A VERY Full Day Indeed!!

Oh, my. I'm BEAT!! And I've got an 8K race tomorrow up in the cities (Human Race). I think it'll just be for fun the way I'm feeling now. Not much left in the tank, and tired legs. But what a wonderful day it was for a long run. (Hence the 60+ people ready to rumble at the RAC!) The course as layed out was 18.65 miles. I was THRILLED when we got back tot he parking lot and Trevor said our average pace was 8:08. He, Lionel and I scorched the last mile in just over 7 minutes. I felt GREAT. I was psyched! So after stopping for some Cherry Almond Blonde Brownies (great recipe, link posted yesterday--a keeper) and fluids, we topped it off making it a 20-miler.

It was fun listening to some of the on-the-run chatter today. Shortly after leaving the RAC, Jen Bradt, a physical therapist at Mayo, was doing a gait analysis on all of us. She said my stride was very efficient (thanks to my rigid orthotics!). And later we listened to some "guy talk" -- as in man-boobs and leg chafing issues!! Ha!

After getting home, I had my usual bowl of oatmeal with walnuts, blueberries and a banana. Yum, yum. I never tire of that breakfast. Then I brought Pam King two pork loins. She's going to put a rub on them and smoke them on her Big Green Egg for me. She's a dear! In exchange, I brought her a loaf of homemade steel cut oat/whole wheat bread and a couple jars of jam. I still owe her cookies. :-) Then it was off to the mall for a couple things. Then out to Mill End Textiles to look for some fabric for a quilt. They didn't have what I wanted. On the way out, I passed the Dairy Queen on the beltline. It's open! I really wanted a cone, but I resisted. I knew I was most likely going to be overdoing the sweets today (more below) so I thought I better pass on the ice cream. Then up to Great Harvest for a loaf of bread and a free scone ... and a sample of sunflower wheat bread. Then over to Quilting Cupboard for their 20% off sale. They were closed .. and it was only 2:40 PM. I was bummed. Then back home to walk over to Kathryn Moe's home for her annual Vernal Equinox Party (really a misnomer--it's an all-you-can-eat cookie fest!).




I had four cookies, but they weren't that big. But they were delicious, every single one of them. Kathryn really put out the spread. The decision as to how to spend my calories was difficult!

Also in attendance was the Wernstrom family--Mary, Kyle and Mark.

During the morning run, Dan Strain mentioned that he'd tappped his maple trees and was wondering whether I wanted some sap as he couldn't keep up with it. Well, sure I did! However, it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup so a LOT of boiling is involved in attaining the final product.

The sap is perfectly clear ... looks like water.

But it will be turned into gold ... syrup, that is.

So now I'm home, finally sitting down, with a couple of gallons of sap boiling on the stove.

Well, I'm more than ready to put my feet up on the couch and read the newspaper. More tomorrow after the Human Race.

Toodle-oo.