an lower abdominal injury, a souvenir from my trip to Berlin last year (an archived entry if you care to investigate further), and this year because it is the first running stop on the road to Madison. And by the way, the New Prague half-marathon returned to its roots this year and brought back the cow print theme and had cow print balloons lining the course (happens to be the theme in Madison as well, coincidence?, I think not!).

I'm pleased with the result, a new half-marathon PR. There was a younger lady who was running about the same pace I was. We went back and forth a dozen or so times starting at about the 5K mark. I was not really racing her but it helped with my pacing throughout the run. I stayed relaxed, did not pay much attention to my Garmin (I think I only looked at it three times in the first 10-miles or so), and was able to finish very strong.

I would recommend this race to anyone interested, from first timers to experienced runners. The event is well run, there is great town support. (The water stops are manned by different clubs within the town. The runners vote for the best water stop at the end. The winning club or group receives $250) And they serve ice cream when your done. I'd do almost anything for ice cream!