Archive for May 31, 2008

The Triathlon Rx | May 31, 2008
6 comments

i suppose i should get to this..

So I’ve been “tagged” like 4 different times.. but I keep putting it off. I’m not playing by the rules and not tagging anyone else because I’m basically the last person on earth to get around to doing this, but if you haven’t been tagged – go for it – you’re it!

5 things you’d never know about Erika:

  1. Whenever someone in a movie winks, I always wink back. I like physically can’t resist it. I even tell myself like “OK.. don’t wink. Don’t wink.” and then that left eye snaps closed and open before I can do anything about it! Haha I always double check around me right after to make sure no one saw.. “What a wierdo..” ;)
  2. I drive barefoot. In the summer that is.. For some reason flip flops + driving don’t work for me. I think it’s because I drive a stick.. so I have to constantly push in on the clutch, plus my teeny feet don’t let me keep my heel on the floor. Otherwise my shoe gets stuck. I don’t like take off my tennies or something though just TO drive barefoot. That would be extreme.
  3. I have my bellybutton pierced. At 18, that’s like – OK.. you’re not special – but knowing ME (what I mean to say is, knowing my MOM), it’s kinda a big deal. She took me on my 13th birthday to get it pierced. It’s funny because I had asked for SO LONG (which is even more hilarious because I was what – 12?!) and she always said no, and then on my birthday, it was like, OK, I’ll go with you! I got it done at a place called Lucky Linda’s out by Valley Fair. My BFF came with, and I’ll never forget the size of her eyes when she saw the needle!
  4. Speaking of piercings.. when I was in 8th grade I used to run a little underground piercing business. I did all the holes on my ears, including my cartilage, and I probably pierced like 10 other girls ears total. Like girls I didn’t even know. They’d come to me through a friend of a friend or something, and be like “my mom won’t let me pierce my ears until I’m 16.” And I’d be like “psh.. I’ll take care of ya! Lemme grab a needle.” Kids. Do not try this at home.
  5. I have an african parrot named Jadin. I am allergic to cats, cats and dogs, cats, dogs, horses, gerbils, bunnies, horses basically any animal with hair.. and a bird was a good way to go. My first pet ever was a turtle named Elizabeth, who my dad found stranded downtown on his way home from work. (I think I was 4?) We let her go in Lake of the Isles. She was probably eaten by a bird the same day.

And here is my list, in photo form:

Dang.. hottie allert.

Check out my sweet ride.

Lucky Linda’s was also a tattoo parlor.. very clean and sterile and good. I’d recommend them to anyone!

Only I pierced into ice.. not a cork. ??

Hah so this is the only photo I didn’t get off flickr. Sorry it’s so dark.. I hope you can still see how adorable these lil guys are! Jadin is on the left (I believe..) and the other birdy is Kiwi. One of my friends has the same breed of bird, and whenever one of us goes out of town we always babysit for the other lil squeaker! We’re not sure if they’re the same or opposite sex.. so we’re always a little apprehensive about putting them together for too long :D

IN OTHER NEWS:

No running wrap up this week. My mileage is teeny.. and they’re all basically just short easy runs. Despite the fact that my legs feel great, I think a little recovery time is important.

I went to the Twins/Yankees game last night.. and despite the fact that we lost (but only by one!) it was still super fun. It was yet another photo documented adventure.. and that will be coming soon.

Something that was referenced in this post will be making a reapperance sometime hopefully soon!! Ahhh if you only knew what it was and how freaking excited I am :D You will be surprised. Trust me.

Well kids, time for me to check out. I’m meeting my friend to go down to the lake, and then I have a full night of waitressing ahead of me! Hope everyone has some decent weather to enjoy this weekend, and if not, what a perfect excuse to stay in for a movie night! Adios!

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The Triathlon Rx | May 26, 2008
22 comments

Gomer (go'-mer): Hebrew – to complete.

[EDIT EDIT EDIT - PICTURES ADDED!! - EDIT EDIT EDIT]

So I’m starting this post a little after 9:00 on Sunday night.. knowing it will take me a good minute before this is “publish ready”.. not to mention just to think of all the things I want to include in here! Don’t feel obligated to read the whole thing.. just look at pictures and highlights if you want.. but this is more for me than anyone else.. I really want to remember this one! I’m not even sure where I should begin on my

MED CITY MARATHON REPORT:

When I posted on Saturday morning.. I was just about to head out to work. Well I got to work.. and it was like a freaking circus! Literally.. there were SO many people up front in the window/running that it was ridiculous. Definitely more people than needed, and especially for a lunch shift. My boss was quick to let me leave knowing that I still had a lot left to do to be ready! I love job. And my boss. :D

So I hopped back on my bike and headed home.. got myself packed up.. and made a quick CostCo/Trader Joe’s trip before my dad came to pick me up! Dad came, packed everything in to the Jeep, and started the adventure down to Rochester. My dad had called earlier and left me a voicemail saying “I’m bringing my bike!” and I was thinking like Hmm.. papacito they’re not going to let you bike on the course. Well he knew that too.. but given the course, it would be easiest to catch me in the most places if he was on his bike.

So we get to the hotel in Rochester right.. and we’re at the front desk. I’m just gonna say right now I’m actually an idiot. Like.. honestly. I may secretly be Kenyan inside, but I also must be a blond. (Wow.. lets see who else I can offend? Time to stop.) Um.. without even unpacking the jeep.. I all of the sudden I smacked my hand to my forehead and was like “I forgot my effing shoes.” Minus the eff.. sounded more like something that rhymes with buck (because that’s about how much I’d pay for my BRAIN at that moment). Seriously Erika?? I can remember extra Gu for other people.. and I left my own damn shoes. I had my old old running shoes (that I just wear for walking) but those are WAY expired. Like run-in-and-cause-injury expired.

While I met the guys from my run club for our pre-race dinner.. my dad drove BACK an our and my mom drove OUT half an hour to meet and give him my shoes. I honestly have so much love for my parents. I pray that I would do the same for my kids (some day) – they’re seriously amazing. My mom was pissed at first.. but then she realized the situation. She’s a runner – she knows what’s up. Dinner was at Victoria’s and it was freaking fantastic. I got the best pasta EVER. And was absolutely stuffed. And would do it all over again (just maybe not every day) ;) Mmm apparently I wasn’t too stuffed for ice cream cause that’s what my dad and I hit up when he got back from the EmergencyShoeRun.

Two of the guys + one girl in the photo were doing the relay (minus one leg of the team who wasn’t at dinner), and the rest of us were in it for the whole shabang. On our walk back to the hotel from dinner I snapped a photo with The Man at Soldiers Field (where we would finish). Apparently I think I’m some pretty hot stuff..?

So post-ice cream I wanted to head back to the hotel because I wanted a good night’s sleep. The race had a 7:00 am start, and the last shuttle for the start left at 6:20. I actually went to bed at 10:00 fairly easily.. had the traditional everything-goes-wrong dream and had to get up once to pee.. but other than than that slept a solid 7 hours before the alarms went off at 5:00 am. After a good cup of coffee and breakfast, (btw – pre-long run breakfast for me is chik’n nuggets. It’s not traditional pre run food by any means.. but it’s what I do!) I met the rest of the marathoners down in the lobby at 5:45 to go catch the bus. We made it to Byron (the start) in plenty of time for [multiple] pit stops, sweat bag drop-off, all the usual. There were those nature valley crispy granola bars (+ lots of other stuff) at the elementary school where we started.. so I ate one of those on a whim. 26 miles is sorta a long way ;)

It was already 60 degrees and humid by the start, but it could have been much worse. It was forecasted to be thunderstorming – something I can certainly do without. But even still.. I was in just a sports bra (+ tube-sock sleeves.. that trick’s a keeper!) already right off the bat. This guy who was running did a great job with the national anthem, and at 7:00 on the dot we were off.

HIGHLIGHTS:

I’m not gonna go through mile by mile with my splits or any of that (unless someone cares..) but my slowest mile was mile 3 at 8:02.. when I tried to pull myself back to make sure I didn’t go out to hard.. didn’t last long. That was my only mile in the 8s. My fastest mile was mile 26 at 7:02. I most definitely ran negative splits.. and it felt good the entire way through. Gomer’s (my garmin) time was 3:15:19 for 26.33 and my chip time was 3:20:53. Everyone was all up in arms about the finish times being off.. so I’ll call it 3:20 for piece of mind and be happy. I was the 2nd female finisher overall and am pretty freaking ecstatic! My Boston Qualifying time was 3:40.. so I will most definitely be running Boston since I’m moving there this fall!

The woman with me in almost all of the pictures on the course is named Mary, and I picked her up somewhere after my pit stop mile 6.7. We ran from there all the way to the finish.. and she didn’t even have to go the whole way! She was only registered for the 20 mile training run (she’s doing Grandma’s too), but finished the entire 26.2. She is absolutely amazing.. and that’s all I need to say.

During race pictures:

I think if you click on them you can make them bigger..

Mile 8 – Water cup clenched in one hand, a wave in the other, and a smile on my face! This was the first place I saw my dad, and just a little ways after Mary and I started running together.

Mile 10 – Look how grey it was!! I guess I should be thankful – I’m sure it kept the temps down.

Mile 12 – Already? I honestly didn’t even know what mile I was in for the majority of the race!

Mile ~13.3 – this would be right after the spot where the half-marathoners turn off.. and also the same place we’d return to for the finish. Couldn’t believe we were already half way done!

Mile ~19.5 – Heading down the street for the last “turn around” before we headed for the finish. After the turn around (at the end of this street) I opened up my last pack of sports beans. My pops also handed off a teeny water bottle to me (gotta love the amphipod!)

Mile 23 – only a 5K left!? I thought about the little 3 mile loop I used to do in my neighborhood when I was just beginning running.

Mile 25 – glanced at Gomer and realized we were going to come in under 3:20! We picked it up a little bit.. my split for mile 26 was 7:02 :D

Post race pictures:

Andy – myself – Mary. Andy was waiting at the finish area. Where did I put my medal?

Myself, Adam, and Breanne. We all PRd!!

Us + Andy.. who ran the half and took 2nd (also!!) with a freaking amazing time of 1:17.

Let me stress how important it is to MOVE and STRETCH and MOVE SOME MORE after you finish. If I hadn’t kept walking around afterwards I’m 100% sure this picture would not have been able to happen! I don’t know what I did that was so right but I’m like super mobile and walk-down-stairsable. Bending over to touch my toes – no problem. Sitting down onto the toilet (don’t laugh – you know what I’m talking about!) – no problem! Yeah, I feel a little sore. But I’ve felt more sore after a tough 400s workout on the track than I do right now (day after)!

The whole gang at “Cheap Charlie’s”. The place had a plaster pig on top of the roof. I don’t think I would eat there. Ever..? Cheap is definitely a proper description.. ;) Anyways.. most important thing to say is everyone did fabulously!

Why is it that Applebee’s is always the go-to place for post race? Cause it’s fast. And cheap. And amazing. And my dad can get a good cold beer on tap :D

And here my friends.. I completes my first “official” marathon’s race report. Some day I’ll print this out and make it into a little booklet to look back on. Myself (and Gomer ;) ), along with many other runners completed a great marathon and had a fabulous time. Grandma’s is 26 days away, and I know that this is just one of many many more to come!

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The Triathlon Rx | May 24, 2008
4 comments

in a rush!

TODAYS TO DO LIST:

  1. finish packing
  2. work 12-2
  3. drive to Rochester with dad
  4. pick up packets with Andy/drive the course
  5. dinner at Victoria’s with RC crew
  6. take Tylenol PM
  7. sleep

TOMORROWS TO DO LIST:

  1. breakfast
  2. coffee
  3. 26.2
  4. sleep

AHHH I’M RUNNING MED FREAKING CITY TOMORROW! I’LL BE DONE BY THIS TIME! (let me retract that.. I better be done by this time!) No time to post. I have to be at work in 20 minutes! You’ll be seeing plenty of pictures soon!!

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The Triathlon Rx | May 21, 2008
9 comments

fan. freaking. tastic.

Not gonna lie.. today was like the most lazy amazing fantastic day I’ve had in a LONG TIME. It reminded me how thankful I am to be DONE with school!! A lot of my friends are still in school right now.. and my mom is still in school (she’s a teacher.. hi mom!! (she reads..)) so today was a solo adventure. Which was FINE with me because I didn’t really have a plan, and didn’t really want one! After the gym this morning.. it just sort of hit me: I could do ANYTHING I WANTED! So let me take you on an adventure :D

After the gym I came home and showered. Then I decided I wanted to make a smoothie, but we were out of yogurt. SO I biked on over to Lund’s, and proceeded to buy enough to make my backpack as big as I was. It was rather precarious biking home.

Got home, made smoothie.. remembered I need to sell this iPod! (BTW, if any of YOU want to buy it.. you better lemme know asap!) So I made up a flier and biked on over to..

Dunn Bros to post it on their bulletin board! This is actually an old picture.. I didn’t have my camera with me. But I did get an iced soy chai that was pretty fanfreakingtastic. I also walked across the street to the Co-Op and put a flier up on their board too.

Then I went to the Library because I couldn’t bike with my chai.. so I needed to waste some time. I checked out the latest two issues of Runners World.. but not before having to pay an effing $34 fee for overdue items.. HALF OF WHICH WEREN’T EVEN MINE (cough*MOM*cough.. we’ll be talking). Went home, made up some food, put on tanning lotion/sunscreen.. and WENT TO THE BEACH!!

OK.. not the beach.. but I laid (layed? nope.. Hmm it still looks wrong though) out at the lake. Calhoun of course ;) And yikes.. not the most attractive picture, but LOOK AT THAT SUN! LOOK AT THE BLUE SKY!! Ahh-mazing.

Here’s my little sunny heaven: got the phone.. the literature.. the drinks.. and the music. Which I didn’t need or end up listening to because..

this chick brought the beats. Mmm actually she wasn’t that good. Like really.. not that good. But hey, can’t blame her for trying right?! Gotta practice somewhere! This is looking over towards the volleyball courts.. and it’s like my favorite place to lay out – between the courts and the beach! WHAT? Be amazed. Minnesota does have beaches.

This is looking the other direction (east?). There are always people here playing frisbee or football and whatnot. The guys in this picture were fine.. but like 5 minutes later 2 other guys came and thought they were a little too cool with all their big boy swear words. Seriously? Man.. I hope I act like that when I’m like 28.

This guy’s my favorite. I run this lake all the time.. but I’ve gotta say – I’ve never just decided to stop midrun and plop down in the sun and chill for like 20 minutes. I might have to try it some time..

And time to pack up and head home. I was sorta sad to leave, sorta thankful. It was actually NOT really bikini weather.. it was pretty damn windy and I was kinda cold. But I’m stubborn determined to work off my shorts/sportsbra tan. Its a constant struggle to get rid of those, since I run a lot more than I lay out in my swim suit. SWIM SUIT!! Ahh my ex boyfriend still has my swimsuit at his house! And nooo, don’t let your mind wander to the gutter. He has a hot tub. I had to shower. Everything was kept PG.

Well kiddos.. time to head off to RunClub. Afterwards, we’re all going to my work (Tin Fish!!) for drinks!! SOOO.. I hope everyone can find one day this week to just relax and enjoy. I’m definitely thinking there will be more of these days in my near future.

Next post.. FOUR DAYS TILL MED CITY!

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The Triathlon Rx | May 18, 2008
9 comments

7 toenails to go.

How gross is that? I can’t remember the last time I had all 10 toenails.. there are always a few that have gone black and fallen off, or are halfway grown back. Right now I have one that is just hanging on for dear life.. it’s completely black and I’m definitely feeling it after TODAY’S RACE :D I wish it would hurry up and fall off already!

So, here goes Erika’s Little Big Race Report:

I woke up at 6:20 with the sun, but then, remembering that I went to bed just six hours ago, I tried to get a little more sleep before I had to get going. Got back up at 7:04, did the usual contacts in/brush teeth/wash face thing, and checked the temp quick before getting dressed. 40 and sunny, light breeze, high of 60 by 3:00. PERFECT racing weather. Got the mug of coffee (very important) poured and breakfast going. I’m not usually a breakfast-before-run person, but racing is different than running, plus I knew it would be a while before I’d get a chance to have real food. I heated up about 6 Chik’n Nuggets.. which you might be like “WHAT? For breakfast?!” but seriously.. these are like my favorite pre-run fuel. They don’t really fit the carb/protein/fat ratio that’s supposedly “ideal“.. but I’ve been running for a long ass time and I just do what works for me.

My dad and I got to Minehaha Park by 8:15.. got my bib, met up with Bobby (see below pictures..) and his girlfriend, and we (Bobby, myself, and GOMER) headed out for a warm up. OK so keep in mind my total mileage for today was supposed to be around 12 as my last “long run” before Med City (NEXT SUNDAY!!).. so anyways did 1 mile easy with B and 1 more easy on my own.. made my last bathroom stop.. went back to grab my dad.. and then we headed up to the street where the starting line was. At that point it was 8:56 so we had good time.. until suddenly the damn horn went off! I whipped my sweatshirt off as my dad was like “Drop and Go Erika.. Drop and Go!!” and GO I did.. Here’s me coming in the last 100 meters.

Unfortunately I didn’t hit Gomer until like half a mile in. I thought I did, but guess not. And I apologize in advance if I come off as bragging, but I had way too much fun, so I’m gonna brag away.

I passed the 2nd leading woman at mile one, and the 1st woman at 1.5.. and after that I was right at home hangin in with the guys ;) Chatted with several people along the way, but after 3.5 I was on my own for the rest of the race. That’s one crappy thing about small races – if you’re not with a pack, there’s no one there to compete with (outta sight, outta mind), do you really are responsible for pushing yourself. I passed one last person with about .75 to go, and came in strong at 44:00 even. Unfortunately, I had too much left at the end, but that’s what happens when you’re not used to racing that distance.

This picture would have been SO GREAT if it was like a quarter of a second earlier! The finish line was about 25 feet ahead of me.

Me and Mr. Bobby. I was the first woman finisher, and 6th overall. Bobby was 4th!! And for finishing first, I won an iPod!

A tried and true TURC pose. (TURC stands for The University Running Club.. I met Bobby on one of the first trail runs of the year.)

Here are my race freebies (that made it home, as opposed to in my mouth) The two shirts are basically the same – the red one shows what the back looks like.

Up close: two vanilla Boosts.. a Power Walker hat (sorry.. this will be donated. I’m not a walker).. my iPod (not donated.. but I’m selling this one. I don’t really want/have a need for an iPod).. a big delicious apple.. a whole foods granola bar.. and a target knockoff of a Zone bar (strawberry yogurt flavored).

Overall, the race was really fun – fun being my key word because by no means is it a PR for me for 6.2 miles, but since it was so small I got to enjoy being the first female finisher. After I collected all my freebies, I sent them off with my dad, and he drove down to Dunn Bros where I was going to meet him. I got in 5 more miles easy, and ended my run at the coffee shop! It worked out perfectly!

After Dunn Bros, my dad and I decided to stop at the Farmers Market before he dropped me off at my mom’s.. but those pictures are for a different post ;) I’m headed off to work right now, and I’ll be there till close.. so hopefully it’ll be super busy since it’s so nice out! It’s a little cool.. but not too bad. Hope everyone has a LOVELY Sunday! (my absolute favorite day of the week btw!)

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The Triathlon Rx | May 16, 2008
10 comments

a gift from god.

Gomer arrived on May 13th just after 5:30 pm. My love for this little guy is pretty extreme.. like so extreme I better not have one when I have real kids, because I’m pretty sure it’s a sin to love your garmin more than the children you give birth to. (*edited to add.. Gomer IS my garmin. Yes. I named him.)

I’m gonna keep this post short and sweet, because really.. what can I say? Oh.. here’s something: someone earlier was like “Wow, you’re loaded! You got the 405!” Nope. Not loaded in the least. It’s not like I had a Garmin 305.. and just wanted the new model. I’ve never had a gps, much less a decent watch (although I actually kinda love my $15 Target one..) and I was saving up for a LONG time for this! THENNN my Honda decided to fall apart [again] and I had to put $970 in to that. Goodbye Garmin. :(

Luckily.. I’m having this going away party deal.. and as a “going away” present.. my dad decided that if a Garmin was what I really wanted, than a Garmin is what it is! My parents went together on it.. and I am very very thankful. My life is officially complete. (More complete than just being a Gold Star member at CostCo.)

All my fellow little wristed runners – don’t get your hopes up. The 405 is actually not a lot smaller than the 305. It just looks way nicer. I stole my buddy’s 305 once for like a week and had a blast playing with it.. but I gotta say the 405 is super cool, especially with the touch sensor ring around the face. I haven’t tried out the little virtual running buddy yet.. but trust me – I’m taking him DOWN.

A little ego boost for me: I found out my 6 mile loop (which as you might have seen, I do quite often) is actually 6 and a HALF miles. I usually never wear a watch when I run, but on the rare occasions that I did, I’d get done with the run and think I felt great, but I’d be like “damn.. that’s actually a pretty crappy time.” I knew I slowed down since I used to race 5Ks.. but I didn’t think I had slowed down that much! Well.. adding in an extra half a mile brings my pace down quite a bit. Order is once again restored to the world :)

Non running related.. I’ve been working quite a bit. I picked up an extra shift tonight, and it’s a good thing I was there because it was BUSY! Not surprising though, it was freaking gorgeous out today. I’m kinda in the mind set of ‘I’ll take all the hours I can get’ because I’m going to be in debt for the rest of my life after transferring to Northeastern. Right now.. I have a full ride at the U of MN. Well the U must see a lot more potential in me than NU because I’m not getting anywhere near that kind of aid from Northeastern. Anyways.. if I didn’t like my job, that might be a problem. Luckily, that’s not the case – I’d marry my job if I could. (Yes. I realized that analogy doesn’t work. But it’s late. Give me some credit ;) )

One of my [hot] professors came into work today [with his girlfriend].. and joked “you ready for that final Saturday?” Only it wasn’t a joke. And I have ONE FINAL left on SATURDAY at ONE FREAKING THIRTY in the afternoon. Seriously.. who does that? And WHYYY are there so many couples at work?! Damnit anyways.. I always regret breaking up with (insert name here) when it gets to be summer. No one likes being single in the summer. No one, as in ME.

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The Triathlon Rx | May 13, 2008
11 comments

mom & me: you know how we do

So I believe I mentioned before, CostCo is pretty much my favorite weekend adventure with my mom. Even though it’s just the two of us living at home, we manage to go through a lot of, um.. everything! I know I really promote local, organic produce, which is pretty much the opposite of anything coming from CostCo, but we save SO MUCH here! This little shindig went down on none other but Mothers Day – the perfect outing. So.. let the adventure begin.

We’re “Gold Star” members.. I feel so VIP. I could die tomorrow, but knowing this, my life is now complete.

How fake looking/freaking amazing is this!? My mom asked “What.. you’re going to buy us a grill?” but ACTUALLY… I was the one who won our nice gas grill that we have now.. so I think its her turn to make the contribution ;)

All you bar-lovers out there.. here’s a little bit of heaven. In bulk they have Clif bars, Lara bars, Balance bars, those ThinkThin bars, some new one in the top left that I can’t remember the name/brand of, and then of course.. the only one worth buying – KASHI ROLL BARS!! Seriously.. we buy two boxes of these at a time (36 ct each) and go through them faster than beer in a frat house. I know I’m a total outcast, but I HATE Lara bars. ICK.

And my lovely madre picking out some gum and mints. I think it would be pretty freaking awesome to climb these shelves. It would be like spelunking.. only with 2 pound tubs of mustard instead of stalagmites.

I believe this is right after I found my new all time favorite munchy cereal. It’s hiding in the picture.. can you guess what it is? Hhahaha.. a secret I’ll never share! (Actually.. I will be sharing in my next post..) Sadly, CostCo stopped carrying the 3pack of Kashi Vive. It’s the only Kashi cereal I like.. and it’s getting harder and harder to find! Even my Co-Op is discontinuing it!! :(

I’m actually not wearing white tights.. nor am I that pasty. The lighting. Honestly. Highlight purchase of this trip? The new issue of SELF. Hehehe, I almost NEVER buy magazines since we do a swap at my gym.. so I can end up getting them for free, or I check them out at the library. I like to treat myself when at CostCo though. And hey.. treating myself to a magazine is a lot less damaging on the wallet than treating myself to a 73″, $3,799.99 High Def Flat Screen.

The rest of mothers day was great. My mom and I started the morning with Coffee & Card time, and then I headed out to RunClub. I was all set to do my regular long run with the marathon group when I realized MedCity is in two weeks and not three! Soooo.. I did 10 with run club, and then took off for home and did a 5 mile “trot” with my mom. She’s seriously stellar.. she ran her last marathon in 2002 (her 22nd), and she doesn’t race at all anymore, but she still gets out there and does her thing. She’s even going to be our guest speaker at the marathon clinic in a couple weeks!

Typically, a run with mom would go like this: We start out together.. just chatting and enjoying each others company. After about a block.. she reminds me to tone it down.. because I’m always a step ahead of her and I’m “dragging her along.” So I try to cut it back.. but I’m back out “pushing her” in about 15 seconds. I can’t remember the last time we actually finished a run together because usually about half way through I say.. “do you mind if I just meet you at home?” and then take off. I know right – MEAN! Well I figured Mothers Day was better than any to just BE with my mom and do the whole run with her. I felt good about it at the end. And hey – even on one of her “worst day” (she had worked in the yard for 7 hours the day before.. we’re re-landscaping..) we still were passing people, and no one passed us!

IN OTHER NEWS: I just picked up a sweet pair of these guys:

I had been asking around for good sandals for runners.. because I run, and then I’m on my feet all day waitressing, and I know my body was HATING me on the days I wore flip flops! These are exactly the kind of shoes I would have rolled my eyes at and thought LAME when I was like 12.. but now I think they’re pretty much the coolest things ever.

AND..

My baby is arriving TOMORROW!!!! As a moving away present.. my parents (together.. awkward situation) ordered me the Garmin 405. I can’t even put into words how excited I am. I think my love for this thing is slightly more intense than my love of air. I. CANT. FREAKING. WAIT! Plus.. I’ll have it for the Race for the Ribbon 10K I’m doing on Sunday.. AND I’ll be able to use it during Med City!! Ahhh the wait is killing me. I’m sure you’ll be seeing this lil guy much much more. Is it awkward to love an electronic so much that you name it? People name cars.. bikes.. um, anatomy.. I’m pretty sure this thing deserves a name. I’ll be workin on a good one. Well that’s all for now my friends. Have a lovely splendid day!

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The Triathlon Rx | May 10, 2008
11 comments

lets get things straight..

I have been getting several questions/comments lately that have started to bother me. Having gotten questions like this my entire life, I’ve gotten pretty good at ignoring them. But those are at least questions from real people I know, and they are talked (as in out loud, face to face) about with me. Tone of voice can say a lot, so when I get comments/questions on here, I have no clue if you’re saying it with a tone of concern, or of its an accusation. So instead of answering comment after comment.. I’m just gonna lay this out here:

  1. if you’re going to leave a comment/question, and you’re going to post as “anonymous”, AT LEAST LEAVE A LEGITIMATE EMAIL ADDRESS PLEASE! Someone left a comment that I was very much so not going to publish, but I took like 20 minutes to write out a response to her. And the next time I checked my email, I had one of those dang “delivery service notifications” saying that the email didn’t exist.
  2. Yes. I am aware that I am “small”, and you don’t need to point that out to me. If I ever say “oh.. I feel fat” or “I couldn’t eat that!” then by all means, stop by and smack me in the face. I have been “small” my entire life, and so has my mom (who is also a marathoner btw).
  3. This is not a “food blog”. Some of my favorite readers do have food blogs and I love them (the readers and the blogs both) but that’s just not my thing. I post snacks and stuff every once in a while for fun.. but that about it.
  4. If you’re going to post a “mean” comment (and by that I’m not referring to anyone who’s actually gotten their comments published) .. I’m just going to delete it! Don’t waste your time. And don’t read for that matter.. no one’s making you.

To address Allison’s question’s (I’m not trying to target you, but I’ve been getting a few of these):

“why do you use Splenda at all?” – You really can’t say “You’re skinny enough that eating extra sugar would be good for you.” without knowing my health history, and you don’t know what I’m eating throughout the day. I’m not the only person in my house who uses Splenda, so that’s why we have it around in the first place. “Don’t you need a ton of calories for how much exercise you do?” Yep, darn right I do! And I make sure I get those calories. Every. Single. Day. It is actually not that hard to eat ~3,000 calories if you know what you’re doing. “and drinking non-caloric beverages” .. haha I have NO idea where you got that.. but I do drink caloric beverages..? I also drink diet soda, but I go out for starbucks and smoothies and shakes all the time.

A couple other people have asked “do you count calories?” For a while after I saw my sports nutritionist, I did just to make sure I was getting up to the number I needed. Now it’s just so normal to me that I don’t need to. Every once in a while at the end of the day I can do a quick add up to make sure I’m on track, but once it becomes a habit it’s really not hard. Consistency is the key.

AHHH. OK.. with that off my chest..

It was SO NICE to be back at work yesterday! Not just because of the sweet tips I made in only 3 hours (one guy gave me $9 bucks!! (we are not a fancy restaurant.. that’s a lot from one person)), but because I got to be with my Tin Fish Family again :D I’m working today from noon till ? because the weather man said it’s supposed to rain. Well let me tell you something, our weather men have not been batting 300 lately, and they’ve been wrong about the weather almost every single day. I have no clue when I’ll be going home.

I’m about to head out the door for a quick loop around the lake with my madre (biking.. this is like the only time I get to see her!). Speaking of mothers.. don’t forget TOMORROW IS MOTHERS DAY! Get your cards/gifts/surprises ready! In the spirit of motherly love, I leave you with me & momma post race.

[EDIT - EDIT - EDIT]

I was only at work for a little more than an hour before I got sent home since the weather is so gross. It was raining and really slow.. but it’s fine with me because now I’m working on my drawings. I’ll be doing this pretty much all day until mass tonight.. so hopefully I can finish up!

Oh one more question.. why does like everyone have some sort of tribal design as their picture? Did I miss something??

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The Triathlon Rx | May 9, 2008
9 comments

defeated to sky high.. and everything in between.

Holy smokes.. this last week has been flippin ridiculous. Good and bad. I’m in serious sleep debt, but that’s life. I got a lot to cover, and a little time, so lemme get down to business.

First things first: I decided. I’ll be transferring to NORTHEASTERN! I seriously didn’t make my decision until about half an hour before I had to make the phone call.. I was that on the fence about it. Just trying to process all the options was really draining on me (and on my mom too). There were nights when I couldn’t sleep, and my mom would come down at like 3 in the morning saying “Well what if we did this_____.” But really – I’m happy with my decision. (Except for the part where I’m drowning in debt until I’m 85.. that still blows.) To add some icing to the cake, I got a voicemail Wednesday morning “extending me an invitation” to the Honors program! SO EXCITED! Aside from smaller classes and amazing professors.. you also get to live in the Honors LLC which is suite style dorms :D We get our own little kitchen, bathroom, and lounge room!! I. Can’t. Wait.

Secondly.. prom was great. I had a really fun time with James and all my old high school friends. We all took pictures at the Sculpture Gardens, went to Buca for dinner (huh?? Yeah.. that clearly wasn’t my planning), and then Grand March.. dance.. after party.

There were TWENTY TWO people in our group!! That made dinner super fun ;) And some good dancing..

Hahha.. I definitely felt very high school.. but hey – that’s what prom is for! Dancing definitely passed the time. The last prom I went to.. my date was LAME and didn’t dance AT ALL. Oop.. no, I lied. He’d dance the slow songs.

So after the dance we went back to my house to change quick before the after party. When we came up to the door.. it was wide open. Which was weird because we never leave our door open. Much less unlocked. James joked “like it even matters.. you live in such a safe neighborhood!” but I know it doesn’t matter WHERE you live. Our house was broken into once before like 10 years ago.

We walked through the porch and into the house (porch door open too..) and right on the rug in front of us was my purse and my moms purse.. everything strewn on the floor. It took a second for me to realize what happened.. credit cards – gone. Cash – gone. Both my mom’s cameras – gone. The scariest part is that my mom had been home when it happened.. asleep on the futon upstairs. The TV was on and there’s no way the person could have not heard it. Aside from me just being super pissed.. I’m SO thankful she was OK.

We canceled all our cards and stuff.. but the lame ass still used mine to fill up with gas in St. Paul.. then make a stop at Cosetta’s (an Italian grocery store.. wtf?).. and go on a little shopping spree at Walmart in ST. FREAKING CLOUD! Gotta say.. the guy works fast.

I was supposed to run the Minnetonka Half Sunday morning, but by the time the police left and I got back from the after “party” (which I only went to for like an hour).. my car pool would have been coming in like 2 hours. PASS! My friend biked with me while I did 14 Sunday afternoon.

I made a teeny bouquet of flowers (yes.. that’s a shot glass) for my madre. We’ve both had a rough week. Speaking of rough – today was my last class for the semester. I have this big project for my Arch Studio due today at 4:00. I’ve literally been working on it all day, every day, for over a week. Around 1:00 today when I was in the studio, I had to accept to myself that the amount of work I had left to get done would take more than 3 hours.. no way around it. Our teacher said he’d rather we turn in a stellar, 100% best effort project on Monday, and be marked down half a grade, than turn in a shitty/unfinished project on Friday and probably get more than half a grade off anyways. I’m trying to be OK with the fact that I’ll be turning in on Monday, but it’s hard. I feel super defeated.. especially since I’ve been working SO HARD and SO LONG on this. It’s not like I procrastinated or something, and now I’m stuck dealing with the consequences. The fact is – there is just more detail than 3 hours worth of work. So I left the studio, and drove home.

I’m about to go for a quick run to clear my head. Today is my first day back at work for the summer (psh.. it’s only like 62 degrees here..) and I’m working 5 till close. I’m really excited to be back! Just kinda down about the project..

I’ll leave you guys with some good eats. Ignore the fact that this looks florescent.. it’s freaking amazing. It’s vegan stuffed cabbage rolls smothered in sweet & sour sauce and it’s freaking fantastic. I don’t get time to make this often.. but when I do I make a lot so I can freeze and have it for like a week straight :D

And last but not least, this GINORMOUS box of splenda. 1,000 effing packets!!!! This will last me until I’m about 25.. going with me off to Boston next year. I have no idea why we bought it at COSTCO.. but hey.. fake sugar doesn’t expire. We’re good to go for a lifetime.

I apologize for the novel.. but that’s what happens when you can’t post for forever! I can assure that my posts will be more frequent now that school’s over. (Well.. not quite. I guess I have to turn in my arch project on Monday, and then SATURDAY the 17th I have one last final. Who does that?!) Ahhh. Time to run. Thanks to everyone for all the support in making my decision and the rough last week!

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The Triathlon Rx | May 6, 2008
2 comments

excellent, huh?

So you guys are probably wondering why the heck ChickPea over at Beyond Tofurkey would have given me the “excellent blogger” award.. I haven’t even posted in like.. forever. BUT, please give me a little leeway this week.

  1. Finals
  2. Term Projects
  3. Prom last Saturday
  4. Our house being broken into (Saturday night)
  5. This whole USD/NU dilemma/decision

Please trust that all of those are going to be detailed in plenty. And I’ll be giving out MY 5 excellent blogger awards as well! (Can I give them back to someone who gave it to me?! Where are the rules to this game?) And just because this week has been busy does NOT mean I’ve stopped thinking about you guys.. my camera has accompanied me on many little adventures!! I’m going to try my hardest to get a post up tomorrow. I at least know I’ll be working on one during my first class in lecture tomorrow morning, so that’s a start!

Leaving you with a teaser of a little of what’s to come :D

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