Ordinary People, Part II

This is a continuation from the previous post.

As I was driving to the race, I called Katie and AmyK, so that I could join them and cheer on our friends. They were driving east on 94 and apparently traffic was stopped. I hate stop and go traffic, so took Franklin Ave., thinking I could cross the bridge and meet them at St. Thomas. I was also hoping to see Firefly Denise there, even though I wasn't sure I'd recognize her.

While I was approaching the Franklin Ave. bridge, which spans the Mississippi, I saw the marathon runners. This was mile 19, and the racers run across the bridge to enter St. Paul. I mistakenly assumed that the entire bridge was closed, but only half of it was. By the time I discovered my error, I was standing at Mile 19, so decided to just stay there. I didn't want to miss Marcia and company.

The stretch from miles 13 to 19 is a tough one. And you go up a hill just before mile 19. I stood at the top of the hill and just cheered on, offering support to the runners. The temperature was getting hot and they were struggling.

The first person I saw was Dree. She told me her knee hurt, but I didn't have anything to offer her and kicked myself for not bringing any Tylenol. Dree fell off her bike to avoid being hit by a car on the previous Thursday, and hurt her knee then. She seemed OK at the beginning of the race, but 19 miles is hard even on a non-injured knee.

Cheryl doesn't even look tired at this point.

Marcia's enthusiasm seems to be waning. She said her neck hurt. She took the ice cubes I had brought and they gave her some relief.

Why is AmyBee laughing? Because otherwise she'd be crying. Like Marcia, she was struggling at this mile.

I waiting for a little while after AmyBee passed by, but didn't see anybody else. So I walked back to my car and stopped by a store to pick up a bag of ice for the finishers. Then I drove to St. Paul and stood by the finish line.

Here are the finishers, just steps away from the finish line:
Cheryl, 5:42:03

Marcia: 5:43:59

Dree: 5:47:30. She wasn't able to run at this point; that's an ice pack wrapped around her knee. But I'm happy that she finished.

AmyBee: 5:57:49

I hung around with them afterwards, and we hooked up with Nat, who had run the 10 miler along with Marcia's husband. Here's a pic of the happy-to-be-finished runners:

From left: Nat, Cheryl, AmyBee, Marcia, Marty

I also saw Dree recovering. Don't you just love the fuzzy slippers. :-)
Great job, marathoners!

Ordinary People

...doing amazing things.

As I mentioned before, I know a lot of people that were running in the Twin Cities Marathon last Sunday. And they all finished! Well, almost all. Jen hadn't trained, so she had no intention of finishing, only starting. I didn't get to see Doug, Mike, and Debbie, because they were in the middle of the pack. Kudo's to Debbie, first time marathoner. Three years ago when I was training for my first marathon, I made the mistake of trying to run with Debbie. Let's just say, she was too fast for me. She finished Sunday's race in 4:30.

I wanted to "be there" for my friends, the way that others have supported me in my races. I didn't get to do as much as I would have liked, because I had to prepare for an open house. But I did what I could, and they appreciated it.

I took lots of pictures, so let's get to it. First the start of the race, between miles 2 and 3. Everybody looks so excited!

Cheryl and Marcia started out together.

AmyBee was right behind them. They were with the 5:30 pace group.

Here's Elle. Remember her? I met her on a long run last spring when she was with her training group, Team Salubrious. Then I saw her at the Twin City 1 Mile race. She also ran in the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon last summer. I had forgotten that she was running the marathon, but I'm glad I got her picture. This girl has heart! I saw her at the end of the race. Her finish time was 7 hours, so she didn't get a medal. But she finished!


Dree was off to a good start.

And here's Club Run buddy Jen. We ran the Urban Wildland half-marathon together a couple of years ago.

That's it for the start of the race. When everyone had gone by, I went home and started cleaning to prepare for the open house. Then I stuck some ice cubes in a plastic tub, grabbed some gels and headed to the race.

Elite Running

The Twin Cities Marathon was Sunday and it was awesome! My neighbors congregated at the corner to watch the start of the race--we live near the 3 mile mark. This was the first time in 4 years that I was able to join them. But I was not interested in socializing--I had friends to watch out for! Before I get to my friends, here are pictures I was able to take of the front-runners. I didn't know who any of these runners were; I just took pictures. I knew one of them would be the winner. I watched in awe as they ran.

Ladies first:

Marla Runyan, age 37, first female, 2:32:16

Mary Akor, age 30, came in second, 2:33:49

Zoila Gomez (she's the one in front), age 27, ran in third, 2:35:25

Here are the men:

Mbarak Hussein, age 41, came in first -- 2:13:51. He wasn't leading when he ran by my corner but he was holding his own with men in their 20s and early 30s. He won not only the overall race, but also the master's division. Not bad for a day's work, but of course we know that it's not just about race day, it's all the time spent training for it.

Simon Sawe, 32, ran in second 2:14:08. His race number is 2, and keeping pace with him is Fasil Bizuneh, who came in fifth. According to the local news source, Sawe and Hussein are good friends. The image was too dark, so I lightened Sawe's face in Photoshop so that you can see his features. That's why it looks a little weird.

The guy in front is Ryan Shay, age 27. He finished in third place in 2:14:57. Trailing him is Chris Graff, 30, who placed sixth.


This is Jason Lehmkuhle, 28. When I took this picture, he was the front runner. No other runner is even in this frame because he was so far ahead of everyone else. He finished in seventh place, which is why you should always start slow in marathons. Hussein, the winner, was behind all the men shown above.

Race Day

Not for me. But there are alot of people running a race tomorrow.

First, there's the Twin Cities Marathon. My Club Run buddy Marcia is running her first marathon tomorrow to celebrate turning fifty last Sept. 11. AmyBee, and Cheryl are running in solidarity with her. Other Club Runners: Nat, Kathy, and Bea are running the TC 10 Mile, known as the short cut to the capitol.

Other friends running the marathon are: Debbie (first time marathon), Andrea (who ran the first half of Grandma's Marathon with me, then smoked the second half), her father Doug who's lightning fast, and Mike, who gave me Hal Higdon's Marathon book when I was training for my first marathon 3 years ago. Barb, who started the 2003 TCM with me and left me eating her dust by Mile 1, is running the TC 10.

The marathon goes right by my street, and we use it as an excuse for a block party, so I'll be out there cheering them on at mile 2.5 and collecting discarded clothing. This will be the first time in 3 years that I'll be a spectator and not a participant. Then I have to clean for the open house and head down to the later miles--when they really need encouragement--to support my friends. I hope to hook up with Club Run friends who are not running the race and also Firefly Denise, who will be at St. Thomas.

Next, Back of the Pack is running her first marathon tomorrow--the Portland Marathon. Michelle is no novice runner or racer, but the marathon distance has been a dream of hers.

And finally, former couch potato Michelle of Try Tri is participating in a Sprint Triathlon.

Good luck, runners!

Under Construction

As you know, SD and I are building a house in California. Our house in Minneapolis is on the market, as they say, and our house in CA is supposed to be ready in February. We're moving to the Central Coast, which is between L.A. and San Francisco. For those of you familiar with the area, the nearest town is Cambria. And the nearest city is San Luis Obispo, 1/2 hour drive south. The nearest Starbucks is 12 miles east. :-)

Here is the view I'm giving up:


And this is the view I'm going to:


Nice, huh? That white stuff under the blue sky is fog, which is blanketing the ocean. As you can see, it's isolated. My nearest neighbor is a cattle rancher, but he doesn't live on the property. His ranch is so big that the herd only grazes by my house for a short time.

When we were there two weeks ago, I looked at health clubs to join. So far I haven't found one as nice as my current one. I hope to find a running club there, so that I can meet other women runners. Bicycling seems to be big there, and I went to a bike store to check out the new models. Currently, I ride a 1984 mountain bike, which is not going to get me up those horrendous hills. So I've been thinking about a road bike, fast and light, in case I want to try racing. I went to Wally's Bike Shop in San Luis Obispo and told him my level of (non)expertise, and my desire to make it up the 1300 foot climb to home. He's familiar with that road. He sells Fuji, and now I'm saving my pennies for a reasonably priced (it's all relative) carbon bike. I'm under the impression that carbon frames are the lightest one's and that will help me get up the big hills. Tell me if I'm completely off base; I welcome your suggestions. There is a bike club in Cambria and I'm thinking I might be able to join them for rides.

I haven't been keeping up my running. I ran 12 miles on the 16th, but haven't had any run's over an hour since then. The 12 miles was good, though. It gave me confidence that I can do the Big Sur Half. I ran it with my Club Run friends, Marcia, Cheryl, and AmyBee, who are training for the Twin Cities Marathon. They were running 16 that day, so I turned around at 6 miles and ran by myself. The TCM is this Sunday and I have lots of friends to cheer on. I'm excited for them, but it will be weird for me because it's the first time in three years that I won't be running.

Adventuress

It seems I need to be clearer when I ask about running "trails." Last Sunday, the 10th, I ran 10 miles in Montana de Oro state park. It sounded like a perfect place to run: trails along the ocean, toilets, beautiful vistas. It had all that, but what nobody told me was that these were rugged mountain trails.

My husband drove me to the park and we encountered a range who gave me suggestions and a map of the park's trails. Armed with a water bottle, gels, cell phone and iPod, I took off along the Bluff trail. The view was great, and the trail was flat but uneven so I had to watch my footing. I also had to watch for this fellow, who was in front of me on the trail. I shood him away, but was hoping he wasn't waiting to ambush me.

(Photo by my husband, SD)

The Bluff trail went for about 3 miles and I was scheduled to run 10, so from there I planned to run along the Coon Creek trail and then hook up to Rattlesnake Flats trail, which would bring me back to my starting point. These trails were not well groomed; as I headed into the hills on the Coon Creek trail I soon realized these were more for hiking than running. Stubbornly, I persisted, even as brush and limbs kept impeding the way. I kept thinking about the sentence in the brochure, "Poison oak grows throughout the park." Great; I don't even know what poison oak looks like. I also kept an eye out for snakes. And I picked up a stick and turned off my iPod, so that I could be ready in case a mountain lion leaped at me.

OK, my imagination runs a little wild and I easily scare myself. I crossed one bridge, and when I crossed an identical one, I wondered if I was running in circles. I was too scared to turn around, so kept going forward, hoping that the Rattlesnake Flats trail would be better. I started snapping twigs so that I would know if I'd been there already, but I finally got to the trail I was looking for. It went for 3.5 miles and seemed wide open. I started out on that, then realized that 3.5 miles on a dirt trail was going to be slower going than on the road. I tried to call my husband to advise him of where I was, in case they had to send out the posse, but I had no cell phone coverage.

As much as I didn't want to do it, I turned around and went back on the Coon Creek trail. At least it was a known entity. After I crossed both bridges, I saw a young couple. As I passed them, the girl said it was nice to see some one else on the trail. I said I felt the same and asked if they knew where they were. They didn't; they were just our for a Sunday walk in the park, so I showed them the map and told them where the trail went.

Finally, I got back to the trailhead. I had enough of dirt; I finished the last 4 miles on GOA--good old asphalt! It was the main road in the park, and there were cars, but I turned on my tunes and ran against traffic. As I was ending my run, my husband returned to the park. I hopped in the car and we drove straight to Starbucks. Ah, civilization!

Something to Blog About

Hey everyone. Sorry I've been AWOL from my blog. Lots has been happening, but I haven't been able to sit down and write about it.

First, I had a mini RBF meetup last Saturday! Jessica moved from Minnesota to Orange County, which is where I moved from when I came to Minneapolis lo those many years ago. I made a comment on her blog and told her to contact me if she was ever in Mpls., so she did. We didn't run together, but we met at the new Michael Graves wing of the Institute of Art. Over lunch, we talked about, what else, YOU! It was fun to talk to someone who reads the same blogs I do. She even knows some of the bloggers--I asked if Jeff is as nice of a guy as he seems on his Boingo blog, and she assured me he was. We talked about how many comments Runner Susan gets, and about Back of the Pack's heart challenges (Jessica had an aortic valve repaired a few years ago and has communicated with Michelle about it.) And when I told her about a girl wearing an orange cap running past me and how it made me think of Diana, she knew I was referring to the Running Chick with the Orange Hat. We talked about running and security and not letting fear get in the way of our running. I enjoyed meeting her, although I was a little nervous beforehand--I even put on makeup!

Earlier that day, I ran nine miles, which is the most I've run since Grandma's. I "carbo-loaded" at the State Fair the day before (Sweet Martha's chocolate chip cookies and all the chocolate milk I could drink.) It felt good to run that long and I didn't have any problems. I've been keeping up with the O2 training, and running on my own on the other days.

I'm in California now, always searching for new running trails. I ran five miles yesterday in Monterey, along part of the route of the Big Sur Half-M. I started at Fisherman's Wharf, ran south along the trail past barking harbor seals and a yellow submarine. I ran through Cannery Row, immortalized by Steinbeck, past the awesome Monterey Aquarium to Lover's Point in Pacific Grove. They were setting up for the Pacific Grove Triathlon, which I assume is this weekend. Imagine running for a half-hour and seeing banks of porta-potties with no lines. A dream come true! Alas, it turned into nightmare--they were all locked! Lucky for me the public bathroom at the park was open. I'd rather have running water anyway, so there!

I'm further south now and ran another 4.5 miles today and plan to run 10 miles on Sunday. I've been going into the local sport stores, asking about running routes. I think I found one for me; nice and flat, with bathrooms at the trailhead and awesome views (so I'm told.) It sounds great. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for all your comments. The Dori Plan seems to have overwhelming approval and I haven't come up with anything better, so I'm sticking with it for now. :-)

Finally, check out the revised Complete Running Network. They have some dedicated people writing good articles, edited by none other than Jeanne. Check it out and leave them some comment love.

Obsession

Anything worth doing is worth doing to obsession.

There are only 9 weeks until the Big Sur Half Marathon. Gulp. I decided it was time to start training so I looked up the training plans. Hal Higdon's plan calls for 12 weeks. John Stanton's plan is 16 weeks. I'm already behind!

Yesterday I had another O2 training session. It consisted of an hour of running with the treadmil incline set at 2. It's all about heartrate, so I had to stay within a certain range, and drop down a few times. Last week I had to walk with the incline set a 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 for about two minutes each, then repeat about 5 times. After that, running with the incline at 2 seems easy, where before it was hard. Following the O2 session, I did some situps, pushups, and squats. I felt it today!

Today I went for a six mile run. This is the Dori plan--just do what you think is right, based on nothing rational and hope for the best. I don't recommend it, and maybe by next week I'll have a saner approach. Tomorrow I'll do another O2 session, then Thursday I'll run hopefully at least 5 miles and Saturday I'll go for 9. I'd like to go to 15 miles before my race; I figure that way I'll have the confidence that I can do the distance and maybe I'll be faster than if my longest training run was 10 miles.

The run today was great! I drove out to a trail that I've never been on. It was a crushed limestone trail, flat, and it ran along Lake Minnetonka. I ran west and shortly before my turnaround point I realized that I was on the end of the Wells Fargo 1/2M course that I ran with AmyBee last May. That brought back nice memories.

After I drove home, I rode my bike to Downtown then took a big honking hill on my return. Oy. I should sleep well tonight.

Reunions

A couple of weeks ago, I went running with some of my former ClubRun teammates, including AmyBee. They're training for the TC Marathon and were running 16 miles that day. I knew I couldn't go that far, but I ran almost 8 miles--my knee started to hurt and I walked the last 1/2 mile. I'm horribly out of shape, but they graciously waited for me. Two of my friends, Big M and KT were signed up for the marathon, but their hearts weren't in it and they stopped training, so they volunteered to do a water stop. And AmyK was the bike angel, following on her bike to keep us company which I really appreciated when I had to start walking.

At mile eight, the group ran back to the club and I got a ride with Big M and KT. Then we all met for breakfast, which for me is the best part of a run. It was fun to catch up with everyone. Now that LTF has bought NWAC, I can go to any of the clubs. Of course, part of the discussion was what would happen to Club Run. The two running clubs are very different, but each has its own special qualities. It would be nice if the best of both clubs could be merged, instead of one replacing the other. Things are staying the same until the fall marathon training is completed.

Last Saturday was my turn to staff a water stop. The LTF group that I trained with for Grandma's was doing a 20 mile run on Saturday, so I volunteered to help. This was the Capitol Run, the last 20 miles along the Twin Cities Marathon course. I bought water and the same sport's drink that they're serving at the TCM. And I have a little first aid bag that I brought along, full of 8-hour Tylenol, band-aids, and bio-freeze. I thought the band-aids would be used for blisters, but one guy put them on his nipples. Ouch!

At mile 4, I set up my little card table and poured water and sport's drink into the cups, just like they do at races. I didn't want to put out too much, because I didn't want it to get warm. The slower runners started a half-hour before the others and they were the first to arrive. I filled a few more cups and suddenly a mob of runners descended. It was chaos, but they got through it. Then one of the coaches yelled out that your metabolism resets itself after 30 seconds and they were off.

I offered to do a second stop, so set up again at mile 13. Although there was plenty of sport's drink left over, I stopped to buy more cups and water. This time the crowd was a little more spread out, but it was later in the day and they really wanted cold liquid. Fortunately, most of the beverages were well chilled, and one woman exclaimed that this was the best stop yet! Nothing was left after that stop.

If you ever want to feel loved, do a water stop for a long run. Everybody was so appreciative and showered me with compliments. One person even called me a saint! That's me, Saint Dori, patron saint of water stops. Twenty mile runs are important and I figured the runners needed all the support they can get. I've relied on plenty of volunteers on my training runs and it was about time for me to give back.

When the runners were gone, I went to a nearby coffee shop to get my morning jolt. As I sat there, I kept thinking about that awful stretch down Summit Ave. (One year Coach Gary practically dragged my sorry butt to the finish.) When I couldn't stand it any longer I drove down Summit Ave. to see if anybody needed my help. Nobody looked like they were dragging, but I recognized one woman and asked if she needed anything. She had detoured to find a bathroom and wanted to make sure the group didn't leave without her, so I drove to the end and told them that she was on her way.

The Plymouth club joined the Highland Park club for this run and Coach Jan forwarded this to me from the Plymouth coach:

Also please give Doreen a special kudos! She is awesome, even there at the end making sure everyone had a ride home. What a star!!

It's so nice to be appreciated. :-)

Suitable for Framing

Last month, I volunteered at the LTF Triathlon and posted about what a wonderful experience it was. I sent a link to Charlie, the volunteer coordinator that I reported to, and he sent me an email expressing surprise that I was so into running. There was going to be a reunion dinner for the volunteers, but I couldn't make it because I was on my trip. When I sent my regrets, Charlie said his wife wanted to send me something which she hoped I would find inspirational.

I received it today--an autographed picture of Olympian Carrie Tollefson! Not only is it autographed, it's addressed to me (with my name spelled correctly!) I was astonished and I immediately called Charlie to express my gratitude. Unfortunately, this Menopause Mama cries whenever she feels any emotion, and I was so overcome that I babbled incoherently as I was leaving a message on his voicemail. Sheesh.

I guess I was coherent enough, 'cause he sent me an e-mail saying he was glad I liked the picture. So how was his wife able to procure this personal autograph. Does she work for an organization that Carrie Tollefson is involved with? No, she is Carrie Tollefson!

Charlie is training for the TC Marathon. He says his training is "less regimented" than his wife's. I'll bet! Good luck to Charlie in his training--at least he's got an expert coach. Maybe we can get him to keep a blog. :-)

Road Trippin'

Here are some more pictures from my recent trip. Since the previous post was so long, I decided to upload these separately.

In front of "Lake Como" at Bellagio

At the Bellagio conservatory


With Red at the M&M factory

Utah!

C.A. had the right idea. The water only came to his ankles at that point; it's not as deep as it appears. We all joined him.


M.J. had a great time talking with the turkeys. The one on the left kept responding when she would "gobble, gobble, gobble."

Feeding the goat. Those are the farmer's children in the background.

See the U.S.A.

...in a Ford Explorer.

Had a great time on my road trip, driving from Southern California to back home. My friend, Paula, and her two kids, C.A. and M.J., ages 6 and 8, drove to visit her family there last month. I flew out to check on building progress of my home and drove back with them, stopping in Denver where I had some business to conduct. P grew up in Torrance and although I'm a SoCal girl, having grown up in the Valley and later living in Orange County, I'm not familiar with Torrance or the beach towns south of Santa Monica and north of Huntington Beach.

I flew into LAX on Tuesday, August 8 at 11 at night, where P picked me up. I spent the night at her sister's house, then the next day we went to Hermosa Beach and played in the ocean. Then I borrowed her truck and drove up the coast to visit my parents and check out the status of my house. My husband was there and we looked at granite, conferred with the cabinet maker on wood, and met the contractor at our home site. We're making progess and it's exciting to watch the transformation from the drawing plans.

On Saturday I returned to Torrance and met P's friends and family for a big dinner party. Paula and I have been friends for over ten years and I'd met her siblings when they came here to visit, but some I only met briefly. Others, like in-laws and family friends I had not met and it was nice meet people she's talked about over the years.

We got out of Dodge early on Sunday morning and made it to Las Vegas without incident. We parked at New York, New York on the strip and had lunch. Then we walked up to Bellagio and watched the fountains dance to the tune of "Hey, Big Spender" (from Chicago). The kids really liked it and then we walked around in the Conservatory at Bellagio. The exhibit included lots of trains and six-year-old C.A., was enchanted. Then we walked to the M & M factory and filled up on multi-colored candies. They have all sorts of colors, from light pink to dark purple and you fill up your bags to mix your own colors. As you can imagine, kids go nuts.

We left Las Vegas and drove across the hot desert into Utah, via I15. We drove through St. George and spent the night in Beaver, UT at the Best Western Butch Cassidy. I guess he was born there. It was around 9 p.m. when we arrived and after unpacking we went to a nearby restaurant, only to find out it was closing in 5 minutes. They wrapped our food to go and we ate at the hotel.

The next morning, I went for a short run. It was a small town, with streets numbered sequentially starting at 100, 200 etc. and separated by Main St. (north/south) or Center Street (east/west.) There wasn't a whole lot to see. I passed by one church, which you can guess what denomination it was, and I also passed the Opera House. This was built in 1908 and was meant to be the "envy of the surrounding communities." It wasn't grand by eastern standards, but made of local stone called tufa. Some of the older homes were made of a local stone that was black. The few people that were out in this small town were very curious about me--I'm sure they were wondering who I was.

We were on the road by 9:30 and headed to Denver. The scenery was spectacular! It killed me to be so close to Arches and not be able to stop and experience it, but that was not on the agenda. We pulled over at one scenic stop and locals were selling necklaces and beaded earrings. I didn't buy anything, but now I'm kicking myself for it.


I had hoped to arrive in Denver by the early afternoon, but miscalculated just how far it was, so I had to push back my meeting to the next morning. That gave us time to play and we stopped in Vail. I had never seen Vail Village and I wanted to check it out. Vail has now surpassed Boulder as my favorite place in Colorado (sorry, Bold) and I didn't realize it was so close to Denver. The mountains are just stunning, and at one rest stop (before Vail) we sat and dipped our feet in the Colorado River. There was a bike path that ran along the road and I would love to run it someday. Driving through the Rocky Mountains was my favorite part of the trip.

We stayed at the Fairfield Inn, which had a pool and access to a health club. P got up early and worked out while I stayed with the kids, then she and the kids went to the pool while I took care of business. I was back at 11, and Paula was anxious to get back on the road, although she stopped at Starbucks so that I could have my fix. Coffee isn't the same unless it's overpriced and made with steamed milk.

After leaving Denver, we stopped in Palisades, Colorado to buy some peaches. This area is famous for its peaches and P bought a case so she could make jam, and some cherries to make a pie. The lady at the fruit stand gave me a peach and it was the sweetest, juiciest piece of fruit I've ever had!

Paula would have been happy to drive non-stop to Minneapolis from Denver, but I couldn't handle it. So we planned to stop in Omaha for the night. She dislikes driving through Nebraska, but I didn't find it nearly as bad as driving through South Dakota (which I have done on previous trips, not this one.) Omaha is on the Nebraska/Iowa border. Fortunately we had called ahead because there was a John Deere (tractors) convention in town and there were only 3 rooms available in the entire city. Not wanting to be around a bunch of wild John Deere conventioneers, we stopped short and spent the night at the Country Inn in Lincoln, which is about an hour west of Omaha. It was still daylight when we checked in, and I pulled out my running clothes and went for a 50 minute run. I don't know how far I ran because although I packed my Garmin charger, I neglected to pack the Garmin! I ran until it got too dark for safety--I wasn't wearing anything reflective and cars couldn't see me. But it was so great to use my legs after sitting for so long. The pool was open until midnight, so after my run I took the kids to the pool so they could play. The water was relaxing for me, and they released some of that pent-up energy.

We got up early and had the breakfast the hotel provided, then continued on. Paula and I were both jonesing for a Starbucks, but didn't want to get too far off course to find one. I'm sure there would have been one in Omaha, but I'll never know. We even called a friend of P who works for Starbucks, so that she could look it up, but we got her voicemail. I was relaying this to the manager at my local Starbucks this morning and she told me there was an 800 number (!) that I could call to find out. NOW she tells me. Here's the number, so that when you're on your next road trip, you won't be stuck with inferior coffee: 1-800-23LATTE.

As we approached Des Moines, I saw a sign for a restaurant at the LS Organic Farm. What a find! I had Chicken Masala with rice and red beans and fresh veggies. The chicken was raised on their farm, as well as the vegetables. It was fresh, healthy, and delicious! The couple that owns the farm used to be in health care and they believe that good health comes with eating well, so they left their careers to do this. They hold 6-week classes on nutrition and cooking and I signed up for their soon-to-be-published cookbook when they publish it. Indian food doesn't agree with Paula, so the kids played with the goat and turkeys, while I ate.

In Des Moines, we managed to find Starbucks, but they didn't have sandwiches, which is what Paula was planning to have for lunch. So we got our drinks, then drove through MacDonald's. You KNOW I had the better meal, but three meals, two drinks and a toy cost the same as my organic lunch.

Then we headed North on good old I35. At the border of Iowa and Minnesota, we stopped in Albert Lea (pronounced LEE) to get gas. It was the first time it cost less than $50 to fill 'er up. We were craving some pie and drove through town in search of a bakery. We found a farmer's market, and a stall that sold "pie squares" but we had to wait 20 minutes for the market to officially open. That gave us time to check out the other vendors. The pie square lady proudly told me she doesn't use any hydrogenated oils, only butter. When I asked another vendor of baked good if she used hydrogenated oils, she said no, she uses Crisco! There was a nice Norweigan lady who sold lefse, which I bought. Since my name isn't Johnson, I asked her what to do with it. Warm it up quickly, then spread butter and sugar on it. Sounds delicious. Someone else was selling kolaches, but I forgot to go back to her stall and buy them. I did pick up a dozen eggs--these were jumbo Omega 3 for only $1 a dozen. Who could resist those prices?

We ate our pie squares in the car, and yup, she uses butter. Absolutely delicious! We drove to Ps house, because she lives south of me and then I drove her truck home. She'll pick it up tonight, since she's going to be in town.

It was a really fun trip and I think our friendship is still intact.

O2 B Thin and Fast

Recently I cashed in my birthday present--the personal O2 training. I was waiting to be sufficiently recovered before starting such an intense program. What it entails is running in specific heart-rate zones, on a treadmill for an hour, to develop my aerobic base and train my body to become more efficient at burning fat. I'm hoping it will burn off all my fat and make me run 8-minute miles, in six easy weeks. :-O

Kay, my trainer, is very mature for her 22 years. She encourages me and doesn't laugh when she sez "good job." I think I surprised her when I told her I ran two marathons in the past 9 months. She's training for the Wisconsin Ironman, which is a month from now. It's her first, and she hasn't even run a marathon yet. Part of me wants to admire her for being able to take on such an event and part of me wants her to fall on her face! Can you at least try to make it look hard. What a difference age makes.

Today she had me run 4 miles on the treadmill--with the incline set to 2. I could go as fast or as slow as I wanted, and at the end of the program I'll do it again to see how much I improved. I figured 4 miles=50 minutes, but it took me 55. And I took 1 minute walking breaks every 9 minutes. I hope to hell I improve! I'm blaming it on the lack of air-conditioning.

In other news, my health club bought my old health club so now I can run with my old running club. Yay! I haven't yet, but plan to soon. Most of the gang are training for the Twin Cities Marathon, and I am not up to double-digit mile runs yet. I ran 6 last Saturday. How can I run a marathon, and then struggle to do 10 miles? Last Saturday was the Urban Wildland Half-marathon, a race I've done the past two years, but I simply was not up to running 13.1.

On the day of the Twin Cities Marathon, there is also a 10 mile race which is billed as "the shortcut to the capitol." I was hoping to run it, but did not make the lottery. I could have still gotten an entry in exchange for some volunteer work, but I didn't know if I would be here on volunteer day. I'm traveling a lot, because my husband and I are building a house in California and need to check on progress.

Since I'm not doing the TC-10, I signed up for the Big Sur Half Marathon, which is actually in Monterey. The race is on October 29, so I have lots of time to train. I was a little hesitant about signing up, until I looked at the course map. I know that route! I ran it in April '05 for a long run when I was training for the TCM. It has some of the most awesome ocean scenery around. And finishers get that cool hippie medal. It's not quite Tiffany, but it will do.

I will be away from my blog for about 10 days. I'm flying to L.A., then driving back with my friend P and her two kids. P doesn't like to fly, so she drove out there a month ago to visit family and asked me to accompany her back. It should be fun.

In the meantime, Plods and Stephano are back from their respective vacations. AmyBee had a birthday. And Back of Pack is Haulin' Aspen this Sunday. She's one tuff mama. Another tuff mama, 21st Century Mom, ran the San Francisco Marathon on July 30, under less than ideal conditions. She's posted since then, but has written an excellent race report.

C-ya later.

A Few of My Favorite Things

The other day I had an early morning run through Downtown Minneapolis and took pictures of whatever appealed to me. Unfortunately, I only had the CrapCam, and as usual the pictures are out of focus. Sigh. Here's a visual, albeit blurry, tour of my city.

From my house, I ran through the Sculpture Garden at the Walker Art Center. The image above is of Claes Oldenburg's Spoonbridge and Cherry. It's probably one of the most photographed sculptures associated with Minneapolis. The Basilica of St. Mary, the first Basilica west of the Mississippi, is in the background.

From the sculpture garden, I ran across the bridge to Loring Park. Here's a perennial garden in full glory.

As I ran towards the other end of the park, this "dandelion" greeted me. It is my favorite fountain and it always lifts my spirits. Just like the first robin is a sign of spring, I know that summer has arrived when this fountain is running.


Next, I ran up the Nicollet Mall, a pedestrian mall that extends about twelve blocks. If you're a local, you know to pronounce it "Nickel It", (don't cringe, Plods!), named for the Frenchman who mapped the Upper Mississippi basin. On this morning, vendors are setting up for the farmer's market. That enclosed bridge is called a skyway and there's a maze of them that allow you to get to various points without ever venturing outside. Very helpful when the temperature is minus 20F.


Further up the mall is this tribute to the character Mary Richards, played by Mary Tyler Moore in the early 70s. The TV show was set in Minneapolis, and the statue was placed near the spot where she threw her hat up in the air during the opening credits. I felt stoopid taking a picture of the statue, but I'll do anything for you people. :-)


Next stop is the new library, which opened in May. It was designed by Cesar Pelli, who also designed the Wells Fargo Center a few blocks away, one of my favorite buildings.


From the mall, I headed east, through an area that not too long ago was urban blight, but is now full of "lofts" and restaurants, centered around the new Guthrie Theatre. This is the back of the Guthrie; the large blue thrust is a balcony that gives awesome views of the river and Northeast Minneapolis.


The Guthrie used to be by my house, but outgrew its 40-years-old space so moved to the Mill District. This is where Minneapolis got its start--St. Anthony Falls, a waterfall in the Mississippi River, generated power for the sawmills, and later flour mills. Here's a sign leftover from one of those mills, Gold Medal Flour.


From the Guthrie I ran west along the river, back towards downtown, and through this Cancer Survivor's Park, an oasis of calm in the heart of the bustling city. It features sculptures and signs offering encouragement and support to cancer survivors and their families.

Separation Anxiety

It's nice to not be in training this summer. For the last three summers I've trained for the Twin Cities Marathon and it really took up my summertime. On Saturdays, I would get up ridiculously early to run long, then come home and sleep the rest of the day. And on weekday evenings, when the weather was hot and steamy, I'd run hills and do track workouts. I'd run in rain and once even during a tornado (of course, I didn't actually see the tornado, but the sirens were going off and the wind was blowing pretty hard.)

My husband and I are planning to move to another state, and this will be my last summer in Minneapolis. That's why I didn't want to train for the TCM--I wanted to enjoy my last summer here. Summer is my favorite season, even with 90 degree weather. In June and July I worked to get the house market-ready, by repairing small items and cleaning. But mostly I had to remove the detritus of fifteen years. You can accumulate a lot of stuff when you don't move around.

The house is now on the market and there's a big "For Sale" sign blemishing the front yard. I'm excited about my new home, but it's hard to detach from the place I've called home all these years. Life there will be very different than what I've grown accustomed to. I currently live a mile from downtown and all sorts of conveniences--coffee shops, restaurants, theatre--are just a few minutes away. My new home will be on a subdivided ranch and the nearest city will be an hour's drive.

I never expected to feel sad about leaving Minneapolis. We moved here for my husband's job. I was quite happy where I was--I lived in the coolest house and the Pacific Ocean was in my back yard. I cried all the way to the state line when I left. But fifteen years is the longest I've ever lived in one house, even from when I was a kid, and with the various remodeling projects over the years, it reflects me. However, once you put your house on the market, it's no longer your home. You're just a temporary occupant and you'd better not get too comfortable. It's difficult to detach.

It's not just the house though, it's the community. I know a lot of people and they know me, at least superficially. Today I ran along the lakes with the running group, and a local radio station was staffing a booth for people training for the TCM. They had water, Power-ade, and Clif-shots. Because of that, there were a lot of runners out, not just LTF, but other running clubs as well.

After my run, I was hanging out at the water stop and I saw a woman approaching. Her body looked familiar and I asked if she was "Martha." It was her. Last summer I ran a half-marathon and for a little while I was drafting behind this woman, using her as a pacer. I'm a heavy-footed runner and breathe loudly, so she heard me and turned around. I told her what I was doing and we chatted for a little bit, until she took a walking break. I saw her again at the Twin Cities Marathon and she was walking backwards. She explained that it helped reduce fatigue, so I tried it. I don't know if it worked, but I finished the race so what the hey. In both races she had her name on her shirt, which is how I knew her name.

Martha remembered me and gave me her e-mail address. She's a coordinator with another running group and told me she'd let me know when Dick Beardsley is going to address the group. I'm looking forward to that.

Since I'm still recovering from Grandma's Marathon, I've just been taking it easy. The other day I ran through downtown and took pictures all along the way. Talk about taking it easy; it took me an hour to run three miles! I'll post the pictures another time, but it made me realize how many things I like about living here.

Heroes

Here's a link to a video clip for an upcoming movie, "Land of the Gods. Legend of the Marathon." It contains footage of last year's Chicago Marathon, and interviews pro's like Deanna Kastor as well as ordinary people. It's under 5 minutes and worth the visit. Let me know how you like it.

For an added bonus, click on Films, Land of the Gods, Trailer 1 to view archival footage of Frank Shorter, Deanna Kastor, Steve Prefontaine, and others. Very inspiring.

Second Chance

Last week, I wrote about not signing up for a race that I had wanted to run, because I was too intimidated by the crowd. I had a lot of excuses not to run, but the real reason was I was embarassed to run so slowly in front of people who were there to see the parade, which started after the race. Many of you wrote very supportive comments and I appreciate them.

It seems I had the date wrong! The race was actually today, not last Wednesday, and since I clearly was disappointed that I didn't participate when I thought I had missed it, I had to run it tonight. No excuses.

It's interesting how many people I'm getting to know in this running community as a result of the various clubs I've trained with. I recognized a lot of faces as I wended my way to the sign up area. I registered, got a race number and a free singlet, then went to the downtown fitness club that I belong to. The running club was going to assemble there and then do a warm-up run the one mile back to the starting area.

I saw my coach from the Grandma's marathon training and learned that she qualified for a free entry to the Twin Cities Marathon because she's so fast! I had no idea I was in the presence of an elite athlete. I knew she was fast, but I didn't know she was that fast.

I ran with some other back of the packers to the sign up area, then we all got separated. I drank some water and used the portalet, then walked four blocks to the starting line. I still had a half-hour to go, so I sat down and talked to the woman next to me. Then we began to line up. I headed to what I thought was the back, but it turned out I was pretty close to the starting line. Oops! I felt as if I had inadvertently danced into the mosh pit. It was too hard to navigate to the back, so I stayed there and tried to keep out of the way of people that wanted to pass. But there were plenty of slower runners ahead of me.

Fears never seem to materialize the way we think they will. I had pictured myself running alone on the parade route, far behind all the other runners, my fat legs shaking like Jello as I propelled myself forward. The reality was that I was enveloped by an ocean of runners, and you wouldn't be able to see me if you tried.

This race is called the Torchlight Run and it coincides with the Aquatennial, Minneapolis' summer festival. It runs through Downtown, along some of the same routes as other races I've run, such as the TC Marathon and the Arena 5K, only in a different direction. It seemed like a fun race to run, but for the past three years I've been in marathon training and I didn't want to miss a training run. Now I'm not in training and this will be my last summer here, so that's why I wanted to participate.

My goal is to someday run a 30 minute 5K. I knew I wasn't there yet, but I wanted to see how close I could get. I ran the entire time and when I got too winded I would slow my pace. This wasn't chip timed, but I had my Garmin so I just pressed start as I crossed the starting line. The weather was warm, but not oppressive, and I carried a sport drink. At the 2-mile water stop, I took a cup of water and poured it on me. That felt good.

We ran north on Hennepin Ave., then veered left to run through North Loop, a new residential neighborhood of former warehouses. From there we ran along the river, past the new Guthrie Theatre and then headed towards the Metrodome, which is where the finish and post-race party would be. The "Dome" is where the Twins play baseball and the Vikings play football, but neither team likes the facility anymore. It's also where the Twin Cities Marathon starts.

It wasn't a direct line to the Dome, so I didn't know where the finish was. I didn't want to sprint too soon. Then I could hear the crowds and knew I was close. Just as I was ready to rock, my shoelace came undone. Oh, man! I didn't want to affect my time by stopping to tie it, so I picked up the pace while trying to avoid stepping on my shoelace. Note to self: doubleknot shoelaces before racing. I made it across the finish line in 34:39. Not great, but still an improvement. I'm not sure what my best 5K time is.

Here are the splits:
Mile 1 - 10:43
Mile 2 - 11:03
Mile 3 - 11:00
Mile .13- 1:51

Maybe next time I can do 33 minutes.

Some of you have asked if there's a triathlon in my future. NFW. As I told AmyBee, there's no way I'm running in a bathing suit! But I rode my bike over to the race and then rode it home afterwards. Maybe someday I'll try a bike/run.

Speaking of bikes, while riding home I stopped and watched the parade for a little while. There were clowns, marching bands, and the usual floats with "princesses." Then a bunch of cyclists rode by; they had just participated in the Aids ride. I clapped long and hard for them.

Behind the Scenes

Here are the few triathlon pictures I was able to take before the camera battery zonked.

Checking In

Volunteers Getting Briefed

The lovely Liz Blatchford

Professional athletes warming up

Spectators watching the pro's

Pro and Papparazzi

Breakfast With Champions

Today I volunteered for the LifeTime Fitness Triathlon, and it was a fabulous experience. I had never been to a triathlon before, all I know about triathlons is what I read in your blogs. I checked in at 6:30 a.m. and Chef Vincent came over and said hi. I wished him luck, but I didn't see him again. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take his picture until he was already gone.

Mention you live in Minnesota and people invariably talk about how cold it is here. Well, it is, but we do have four seasons and we are full-steam into summer now. Today's temperature was in the high 90s, making for dangerous racing conditions. The water temperature was 82 degrees, but amazingly, a few people still wore their wet suits. They wanted the buoyancy, but I hope they didn't overheat on the other legs.

My job was to help at the start of the swim. I brought my camera, not the CrapCam but a better one. Although I charged my battery yesterday to prepare for today, it died after the first couple of pictures. Arrrgh! One of the pro's was at the starting area to warm up and she graciously allowed me to take her picture. It was one of the few I was able to take.

Liz Blatchford

While the pro's were warming up, waiting for the start, one of them kissed his wife, then bent over and kissed her pregnant belly. His mother-in-law was standing near me and I told her I wished I got that picture! I asked if he lived here, but she said he lives in Colorado and trains at the Olympic center there. I asked his name and it was Hunter Kemper. He came in first!

Before the athletes showed up, I raked the beach. Then I was told to keep people off it to keep it clean and free of debris that could hurt the athletes feet. We tied off the area and for the most part, people complied. Then a woman went through and I asked her if she would please keep off the sand. As I was explaining that we were trying to keep the sand clear, she flashed her all-access pass at me. I know, I said, but... Then she told me she was the race director. Well, alrighty then!

My next job was to help line up the athletes by their respective wave. Someone would hold up a sign displaying the next wave and I walked around with a megaphone announcing which group would be next. At first I was shy of the bull horn, but then a woman borrowed it to make an announcement. She moved with authority, so I just emulated her. It's all about attitude, people!

First were the Pro Women, then Pro Men. There was an equalizer formula that gave prize money to the fastest triathlete, regardless of sex. Three years ago a woman won it, then the changed the formula and a man won the past two times. Next came the Elite amateurs, then by age group. This was all for the Olympic course: Swim 1.5K; Bike 40K, Run 10K. After that was done, we repeated it all again for the short course: Swim .4 mile, Bike 15 miles, Run 3 miles.

Because of the heat, the Olympic course was shortened for certain divisions, which changed the starting times for some groups. Although it was announced over the loudspeaker, there was competition from the news helicopters and airplanes flying into the nearby airport, so not everyone heard the announcement. That meant some people missed their wave. But we assured those that were late that it was chip timed and not to worry.

It helped that I've raced before, because I could empathize with the nervousness of some of the competitors. One young woman was about to cry when she learned she missed her wave, but I tried to distract the tears by telling her to hurry to the front of the line and inform the officials what happened. Another girl (she was 14; I can't call her a woman) wanted to go out with a different wave but I told her she had to go out with her wave. She said her Dad was waiting for her at the start of the bike leg. Unfortunately, her wave was the very last (male and female 12-15, short course). I tried to console her by telling her she just needed to worry about herself, her Dad would be OK. I asked her name, then later looked it up in the results. I was happy to see that she finished.

Being at the start let me see people I knew. AmyBee said hi and asked me to hold her extra swim cap. I gave her a hug and wished her luck. Then Emdee and Nee walked up to me. I barely recognized them. They were in the short course and by that time I was slightly delirious. It was late, I was hot, and it was difficult to drink and hold the bull horn at the same time. But I wished them luck too. And I saw Elle, the young woman that I ran with once at Team Salubrious. I knew she was a marathoner, but I didn't know she was a triathlete. I think she said this was her second LTF Triathlon.

Another treat was watching the "60 and over" triathletes line up. My husband is 60, so I don't think of 60 as old. I didn't think it was fair to lump everyone over 60 together, but looking at the results, the age group awards were still every five years. I guess there were so few athletes, that they just started them together in one wave. For the short course, an 88-year-old woman named Mary Stroebe was in the group. Apparently she's done this race before, because the other's in the group knew her and made a point of saying hi. This woman looked like a frail old lady, but she did it! If you read the article, you'll see there's nothing frail about her. It was her 12th triathlon--she started in her early 70s!

Walk around with a bull horn and people think you're important. The mayor of Minneapolis, R.T. Rybak, was competing in the short course, and he was concerned about missing his wave because he had to do an interview a few minutes before the wave began. I told him not to worry, we would just get him to the front of the line of the next wave. He kept checking in with me (!), the last time to let me know he was in time for his wave and would just line up. Okey dokey.

After the last wave went out, I helped pick up a little bit then went to find some food. Somehow I got into the hospitality tent, which required a pass that I didn't have, and got some orange juice and a brownie. I wasn't very hungry but felt I should have something. Then I went to the finish chute to watch the runners come in. Some were running strong, some looked whipped, so I don't know if it was the mid-pack or back of the pack. But I just cheered and tried to give encouragement. I didn't know if my friends had already finished or were still cycling. I'm not even sure what time it was, but I think it was around noon.

The woman standing next to me said she was looking for her friend, Mary. She was referring to Mary Stroebe, whom she said inspired her to start running. This woman was nearer my age than Mary's. She told me that her son rides with her and gets penalties because he drafts behind her on the bike to keep others from running into her! She told me that Mary had broken her leg in February and didn't know how long it would take for her to come in.

Then AmyBee ran past! If you've read her blog you know she was nervous about the long course, so I was so proud of her for finishing. She looked strong. I ran over to the food chute and saw her and gave her a hug. She came out and we chatted. I realized I had the CrapCam, so I took her picture before she went to hook up with her husband. Then I left to see if I could find Emdee or Nee. I never did see them run in, but I did see Elle as she was approaching the finish line. I yelled out and waved to her, then saw her again as I was leaving. We chatted for a few minutes, then she left to find her boyfriend and I dragged myself to the car.

It was exciting to be around professional athletes, but honestly, I think everyone who finished, regardless of their time, is a champion.

Giving Back

Baby got back!
Yeah, baby ... when it comes to females,
Cosmo ain't got nothin'
to do with my selection.
36-24-36? Ha ha, only if she's 5'3".

Sir Mix-A-Lot

Minnesota is known for its abundant women. I don't know what it is, but this area does have its share of big butts. I went for an early morning run, and there was a a man and a woman walking about a half-mile ahead of me. At first I was judgmental, looking with disgust at how much people will let themselves go. I'm not proud to admit that; I think it has to do with the way I feel about myself when I gain weight. Anyway, then they started to run and I noticed that the woman was wearing a water belt. I figured she must be training for a race, maybe the Avon 3-day walk that coming up next month. As I caught up with them, I asked her if she was training for a race and she said she's doing the LTF Triathlon this Saturday. I was stunned, but impressed. I wished her luck and went on my way.

There was a 5K race tonight, that went through downtown. I wanted to participate, but never signed up. What held me back is that the race was before a parade, and so the spectators would be there for the parade, not the runners. I was too embarrassed to run my snail's pace in front of people that aren't "runner friendly." I figured they'd be as judgmental about me as I am about others. Now I regret that I let fear keep me from doing something I'd enjoy. When will I learn?

I'm getting excited about this triathlon, and I'm not even racing. I signed up today to volunteer on Saturday. I don't know what I'll be doing and I've never watched a triathlon, much less participated in one. But it will be fun to be a part of such a prestigious event. And, of course, I have some running buddies that I can cheer for. I was reading the bios of the professional athletes; now I hope I get to be around them. I was told I could take pictures, as long as I was discrete.

How About a Threesome*

The Lifetime Fitness Triathlon is this Saturday. There are two race distances: an Olympic course and a shorter course. AmyBee is racing in the long course. Go AmyBee!

And go Emdee and Nee, running companions and frequent commenters on this blog, who are participating in the shorter distance race.

Also racing is my favorite Frenchman, Vincent Francoual, an awesome chef who has a restaurant downtown. This man knows how to cook escargot! He races to raise money for a local charity and was featured on the LTF website a few months ago. Some people wanted to train with him and they were on the news the other night, waving baguettes as their "weight training." I was told that he was doing lifting of another sort while watching France play in the World Cup at a nearby bar. :-)

I ran six miles last night with Big M from my old running club. We met at her health club and left a few minutes earlier than the rest of her group. They were going to do hills and she didn't want to. She also wanted to avoid seeing her coach so she wouldn't get chastised for not sticking to her marathon routine. We had a nice run and did a lot of catching up, taking a detour from our planned route because a freight train was crossing our path. We actually did some hills, but it wasn't a "hill workout." Big M ran the Twin Cities Marathon last October and is training for it again. Emdee is turning 50 this year and is running Twin Cities to celebrate. Big M, and AmyBee, and a host of others, are running to support her.

When we got back from our run, the others were starting to return. We said our goodbyes and as Big M headed to her car she saw her coach! Then she had some 'splaining to do. :-0


*Saw on a t-shirt worn by my wholesome triathlete friend Emdee.

Go Runners!

Good luck to *Jeanne* the running photographer, racing tomorrow's Calgary Marathon and Dawn the Pink Lady, running the half-M. I can't wait to read the race report and I'm sure *Jeanne* will have some great pictures as well. *Jeanne* is like the Eveready Bunny when it comes to marathons: she just keeps running and running them.

Thank you for the birthday wishes. My husband took me out to a fabulous dinner last night. It was supposed to be 5 courses, but when the chef learned it was my bday, he added a course! Dessert was a rhubarb creme brulee, that didn't quite work. It was topped with a goat cheese ice cream; its texture was very creamy but too tart for that dessert. When it comes to the classics, I say don't mess with them! The check came with freshly baked Madeleine's, so it was like having two desserts. Yum.

I worked off all that carbo loading with a 6 mile run this morning with my new running group. It's still LTF, but a different location, which means different people to run with. I hadn't met anyone yet, but was told there were some "slow" runners in the group. It was a store run, which means we met at a running store, and when we got back the store gave us 30% off. Too bad I didn't need any shoes. I tried on some running skirts, but the only one that fit came about two inches above my knees. Great for around town, but too long to run in. Plus, I could not bring myself to purchase a size 12-14. I'm an 8, dammit! Pass the chocolate.

While waiting for the run to begin, two girls asked me who everyone was. I explained that there were runners from a couple different locations (I read the e-mail). We introduced ourselves and I learned that they were from the same club that I plan to run out of. I told them that I was looking for a group that had some runners more my speed and they say they were slow runners. I looked into their low-20s faces and said, No. You're not. It wasn't until they said 14 minute miles that I believed them. They are new runners but they won't be 14 minute milers for long.

However, there were a couple of women who I think I'll be able to run with. Praise the Lord and pass the body glide! They started out ahead of me, but towards the end we were running together. I'm hoping they'll see the wisdom of Galloway and walk a minute for ever 9 minutes of running. This was my longest run since Grandma's and I felt strong. BTW Jeanne, you're right. I should not put the word only in front of mileage. We will be training for the TC 10 Miler; it's the same day as the Twin Cities Marathon. It's by lottery, so I hope I get in.

53 x 2

Today is my 53 birthday. Inside every old person is a young one wondering what the hell happened. But I'm OK with my age, except when someone (usually younger than me) points it out by calling me "young lady." Or when I gain weight while training for a marathon. And I'm not talking muscle weight. Sigh.

To celebrate, I went for a run! I want to be one of those people who is running strong well into her 80s. Maybe then I won't be last in my age group. :-) This was my 4th run since the marathon and I only went 3.5 miles. For some reason, I've been afraid to go running. I don't understand how I can run 26 miles and then be afraid to run 6, but it's been holding me back. So I made myself go out and of course it was fine. I was a little sore before the run was over, but I definitely took it easy. No hills, no speed, just a jog around the lake. My quads are sore now, though.

For my birthday, my husband got me some personal training sessions for O2 training. It was what I asked for and I'm looking forward to starting. I'm hoping it will increase my metabolic rate and help me to run faster. I didn't even know what metabolic rate was when I was younger!

My good friend Little P called this morning and had her family (husband, daughter 8 and son 6) sing Happy Birthday to me over the phone. She does that every year and if I'm not home they record it on my answering machine. I've saved two renditions and I play them during the year. It always puts a smile on my face.

Tagged. I'm It.

Sister Smile tagged me while I was out of town.

4 Jobs I’ve had:
Dishwasher, Hotel Maid, Applications Programmer, Software Sales

4 Movies I watch over and over: No movies, but I've read the following books at least three times: Noble House, Gone with the Wind, Atlas Shrugged

4 Places I have lived: NYC, L.A., Santa Clara, Newport, Oregon

4 TV shows I watch: Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Boston Legal; 10 P.M. news

4 Places I’ve been on vacation: Kyoto, Japan; Paris, France; Guadalajara, Mexico; Vancouver, Canada

4 Websites I visit every day: Hotmail, Yahoo, Blogger; I only obsess on email on a daily basis.

4 Favorite Foods: Dark Chocolate truffles, Gnocchi, Quiche, Escargot

4 Places I'd rather be right now: On my sailboat; Saint Peters Square in Rome; On a beach in Hawaii; At a sidewalk table at Cafe Einstein on Unter den Linden in Berlin

4 Favorite Bands/Singers: Rolling Stones, Oingo Boingo, The Cure, Eric Clapton

Amy B:Tag--You're it!