My Favorite Things

Running

And it was another wonderful day for a long run. On this 50 degree morning there was another good crowd at the R.A.C. 60-70'ish again.


We were scheduled for a 16-miler. I got there early and ran 3.5 before we got going. Trevor and Dan made sure to study the map since they'd be leading the charge. :-) (Jim Mason and Steve Corner are in the background.)

Trevor is doing Ironman Wisconsin next weekend, his first Ironman. I am very excited for him and he'll sure be on my mind on Sunday. Can't wait to hear about it.

Thank you to the gals that staffed our 4 water stops this morning. Picture below with Dan are Julie (Jules) and Jean, who are sisters. Thanks for the candy corn and gumdrops. Those gumdrops hit the spot.

I ran the whole run with Eric Woodford. I think Eric ran a 3:09 at TCM last year and is running that one again. He's in terrific shape.

When we got back it was time for some treats. Dan and Tom are pictured below enjoying their peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

After standing around talking for a while I went back out for a couple more miles. I was a bit stiff at this point, but it only took a couple of tenths for that to subside. I ended up with 23.18 miles and felt really good again this week. Time was 3:12:21 which I think was virtually the same pace as last weekend. Today was a bit warmer but not windy, which was nice. Monday, I race a 10K up in the cities.

Biking

This sweet little orange number has been on my mind. And I think I'm falling in love. <3>
As soon as I got home from the run and grabbed a piece of bread and a handful of animal crackers I called Rochester Cycling & Fitness to see if I could take her for a test ride. Matt said sure. Absolutely. So I went down and picked up the bike. Matt said I could keep it for the whole weekend, which means until Tuesday. :-) (But tomorrow is a totally off day--gulp ... that's soooo hard for me.)

So I took it for a ride. LOVE. IT. Oh, my gosh what a difference from my 30-year old steel frame bike. So light. So resposive. The steering feels a bit twitchy, but that's because there's so much less weight. Getting up out of the saddle, it just feels like the bike jumps forward. Soooo nice. Very sweet bike.

So at mile 22 this guy goes whipping by me. Whoa!! I don't like to be passed! (I am VERY competitive.) So I decide I'm going to chase him down. (BTW: I was wearing running shoes and using the plain pedals that were on the bike for demo purposes--not even any toe straps.) It took about a mile or so going 24 mph, but I caught him and chatted with him for a minute or so.

A couple of miles later I found myself in the middle of the Midwest Tandem Rally course. Up ahead were 3 tandems. So I decided to chase them down. I caught them. One passed me on a downhill (tandems fly downhill) but I caught them again on the flats. I asked them where they'd ridden (Spring Valley). I said that must have been 70 or so miles. Yup. I think they said 73. We talked about the fabulous weather. They asked if I was from Rochester and where the bike shops were. Then they turned toward Bamber Valley School and I went straight. Straight home. 32.03 miles. Enough for these legs for the day! At 2:30 I finally had my "morning" bowl of oatmeal.

Food

Here are some of my faves, which I enjoyed today:

• A piece of dark chocolate (preferable Dove)
• A Werther's butter toffee candy
• Some of a Great Harvest cinnamon roll (no frosting, no nuts). They're huge. I got a free one on Thursday and I've now eaten the outermost ring.

Baking

Tomorrow I'll make Matt a cherry pie for his birthday. And some cookies for him and his roommates. And something or other for Tom and Alex Woo and myself for Monday's Victory 10K.

My Boys

Last, but certainly not least, my boys. Eric is coming home tomorrow and will go with us to Winona for Matt's birthday dinner. Can't wait. :-) I think we're going to Bub's Brewing Co.

I had some down time today. I laid down on the couch, read the paper and fell asleep while watching something-or-other on FoodTV. Then played the piano for a little while. Then replaced my summer decorations with fall ...

Here's a fun photo of me working in the All-You-Can-Drink-Milk-Booth at the State Fair on Tuesday. I wonder how many cups of milk I poured ... LOTS. You have the choice of white (2%) or chocolate (1%).

Here's a recipe for a cole slaw dressing from my great aunt Eunice. It keeps a long time in the refrigerator.

Cole Slaw Dressing
1/2 c. white vinegar
1/2 c. water
2 c. sugar

Boil until sugar dissolves. Use equal parts dressing and mayo/Miracle Whip with chopped cabbage. (I usually stir in some celery seed, too.)

Quote for the day: “The object of living is work, experience, happiness. There is joy in work. All that money can do is buy us someone else's work in exchange for our own. There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something.” -- Henry Ford

Until tomorrow, as ever, I'm Ramblin' Renee ...