Begging for Mercy

Rochesterfest Sprint Triathlon training update: Well, this morning I decided it was time to get on the (spin) bike. I thought the biking leg would be 'easy'. Hah. I'll definitely be spending more time on the bike in the near future! I found out how to make my quads scream and beg for mercy :o) 3 sets of 240 lbs. on the Freemotion squat machine (don't worry ... I've been at 220 for quite a while now and I keep my cadence high on the bike so as to not blow out a knee) followed by an hour on the spin bike. Oh. My. Goodness. But the cycling did seem to get easier as the hour went by, strange as that seems. I seemed to prefer being out of the saddle to on the saddle as well. Then for fun, I did an 8.00 minute mile on the treadmill. That went fine. All in all, a good workout. There's a spinning class on Fridays at 6 AM. I should really try that some time. BTW: Eric Woodford was on a treadmill continuing his training for Boston. He said it's going well.

Before I got on the bike, I talked with Mark Warner. He's training for the Rochesterfest Triathlon as well, along with his wife Mary Ellen. They're both anesthesiologists at Mayo. Very, very nice people. Bill Nevala is training for the inaugural Ironman New Orleans on April 5th. I believe this will be Bill's first Ironman.

Trevor Distad is IN for the Trifecta! Whoo hoo! I'm still working on Tom Woo and Dan Strain. :)

Here's a photo of the keyholders that Larry Pederson made for the winners at the Cabin Fever Stair Climb. Very nice indeed.

Cooking Light supper club tonight. Here's our delicious sounding menu:

Pam: Wine (she just called for the menu and said that picking out wine for this wide assortment of food flavors is going to be a challenge. I guess that means there will be lots of wine??)
Diane: Lobster Tarragon Toast
Kathryn: Beef Tenderloin with Port-Beach Plum Reduction
Renee: Bread of your choice [it's going to be 1) whole wheat steel cut oat and 2) 2 x Italian]
Barbara: Colonial Corn Pudding
Barb: Eastham Turnip-Potato Gratin
Margo: Ginger Pumpkin Cheesecake
Mary: California Ambrosia

Here's an awesome recipe for Poppy Seed cake from a dear friend. I made it last week and it's really, really good.

Cake:
1/2 c. poppy seeds
1 c. milk
1 c. shortening
2 c. sugar
3 c. cake flour
3 tsp. baking powder
5 egg whites (reserve yolks)
Soak poppy seeds in milk 1 hour. Cream shortening and sugar. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with poppy seed mixture (dry ingredients first and last). Beat egg whites stiff and carefully fold into batter. Bake in 9 x 13 pan or two layers at 350 (glass pan, cooler oven). (It took 35-40 minutes for me in a 9 x 13). For 9 x 13, spread on top. For layers, spread between the layers.

Filling:
5 eggs yolks
1 c. half and half
1 c. brown sugar
Cook over double boilder until thick; stir several times during cooking. (This took quite a while for me. I had to add more water to the double boiler.) After cooking, stir in 1 tsp. vanilla and some chopped nuts.

Frost with 7-minute frosting (egg white based, cooked over double boiler).

Baker alert: Land O'Lakes butter now comes in half sticks in a one pound package. I picked up a pound at Wal-Mart.

Quote for the day: "If you want to get somewhere you have to know where you want to go and how to get there. Then never, never, never give up." --Norman Vincent Peale

Enjoy your day. (BTW: My Italian bread for tonight is in the oven. It smells divine. I wish I could post scents. Photos tomorrow.)