Whirlwind

It has been an absolute whirlwind since I last posted.

I did get in to Grandma's 1/2 marathon...yea! However, a lot of my running buddies did NOT get in this year. Entries to the 1/2 are selected via a lottery -- last year, pretty much everyone I know except me got in to the race. This year, it looks like it is me, Mary K (one of my training partners from last year's TCM marthon, Marty (my friend Marcia's hubby), MN Nat , and Bea. There is still a small chance that some of our other friends will get in the race, but there may be a small field of running buddies to train with this spring.

We've been training, but not too hard yet. Minneapolis got socked with about 24" of snow at the end of last week and it has been a bit cold and slippery out on the paths. Our temps have improved a bit, so things are melting AND we will have more daylight out there after Sunday's spring-forward movement of the clock, so that will help too.

Hubby and I will go to Las Vegas towards the end of March. We both had carry-over vacation days from last year that we had to use before the end of the first quarter, so we looked at our options and are heading back to Sin City. We'll relax a bit, gamble and play golf. That sounds like heaven to me.

Hubby's parents, siblings and spouses will be there the same time we will. We are going to stay on the Strip and they will stay downtown, so we won't be see each other the whole time, but will spend some time together.

I'm trying to get my sister and her husband to join us -- we'll see. Might be a whole reunion out there in the desert.

I've been taking some new action regarding my weight and nutrition. I'm not quite ready to post about the changes I'm attempting yet -- but can say that I'm trying very had to give up white sugar. It's been about 11 days. My good friend Dori was my "no sugar" inspiration.

With the exception of having a piece of Hubby's bithday cake, I've been successful in avoiding candy, cookies and all my crutch foods.

I'm pretty much hating every second if it.

Spring Training -- already?

Today was the kick off for spring and early summer marathon training.

February 24th??? While a winter storm warning is in effect, currently dumping about 10" of snow here?

As we say in Minnesota "yeah, you betcha".

Actually, I should clarify: as MINNESOTANS would say, "Yeah, you betcha".

Those of us originally from Wisconsin would probably say "are you nuts"?

Nuts we are it would seem, because at 8:00 am this morning, throngs of the hearty were bundling up and heading out to the trails to start the process of getting back to some level of fitness and speed.

I ran with my running club this morning -- it was really nice to see some old familiar faces that I haven't seen since the end of Twin Cities Marathon (TCM) training last fall.

I ran with Gary and Dori -- we plodded along for 6.2 miles. Once we got out on to the roads, it wasn't so bad outside. I bought some rubber spikes at Bed, Bath and Beyond that attached to the bottom of my running shoes. The extra grip from the spikes really helped me feel more confident about my footing on the snow and ice.

It was amazing how tough the run was though: partly because it was cold and blowy running in to the wind, partly because I have not run 6 miles in a very long time, but mostly because I am much bulker than I was last fall.

Sigh.

I did face the music last Monday when I saw the doc and got on the scale. The number wasn't pretty, but I'm ready to start tackling the bulk so I can be ready for warmer weather and less clothes. (That is the one really nice thing about living here and having winter: you can hide a lot underneath sweaters.)

When we were out on the trails, we ran past my TCM training partners Marcia and Mary. I'll be training with them again starting next week. We have a number of people that are trying to get in to Grandma's 1/2 marathon that are planning to train "unofficially" this time around. We'll try to follow a similar routine that the official group will be using, but because a few of the people aren't members of the health club, they are trying to avoid the (hefty non-member) cost for joining the official group.

After the run, Dori and I went to breakfast with a couple of other friends: Sarah and MaryJo. It was great to sit and catch up.

I was very happy to spend time with my friends, just shooting the breeze, enjoying each others company and having some very relaxed fun.

Hubby and I are now hunkered down in the house with the cats all around us. The snow is really coming down and we are very grateful that we have no where we have to be but here -- the house is warm and dry -- we're happy, we're healthy and we are very content.

Hurrah.

Tri U Mah -- 1st tri for 2007

I participated in the 3rd Annual Tri U Mah Indoor Triathlon today at the University of Minnesota. This event was the first triathlon that I ever did -- way back when in 2005.

The event is different than regular tri's in that participants swim, bike and run for 30-minutes in each sport, with a 10-minute transition between swim/bike and bike/run. The winners are determined by total distance covered during the 30-minute segments.

It is also different than most tri's because participants swim in a POOL -- in their own LANE without people swimming over them or having to do much siteing. As long as you can see the big blue line at the bottom of the pool, you are going to find the other side of the swim lane. Love that part.


Hubby did the tri with me last year -- but this year he opted to just be my cheer squad and personal photographer. Go HUBBY!

The photo at the top of this post is one my swim coach would love -- I'm gliding nicely on my side, my right arm is outstretched, with my left arm coming up on the rail to meet it, my head is looking straight down -- the only criticism I can hear my coach say is "get your head underwater"....

The other swim photo is 'artsy' and kind of cool -- and the one below of me on the bike is blurry, but I like it because it simulates how fast I was going at the time. ha ha.



It was a great swim for me -- I went .76 of a mile in the 30 minute time frame. My first year (before swim lessons), I covered .59 miles. Last year, .61 miles. I was very proud of my swim distance this year.

The bike was okay -- 6.42 miles (more than last year, less than 2005) and the run was 2.49 miles (slightly more than last year, slightly less than 205). I'm definitely carrying more weight this year than in years past and that is reflected in my times for the "dry land" events.

All in all, I covered more distance this year than ever -- 9.67 -- still less than my personal goal of 10 miles. I can't complain much though. I feel like it is a good start for my 2007 season.

My good friend Kathy and her husband did the event today too -- their first ever tri. They looked great in the water and I captured this shot of them on the bikes, still smiling and looking strong:

Training will start for Grandma's on February 24th. (Can you believe it???) That should help me increase my land speed -- however, I know that I have got to do some thing about my ever-increasing weight.

I have to see the doctor tomorrow morning (regular check up time). This is the check up that I cancelled in January because I didn't want to get on the scale. I've only INCREASED my weight since then, so tomorrow will be no picnic.

However, there is no time like the present to get depressed, feel like a miserable failure so I can get my act together. Again, ha ha.

PDX

My whirlwind tour of the west coast continues: I'm now in Portland.

I'm getting certified to teach a new course at my company and the woman who did the certification today is actually an old friend that I used to work with.

It was great to see her and to catch up. She offices with another old colleague, so at one point, the three of us got a chance to gossip, share old stories and create a couple new ones.

I miss working with these women sometimes -- they are only one of two teams of former co-workers that I'd actually consider working with again. They are both bright, funny and interesting.

Portland is another great city. Very interesting and vibrant downtown filled with coffee shops, restaurants, interesting places to walk and window shop and lots of people.

My hotel is very conveniently located near several Starbucks and also has a pool. I'm going to go and get in a few laps tonight.

My friend told me about a great running path that winds along the Willamette River, located about 5 blocks from my hotel. I got out tonight and ran the path for about 30 minutes. The river is beautiful -- especially tonight because of the huge full moon that was rising above it. It's a 'working river', so I saw a barge pushing some thing out to some where and another huge cargo ship that must have been recently unloaded. There were lots of runners and bikers out even though the temps were "cold". (It is probably in the 40s here).

I shouldn't complain about the cold -- the wind chills are supposed to be awful in Minneapolis this weekend. My running club cancelled the run scheduled for Saturday because of the prediction of -20 below wind chills.

I'll be staying indoors, scrapbooking with my friend Marcia before I go INSIDE to hit the gym.

SFO

I'm in San Francisco for a work thing... flew in today, will leave tomorrow to go to Portland for another work thing and then back home on Friday.

I used to travel for work a lot -- now, not so much. I have to say that I like parts of it -- being in a new city, wandering around, doing some "fun" new work stuff and, in the case of traveling to San Francisco, seeing some old friends.

I had dinner with one of my former work colleagues, Mara. Mara and I have worked together a couple of times in the past. She actually reported to me at one point -- although I've always considered her a colleague and a good friend.

She's fiercly independent, smart, funny and one of the best puzzle solvers I know.

We had dinner at The Tadich Grill -- great seafood place. I had cioppino, which is a delicious fish stew. It was great to catch up with her.

I got here in time to get a run in. It was really nice to run in temperatures above the freezing mark. It was probably in the 50s today and I ran the route near Fisherman's Wharf. I was only out for 42 minutes, but it was a great 42 minutes.

I'm concerned, though, that I'm way behind in my training. Since I've been sick most of the month, my workouts have been woefully lacking.

I've got my first indoor tri in about 2 weeks; I'll start really training for the summer season within a few weeks. I'm afraid all my friends will be much stronger than me and leave me in the dust...

I'll just have to keep moving forward, one foot and swim stroke at a time.

Nice to see you again, Jack

It's been a while since I've posted. Work has been crazy and I've been sick for most of January. I've had some goofy cold/sore throat/no energy thing since January 2nd. When it first hit me, I tried to lie low in order to get better. I thought I had recovered, but the whole illness blew up in my face again this week. Therefore, no exciting workouts to report. I've pretty much worked during the day and have conked out on the couch at night. Not exactly what I had in mind for the beginning to my 2007 training routine...

I do have a semi-interesting story about the picture in my blog today, but before I get to it, I need to give it a proper set up.

One of many odd habits that I've adopted over time is the one where, when I have problems sleeping at night, I take a little mental stroll through the house that I grew up in in Milwaukee.

We moved in to that house the summer before I entered 3rd grade. It is a big English-style house that was built in 1919. The house employed all the great styles of that era -- big rooms, lovely woodwork, glass door knobs. chandeliers, a built-in "pond" in the backyard and a brick grill, clanky radiator heat and scary basement!

My mom -- like her taste or not -- really was creative in how she decorated the house. Regal colors used in the living room and dining rooms; using a 4-pane screen panel to hid one of the radiators in the living room and paintng portraits of teach of the four Jacks found in a deck of card -- one image per panel.

One of the first summers we were in the house, she had concocted a grand plan to convert the backyard in to a Japanese garden -- so we planted lots of little plants and hung wind chimes around the "pond". She took spraypaint and drew big oddly shaped circles and ovals on the cement patio and then had my younger sister and me paint inside the shapes with using earthy tones to create an artificial rock garden.

She even tried to make that scary basement less so, by attempting to convert one of the rooms in to a playroom. She painted a series of childern from different lands on of of the basement walls. She painted 4-foot high images of a girl from Sweden, an Eskimo and a Native American, plus several others, holding hands and grinning a "come play with us" grin.

I lived in that house until I moved away to college -- and my dad stayed in that house long after that. I was some where in my 20's when he sold the house and moved in to a flat, where he lived until he passed away in late 1990.

The house in Milwaukee is connected to many happy memories; sneaking the black cat I named Midnight in to my room to feed him cream; discovering music by playing The Monkees first abum over and over and over again (which was then followed by repetitive playing of Carole King's 'Tapesty' and Neil Young's 'Heart of Gold'; the landing on the stair where I got kissed the first time by that boy in high school; bedroom walls where I slept under images of David Cassidy and Bobby Sherman; spending Christmases in the Big Room with my family and their having to endure my younger sister and I dressing like elves and passing out the presents; the kitchen table where we ate my dad's famous fried potatos for dinner (and sometimes breakfast); exciting times when my older -- and much more glamorous -- brother and sister would come up from Chicago to visit...

That house also holds a lot of sad memories -- my mom dying when I was 10; times of what felt like countless -- now silly-- fights wth my dad and my sisters; sneaking gin from my dad when I was 16 and beyond, igniting my pretty rapid slide in to problems with drinking.

The house represents a very powerful connection to who I was and to who I am today. So, I find something very comforting about my mental visits to the house. Through the back door, in to the kitchen, around to the dining room, the living room and the front hall. Opening the door to the closet in the hall and seeing my dad's overcoats and suit jackets hanging there. Then moving in to the back bedroom area -- in to my dad's room, the bathroom and then the back bedroom to look out of the patio door to the back yard.

My mental journey then goes up the stairs to the 2nd floor, where I wander through the Big Room (aptly named because it was as large as the 3-car garage underneath it...): In to the bathrooms and bedrooms on the 2nd floor and walking through the attic.

I love that house and have had many fantasies about moving back in to it. So many fantasies in fact, that from time to time I check out Realtor websites to see if it, or any other house from my old neighborhood, is for sale AND is afforadable.

Turns out my older sister also checks out websites for listings in our old neighborhood every now and then. A couple of weeks ago, she sent my siblings and me an email with a link to our old house -- for sale -- but nothing near affordable for my budget.

However, Hubby said that we should make the trek to Milwaukee to see the house. Evidently I had mentioned to him in late December that I had been thinking about the house a lot. (This makes sense to me, as I generally get a little wistful and nostalgic for my family during the holidays and Christmas 2006 was particularly tough).

So to Milwaukee we went. I called the real estate agent and told her a little white lie -- that we were relocating to Milwaukee and were interested in the house. Hubby and I had an appointment last Saturday for the walkthrough.

I am SO glad that we did this. Although the current owner has a decorating taste that is really not my own, the house still had its "bones". Same rooms; same leaded glass windows; same elegant light fixtures and doorknobs. Same screendoor; same snapping click the light fixture one of the bedrooms; same ceramic tile in the back hall.

Someone -- the current owner or someone prior to her -- paved over the pond in the backyard (mistake); remodeled the kitchen (BIG mistake) and updated a couple of bathrooms.

The biggest suprises to me, though came on the 2nd floor and in the basement.

There is a small closet -- may have been once used for pool cues or some such items -- in the Big Room. One time, when my sister and I were very little, we were playing hide and go seek with some other friends. I squished myself in to that closet and had my friend latch the door. Obviously the seeker could not find me and when I tried to get out of the closet, the latch was stuck. I panicked and pushed back against the back of wall of the closet, trying to push myself out. I broke some of the wood boards in the back of the closet which created some extra room away from the door and that helped some how to get the latch to pop.

During our visit last weekend, I opened the closet door and discoverd that the boards are still broken.

The realtor saved the walk through of the basement of the house till last. Hubby says she wanted us to fall in love with the house before seeing the boring part.

Boring my ass.

I walked down the stairs and could see in to what was the "playroom" -- no little smiling faces of the friends holding hands but... as I walked in to the room, there was Jack -- Jack in the Beanstalk.

I had forgotten that -- 40 years ago -- my mom had also painted his image on one of the walls in order to welcome us in to that gloomy room.

There Jack was, grinning an impish 'hello', holding his ax, in front of his beanstalk and near his little chipmonk friend.

I was stunned, shocked, surpised and very, very touched.

I have very little left of my mother -- not many memories -- only a few pictures -- and some stories that either my older siblings or my aunts share with me. This goofy painting was really a wonderful gift of her -- from her -- to find.

Hubby took lots of pictures of Jack for me, and when we got back to Minneapolis, he printed out really nice copies for me and my sister to have.



The other fun thing to find in the basement were remnants of the self-portraits that my younger sister and I spray painted on a wall around the corner from Jack. Although I don't remember all the details as to how my sister and I decided that it would be a good idea to spray our images on the wall, they were there, smiling at me and saying "hello".

It was really a great end to my trip back "home"

It's Official: Chicago Marathon

My good friend Mary and I were going to run today -- until the cold snap hit.

It was only 4 above zero at 11:00 am. I was just getting around to making coffee and I checked out the temp outside by looking at the thermometer we have on the side of a little garden house we have in our back yard.

At that exact second, the phone rang and it was Mary. We both decided to skip the run today. There is running in the cold and then running in the COLD. We could think of no logical reason to run outside today.

For as unexcited as Mary sounded about running outside today, her tone was very excited when she told me that she signed up for Chicago Marathon.

Last weekend, the women that all ran Twin Cities with me last fall got together with our significant others for dinner. Oddly enough, all of us had visited Europe last fall. Not together as a group, but with our husbands or significant others.

We got together to share pictures and stories and, naturally, when a bunch of runners get together, the conversation turned to upcoming races.

Marcia is thinking of doing Marine Corps this fall with her husband -- it will be his first marathon.

Cheryl is not sure which marathon -- if any is on her agenda for 2007, but we did convince her to try to get in to Grandma's 1/2 marathon with us which happens in June.

Mary wasn't sure what she was going to do -- maybe Twin Cities again; maybe New York.

I had been thinking about signing up for Chicago this year. It is their 30th anniversary -- It is a great race and a fun weekend event.

I must have been convincing enough because Mary signed up for Chicago yesterday. I just completed my registration form before logging in to blog.

So, it's official: October 7th I'll be at that start line in Grant Park with 44,999 of my other most close and personal friends.

Other news: Hubby and I are going to Milwaukee next weekend for a long walk down my life's memory lane. Should have some good stories to post after our visit.

I started Weight Watchers on January 1st and lost two pounds the first week. Then I promptly put them back on last week. Very frustrating, very annoying, very depressing. I'd really like to drop 15 to 25 lbs. I feel like I'm doing a better job at avoiding sugar, but apparently it is not enough. I'll have to just keep plugging along.

It is a whole new week next week and I'm hoping for better results.

I

2006 winds down...the "hits' list

New Year's Eve is here. Finally.

We are still experiencing very weird weather -- temps in the high 30's or low 40's, rain -- not snow, even our lawn is starting to green up. This can't be good...

Stepson is here until about 2:00. Then he is off to work so Hubby and I will figure out what we are going to do tonight. His sister is having a poker party -- but they live a long way from our house and driving back with all the lunatics is not exactly my idea of fun.

We may just stay home, which I am fine with too.

I'm looking forward to 2007 but have to say that I've had a pretty good 2006.

Here is my list of 2006 highlights:

1) Our Trip to Europe. Hubby and I both agree that our trip was definitely the highlight of the year. Although we can't pick a favorite place or event or meal of the trip, the whole package was truly wonderful.

2) My finishing the Lifetime Fitness Oly distance Tri: Oh, and that 1st place trophy for Athena's 40+. May I remind myself that there was only one person in my heat (me), but hardware none the less. I signed up for the event again for 2007 and my goal is to have a better race time. This means finishing the swim much less time. I've signed up for another swim package with my swim coach and renewed my membership with the MN Tri Club. I need to focus more on those open water swims and biking.

3) Training for Twin Cities Marathon with Marcia, Mary and Cheryl: Notice I said TRAINING and not the race. The race was pretty good, although certainly not my best marathon. Training with these women was fun and inspiring. We had a lot of laughs inbetween a lot of miles.

4) Making contributions: I feel very good about the fact that I'm in a position to make contributions of money to causes I believe in, or time (to coach new runners or to stomp for a political candidate I believe in), or both. It really is true that you get back much more than what you actually give.

5) Living a sane life: If I wasn't sober, none of my life would be like this. I'm grateful every day for being able to experience life as a sane, sober person.

Other highlights include playing on our weekly golf league; enjoying lots of easy time off and spending it at home; enjoying the company of my friends; renewing some friendships that had fallen away; and most of all, spending time with Hubby.

ho ho ho

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

We had a nice, slightly chaotic holiday. Step-kids were over yesterday and so were my in-laws, Hubby's twin sister and daughter. We had a lovely mid-day meal sprinkled with a little holiday drama (caused by me and my big mouth).

All calmed down (eventually) and every one ended up going to Midnight Mass at the in-laws parish. It was a lovely setting: candle lit sanctuary; wonderful music; very peaceful.

The service was the service -- Catholic -- so there was some chanting, standing, kneeling and crossing (the last of those two were done by the believers. I pretty much sat and observed during that part).

It was very nice to share that with Hubby and his family -- and I was glad we could all participate together.

Today, Step-kids went back to their mom's house....(always sad to see them go). Hubby and I went to his OTHER sister's house for the rest of the day. Ate as if it were going out of style; played some games; talked and basically just hung out.

It was a great day.

I hope you and yours were also able to celebrate however you felt fit today.

Here is to a joyous, healthy, fun, PEACEFUL 2007.

Finally --- snow!

It is December 21st (happy birthday today to both my father and my younger sister) and we are FINALLY getting a bit of snow.

Although it has been nice to not worry about ice and slipping and trudging through the wet stuff, a little snow this time of year is actually quite nice.

We aren't getting socked in like Denver, but it's anticipated that we'll have 1 - 5 inches by the end of tomorrow.

The not-so-fun part of this is that, although I'm off of work tomorrow, I have to drive about 20 miles from our house to my sister's in the morning to pick up her dog, who is at the kennel.

My sister, a rabid Green Bay packer fan, is in Wisconsin today with her husband and a bunch of their football friends. They will be attending tonight's game -- which is the big game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Packers.

I pick up Fletcher (the dog, my "nephew") for her before the kennel closes tomorrow for the holiday.

I'm happy to pick him up -- I'm unhappy about driving through the messy snow in my little Jetta. I'll also have to make an appearance at work so I can pick up my camera. I forgot it when I left today and want it over the holiday to capture lovely snow photos and incriminating family holiday photos.

I got the holiday cards out (yea!); we have our tree up (yea!) and I'm slowly coming out of my funk. (Yea).

The picture above was taken at the lot near our house where we've gotten a tree the past few years. The tree you see in the shot was literally the last one on the lot. It is in our living room now.

This picture is one of Hubby and StepSon walking the tree home. I'm including it because I think the photo is nice and also as "revenge" on StepSon, who has been so 'cooperative' about having his photo taken these last few years. Welcome to the Web, my boy!

After I post this blog, I'm going to sign up for some running and tri events for 2007. That will also help me move forward.

That's it for now....

Another Week Bites the Dust

I've been so cheerie lately.

Not really.

Still sitting in my funk, but am hopefully close to turning a corner. December 21st is coming up and with the solstice, the days will start to get longer.

First by nano-seconds, I understand this, but longer none-the-less. My mood really is impacted heavily by the amount of sunlight hours. I have very little motivation once the sun goes down.

Hubby and I have tried to get to the gym twice a week but we have a difference of opinion about when to go. I like to go right after work -- energy is still there, then I can get home after a work out and just relax. He likes to come home, have some thing to eat and then think about going. More often than not, when we do it his way, we don't go.

This week however, I did get a number of workouts in:

I ran with a couple of girlfriends last Saturday -- just under 5 miles. I didn't run well, but did get in the miles.

Sunday, I had a swim lesson with Dave. He was not as brutally critical of me as I thought he'd be. He videotaped me and I looked okay in the water. Much better than when I started lessons with him. My biggest visible problem happens when I turn my head to breathe if I lift my head back instead of just turning it to the side. Lifting causes my hip to open up too, which throws my glide off..

I swam again on Tuesday evening.

Wednesday, Hubby and I did make it to the gym for a light workout.

Eating this week has been not so good, however. I don't seem to have much self control or ability to "just say no". My health club has a weight loss program that starts in February and I am seriously considering joining the three-month program.

We get our Christmas tree tomorrow...Hanukkah started tonight and I light the menorah. (I converted to Judaism many years ago, but really don't adhere to any religion any more. I like certain traditions of all religions -- but would not classify myself as a member of any religion at this point).

Our holiday will be very, very light. No presents between Hubby and me; very little for the kids or for family. No one really needs or wants any thing. (Which, I think, is a very lucky position to be in).

I'm in the process of figuring out which organizations that I'll send my end-of-the-year contributions to. Again, I'm thankful that I'm in a position where I can make some contributions to causes and groups that I believe in...

I'll get a few workouts in over the weekend; hopefully get our holiday cards made and out the door and relax a bit.

Ho ho ho ---

FUNK!

It's official!

I'm in a funk!

The weather is cold; work is uninspiring; I'm not training for any specific event (and if I was, I'm not sure I'm mentally in the game right now). Frankly, the holidays are a tough time of year for me in general, so I'm dealing with that right now.

I'm looking for some ways out of this -- I will probably just have to ride it out a bit.

I know that I have lots to be grateful for -- I'll try concentrating on being grateful for the next couple of days and report back.

For now: blah.

Deep Freeze

All I can say is BRRRR.

We've had a blast of very cold air move in to Minnesota over the last few days. Sort of a slap in the face from Old Man Winter.

That being said, we here in Minneapolis have been very lucky compared to other Midwest locations which were recently pounded by a huge winter storm that dumped a ton of snow along with the cold. I heard on the news that about 198,000 people in Illinois are still without power.

At least we have electricity and heat.

Yesterday was the Reindeer Run 5K -- this annual event is another of those "holiday biggies" that attract a few thousand runners -- including lots of families and folks that don't usually run the lakes on a Saturday morning.

I love running this race because "Santa" and "Rudolph" are there and lots of people dress up in costumes. I saw someone dressed as a tree running with two people dressed as presents; a few ornaments, lots of reindeer, a couple of elves that were dressed like the ones in the animated version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer... etc. All very cute.

I was supposed to catch up with other runners from my club, including my good running friends from Marathon days. By the time I got down to the lake though, the line to enter the tent to pick up race numbers for PRE-REGISTERED runners was huge.

This is pretty unusual. At most races, when you are pre-registered, the lines move along very quickly and orderly. Not here. Took me about 10 minutes to get half-way up the line when a volunteer announced that the lines should split, with half going around to the other side of the tent. I scooted over to the other side and got my number pretty easily but had no time to find anyone.

I ran the race but could really feel the fact that I have not been very active lately. I moved slowly, the cold air really cut down on my ability to breath correctly. (My asthma is much, much worse in the winter than the summer). Hills were hard for me to complete and feel strong. I was about 40 seconds slower finishing this race than I was the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. The really bad news is that this slow finish puts me in time range of races I ran when I was just starting out in 1999.

That put a little damper on my ho-ho-ho.

I know that it is normal to pull back on my fitness level after marathon training season is over AND I've been enjoying the pre-holiday eating season just a little too much, so both of those elements will add up to slower times and tighter pants.

I've also read that most runners will improve for about 10 years after they start running...and that runners, as they get older, start to slow down. This would mean a double whammy for me, moving in to my 8th year running and rocketing in to solid middle age.

I left the race resolved to really think about how I train and figuring out ways to train smarter and harder on multiple levels for 2007.

This would mean really looking at how and what I eat and being accountable in a real way, not the "gee I wish" way. It means getting up early to get miles in or yards in or spins on the cycle. It means finding some people that run a hair or two faster than I do to train with to try to improve my speed.

I also need to determine which events to do next year -- and what distances. A few tris have 1/2 price entry fees if you register before December 31st, including a 1/2 Iron distance I'm considering. (GULP -- 1/2 IRON!)

I also bit the bullet and signed up for a swim lesson, which is scheduled for later this week. Although I've been swimming, I'm sure that my coach will be very disappointed in me when I see him.

Enough complaining for now. I'm going to go get under a few blankets, drink some hot tea and dream of the summer.

Turkey Overload

Happy Day after Thanksgiving!

Again, too much time in between posts -- what can I say. Hubby and I have been working like crazy lately. I've been going in to work early (like 6:00 am or 6:30 am) and we've both been staying late (like 6:30 pm or 7:00 pm). A lot of projects to try to wrap up before the end of the year.

Turns out that, despite our great two-week trip to Europe, we both have a bunch of vacation days to use up before the end of the year. (At our company, we are allotted "x" number of Paid Time Off (PTO) days. We can carry over 5 days to a new year, but have to "use or lose" the other days). I've scheduled some days off between now and December 31st, but still have six unscheduled days to play with. Hubby has about the same. We are trying to figure out what to do -- since those project deadlines don't go away and we don't want to sacrifice our time off. I'll probably end up taking some time off and still logging in to work during part of my days off. That seems like the only realistic compromise.

It was a really nice holiday this year. Started out the day running the annual Turkey Trot 5K with 7,500 other of my close personal friends.

Actually, I ran with my marathon friends, who I have not seen since October 1st! The event was very fun, even if I was slow as molasses. It was great to see my friends and catch up a bit. Plus, the race gave away a great shirt this year, which is always a plus.

For Meal Number One: We spent part of the day with Hubby's parents, siblings, niece and nephews. (Hubby's kids spend Thanksgiving with their mom -- we spend the Easter holiday with them. Seems reasonable, except that every year, the kids forget to call their dad, which ticks me off to no end. (Hubby and ex-Mrs. Hubby don't get along very well and if he calls their house, it is always very uncomfortable....One of the kids text-messaged his sister (their aunt). We had her text back a message "Call Santa at this number". THEN Hubby got the finally got the call. I love those kids to death, but sometimes am just mystified about how forgetful they can be when it comes to their dad - my Hubby...)

I digress: After spending part of the day with Hubby's family, we went over to my sister and brother-in-laws and had MEAL NUMBER TWO. We planned to spend the night there, and Hubby's sister came over too. After dinner, we watched some movies, played poker and sat outside by a fire.

Yes, SAT OUTSIDE! The weather in Minnesota has been great this last week -- highs for the past four days in the mid-fifties.

It was soooo nice, that Hubby and I got out and played four holes of golf at the course near my sister's house. The course is officially closed, so no one was out there but us. We got to take multiple shots, practicing chipping, teeing and approach shots. Who would have thought it possible to golf in Minnesota the last week of November.

The other last holiday note: I actually participated in the craziness of Black Friday today with my sister-in-law. She makes it a tradition to hit the stores before the crack of dawn to take advantage of those early bird specials and discounts that kick off the holiday buying season. I've never done this before, so I told her I'd join her.

We left my sister's at 4:50 am and went to Best Buy. Parking lots every where were jammed. The store was packed with hundreds of crazy shoppers. I just stayed out of the way, while my sister-in-law went to find her purchases. Once she was ready, we got in line to check out. We were in line for 50 minutes! The line snaked through the store before we made our way to the registers. I could not belief it.

I'm glad I went along to experience it, but don't think I'll be doing it again any time too soon. At my age, I think I may need the beauty sleep more than the DVDs for $2.99

Ker-SPLASH

I had to attend a Coaches meeting this morning for running club I belong to. It was held at a club that I don't normally get to -- lovely club with great amenities, but far from downtown and difficult, with horrid rush-hour traffic, to get to.

The meeting was supposed to be from 8:00 am until 11:00 am and I thought, since I was already there, it would be great incentive for me to workout after the meeting.

I packed my bag with my swimming gear and some indoor workout gear, as I wasn't so sure what I would want to do for the workout.

I got to the club at 8:00 am on the dot and the lobby was filled with Running Coaches AND runners. Apparently, there was an additional email sent out that told us to plan for an outdoor run before the meeting. I did not receive that one.

No bother -- that little snafu gave me an hour and fifteen minutes where I could workout before the official meeting.

I looked around the club and found their pool -- 25 yard/meters, warm air in the pool house and warm water in the pool so I decided to swim. (This time of year, I dread finding pools that are surrounded by glass walls, especially when the glass is between the pool area and the great outdoors. Glass is not such a great insulator, as you all must know, so the air temp in those pool rooms can be quite chilly).

I had a pretty good swim -- did 1000 yards. I concentrated on staying on my sides, reaching on the rails, bringing only half of my head out of the water and looking to the side (as opposed to behind me) when I would come up for a breath.

The water felt really good.

I have lost some of my summer endurance -- but would expect that as swimming really took a back seat after the St. Croix Valley tri last September. Fortunately, I think I'll be able to get that endurance back pretty quickly.

I was none too happy about what my reflection looked like in the mirrors of the locker room however. The harsh reality of looking at myself from ALL angles -- not just seeing the front of me from the waist up -- was pretty brutal.

It did help me with some resolve to change what I'm seeing, however.

After the meeting, I stopped at Costco and at the regular grocer to pick up lots of fresh veggies, fruits, lean meats and bubbly water. I did not walk out of either store with any M & Ms....(we do still have some leftover Halloween candy, however).

At a minimum, I can't say that I'm stuck eating heavier (or "easier" foods, like Chinese) because there is nothing in the house.

We are supposed to have a pretty mild day tomorrow. My plan is to get out for a run.

I'll keep you posted.

Helllllloooooo Winter!

What the heck happened to autumn?

About a minute ago, it was Twin Cities Marathon (October 1st). About 30 seconds ago, we left for our trip to Europe. About five seconds ago (aka "last Sunday"), it was a lovely warm day in the 60's. Hubby and I went spent the afternoon on the golf course, getting in one more round for the season. I am happy to report that I legitimately had a lower score than Hubby did for the round too!

Now, it is freezing cold (highs only in the 30's), it is dark at 5:00 pm (damn that Standard Time thing), and I'm ready to settle down for a long winter's nap.

Sigh. Looks like winter will be a long one.

Hubby and I have been getting to the gym a bit. Feels good to be getting back in to a routine there. I had one sugar-free day before the deluge of pre-Halloween, then Halloween and now post-Halloween candy set in. I've run a couple of times and even been in the pool a couple times. All of it feels good to do -- just may be not quite enough of it on a regular basis.

I'm starting to think of what events to do for 2007. I've signed up for the indoor triathlon (Tri-U-Mah) again, which will happen in February. I'd like to do LifeTime Triathlon -- Olympic distance again. I'd also like to try a couple other Oly distances and I'm flirting with doing a 1/2 Ironman distance.

There aren't enough race dates posted on any internet sites yet to help me make up my mind. The timing on a 1/2 Iron would be crucial. I don't want to do one too early in the season that the water will be cold (even if I can wear a wetsuit). The LifeTime date in July has proved to be the hottest day of the summer the past two summers, but if I could find a 1/2 Iron in late July or early August, that might be ideal.

I'm not sure I'll do another marathon next year, although it will be the 30th anniversary for Chicago Marathon. That has some appeal. I would like to do several 1/2 marathons -- Grandma's and Urban Wildland again -- then who knows!

Other semi-interesting news to report:

We've had a pair of plastic pink flamingos in our front yard ever since we moved in to the house four years ago. Hubby gave them to me as a house warming present. I went to the University of Wisconsin -- Madison during the years of the "Pail and Shovel" student political party. The two fellows running for student office made lots of promises, like raising the prestige of Madison to that of other east coast universities; promising a rebate for our high (!) tuitions (of like $400 per SEMESTER if you were a Wisconsin resident, etc.).

These guys were great fun. (Google "Pail and Shovel party" and you'll find a number of web-sites and info regarding the party and its accomplishments such as erecting a huge replica of the head and arm of the Statue of Liberty on a frozen Lake Mendota, ensuring our position on the same level as those elite east coast schools, Or, the 1008 pink flamingos they scattered around on Bascom Hill one fine spring morning.

Because of them, pink flamingos and I have a sentimental connection and Hubby gave me my very own pair to commemorate our moving in to the house. They have been in the front yard, just sort of minding their own business, ever since. The only change for them was in the spring and fall, when I put on or took off their little "sweaters" -- Ralph Lauren socks with the toes cut out so they could get the "sweaters" over their heads.

Last Saturday, I read that the company in Florida that manufactured these creatures for the past 49 years is no longer producing them. I thought to myself that I might want to put the guys (who were in their sweaters by now) in the backyard, lest any person wanting to snatch the icons from our yard. Then I thought "No, we live in a nice neighborhood and no one would do that.".

Ha.

I got home from work on Monday afternoon to find only one flamingo in the yard. The other one? 'Poof'. Gone.

Perhaps migrated south; perhaps "adopted' by a new owner. Perhaps on one of those 'fun' mysterious vacations where the person(s) who took it will supply me with lots of cool photos, showing me a happy flamingo at the top of the Empire State Building, or at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, or getting a hug from Mickey Mouse...Perhaps just stolen.

In any event, I'm kind of sad about it and now the remaining, lone flamingo is in our BACK yard, where hopefully it will make friends with the bunny that hangs out there.


The only other interesting news to post is also political news. We are less than a week away from mid-term elections and I'm hoping for a Democratic sweep of seats for both the House and the Senate, along with the governor's office here in Minnesota.

Unlike the Pail and Shovel party at Madison, the current party in the big white house are not quite as "fun" fellows. They are very good at shoveling out quite a bit of "s*#@" but nothing quite as fun as pink flamingos. Not that I think that job should be all "fun".

But -- if I am to believe the citizens of this country find that the biggest pressing issue out there for us as a country to worry about is gay marriage, then it really will be a long, long winter.

Iraq; North Korea; Iran; stabilizing our relationships overseas; bringing our men and women in uniform home; medical care and costs; education; social security; women's productive rights; keeping a true separation of Church and State; creating real jobs paying real wages -- THOSE are issues we should be paying attention to.

I don't care who gets married or why they get married. If two people of the same sex want to have a legally binding commitment to their relationship -- so be it. It in no way cheapens my marriage or any one else's.

I guess my last comment on this subject tonight is a simple one: get out there and VOTE next week.

Back At It....

Well, we made it back, safe and sound, from our European trip. The shot to the left is Hubby and me in Italy. The cathedral dome in the background is not the Duomo, but rather it is part of Spirto Santo, the church that was near our apartment in Florence.

I'm still basking in the "after vacation glow", but Hubby unfortunately got back in to the "grind of work" mindset pretty quickly. It is Sunday and he actually had to go in to work today to try to unravel an emergency situation. Bleah.

I finally got my tush in to the pool on Friday and swam 500 yards. A mere portion of my summer workouts, but you have to start some where. Felt very good to be back in the water.

Yesterday I met Dori for a run -- my first since the marathon. She is getting ready to run the Big Sur 1/2 marathon a week from today and wanted to do 10 miles. I told her I'd give it my best and tagged along with her. I made the whole 10 miles but only because Dori was there with me pulling me along. It was great being out on the trails again and running with a good friend.

This week my plan is to get back in to the swing of things again with eating better and getting back in to a workout routine. I'm not in training-mode right now. The only things planned for the rest of the year are a few 5Ks, but I would like to use this time to try to get back in to lifting weights, yoga, swimming, spinning and running. Hubby is committed to working out twice a week, so hopefully we'll be able to get fit together.

I'm attempting to post a few photos from our trip. We have a new MAC and the routine to post things is a little different from doing it with a PC.



This shot is of one of the canals in Amsterdam. We loved just wandering the streets along the canals watching the water, checking out the houses, bicycles and people.





This shot above is the outside of a wonder fruit and vegetable market near our apartment in Paris. The food is set up "just so". When we took some clementines from the bin, the shopkeeper scolded us: "No! We get them for you so as to not upset the display. It is all about the presentation!"



Bern, Switzerland got its name because when it was founded in 1191, there were lots of bears living near the territory. (Bern means bear). Nowadays, the bears are out of the city, but you can go feed them at the bearpits. We didn't have a chance to do that, but did find many statues of bears in a park near the river. Here is me hugging one of them. (You know me, always a friend to the animals).

Now that I've got this "photo posting" thing down, watch for more photos to come!

Fini -- (almost)

We are back in Amsterdam, spending our last night at a really lovely small hotel called The Bridge. The hotel overlooks the Amstel River and our room faces the river. Very nice people, very cute room and reception and free candy in the candy jar. Who can beat that???

We left Florence last night after spending most of the day with my brother, sister-in-law and niece. We had one last meal together and then sat at the palazzo Publico watching the world go by. One last quick stop for some fun gifts and mementos and then my brother walked with us over to the train station so we could start the journey back.

We went from Florence to Milan, arriving at 10:00 pm. The train station is sort of dumpy and the neighborhood a bit questionable. However, we did find a grocery store for some water and a little pizza place near the station. We ordered a pizza and ate it at the station, while we waited for the overnight train back to Paris.

The train car that we were in lost electricity (!) in the cabins after we got underway. No big problem, since we were supposed to be sleeping -- but Hubby and I opened up the shade and watched the Italian country-side go by). Getting dressed in the morning in the dark (before sunrise) was somewhat more challenging, but we managed.

One last pain du chocolat (yummy) and then on to the train to go back to Amsterdam. We arrived at the hotel, freshened up and then took a very long walk around the city. We both really like Amsterdam. We figured that it must have some thing to do with all the canals and being near water.

On the way to dinner, we found a really cute little bistro and there was a CAT sitting on the floor near the entrance. I've seen a ton of dogs over here, but very few cats (inside windows or out on the streets). This cat was very friendly and I finally got a little bit of a "kitty fix" by petting its head and rubbing its ears.

We finally found a restaurant for us to share our last meal here and are now wrapping every thing up so we can have a smooth travel day tomorrow.

Hard to believe that after about 12-hours of travel tomorrow (excluding customs or weather delays), we'll be back in the States, in our little home with the cats and the kids and our family and friends.

C'est la vie.

"If you've seen one fat cherub....."

The title of today's post is dedicated to my younger sister, BooBoo. If she reads this post, she'll know what it means...

Our last full day in Florence today was mostly spent NOT in Florence. My brother and sister-in-law took us to a couple of the small towns/cities near here: San Gimignano and Sienna.

San Gimigano became an free municipality in 1199. Yes, 1199. There was a great (very old) church there with some phenomonal frescos that line the entire inside of the building. The town is very small and quaint, but was jammed with lots of tourists.

Sienna was, for us, a much more interesting and fabulous place than San Gimigano. Sienna was originally a Roman colony that grew and florished during the 1400s, becoming quite a powerful place before the Black Plague took out about 70% of its population.

The city is much smaller than Florence and the streets are so narrow, they don't even have side walks. Because of that, not too many cars brave the city streets and there are none of the buzzing scooters that careen up the streets in Florence.

We went to some of the most historical sites, including their Duomo (cathedral) and the Hosptial of Santa Maria della Scalla, which was the actual "sick room" that started in the 13th century.

Hubby, my brother and I all like the Duomo in Sienna more than the Duomo in Florence. Much more beautifully laid out, beautiful mosiacs and tiled scenes created as part of the floors; several naves each with their own personality. Just lovely.

We treated our tour guides (brother and sister-in-law) to a really great lunch that was off the main drag a bit. Hubby and sister-in-law split a huge Tuscan steak, I had sausage and white beans in a tomato sauce, my brother had grilled chicken breasts. This was AFTER the first course of pasta and the APPETIZERS of brushetta and chicken livers. (Hope the plane can make weight adjustments when we fly home!)

After lunch we went to a great cheese and salami shop that is owned by a friend of my brother's. We were able to taste some really delicious things and spend some time with the owner. He is a very fascinating man. He owns the cheese shop and a really great antique shop full of really different and wonderful things (manuscripts from the 1800s, old irons from that same era, old postal scales, walking canes, trunks and bread making kitchen tables, etc.) All very intriguing.

We were supposed to go out for dinner, but everyone was still full from lunch so we parted ways after getting back in to Florence. Hubby and I strolled the city for a while and are now getting ready to get packed up for our departure tomorrow.

We'll sleep in a little and then pack up. My neice will join her parents here tomorrow, so we'll have a chance to see her before we have to get on the train again.

We leave Florence in the early evening and go to Milan, then take the overnight train to Paris and then another train to Amsterdam. We are in Amsterdam for less than 24-hours and will then fly back to the states.

All in all, we've had just a wonderful trip. We've got lots of photos to share (once we are back in the states with all the right equipment) and lots of pounds to lose. I'm also missing my cats in a very big way, so I'm very excited to see them again.

David -- what a hunk

Our second full day in Florence is winding down. We've certainly lucked out with the weather. It's been sunny and warm during the day. Much better than the snow I hear is falling in Minneapolis.

Florence is very interesting. Small in square footage, but buzzing (literally) with the hum of thousands of scooters zipping through the very narrow streets. Some people have cars, but the preferred method of transportation seems to be scooters and walking. There are some tour buses that pass by and Hubby and I have stopped to watch them try to navigate down the narrow passage ways. Sometimes we make "bets" to see if the bus will actually make it past the row of cars or scooters without taking out a sideview mirror or a pedestrian. So far it is buses 10; cars/pedestrians 0.

We woke up a little later than we had wanted so we had to rush to get to the Galleria dell'Accademia to make our 10:00 reservation. We bought tickets to both the Galleria and the Uffizi from Select Italy prior to leaving the states. The tickets cost us a bit more money but were well worth it because having tickets in hand means not waiting in the very, very long lines to get in to see the exhibits.

The General Ticket line at the Galleria was already down the street and around the block by the time we got there. The line for people who already had reservations was about 1/8th as long. It only took us about 10 minutes to get in the door of the museum. I highly recommend getting paying the premium and getting the tickets before anyone visits Florence.

We made an immediate bee-line to see David. Unbelievable. Seeing the statue in-person was really something. Photos in books or any reproduction really does not serve it justice. The detail is amazing all the way from the veins in his arms, to the detail around the elbow that is supporting his right hand, which is resting on his right shoulder holding the sling, to the details on his hands and feet -- incredible.

We spent a long time looking at the statue taking it all in. We then backtracked the museum a bit to see some of Michelangelo's unfishined sculptures that line the entry way leading to the statue of David. They were also very interesting. You can see the detail of how the scuptures are "born" -- chisel marks and chip marks that outline the beginning of the emergence of a person. We could almost "feel" the person trying to emerge out of the stone. Very, very amazing.

The rest of the museum is of works from the late 13th century. Many interesting frescos and paintings -- all of religious nature. A section of the museum houses old (and I mean OLD) instruments: cellos, violins (including a couple made by Stradivarius in the 1600s), hurlygurlys, dulicimers, harpsicords and the first clarinets. Way cool. (geeze, you'd think that, as an English major, I could come up with some sort of adjective that was more descriptive than COOL).

In any event:

After leaving the Galleria (and walking past the General Ticket line, which now stretched and snaked around the block...), we made our way to the Duomo.

Again, unbelievable. So much detail to see in the stone carvings on the Cathedral. Hubby and I took many, many picutres. The sunlight played with the green, white and pink marble that makes up the building. We are hoping for some very good prints (once we can get them done and posted). We went inside the Cathedral and took more photos of the incredible works of art.

After we wrapped up there, we met my brother and sister-in-law for a lunch at one of their favorite resturants. Then they took us through some other of their favorite streets, pointing out some great buildings (and all the history as to WHY they are great). We took a tour of the Pallazo Medici Ricardi house. Hard to believe that a family could live in such a place.

After visiting the Pallazo, we parted ways with my brother and sister-in-law. Hubby and I wandered the streets back slowly, enjoying the scenery and a gelato (yum).

We are going to have a low-key night. We shopped at some of the local markets and are going to make a fun dinner at our apartment. We may wander out for a bit after that, or decide to put our tired feet up for the evening to rest up for tomorrow's adventure at the Uffizi.

In Florence -- safe and sound (with tickets!)

We got on the overnight train in Bern at 10:39 and arrived in Florence about 7:30 this morning. We had a sleeper car, which was small but very comfy for the two of us. (The car could accommodate 3, but we reserved the whole car for us. I could not imagine having three people in the space, but...must work!)

Sleeping on the train wasn't too bad. We did get some good rest although once we got to our apartment at about 1:00 pm, we both took a well needed nap.

Our apartment wasn't ready until early afternoon, so we wandered the streets and got coffee and a pastry. It is really beautiful here and different from any of the other countries. Streets are VERY narrow and buildings are VERY tall. Lots of little winding streets and scooters.

We found the Old Bridge, walked over to the museum area and then it was time to turn around and get situated at our place.

We stopped at a couple of markets to pick up some flat crackers (baked by a baker, not from a box), some delicious ham and cheese, a few tomatoes and a bit of fruit.

Our apartment is really wonderful. Huge rooms (bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and salon) on the second floor of the building. Even has a washing machine. After a week of travel, that is a god-send.

We'll be heading out again shortly to explore and to hopefully to make plans to connect with my brother, who is also here with his wife.

The apartment has internet access (free, between 8:00 am and 10:00 pm), so I'll catch up on posting in a bit.

ciào for now.

Switzerland = Lost

Not a huge post here -- our day is winding to a fast end here in Switzerland.

Started great on the train ride through France. Unbelieveably beautiful scenery, especially getting close to the Alps.

Got to Lusanne and had our first encounter with the lovely bathrooms. We didn't have to pay money but paid in other ways. Good thing I'm a runner and used to portapotties.

Train to Bern went smoothly and efficiently. (The Swiss are nothing if not efficient). However, Miss Organized somehow left the envelope with all of our train tickets and Europass ON THE TRAIN that went on to Zurich.

Panic city.

Friendly Swiss Rail guy sent an efficent email to the conductor on the train, who found the tickets and we made an unplanned trip to Zurich today to retrieve them.

Phew.

Zurich was fantastic; got back to Bern in enough time to enjoy this picture-postcard city. Getting ready to hop another train to Italy. Will be there by breakfast.

Hubby had his beloved sausage and sauerkraut in Zurich today. He looked incredibly happy and content enjoying lunch.

At least he got a "reward" for my forgetfulness, although he is not letting me hold on to the tickets for awhile.....

Adieu Parie

Our last night in Paris...after a rough start (getting so twisted around that first night while walking to and from the tourist office), we've fallen in love with the city and are sad to leave tomorrow.

We overslept yesterday and decided to not go to another museum (thereby avoiding the long queques). Instead, we walked to Notre Dame, which was truly impressive. Unfortunately, the lines were too long for our patience levels to actually get in to the Cathedral, but we did spend a lot of time outside on the grounds taking lots of pictures and taking in the beauty of the Seine, the buildings and people watching. It is very interesting to evasedrop here. Not that we could decipher many conversations -- English is rare and mostly spoken by Brits and Irish. Spanish, Russian, Italian, Polish and, of course, French conversations surround us every where we go. It is really interesting to us to listen and observe.

The day was beautiful -- partly cloudy and in the 60's -- so we decided to take the
"short cut" to the Effel Tower. I don't care what any guide book tells you, Paris is very walkable and you do a lot of walking because if you aren't familiar with the city, you get lost -- A LOT. We were very happy, however, to see that we were not the only tourists (of any language type) that had to pull the map out about a dozen times.

Our walk took us through many different areas, all with their own charm. We went through chic shopping areas to lovely residential to interesting business centres.

Finally we got to the grounds of the Tower. Wow! Beautiful park and then the Tower itself -- really very impressive. By the time we got there, the sun was beginning to set and the crowds of people had "thinned", meaning the lines to go to the top of the Tower averaged only 1-plus hours, so again, we skipped it. We sat underneath the Tower and took in the crowds, which included our first (and only so far) encounter with the infamous gypsies.

A number of tiny Bosnian women scan the crowds and go up to anyone they think speak English. One approached us and asked if we spoke English. Foolish me said "yes" and she held up a piece of paper with a bunch of stuff scribbled on it. Immediately, my hand went to my purse and I told her "No". She backed away pretty quick. We were approached again twice by other women using the same m.o.. Each time the woman asked us about English, we said "no". That pretty much took care of the problem.

After the Effel Tower, we went back to the Arc d'Triomphe and went up to the top Observation Platform (no line to get to that...). It was after dark and the view was unbelievable. We took lots of photos, including a couple of us complete with the full Parisian moon above us.

We took the Metro back to our neighborhood and had a nice relaxing dinner at a cafe. Great day.

Today, I made sure to get up early so we could hit the markets that are a block from our apartment. We bought a rosted chicken, fresh bread, fresh Gouda and Brie cheeses, some fruit and cherry tomatoes, which we had for dinner at the apartment tonight. It was great fun to shop at all the little markets and to be able to pick out such fresh and flavorful products.

I almost hate to admit this, because we are loving the espressos that we have every day, but I also found a Starbucks and got one of my beloved Venti coffees. That, honestly, was terrific. (Dori, if you are reading this post, I'm wondering if the 1-800 Starbucks locator works in Europe too (LOL))

We did get to Musee Dorsee today and the Impressionist art was wonderful. I liked Van Gogh and Monet the best. I was also able to "payback" Hubby a little bit for making me spend hours at the Louve looking at all that Egyptian stuff. He is not that hot on the Impressionist movement but he was a trooper and hung in there with me.

After the museum, we spent a long time in the gardens outside the Louvre just people watching and taking it all in. We stopped at a Cafe along the way home for a leisurely and delicious lunch and then sat out in the square near our apartment.

All in all, another great day in Paris.

We leave tomorrow afternoon for Switzerland.

We miss some of our routine, certainly our friends, family and cats (and, of course, our giant cups of coffee) but we are both really having a great time on our trip.

Ohh La La!

Greetings from Paris!

Hubby and I are sitting in an Internet Cafe, trying to figure out how to use a French keyboard-- the good old QWERTY board does not work.

So far the trip is going well. Amsterdam was great. Everything they say is true. Great walking city with plenty of bikes to dodge. The streets follow the canals and round the city in a circular motion. Therefore, we only got "lost" twice. Fortunately, lost is relative in Amsterdam. The city is small, so eventually you get where you wanted to be.

We went to the Anne Frank Huis -- very interesting, also to the Red Light District. Even MORE interesting... Ate a wonderful Argentinean dinner; had great coffee. The people were very nice and friendly.

The train ride to Paris was amazing. Service was spectacular -- got fed not once but twice, with food that was very good indeed. We went through the Hauge, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Brussels on our way to Paris.

Good news -- arrived on time; bad news -- arrived during rush hour. Over 2 million people apparently used the Gare du Nord station to get home. Chaotic and exciting.

Found the apartment -- very quaint on a great street with an open market and good bakeries.

Tried to get to the Tourism office to buy Museum tickets but got hopelessly lost going there and, after getting there and being told it was too late in the day to buy them, on the way back. That was a bit frustrating: maps didn't jive, streets twisted and we wandered much more than we wanted to. But, we finally made it back and had a lovely dinner at the restaurant near our apartment. All was well.

I'm turning over the keys to Hubby so he can tell you about today...
Greetings,

Today was the day for the Louvre. It is quite hard to describe all of the world's finest pieces of art in one place. Unbelievable and Fantastic just don't do it. Amy's tolerance for ancient artifacts was put to the test. I am happy to report that she passed...

We started our tour of the Louvre by making a bee-line for the Mona Lisa. The crowd was just starting to gather in the lobby of the museum and luckily we beat the rush. This painting is absolutely amazing, no pictures or posters can prepare you for how this masterpiece looks up close. Not only the eyes follow you around the room when looking at it, but the mouth changes from an odd smirk to a smile and then back again as you move from side to side. DaVinci was incredibleé.

One of the most interesting items we saw in the antiquities section was the collection of tools dating back 200,000 years.

7 1/2 hours later, we felt satisfied that we finally saw half of the collection, oh well we have to go back!

Now Amy will tell of our adventure strolling down the Champs-Elysées.

We had a great walk through the gardens, to the Concorde Plaza, through the park leading up to the Champs (including sharing a snack of crepe de chocolat and banana along with a great version of the good old hot dog...)

We got to the Arc de Triomphe -- took great photos, which we can't upload yet (wrong size port) and then had a real dinner at a cute overpriced place in the Champs.

Some very nice locals helped us with directions to this internet cafe, so after dinner; we took the Metro to an area close to our apartment and are winding down our day here. Phew.

Tomorrow: the museum D'Orsay, the Effel Tower and a much cheaper dinner in this neighborhood!

Are we having fun?

Oui, sure youbetcha :)

P.S. KLM rocks. More about that later.

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia....

Twin Cities Marathon is over and the results are on the books.

I finished -- not in stellar form, certainly not with a PR (personal record), but finished none the less.

It was much hotter than normal last Sunday. The afternoon temps hit the low 80s -- and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. These were very different conditions than we had been training in over the last few (and muy important) long runs.

Hubby dropped me off at the Metrodome at about 7:15. I had just enough time to get in line for the portapotties and then line up in the corral for the start of the race at 8:00 am.

I lined up with the group running with the Cliff Shot Pacer aiming for a 5:30 finish. Met the pacer -- met a couple of folks running in her group and then turned to see Marcia and Cheryl, my training partners. They were getting some last minute encouragement from our Coach, Sarah.

We all wanted to run with the pacer, but her plan was to run and take walk breaks during the waterstops. We had trained using a rhythm of six minutes walking and one minute of walking. The first water stop at TCM wasn't until mile 2.5. Given our pace, we were not scheduled to reach that point until about 24 minutes in to the race. We didn't feel comfortable changing our routine, so we decided to stick with our plan but to try to keep the pacer in site.

Marcia and I ended up running together slightly ahead of the pacer. (Actually, we were about 3 minutes ahead of her for more than half the marathon.) We felt great -- were enjoying the large crowds, the really beautiful fall leaves on the trees and scenery along the parkway, meeting new friends along the way.

Many of our friends were out watching the event and cheering us on. We saw our running friends Katie and AmyK near Lake Harriet. Not too far from them was another running friend, Bev, although the look on her face was not so encouraging. A few steps later we found out why.

There was a man in his late 40s that was laying on the pavement. Medics were around him -- one man was performing CPR; another was using the breathing bag trying to revive him. Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain. The man was rushed to the hospital, but passed away of an apparent heart attack.

He had been an avid runner with no history of problems. According to the paper, he and his son were running the marathon. His son went ahead of him and then his dad had his attack. The son didn't find out what happened until after he passed the finish line. Very tragic...

Seeing the man on the sidewalk certainly changed the mood of those of us running. We all got very quiet and I'm sure a few of us sent up a prayer or two. And yet, we all kept moving forward.

My good friend Mary found us a couple times on the course: near Calhoun and then along Minnehaha Parkway. Marcia's son was out there for us; she saw some women from her book club, and we found a couple other friends, including Angel and Carla (our Ironwomen friends).

Our good friend Dori found us right after that first water stop. She had her trusty camera with her and snapped a couple of pics. She also met us right before the course crossed over from Minneapolis to St. Paul. She was like god-send out there. She had ice, gels, and great words of encouragement.

Hubby found us several times along the route: near Calhoun, before Minnehaha Falls -- all times I was feeling pretty dang good.

About mile 15, I started to lose it mentally. The weather caught up with me; the sun was draining and I could not keep my mo-jo. That AND I had to find a restroom. I told Marcia to go on ahead of me and that I'd try to catch her.

That was pretty much the last time I saw her until the finish line.

Not long after leaving Marcia, Cheryl passed me by looking very strong. Not long after Cheryl passed me, that 5:30 pacer passed me. Drat.

I keep going, although I really could not get a good rhythm back.

Usually I have a bad patch or two during marathons, but I'm able to get it back. Not this time. I just kept cursing and considering dropping out. But, pretty much every time I was going to pull out, I'd look up ahead, and there would be Hubby -- ringing the cowbell, giving me a "high five", and encouraging me to move on.

I did.

Slowly but surely, I made my way through St. Paul to the Capital. I DID cross that finish line, at 5:57:49. Very sucky time.

My coach was waiting for me at the finish. I crossed the line, got my metal, saw her and just burst in to tears. I was SOOOO disappointed in my inability to make my goal time of 5:30. She was very kind to me -- and that helped, although truth be told, I am disappointed that I continually have "Race Day" issues that cause me to not perform well. I can train like the dickens, but I tend to choke during the big events.

Anyway, I did finish -- about 10 minutes or so after Marcia did; about 15 minutes after Cheryl and about 30 minutes after our other training partner, Mary.

I would have never made it without the help and encouragement of Hubby and my friends out there yesterday -- and certainly would never have been able to do it without my great training partners.

So it all starts with Marcia. If she hadn't had a milestone birthday and got that hair-brained idea that it would be "great" to run a marathon for her birthday, I wouldn't have signed up, trained, run the race or had CAKE at the end to help celebrate her b-day.

Dori sent me a picture of all of us at the finish -- The folks in the photo include Marcia, Cheryl and me, along with Marcia's husband and our other friend Nat, who both ran the 10 Miler earlier that day. I'm in the grey.

(Hubby took a bunch more photos that I will post eventually. He is in the middle of the "last minute panic" of trying to get ready to leave on our big adventure tomorrow. I best not bug him now to have him teach me how to upload those....)

In any event, here's to you, Marcia. Congrats on your 1st victory taiming the 26.2 mile beast!

Last of the Long Runs...TCM one week away!

I did not run with my running buddies yesterday. It was a grey, cool and wet morning. I just wanted a morning to sleep in, catch up from a long week of travel and work and just "be".

Today was a much better day for my last long run of 10 miles before the marathon next week.

We finally have a nice sunny day here -- first time in about a week. The lakes were crowded, but not too terribly so. I ran to Lake Calhoun for my warm up and then did a 6 minute run/1 minute walk and covered all three lakes (Calhoun, Lake of the Isles and Lake Harriet). I covered the distance in 1:58:00, which is a very good time for me.

I know I should have been practicing either my marathon or Long Slow Distance pace, but the day was great and I felt pretty good.

I also got nabbed by a bit of competitiveness. When I was running the first half of Calhoun, I passed a woman who was speedwalking next to a guy that was running slow. I went from the first half of Calhoun over to Isles and closed that lake out, came back to finish Calhoun and then hopped over to Harriet.

I bumped in to that couple again. The woman was really kicking the speedwalking thing in to high gear and for whatever reason, I didn't feel like having my butt handed to me by a speedwalker. So I passed them.

Then it was one of my walk breaks and they passed me. When it was time for me to run again, I passed them and put a bit of distance between them and me. Walk break, they caught up and passed again, which REALLY bugged me. So I kicked up my pace.

She must have had her own competitive edge, because the next time they passed me, they were both running and at a pretty good clip.

And so it went, back and forth for about half of the lake.

With not much left to go, I finally decided "screw it" and kicked it out myself.

I passed the imaginary finish line way before they did. (And the crowd went WILD! LOL).

Now the hurry-up-and-wait starts till next week and the Marathon and then the trip to Europe.

Yippee!

Tick Tock...big fun coming in ONE week!

Long time, no post.

Our running club is winding down our training for Twin Cities Marathon, which happens in 9 days!!!

Last Saturday we ran sixteen miles as the "beginning of taper". Those miles really felt more like thirty-six. Typical start to the taper. We are tired, way over the whole training thing and now just waiting for the big event.

I feel pretty ready, although one never knows about race day. Could be good, could be not so good.

I haven't run since then. The weather here has been horrible -- unseasonably cold and very, very rainy. Fortunately, I had to go to a business meeting for a few days in Phoenix. I brought running clothes, but never got the chance to get out.

Tomorrow is our last long run before the event. We are scheduled to go 10 miles. The forecast is for rain and cold. Should surely make the run as fun as it possibly can. (Wonder how you can code HTML to indicate sarcasm....?)

The other really fun thing coming up is the trip Hubby and I will be taking to Europe! We leave on October 3rd and will travel to Amsterdam, Paris, Bern (Switzerland) and Florence.

My brother, sister-in-law and niece will also be in Florence for part of the time we'll be there. That will be fun spending time with them half the world away from where we usually get together.

It will be our first time in Europe and we are getting very excited about it. We have most of our arrangements made, have some tickets for museums already and are now just counting the days till we go.

I'm very excited but admittedly nervous about the whole flying thing. I don't like flying in general -- so the thought of sitting on a plane for over eight hours is just not particulars appealing.

I also don't like the idea of leaving our kitties for so long, but fortunately have some friends that will be living in our house while we are gone. It is nice to know that the cats will have company 24/7 while we are gone.

Lots to look forward to and lots to do before we go.

Makes life interesting, wouldn't you say?

There

One last Tri (update) and 20 Miler Done!

The 'official' results for St. Croix Valley were FINALLY posted last week on Thursday. Took those folks forever to get them upload on the site. Then took me even longer to post this -- but at least there is a photo of me "charging" the finish line. (And, if you look closely to the left of me, you see two cheering women. Those are my good friends Angel and Carla both of whom are competing in Ironman Wisconsin as I write this. GO Angel and Carla!!!)

My swim was 13:56, with a T1 time of 2:45. I was well ahead of last years 2:07 swim time and 4:22 T1 time. (6:11 ahead on the swim; 2:37 ahead during T1, for a total of 8:48 ahead of 2005 results.

Then the "2-flat" meltdown. My bike time was recorded as 1:00:09. Last year it was 44:35. A whopping 15:36 over last year.

I'm guessing that the officials added all the time it took for me to get back in to the transition area after discovering Flat #1 and then trying to find someone with an airpump, filling the tire, getting back in and out of transition again in to my bike time.

T2 was faster this year (1:18 vs. 1:58 in 2005 (40 seconds ahead).

Run took me 32 SECONDS longer this year over last year (45:51 vs 45:19)

Total recorded time on the course for 2006 = 2:04:47
Time for 2005 = 1:56:19
"Official" difference of 8:28.

Grrrrr.

I know that, technically, the recorded time is the recorded time, but my "woulda/coulda/shoulda time" = 1:45:23 (if swim, T-times and run time were all as they were and IF my bike time had equaled 2005 time).

Sigh. Thus endth my 2006 Triathlon season.

All in all, I had a great season all the way from Tri-U-Mah in February until St. Croix Valley. I'm already excited to start training for 2007!

Speaking of training: I'm STILL training for Twin Cities Marathon. There is only about three weeks to go till race day and, thank heavens, we are just entering taper time.

I ran my last LONG run yesterday with my team. Marcia, Cheryl, Mary and I slogged along together for the entire 20 mile run.

We started at the State Capitol and followed the Marathon course back to mile 16, which runs along Minnehaha Parkway. That was our turnaround and we headed up the Marathon course again to the "finish". This is a great practice run because you can make mental notes of where certain spots are along the trail: "Okay, this is the distance from the Lake Street bridge to the Franklin Bridge -- lots longer that I thought". "Here is the spot that the big dreadful hill starts". "There are the portapotties".

We start out fresh for the first 10 miles and by the time we turn around to head back, we've got some of the mental/physical challenges created -- tired; sick of doing the walk/run thing; this is how the hill feels NOW, not 8 miles ago, etc.

Our little running group has really bonded over the training season. We were all keeping each other very motivated and on-task with our pace and our run/walk pace. It's been a blast running with them and really getting to know them.

After we were done with our run, the four of us had lunch at Cafe Latte -- a popular St. Paul restaurant. Food and conversation were both terrific.

Now we enter taper -- pull back on the miles a bit, rest, recover and get ready for October 1st. Fortunately, I've got lots to keep me occupied at work and at home.

Hubby and I leave for Europe on October 3rd. We're working on finalizing our plans. It will be both of our first times overseas. We are both very excited and I'm sure I'll cover more about our plans on the blog over the next couple of weeks.

Now, though, I think I'll go stretch my quads....

A Tale of Two Flats: Keep On Peddlin'

I'm still waiting for my official results for the St. Croix Valley Sprint triathlon. The event was held last Saturday -- and today is Monday.

The race coordinators split the St. Croix Valley events over two days: Sprint distance (0.3 mile swim/10 mile bike/4 mile run) happens on Saturday and the International distance (1.2 swim/ 24 mile bike/ 6 mile run) takes place on Sunday.

I thought that the results would be posted after the International event, but alas, I'm still waiting.

The event started off really well: I came out of the water in 13:38.

This was a 6.5 minute improvement over my swim time last year. It would appear that those lessons really paid off. Well, that and the fact that I didn't walk the entire swim. (The swim course is very shallow. I figured that out last year when I swam up to one of the support rafts to hold on for a minute and accidentally let my feet dangle below me and my toes hit the sandy bottom of the river. I looked up at the person on the raft and she said to me, "Oh yeah, you can touch the WHOLE WAY!".

With that information, what is any reasonable bad-swimmer to do? Walk!

This year, having that same information in my head, knowing I could touch if I needed too and armed with months of practice and lessons, I swam the majority of the course and when I needed a quick break, I just put my feet down and walked a step or two before paddling again.

I was so happy when I got out of the water so quickly, made my transition fast and hit the bike route.

That is when the "fun" started.

I got out about 4 blocks from the start and noticed that my bike was dragging. I looked down and could see that my rear tire was flat.

I had pumped up both tires before I left the house and why the tire was flat seemed to be a mystery.

I considered just going on with the flat, but the drag was really pulling me back. I also thought that, because the course is very hilly, riding the whole 10 miles with a flat would ruin the tire and be very tough.

I turned around, went back to the bike transition area and looked for someone with an air pump. None was to be had. I went over to the announcer and asked him to ask the crowd if anyone had an air pump. A very kind man, who apparently was the head cook for the luau that takes place for the "after party", had one in his truck, so he took me W......A......Y..... far away from the transition area, got his pump out and pumped up my tire.

I was very grateful but also dreading the precious seconds/minutes that were ticking away getting this little problem fixed.

He finished filling my tire and then I made it back to transition and out on to the course -- dead last.

Other bikers were coming back in to transition. A lovely, steady stream of bikers peddling their hearts out, looking over to me with that "Who is that poor schmuck?" look on their face. It was me, just trying to get through the course.

I thought about quitting a number of times -- especially during miles one through three. It just seemed like an insurmountable course and that I'd never be able to beat my course time from last year.

I kept peddling.

About mile 3.5, I saw some people ahead of me. VICTORY! Surely I could catch up with them and maybe even PASS them! I peddled on.

I did pass them -- and a few other stragglers. Hurrah! I gave it my all, pushing up those lovely but very steep hills to the turnaround at mile five.

They had a water stop there and I grabbed some water. In between gulps, I told the two volunteers that I had had a flat. One of them said to me, as he was staring down at my rear tire: "Are you going to fix it"?

Huh?

I looked down and saw it -- a tire that was flat as a pancake. CRAP.

Now there is nothing I can do. The folks at the turnaround couldn't take me back. I was five miles to the bike finish -- if I walked it, it would take over an hour.

I just threw caution to the wind and peddled on. Fortunately, all that uphill on the way out becomes downhill on the way home, so I could coast a bit. The landscape in that part of Wisconsin is really beautiful, so I just tried to enjoy that and make my way home.

At one point around mile seven, I saw a deer poke out from the woods. I have seen deer a number of times out on runs or racecourses. I always take this as a good sign. The deer looked straight at me as I was coming down the hill toward it. It then just sauntered across the street and disappeared in to the woods on the other side of the course.

Thankfully, I got through the bike course and made a very quick transition out on to the run course. Most of the other participants were coming back in from the racecourse at this point. I still pointed my feet out and kept going. I felt pretty good during the run and even passed by a number of other runners.

I hadn't looked at my watch since I got out of the swim. I was too afraid that I'd get discouraged. With less than a mile to go, I thought I'd risk it and see what the damage was. Total time elapsed at that point was 1:58.

Last year, I finished the event at 1:56, so I was behind. But not THAT much behind considering all the bike troubles.

I finished the race pretty strong, clocking on my watch at about 2:04 -- so about eight minutes behind last year's time.

Hubby was there waiting for me, ready with his encouraging smile, a hug and an "attagirl". He also snapped some photos that I'll post when I have my official time.

We ate some pork sandwiches from the luau (dee-lish-si-ous at 10:00 am, let me tell you) and then started to pack up to go home.

I stopped by the Official's table to let them know that my times might look screwy. When I came in to transition to try to find an air pump, I crossed over the timing mat and had to cross it again after I got my tire pumped up and got out on to the course again. This means I crossed the bike transition four times (as opposed to two). They thanked me for letting them know and said that the impact would probably be that my splits would look a little "off".

I'm anxious to see what they look like and what my times for each leg really were. I know that my total time is what counts, but still want to see what the components were.

Any way, the lesson of the day was and continues to be: when life gives you a flat or two, just keep on peddlin'.