A Dolphin I'm Not!!

Shaun Palmer, our esteemed swim instructor, helped Judy and I ...

(I made this image as small as possible. My eyes look pretty tough after having goggles suctioned on my face for a while!)

... with our freestyle stroke this morning at the Y pool. And guess who was there to witness? Bill Nevala, race director for the Rochesterfest Triathlon (June 28)!! He was there swimming a mile with son Shawn. I was very hesitant to try swimming laps, but ... I got in there and did it. We ended up spending 2 hours in the pool, the last 30 minutes with Aqua Joggers on doing some 'running'. Thanks a million Shaun for your help!! I have a long way to go but with practice I'm hoping I'll be able to swim the 1/4 mile necessary for the sprint course.

Here's yet another fun Polar Plunge photo, from Chris Kujath's Facebook photo album. Fun photo! (Paula, Mike, ???, me, Trevor, Lionel)

Here's the Post-Bulletin listing of the Lace-Up half marathon results.

I worked at Running Room this afternoon. New stuff since I've worked last: CLIF 1/2 shots (candybar type packaging in flavors berry, lemon-lime, orange, strawberry, margarita which has 3 x sodium), CLIF Recovery drinks (enhanced with protein in flavors hot chocolate, hot cider and mango), Running Room socks from Fitsok, Thorlos Experia socks, Pro-Tec Roller Massager, Ice-Up, and Foam Roller. Joey Keillor, miler extraordinaire, stopped in for some CLIF shots. He's doing his first Birkie this weekend. I'm excited to see how he does. He's been doing most of his training at Quarry Hill and since he lives close, has volunteered to be on the grooming crew. Also stopping by were Tish Torchia and Ian and Kelsey. Ian needed some new shoes. They're doing the Kortelopet at the Birkie this weekend. They do it every year. Michael is skiing the whole Birkie for the first time.

From Mike Schmitt: Put on your lucky hat, rub your rabbits foot, and give the dice another roll.... The online application for the ING New York City Marathon 2009 lottery will be available on February 19! Lottery entry

Registration for the Garry Bjorklund half marathon begins tomorrow, February 18. The race entry process is conducted through a lottery in which 4,500 participants will be randomly selected. Beginning Feb. 18 at 12:01 a.m. (CST), and continuing through 8 a.m. March 2, registration will be available at http://www.grandmasmarathon.com/ for all half-marathon hopefuls. Lottery participants can submit their registration any time during the 12-day online registration period. Participants will be randomly selected and their acceptance into the race will be confirmed via e-mail no later than March 5. (Those runners not selected will receive an e-mail notifying them that their entry was not among those chosen. 6,400 have registered for the full marathon at this point. The race will cap at 9,500 entries.)

Beer Run: If you're interested & available, a couple of us are going to meet for a Beer Run this Thursday, 2/19, at 5:30pm, at O'Neill's in Crossroads on S. Broadway. Please let me me know if you plan to attend!

From Bill Nevala: May 30th is the HyVee/Hormel Rochester Kids Triathlon. I am currently building staff for this event. We are in need of Run Course and Bike Course Coordinators. The event will be essentially the same as last year with the swim being in the Willow Creek Middle School Pool, bike course will lead the kids from the school to the Bear Creek Trail. Bikers will then go to the transition area located at Mayo High School Stadium. The run course is on Mayo High School Grounds and finishes in the stadium. We need your help in getting ready for the event. If you are interested in helping us put on a nice event for the kids, please contact Bill or Wendy Nevala at 507-206-4294 or email at wnevala@yahoo.com .

I decided to get on the Stairmaster after Running Room today, for whatever reason. I decided to try doing the Speed Interval program at the max level: 20. WHAT A WORKOUT!! I was literally dripping and hanging on for dear life ... :o)

OK. Recipe time. Here's my banana bread recipe (left in the photo below).

Banana Bread

1/2 c. butter or margarine
1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 1/2 c. mashed bananas (about 3)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Up to 1 c. chopped walnuts (optional)
Up to 1 c. mini chocoalte chips (optional, but oh so good!)

(I do this all by hand--no mixer--don't overmix!)
Cream butter and sugar. Stir in eggs, butter, bananas and vanilla until well combined. Combine dry ingredients. Gently stir into wet ingredients, just until mixed. Stir in nuts or chips if using.

Grease or spray pans. One 9 x 5 x 3 or four 3 x 5 pans. Heat oven to 350. For 9 x 5 x 3 pan, bake one hour 15 minutes, covering with foil after 1 hour. Cool 15 minutes before removing from the pan. For smaller pans, bake 45 minutes. Cool 10-12 minutes before removing from the pan.

Quote for the day: "Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you." --Dr. Seuss

Go. Be. Do.