Miserable Miles

This morning I ran with the marathon training group at the RAC. I'd heard on the radio that it was mid-30's for a temp. Well, I knew how to dress for mid-30's. So I thought. I put on shorts, a long-sleeved shirt and gloves and was out the door. All good. There were a smattering of other shorts-clad, jacketless runners amongst the (small) crowd.

Well, when we ventured out the front door that NW wind hit me and I discovered I was underdressed. As in WAY underdressed. What I didn't know was that the NW winds were also mid-30's. Yikes.

I ran most of the miles with Dan Strain. We stopped at Great Harvest for a taste of something. That "something" turned out to be Blueberry Coffee Cake. Delish. (Very unflattering photograph of me! Nice shirt, Dan--Fetzer 2007. :-) As we headed back, we were running down 7th St NW and then through the industrial park, right into the wind. M.I.S.E.R.A.B.L.E. I told Dan that I had a bad attitude and needed an attitude check. He said he'd noticed. :-) I never broke a sweat and my hands were non-functional by the time we got back. 9.18 miles. The good news is that I've been diligently stretching today and doing an external rotation exercise for my hip and it feels really pretty good. Not much soreness at all and much better than after the shorter runs of recent weeks. I'll keep doin' what I'm doin' I guess. OK. Time to move on.

BTW: The long runs at the RAC will resume on June 27, earlier than in previous years.

As promised, here are the Stay Out of the Sun Run photos from last night. The ones on the course are from the 10K.

I saw Susan Burriss being interviewed about the race on the 10:00 news last night, and saw Rob Mitchell win the 5K in 16:06 but don't see a video clip on the KTTC website as of yet.

Tomorrow, Sunday, at 1:00 PM at Chester Woods Park, east of Rochester on highway 14, is a preview run of the Chester Woods 10-Mile course led by race director Jim Mason. Feel free to join them. It's a beautiful course.

Here's a link to the Mayo Clinic Medical Edge video that they shot sometime last year having to do with my herniated disk and subsequent back surgery back in 2003. If that link directly do the video doesn't work, use this one and scroll down to the May 2009 videos. As usual, I think the video images of me are not flattering. :-) BTW: Dr. Cascino is my next door neighbor. I will be forever indebted to him for getting my MRI looked at on a Friday at 5:00 PM (when the Clinic closes) and by 5:30 PM arranging for surgery on Monday morning with the head of the neurosurgery dept, who it turns out is a triathlete that I met up with at the Tri Rochester annual kick-off party about a month ago. Small world. :-)

Everything and the Kitchen Sink

It all started with cleaning the kitchen sink. Then I decided to clean the cupboard under the kitchen sink. While I was down there I noticed that the edge of the floor right next to the mopboards at the edge of the floor could use cleaning. So I did that with a flat screwdriver and heavy rag. Then I decided to wipe down all the cabinets and baseboards and chair rails and wood stairs in the house with Murphy's Oil Soap. Then I decided to wash the floors. And vacuum. It turned into a regular spring cleaning. And it feels great to have it done. :-) Then I moved outside and did some more yard work, mostly weeding. It was great to have a full day to do that kind of stuff. It isn't often that I have a whole day free.

The Prairiefire crab in the back yard is almost in full bloom. It's already gorgeous, but in another day or two it will really be spectacular.

On the way home from the run this morning, I decided to stop at the Farmer's Market

and get some asparagus and a loaf of Asiago cheese bread.

I hadn't been down there in a couple of years as I have my own garden and that produces more than we can usually use ourselves. I was amazed at all the baked goods that are for sale. They looked wonderful. When Dan and I were running, I told him that this would be a good day to make soup for supper. I was thinking chili or baked potato soup and he suggested asparagus soup. That sounded very good! So asparagus soup it was. And it was very good.

Cream of Asparagus Soup (from Cooking Light)

For a vegetarian version, use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth. Garnish with thin asparagus spears for a graceful presentation. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

3 cups (1/2-inch) sliced asparagus (about 1 pound)
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon fresh thyme, divided (I used dried)
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (I used a little more than this)
2 cups 1% low-fat milk
Dash of ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Combine asparagus, broth, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, bay leaf, and garlic in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Place asparagus mixture in a blender; process until smooth.

Place flour in pan. Gradually add the milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Add puréed asparagus and ground nutmeg; stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in 1/4 teaspoon thyme, butter, salt, and lemon rind.

CALORIES 112 (28% from fat); FAT 3.5g (sat 2g, mono 0.8g, poly 0.2g); PROTEIN 6.7g; CARB 13.4g; FIBER 1.1g; CHOL 13mg; IRON 0.6mg; SODIUM 765mg; CALC 152mg

This is the shirt Matt is wearing today. Sometime about a fundraiser for breast cancer and wearing as little as is legal. I didn't ask too many questions. ;-)

Quote for the day: “There is nothing impossible to him who will try.” -- Alexander III 'the Great'

Ciao.