Beetles

Good turnout and LOTS of fun tonight at Beetles. Thank you all for coming! Roger, John, Karen, Tom, David, Lana (and son!), Tom, Mike, Tracy, Andy, Randy, Amy, Paul. And me, of course. Someone had to take pictures. :-)

They were very willing taste testers for my cookies. I brought these Viennese Punch Cookies, which contain dark rum in both the glaze and the filling. (It's an interesting recipe--you bake the scraps after rolling out the cookies, grind them up and then add rum, apricot preserves, melted chocolate, and lemon and orange zests and that becomes the filling.)

Tom O'Leary is such a hoot! Later in the evening I said something about taking a class at "that tapas place" and he thought I said "topless place". (This was after about 17 tall Guinness'!! On his part!!) I told him I'd better check in on his blog to make sure I get quoted accurately. And Paul Melby was talking about the age-graded calculators online and he said that his age-graded time in a recent race was for a 50-year old woman!! Ha!! There's ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with being a 50-year old woman!! (They were waiting for me to say that. You had to be there ... It was all VERY funny.) BTW: Paul Melby does NOT like chocolate. Un-be-lie-va-ble!!!

On the way home I stopped at Target. Got some yogurt, including these seasonal varieties which sounded interesting: Pumpkin, Eggnog and Bread Pudding.

The 5K at Yankee Stadium on Sunday filled sometime yesterday and we didn't get in. Oh, well. Maybe next time! Saved me $50 too. :-) I think we'll be seeing West Side Story on Broadway. Either that, or South Pacific.

Got the rest of the windows washed today. Yippee!! One screen needs to be repaired so I'll drop that off at the hardware store one of these days. No hurry at this time of year ...

In case you haven't seen it, David Letterman's top 10 thoughts while running the NYC marathon, with guest and marathon winner Meb Keflezighi.




RTC notes from John Shonyo: "Would like to put out a Help Wanted notice for RTC volunteers: we will have at least three openings on the RTC Board in 2010, so we are looking for folks who have a lot of enthusiasm (and some time) to fill those slots. We are also in search of a Membership Chair and a Web Master for the Club, and a race director for the Bear Creek 5 Mile predict your time run. If any of these opportunities are of interest to you, let me know and I can fill you in on the details."

Quote for the day: "You should live every day like it's your last day because one day you're gonna be right." --Ray Charles

Well, I think I'm going to run with Mark and Bruce (and maybe Lisa) at 5:15 AM, so I better get this ole body in bed. Good night!!

Raves and Faves

It was once again a very delicious meal at Mary's home this evening. She chose a wonderful menu. There's nothing I wouldn't make again. So everything was a rave. Faves? The ham was really nice and moist and I really like Brussels sprouts so they'd be a fave, too. As was the Cranberry Butter with Port that I brought to put on the rolls. Next month it's our annual wine, appetizer and dessert get together, this year to be hosted by Barbara. This was my contribution, Honey Buttermilk Rolls.

Tuesday evening at 6:00 at Beetles on 2nd St SW (just west of highway 52) is our 2nd monthly social get together. No running involved. Just chatter! Please join us. You don't need to be a member of any particular athletic organization ... friends and family welcome. See you then! With cookies!!

I'm tired (2 hours on the Stairmaster this morning) so I'm going to bed. Good night!

Shorts!!

November 8, and for the second day in a row, warm enough for shorts while doing yard work. Gotta luv it! After a dreadful October, I think we were due. I now have the yard ready for winter. All the raking is done and the flower beds are cleaned up. It was a good day for the Vikings to have a bye week so I didn't feel like I wanted to be inside watching "the game".

Back to yesterday. Here's a comparison of regular cocoa and dutch-processed cocoa. I can't get the dutch-processed in Rochester any more. I need it for those killer chocolate cookies.

Went to Winona to hear Matt's band concert. We went to Jefferson Grill for supper. I had the Mandarin Chicken Salad. Boring, actually. I was trying to find something without: 1) mayo; 2) bacon; and 3) cheese.

Matt says it's a "no shave November" so he's letting his beard grow all month. He last shaved on Halloween. He also got a 1/4" buzz. :-) But I like the look.

The concert was very good. It was also an honor band (high school) concert.

This morning I ran down to the Y to lift and swim. Absolutely no leg issues on the run (and without compression sleeves). Yippee!! My legs were cramping in the pool, though, so I got out after about 45 minutes. :-( That happens when my legs are tired and/or I'm dehydrated. Hi to whoever drove by on the way home in a grey Ford pick-up and honked and waved. I waved and smiled back, but didn't recognize the vehicle.

Went to the library this afternoon. Got a few books. Books on swimming ...

 Baking ...

and last month's book club novel. Maybe I can get that read on the plane going to and coming from NY. BTW: I saw the homeless guy I was talking to yesterday near HyVee at the library today. Small world. Speaking of NY, Kelly is putting together a little itinerary for us:

Friday: While Kelly and Ben are at work, explore the area aroud her house which is right on the Hudson River then 3'ish go into the city to Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Broadway Play.
Saturday: Breakfast at West Point, visit a winery, view a few of the Hyde Park mansions (Rockefeller, Vanderbuilt...), Culinary Institute of America for dinner...
Sunday: 5K at Yankee Stadium (still up in the air), Brooklyn flea market, Chelsea market, Chinatown/Little Italy, 9/11 site, Battery Park, etc.

It's going to be the best birthday weekend EVER!!

I picked up my brand new 2150s today. My 2140s are reaching the end of their useful life. These are a fun color. Get them at Running Room!! I lament the fact that new shoes eventually have to get dirty ... They're soooooo pretty.

Supper tonight was Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato soup (Trader Joe's).

I added some sauteed onion and red pepper, some roasted corn and freshly ground pepper. It was DELICIOUS.

Tomorrow evening my Cooking Light supper club meets at Mary's house. On the menu, which sounds wonderful as usual:

Wine: Kathryn or Pam
Appetizer of choice: Kathryn or Pam
Honey Buttermilk Rolls: Renee
Tarte Tatin: Diane
Bourbon and Orange-Glazed Ham: Mary
Nutty Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad: Margo
Roasted Root Vegetables with Sorghum and Cider: Laura
Wild Rice with Apples: Barbara

I made some Pecan Praline Sandwich Cookies after supper. I made some of them open-faced. I think I'm going to drizzle some caramel over the top just to "gild the lily" as they say.

Congrats to some River Runners: Sharon Hobbs and Mike Murray for their awesome performances at Ironman Florida and Nikki Bergh for her BQ at Outer Banks. Well done!! I talked to my friend Ellen at church today and she ran a marathon with her son this fall. In Sioux City, IA. His first. That's a dream of mine--to run a marathon with one of my boys.

Some midwest mentions in Runners' World of late: 1) Our MN RRCA state rep Kim Maxwell was quoted, 2) Chris Raabe, St. Cloud River Runner and winner of Grandma's Marathon got a little sidebar, and 3) the Rotary Lights Run/Walk 5K in LaCrosse was mentioned as a race to run (and I'm thinking about doing it--and they're running an ad in the December RTC News :-)

Well, I'm fresh out of news. Time for a quote for the day: "“Optimism is the foundation of courage.”  -- Nicholas Murray Butler

Ciao!

Gorgeous!!

As I frequently do, I'll start this post with a comment about the weather. Gorgeous. Upper 60's, with little wind and plenty 'o sunshine. And that's precisely why I didn't get a post done yesterday. I spent every moment I could outside. Ran. :-) (More on that in a sec.) Mowed the lawn short for winter. Cleaned the air filter on the mower. Cleaned up some perennial beds. (I still have to clean up my little lettuce/herb garden and rake some pine needles today.)

Let's start with the run. I showed up at Panera south along with about 10 others. (Karla is hiding behind Randy.)

The prescribed course was up and around the lake. I got to 2.5 miles and decided that if I got in 5 miles I'd be one happy camper (it was my first run since re-pulling my calf muscle on Sunday) so I turned around and headed back to Panera. On the way I picked up more trash, in the form of dozens of HyVee flyers. I stopped to talk to Harry Hoffman who was out running with his dog. He said he was happy for the break. :-)

It was the inaugural wearing of my new 2XU calf guards and I must say that I really like them.

That's a good thing as they were an investment. I actually ended up wearing them pretty much all day. So ... by the time I went back out on the trail to meet the first runners coming back and then back to Panera (also ended up talking to a homeless guy -- from TX, who'd been sleeping under the bridge on the beltline, was going back to TX yesterday to escape the cold), I had in just over 6 miles. Whoo hoo! I could feel a little soreness on the spot on my calf, but it wasn't painful (if that makes any sense) and there was no pain in walking. All good. On the way back I ran into Pam King and hubby Gerry Weinrich, along with Mr. Peabody and Sadie.

 I felt like a chatterbox yesterday. There were people I knew all over the place. Upon entering Panera, there were my friends Bruce and Kay Johnson.

Bruce is the one I'd spotted riding a bike with no hands, talking on a cell phone several times this summer. He's doing a study on a 49-year old woman who won (outright, beating the men) a 400+ mile race in Canada and who's now going to climb a 22,000 foot peak. Bruce is going along to study her. I asked if he needed a sherpa. :-) Bruce is a lung guy at Mayo.

Then we hung around Panera for a while gabbing.

 Among other things, we talked about the NYC marathon which John ran last Sunday. He had a great time and highly recommends it. Clever shirts.

Sharon Mulvagh and her son stopped in for something to eat between games (hockey?) so they stopped by for a quick hi and a couple of cookies.

Tish Torchia ...

stopped in for a bag 'o carbs for the state CC meet. Her 8th grade son Ian qualified as an individual. BTW: Congrats to P.E.M. who won the boys meet. I got a gingerbread bagel to go.

which I will have for lunch today. When I got home, I couldn't leave well enough alone  ... and went back out for a couple more miles. I say Leslie Kujawa out walking her dogs. She admired :-) my new calf guards. She said my calves looked scrawny, which I took as the ultimate compliment. My goal is to TOTALLY look scrawny this winter!! Later I saw both Mike Holmes and Jim Rustad out doing yard work so I stopped and talked to them, too. Total: 10.41 miles and my legs felt GREAT. I think I'm good to go. I think I'll tell Kelly that I'm interested in the 5K at Yankee Stadium next weekend if she is too. I'll keep you posted.

More later. I'm going to swim at the Y now.

Toodles!!

Fabulous Friday

Finally some nice, fall weather. It was a beautiful day. I wish I were running. I'm thinking about trying it tomorrow morning, but I'll see what the morning brings. I might be on the Stairmaster, but I'll be joining the Off-Season Striders at Panera South for socializing, whether or not I run. I just tried a new chocolate chip cookie recipe. Nothing special, but they're edible. I probably won't make them again, though. BTW: The run starts at 7:30. I'll be there 8:15 or 8:30'ish. Then maybe I'll scoot over to Mayo H.S. and see how the Bear Creek 5 is going. The weather should bring a good turnout for that one. Then hopefully after that I'll get the rest of the windows washed on the house. That will be a good job done. Matt has another band concert tomorrow night in Winona. It's looking to be a full day.

I ventured up to Northfield today and checked out the new triathlon store: Fit To Be Tri'd

for some 2XU Calf Guards (compression leg sleeves). It was the only place in southern Minnesota that I could find them. I guess they're wildly popular as everyone is sold out. I hope they're of some benefit to me. Dave Clements said they seemed to held him during TCM this year. We'll see how it goes. The owner, Tom, has a nice shop.

Also stopped in a shop called The Rare Pair A nice selection of very comfortable looking shoes and clothes. Fun place to look around.

Before leaving town, I went into Just Food Co-op

I looked around ...

and said hello to my friend Kathryn's son Andrew who works there. Another fun place to browse! Great little town, Northfield.

When I got home, I just had a few minutes to regroup and head down to Soldier's Field for trash pick-up. Thank you Kit Hawkins for organizing it and to Jean Murray, Roger Heil and John Dinusson for helping. When we were done, Jean, Kit and I headed to O'Neil's for some liquid refreshments.

It was fun to sit and talk marathons and other things. :-)

Well, I guess that's all the news I have for today. Hope to see some of you in the morning at Panera.

Good night!

Thursday's Thoughts

Beauty of a day! I hear it's supposed to be 60 on Saturday. Gotta love that in mid-November.

Congratulations to Lionel Cheng who just completed his first ultra! Many of you might remember Lionel as he ran with us on Saturday mornings for well over a year before he went back to Singapore this summer. Such a nice guy. Read all about his ultra is his blog .

From the MTC Marathon site (they spelled Olmsted incorrectly):

Governor's Cup Challenge

Congratulations to all of the teams taking part in the 3rd Annual ING Governor’s Cup. The race is part of the TC 5K and is a way for Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. and the Governor of Minnesota to recognize the hard work that emergency responders, police, fire and ambulance workers have dedicated to our weekend of events over the last 28 years.

A special congratulations to Olmstead (sic) County Sherriff Department for taking first in challenge, with the fastest overall time! Olmstead (sic) County will recieve the traveling trophy and a brand-new AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) from Physio-Control, a division of Medtronic, to help add to their life-saving efforts.

Thank you Lisa Pelowski for the info! Kevin Torgerson was also a part of the team. I'm not sure who else, but they scored a brand new AED for the county by running so fast!!

Kit Hawkins has scheduled a trash pick-up session tomorrow (Friday) at 4:30 PM. Meet at the parking lot across Broadway from Snappy Stop. The RTC "owns" the bike trail around Soldier's Field Golf Course. Bring gloves; bags will be provided. Afterwards, head over to O'Neill's Pizza Pub for some libations. :-)

The Rochester Amateur Sport Commission puts on a banquet each year to recognize outstanding accomplishments in sports (Athletes of the Year, Coach of the Year, Team of the Year, etc.) You can nominate someone for these awards: nomination form . Awards are presented at the banquet on January 8, 2010. Last year, the Rochester Track Club was a finalist.

Today I sure got an upper body workout. I went to the Y and lifted. Also swam for 45 minutes. And this afternoon, raked the yard AGAIN and then washed more windows. I'm slightly sore ... but that's a good thing. Leg is feeling good. But I'm not going to try running yet. No need.

This evening I went down to the Nordic Shop. They had a free porcelain ornament painting thing going on. A rep from Royal Copenhagen (porcelain china) was there. So I painted my little porcelain heart

(not very well, I might add) and that was that. Didn't buy any china. :-) Or anything, for that matter.

I just made some ginormous cookies for Shaun Palmer (cookies of the month). Oatmeal/Dried Cherry/Chocolate Chunk/Pecan. They're at least 4" across.

Some brownies too because I forgot that Shaun doesn't like nuts (but he gives most of the cookies away--such a nice guy).

Tomorrow I'm going to check out the new triathlon store in Northfield--Fit to be Tri'd. He's got the 2XU calf compression sleeves that I can't find anywhere else.

Yesterday my hairdresser told me about someplace in the cities she likes to eat: Psycho Suzi's If nothing else, the name sure is an attention getter! I'll let you know what I think if I ever stop by.

Quote for the day: "Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I may not forget you." --William Arthur

Peace.

Pampered

A little pampering took place today. I had a 1/2 hour massage from Deb Cannon at the Y. I'd won it at the Indoor Triathlon back in spring sometime and still hadn't redeemed it. I figured post-marathons was a good time to take advantage of it. She did my legs. I told her about the sore left calf and she could feel a lump in there, as well as a few other hot spots I didn't even know I had. She even did my feet. I have to say it felt great. I'd had one other massage several years ago that was a gift and I think it's fair to say that I could get used to them. :-) Then it was off to get my hair shampooed and cut.

I was so relaxed. I love having someone else shampoo my hair. Fingers on my scalp just makes me get weak in the knees. :-)

On the way home I stopped at The Mouse & Marketplace to get a 2010 calendar for the kitchen.

Wendy, the owner, said they're having a 25% off sale for the public Fri-Sun. They're also selling tickets for an after hours sale (including champagne and appetizers) this Saturday and next where the discount will be 30%. Lots of fun stuff, including "Minnesota Walleye Poop" (chocolate covered sunflower seeds), ...

and cute stuff for the holidays, but I just got my little calendar.

I just had to post this photo sent from a dear friend. I think it's absolutely beautiful. Just a simple abandoned house on a prairie, but the lighting and different looks to the sky, are spectacular.

I talked to Margo yesterday, and indeed, those are beets from my garden in Rochester Women magazine this month. My 15 seconds of fame for the month.

Speaking of beets, I roasted some today, along with some onions (also from the garden) and a couple of sweet potatoes. They were delicious. Very sweet. I grew both red and golden beets.

Roasted Beets ‘n Sweets

Ingredients
• 6 medium beets, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 medium sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. In a bowl, toss the beets with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to coat. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet.
3. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and sugar in a large resealable plastic bag. Place the sweet potatoes and onion in the bag. Seal bag, and shake to coat vegetables with the oil mixture.
4. Bake beets 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Mix sweet potato mixture with the beets on the baking sheet. Continue baking 45 minutes, stirring after 20 minutes, until all vegetables are tender.

And ... speaking of vegetables, winter squash are 49 cents each (not per pound, but each) at Rochester Produce this week. That's a very good price. I just love winter squash.

As long as I'm so into food for this post, here's the cake I made the other day. I got to taste some crumbs and it's a keeper.

Pumpkin Cranberry Cake (from The Cake Mix Doctor Returns)

Streusel (I added the flour and oatmeal as it was syrup without it)
1/2 c. light brown sugar
5 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. flour
1/3 c. quick-cooking oatmeal

Cake
2 c. cranberries, fresh or thawed frozen
1 pkg. (18.25 oz.) plain yellow cake mix (not with pudding in the mix)
1 pkg. (i oz.) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. water
3 large eggs
1 c. canned pumpkin
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. cinnamon

1. Make the streusel topping: Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a fork. Set aside.
2. Make the cake: Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a 13 x 9 inch metal cake plan with vegetable oil spray, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour and set the pan aside.
3. If using frozen cranberries, drain them well in a colander. Coarsely chop the cranberries and pat them dry with paper towels. Set the cranberries aside.
4. Place the cake mix, cream cheese, oil, granulated sugar, milk, water, eggs, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and 1 tsp. cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are incorporated, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until the mixture is smooth, 1 1/2 minutes longer, scraping down the side of the bowl again if needed. Stir in 1 cup of the chopped cranberries.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, smooth the top with the ruber spatula, and sprinkle the remaining chopped cranberries on top. Scatter the streusel topping over the cake.
6. Bake until it is golden brown and the top springs back when lightly pressed with a finger, 45 to 50 minutes.

Our book club book for January is The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. I have some time this evening so I think I'll get started on it after I read the paper. It'll probably take me the 2 1/2 months I have until we meet to get it read the way my life has been going. The book for our November/December meeting has not been decided on as of yet.

Quote for the day: "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow." --Albert Einstein

Live. Love. Laugh.