Hello! Kind of a slow news day, but I have a few things I can share.

Thank you to: Laura Lenz, Abby, Sam and Todd Rowekamp, Jean Murray, John Shonyo, Tom and Shane O'Leary and Tom Williamson for picking up trash yesterday evening. We rewarded ourselves with DQ afterward. My chocolate-dipped cone really hit the spot!

Stopped in at Running Room first. They were just getting ready for the 6:00 practice session (also included is a photo of my brand new Pearl Izumis which I broke in this am):


RTC Board meeting this evening at the RAC conference room 6:00 - 7:30 pm. All members are welcome to attend.

Still have some track & field trials tapes to watch, but here's a clip of a great race, the men's 800m final:



Did you run one of the races in Stewartvile last Friday? If so, cast your vote for your favorite Stewartville Summerfest event (hoping it's the 'Fun Run'!)

Welcome to new RTC members: Andrew Becker, Kathrin and Peter Czarnecki and Silvia Fernandez!

Went for a run this morning instead of going to the gym. For some reason, I felt pretty good! Lately I've been bemoaning the fact that I'm not running/racing any faster and I decided that there's no time like the present to get to work on that situation. So I ran my 7.2 mile route which includes 2 hills, and I threw in 4 x 800m at what felt like threshhold pace. To top it off, when I got to the top of Fox Valley Drive SW, I threw in another 400m. Whew! It was a good workout. I noticed that the black raspberries are starting to ripen so I stopped to munch on a few of those along the way. ;-)

Here's a fabulous salad recipe, perfect for this time of year when the stone fruits are in season and at their most delicious:

Stone Fruit Salad with Toasted Almonds

Ingredients
1 cup riesling or other sweet white wine
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon almond oil (I used canola or walnut oil)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
8 cups mixed salad greens
3 plums, sliced 2 peaches, peeled and sliced
2 nectarines, peeled and sliced
2 apricots, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup pitted fresh cherries, halved
1/4 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
2 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted

Preparation
Heat wine in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat, and stir in vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper.

To serve salad, toss salad greens and fruit with dressing. Sprinkle with goat cheese and sliced almonds. Serve immediately.

Guess that's it for today. Arrivederci!