Friday

Just a quick post for today. It's been a quiet, but beautiful day. I'll take this weather for mid-November, any day. Gotta love it. This morning I ran down to the Y, lifted (it'd been 10 days) and swam for an hour and then ran home. My legs were tired after 16 miles yesterday. I'm not sure what my legs have in them for tomorrow. We'll see. It's only 7 weeks until my next marathon --- Zoom!Yah!Yah! and I'll need to get in a couple of 20-milers between now and then.

I, and the River Runners, got a mention by Tom O'Leary in the Byron Team R.E.D. blog!! Whoo hoo! They're a fun group.
I had lunch with Mike Schmitt today at Pi Pizza, up near the north Target. Mike wanted to see ALL my pictures from NY. I couldn't possibly post them all. :-)

Even though it's a pizza place, we both had the Pi salad. I had chicken with mine. It was very good.

I made cookies for tomorrow morning's run. I used the dutch-processed cocoa I got at Penzey's. It's REALLY nice cocoa. You might think 'cocoa is cocoa', but this is silky smooth, no lumps. I guess you get what you pay for.

They're those really chocoaltely ones.

I also made Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies, which is a new recipe for me. They turned out good. I hope. :-) It's a soft pumpkin cookie ...

with a cinnamon-flavored filling.

For dinner, I had a salad (no surprise there) with pomegranate seeds and blackberries (99 cents at Target) on it.

And I was inspired to make something with Sweet Potatoes. It's my own adaptation of another recipe (which uses winter squash and a lot more butter and sugar, no cinnamon, and Corn Flakes). Saute some apple slices in a covered skillet and put them on the bottom of a casserole dish.

Bake (or nuke) a couple of sweet potatoes. Peel and mash.

Season with salt and pepper and cinnamon (and a little butter and brown sugar if you wish--but not really necessary. If you make this with winter squash, a little brown sugar is nice). Layer on top of the apples.

For the topping, I used 1 Tbsp. melted butter, 1/4 c. brown sugar, 3/4 c. Honey Bunches of Oats (crushed) and 1/4 c. pecans, chopped. (This was enough for a 7 x 11 dish. Double for a 9 x 13).

Bake for about 15 minutes at 350, until topping is crunch and it's heated through.

Hope to see lots of you at Panera South tomorrow morning!
Quote for the day: "Integrity is not a 90 percent thing, not a 95 percent thing; either you have it or you don’t.” -- Peter Scotese

Good night.

NY, NY (Part 4, THE FINAL NY POST)

Sunday morning found us taking a (relatively) early train downtown so that we could make the most of the daylight hours as this was the day to really "see the sights". And as luck would have it, it was the one day we were there that had really nice weather. Mid-60's, still and no rain.

Our first stop was the Donut Plant on the north side of Chinatown. A small, nondescript storefront, but by the looks of the press on the wall, noted for excellent donuts.

Kelly and Ben recommended the raised variety (vs. cake). So we sampled a few.

 

I waited until we were on the ferry to eat mine (this photo was taken on the subway) and the glaze was getting all gooey and messy (vs. kind of crunchy). But it was still a good donut. I just should have eaten it sooner ...

From there we hoofed it to the Staten Island Ferry ...

so we could ride (for free!) past the Statue of Liberty.

We also saw the skylines of Jersey City, NJ ...

and Manhattan.

After disembarking from the ferry, we took the subway to Brooklyn to attend the Brooklyn Flea Market ...

held right beneath the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge.

A few noteworthy things for sale:

A bowl and picture frames made out of bike chains ...

and bowls made out of LP records. Then it was off to Front Street Pizza in Brooklyn for another slice of NY pizza.

This one wasn't as good as the first. Then it was off to Ground Zero. Just thinking about the tragedy made my eyes well up with tears. There is a display in the church, St. Paul's Chapel, just a block away from where the Twin Towers used to be, that didn't have even one window broken that day. Amazing.

Inside are many artifacts, including this cross made from some of the ironwork from the building. Very moving.

Hundreds of patches from the firefighters and police officers who helped with the rescue and cleanup.

Letters from children ...

And photos of some of the many who perished.

The actual site is under construction and not much is visible. It's surrounded by a chain link fence with signage all around and the hole is being filled with the memorial. But it was still obvious that a big chunk of downtown Manhattan was missing.

Then we walked over to Wall Street ...

where we saw the New York Stock Exchange.

In the late afternoon we stopped at Levain Bakery for one of their famous 6 ounce (and $4!!) cookies.

This one is chocolate chip walnut and was delicious. It was several hours before it was gone. We walked through Central Park after the sun went down (it was still pretty) and walked onto the grounds of Tavern on the Green, which was all lit up with lights.

On the way to dinner we walked by many street vendors (who are EVERYWHERE) selling roasted chestnuts.

My last NY meal was at Pop Burger ...

which was across the street from the famous toy store F.A.O. Schwartz.

Pop Burger was a fun little place.

The burgers came in pairs, so my sister and I split an order and we each ordered fries. I must say, I think those were the best fries I've ever had. So crispy and crunchy. Delicious.

We walked past Carnegie Hall on the way to Times Square ...

where we also saw the Ed Sullivan Theater.

We passed Bryant Park on the way to the subway, where there are lots of little freestanding shops. It's also where they hold the final show for the TV show "Project Runway". When we got home, most of us had one last "Renee's Cookie".

I didn't have room for one more thing. I really felt like I ate my way through NY! But I enjoyed every bite. :-) Monday morning brought a very early wake-up call and a return trip to the White Plains airport. And of course, it was a beautiful, clear day. :-(

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I'd return in a NY minute. :-)

I won, I won!!

I ran with Byron Team R.E. D. this evening. 6.04 miles starting at Bear's Den in Byron. There were a dozen or so of us. Paul Melby was the fast "group leader" and took us on a wrong turn so we got .3 miles more than the rest of the group. No problem!!! But after 10.13 miles this morning, my hammies are tired. Tomorrow it'll be back to the pool. Anyway ... when we'd gotten back to the Bear's Den, Tom produced 2 $5 gift cards and said we were going to play Rock/Paper/Scissors to determine who'd win them. Well, I couldn't remember how to play. All I could remember was that scissors cut paper and don't know if I ever knew how the rest of it went (paper covers rock and rock smashes scissors). It was single elimination and we went around the table whittling it down to the final 3. Andrew Becker lost to Meg so it was Meg and I that were the proud winners! Meg and I had a playoff to determine the "Ultimate Champion". Meg won bragging rights. :-) Go, Meg! So I used the $5 towards my raspberry chicken wrap ...

which was very good. I really wanted some french fries, but have been feeling "bulky" of late, so I went with the steamed broccoli/cauliflower/carrots instead. The butter went unused. :-)

It was a fun evening. Somehow, Tom O'Leary got on the subject of Nair'ing his chest. Interesting conversation. I think he said it took 4 applications. Something like that ... Tom is so funny.

Anyway, it was a fun group.

I'll be back! Officially they run the first and third Thursdays, but Tom said they really run every Thursday. 6:00 PM at the NEW Bear's Den (my GPS took me to the OLD Bear's Den and I left a frantic message on Tom's voicemail!) The new one is just west of the MarketPlace Foods building ... kind of hard to see from the road as it's behind another building.

Pizzas were $2 off, so a couple of those were ordered.

And one MONSTER burger!

I'm taking requests for treats for Saturday morning. It's sounding like it might be some kind of cookies with lots of chocolate in them and some pumpkin/chocolate chip/walnut bread. Sound good?? Panera South at 7:30 AM. Mayowood Bike Trail.

My knee is coming along ...

Kevin and Marissa Torgerson appeared in the latest issue of Luther magazine. They ran Grandma's Marathon together. It was Marissa's first marathon.

I think I will take a break from NY blogging until morning. It's almost 10:00 and I feel the need to retire. Here's a sneak peak at where I'll start tomorrow's post: The Doughnut Plant on the north edge of Chinatown, NYC.

Quote for the day: "STAY is a charming word in a friend's vocabulary." --Amos Bronson Alcott

Until tomorrow then ...

Regular Stuff

There's still some run-of-the-mill, regular stuff to be shared with my "bleaders" (I'm guessing it's "bl(og) (r)eaders" a new term I picked up in Julie & Julia, which I started reading on the NY trip). The author, Julie Powell, is a hoot. (But I will caution that she has a potty-mouth.)

I had lunch with my friend Kim today. We were to meet at 300 First, but guess what? They're no longer open for lunch. Major bummer! So we went to Chester's instead. We both had the Spinach Chicken salad which was very, very good.

It had chicken in one corner, mandarin oranges, bacon and Craisins in the others and almonds on top. And a very tasty maple vinaigrette. Wish I could figure out the recipe! Really a delicious salad which we both thoroughly enjoyed. We talked mostly kids (she has 4, I have 2) and some about running, triathlons and quilting. We had a very nice time together. She is a very talented quilter as is evidenced by her website Her quilts are very colorful and whimsical. She had a cute little cupcake quilt wallhanging for me for my birthday.

It's even got some beads on the frosting. :-) Very fun little quilt. Her own design, of course.

Totally useless info: there's an 8-point buck living in the woods somewhere in my neighborhood. I saw it yesterday morning and Monday afternoon wandering through the back yard.

Here's a link from Lisa P. about mega marathoners. Some people need to get a life! I'd heard a clip about this on the radio this morning too, actually.

In the last week, another friend has been diagnosed with breast cancer and she's already had her surgery. I was devastated to hear the news. Just another reason that we need to lend support to Lace-Up Against Breast Cancer (February 14) be it as a runner (5K run/walk or half marathon), volunteer, silent auction donations (THANK YOU to those who have contributed--I'll be doing a cookie basket and a bread and jam basket), or your financial support. It's all needed and very much appreciated.

It looks like there's a new race on the RTC website: the Booker Mini 5K on Friday 11/27 at noon at the International Event Center. Wally Arnold is the race director.

I'll bring this post to a close and work on the December issue of RTC News before retiring and reading a few pages of J & J (I don't get very far before I start dropping the book on the floor ... at which time I need to give in and just turn off the light.)

Another quote about friends: "Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down." -- Oprah Winfrey

Toodles.

NY, NY (Part 3 of MANY)

When I left you last night, I was at Chelsea Market,

a former Nabisco Oreo factory of all things. It's filled with bakeries, kitchen wares, chocolatiers, wine cellars, restaurants, etc. A very fun "foodie" place. Some of the baked goods were incredible to look at. My sister bought me a "Happy Birthday" cupcake from Eleni's, which I didn't eat until I got home.

One place I was really looking forward to was Amy's Breads. I got a few rolls to sample and some pumpkin bread for us to have for breakfast on Sunday. It did not disappoint. That pumpkin bread was out of this world. I should have gotten a loaf to bring home. My bad. :-(

Kelly had a ham 'n cheese sandwich from Amy's Bread for lunch on Saturday. She gave me a bite. I can still remember how exquisite it tasted. I TOTALLY made the wrong choice for lunch (I had a chicken and roasted pepper sandwich from an Italina place which was fine, but nothing like Kelly's!)

Then it was off to SoHo (south of Houston St, remember??) ...

 for some unique shopping experiences. This is not the place for chain stores for the most part, but unique shops carrying trendy merchandise.

We eventually ended up at a large, 3-level store called UNIQLO which was kind of a Japanese verion of GAP. Good prices. Colorful basics. A fun place to shop.

I ended up with a black knit dress ...

and some of their Heattech (breathable, tech fabric).

I forgot to mention that on Friday I got some fun, cheap ($22) shoes somewhere off Fifth Avenue.

Later we went to Chinatown ...

where there are scarves for sale EVERYwhere. Pashminas and cashmere, or cashmere-feel. You can almost always talk them down a buck or five. I got these two (one Pashmina, the turquoise plaid, and one cashmere-feel) for $5 each.

After leaving Chinatown we headed a couple of blocks north to Little Italy and Benito II ..

for some authentic Italian food. They first brought out some rustic Italian bread which was good.

I ordered spaghetti and meatballs as the menu claimed it was the "best in the world" or something to that effect, and Kelly's aunt had tried it and said it was very good. I don't know if I've ever had spaghetti and meatballs. LOTS of spaghetti but ixnay on the eatballsmay. Well, these meatballs were indeed very, very good. Both of them.

The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente, but best of all was the sauce. It was phenomenal. I don't know what made it particularly unique but it was the best pasta sauce I've ever had. Well, I was now feeling pleasantly plump and we were off to the East Village ...

 to discover yet another NYC neighborhood. This one had a vibe all its own.

Filled with tattoo parlors and jewelry stores.

And Vikings parties. Why not??

And that's where I'll pick it up tomorrow. :-)

NY, NY (Part 2 of MANY)

A couple of things I forgot from Part 1 of MANY: On the way from the airport to Kelly's house, we drove through Chappequa, where the Clinton's live. After picking up Alison from the airport on Friday, we drove through IBM HQ in Armonk. (Kelly has access. :-) It wasn't what I was expecting. It's very secluded and very rural.

So... When I left you yesterday, I was standing by a taxi booth on Broadway, having just left Grand Central Terminal. We wandered up and down, in and around, on Fifth Avenue ...

probably the most famous shopping street in the world. There is certainly LOTS of shopping to be had, and endless ways to spend LOTS of $$$. At places like ...

the diamond district ...

ALDO ...

Teuscher Chocolatier (oh my... so much chocolate ... so little time (and not NEARLY enough money--champagne truffles were $75/pound)) ...

Jimmy Choo ...

Cartier (jewelry) ...

Tiffany & Co. (and those famous blue boxes and bags--even the stuff on the third floor, "Fashion Jewelry" cost an arm and a leg and at this point I wasn't willing to give up a leg) ....

Trump Tower.

We stopped at Rockefeller Tower

and Plaza (it's much smaller than I thought).

We peeked in on the TODAY show set.

Should you tire of walking, there were alternate means of transportation.

For dinner, we stopped at The Volstead

which was under street level and it was hopping with the Friday-after-work crowd.

We all had the Southwestern Salad (I didn't get any pix!) with steak on top. I had a Blueberry Lemonade (alcoholic) and they had Bikini Martinis. For dessert, Kelly said " ... they have really good chocolate fondue". She was 101% right. It ROCKED.

A lush, creamy chocolate (I'm pretty sure the recipe would not be featured in Cooking Light) and strawberries, bananas, blackberries, marble pound cake and my fave ... really dense Rice Krispie Treats for dipping. It was fabulous. Good thing we were walking all over Manhattan!

Then it was through Times Square to the Palace Theater for West Side Story.

It was very good. Really enjoyed the music and those dancers' bodies are amazing. Not a wiggle or jiggle to be seen. ANYWHERE. We hoofed it back to GCT for a late train and collapsed in bed sometime after midnight, closer to 1 AM actually. A very full day.

Saturday brought a 10.26 mile run for me, including a stop at Shop Rite for some Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips so I could make cookies ...

for Kelly and Ben.

They turned out great. The cookies that is. Well who am I trying to kid ... Kelly and Ben are great too!! After waiting for the rain to let up (it did, a little) it was off to the train station ...

for another full day in NY, NY. This time, mostly shopping was on the agenda, to keep us out of the rain. Fun NY facts to know and tell: the different areas in Manhattan have meanings--SoHo (South of Houston St, pronounced Hoston with a long "o") NoHo (North of Houston St)  TriBeCa (Triangle Below Canal St)  NoLIta (North of Little Italy). I had no idea!! This would be my first trip on the Subway, which was very much like the "T" in Boston.

First stop, Chelsea Market.

What all did we find inside? Stop back here tomorrow and find out. Here's a teaser ...

Good night!

Well, I think I ran off some of my birthday calories this morning. Just over 11 miles. Slow, but at this time of year miles are just for fun. :-) At least I didn't fall. My knee is doing pretty well. I can run fine, but it's a little tender when I bend it or my jeans rub against the still raw skin.

Looking for another social/running opportunity? How about joining  Byron Team R.E.D.  at Bear's Den in Byron at 6pm on Thursday? I just might try it ... Off-Season Striders will run at 7:30 AM on Saturday from Panera South. I hear there were 40 at Dunn Bros. on Saturday ??? I hope we can get as many this week. That's fabulous!!

November RTC Birthdays: Joe Barrone, Heather Christy, Steve Corner, Elizabeth Casiano, Brenda Fyles (milestone), Joe Gyura, Scott Helt, Yvonne Hubmayr, Ray Hylland, Joann Johnson (milestone), Dan Lovik, Bill Nevala (milestone), Kelly O'Hara, Tom O'Leary, Sharon Riester, Renee Saxman, Pete Schommer, Tom Schreiber, Dawn Schroeder, Kendel Simon, Sherry Sonnenberg, Kathy Wangen, Mark Winter, Ryan Wyttenbach, Kristin Zhao. Happy B-Day one and all!

The November Running Room eMag is available for download and viewing. My egg bake recipe is on page 15. There's also a new Gear Guide in the back. I'm still accepting newsletter stories for the December issue of RTC News. Send them my way! Thanks!!

Fit to be Tri'd 306 Division St. in Northfield is having an open house on Thursday from 5 to 8 pm. There will be prizes given away every half hour, 10% off running shoes (if you bring in an old usable pair), and more.

Boston This 'n That: Congratulations to Etta who qualified for Boston over the weekend! She worked very hard for that one, so kudos girl!! Also, just over 2 months over registration opened, BOSTON 2010 IS FULL!!! I have my confirmation card. I know of a couple people who are majorly disappointed. :-(

Jim Mason sent me this video. This would be TOTALLY fun. Beats the Stairmaster any day. And fun besides.



Lots of deals to be had at Wal-Mart today, including:

Bananas for 29 cents/pound (cheaper than Kwik Trip!), Land O'Lakes butter for $2/pound (it's my fave ... unsalted for baking, salted for (occasional!) table use), sweet potatoes for 25 cents/pound, pomegranates for $1.25, free Chex Party Mix seasoning packets (no purchase required), Swanson reduced sodium fat-free chicken broth in a can for 45 cents, ... Anyway, I think I shopped pretty healthy. :-)

Well, I'm going to go down to the basement and work on filling the trash container for tomorrow. I'm sure there's stuff that's not needed down there. I'll do a NY post in a little while.

From a book called "Fresh-Cut Flowers for a Friend" that I got for my birthday: "A friend is someone you can do nothing with, and enjoy it." --Anonymous

Later.