And the Winner Is (Was) ...

... (drumroll). Me. (With race director Dick Daymont, and I'm holding my "How I Won the 2010 Zoom!Yah!Yah! Marathon "book". It doesn't open. :-)

But it's not as impressive as you might think, really. It was tough, and I feel pretty beat up. More so that an outdoor marathon without 600 corners. (These were definitely corners, and not curves. The upstairs, suspended track is rectangular, not oval like the 200 meter track downstairs.) 4:04:07 was my finish time. I was pretty disappointed at not going under 4:00:00, but it just wasn't in the cards. I did the best I could. Yesterday, my legs and even my feet were cramping all day. I don't know what that was all about, but it didn't bode well for today. I felt twinges of cramps at 13 miles and by 16-18 miles (somewhere around 100 laps), they were occurring very regularly and my pace slowed drastically. And my hips and hamstrings are really sore. Sitting here at the computer is not feeling so good. So ... enough of the ugly part (my run, that is.) Let's move on to the fun stuff!!

This was a REALLY fun marathon. And kudos to race director Dick Daymont for his superb organization.

He is such an enthusiastic, funny, likeable guy. Packet pick-up was at the Valhalla room in Buntrock Commons at St. Olaf. It was a good chance to meet my 40 fellow runners. It was there that Dick showed me the article in the Northfield News that had my name in it. So I picked up a copy at Kwik Trip before leaving town this afternoon.

The pre-race dinner was the best ever, just as advertised. We had free reign to everything the St. Olaf cafeteria had to offer, and it was plentiful, to say the least. Overwhelming is a better description. Pasta, pizza, salad bar, subs, stir-fry and more. I didn't even look at all the stations. Just look at my tray! OK, I didn't finish the pizza or the cake or the pasta (only ate a couple bites ... way too spicy), but I did go back and get another piece of bread and a bagel as I needed more carbs.

I got to the track ..

about 6:00 to get my stuff arranged (there were tables in every corner, and we brought our own fluids, etc.) and meet my lap counter, Alison.

(Taken after I finished.) She was so cheerful and energetic. She was a doll!! Here's my buddy Ron Giles meeting his lap counter.

Then, we were off! It was fun to see the speedy frontrunners the whole time. At most races, after the gun goes off I never see them again. Here's Ron zoom!ing by, in the orange shirt.

During every lap, our counters wrote down our elapsed time and gave us a cheer. They were members of the girls' track team and they did a bang up job. It wouldn't have been the same without their enthusiasm each and every lap.  Pretty soon everyone was cheering for everyone. Here's my gal, Alison waving for the camera on one of my laps.

Eventually, I finished. During our last lap they all chant our name for the whole lap. Pretty neat. And they had a big cheer for each and every finisher.

My cookies seemed to be well-received.

A couple people said "this is the best cookie I've ever eaten". Thank you. You made my day. :-) I met a guy, Rich, from Michigan. Very nice guy. We ran together now and again when our laps coincided. At one point late in the race he asked me if he could get a couple of cookies as his tank was "on empty". I was so happy to oblige. So I told him I'd run over to the finish line and get him some (I'd finished) and meet him on the track. Also, at one point on the course the song "Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamamawiwo'ole was playing. Rich said that that song was playing on the radio when his dad called to tell him his mom had passed away (from cancer). It took him a year to be able to listen to it without crying. It's amazing the things we learn about each other "on the run".

Back to another common topic on this blog. Food. Friday I made something I hadn't made in a while. It's pork/potatoes/carrots/cabbage baked in apple juice for a couple of hours. It's delicious and my favorite part is the veggies, so I only prepared 3 boneless chops and the rest was veggies. Dredge the chops in flour/salt/pepper and brown in a skillet. Deglaze the pan with 2 c. apple juice. Put in a roaster (I use a turkey roaster) with about 1/4 c. flour and bake covered at 350 for 1/2 hour. Add the potatoes, carrots and a chopped onion and bake for another 1/2 hour.

Then add a chopped head of cabbage ....

and bake for an hour.

Delicious on a cold day.

And the leftovers are just as good.

I made a new recipe from the Byerly's latest issue of their food magazine. It's a quick bread with nutella (hazelnut/chocolate spread) swirled in.

I'd intended to bring it to breakfast on Saturday but I didn't make it. I felt like the (barely) walking dead that morning. So it will go to Lace-Up Against Breast Cancer this evening at 6:00 at Laura's house. What's left will go either: 1) home with someone at the meeting, 2) in the freezer, or 3) somewhere else!!

I've been cleaning out a cabinet in the family room that has a lot of cooking magazines in it. It's taking me FOREVER. I'm going through them ripping out recipes I want to save. But the end is in sight. I kept one from Martha Stewart Living for a lemon-scented sugar cookie. They REALLY spread which was a frustration. Definitely not a keeper, though they taste OK.

In the process of cleaning I ran across some fun photos. Two are of birthday cakes that my friend Jeanne made for me in years past. This one is actually shaped like a mixing bowl. Unfortunately when I cut the first piece the whole thing collapsed as the bottom is narrower than the top and the surface tension must be what was holding it together.

Then, there's these life-sized snowmen I made for the Hiawatha Homes Festival of Trees several years ago.

Tomorrow evening it's our monthly Cooking Light dinner. And the menu is:

Citrus, Fennel, and Rosemary Olives (p. 121) Diane

Walnut and Rosemary Loaves (p. 20) Mary
Vanilla-Bourbon Pumpkin Tart (p 170) Renee
Pork Medallions with Pomegranate-Cherry Sauce (p. 130) Laura
Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Apples (p. 150) Kathryn
Candied Walnut, Pear, and Leafy Green Salad (p. 121) Barbara
White Bean Soup with Gremolata (p. 34) Margo
Wine Pam

Sounds delicious. I don't have 2 Tbsp. of bourbon in the house, so I'm getting that from Laura this evening.

Well, I'm hungry. I'd better get something to eat before leaving for Laura's house. Here's some more Old Farmers' Advice in closing:
 
Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
You cannot unsay a cruel word.
Every path has a few puddles.
When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
The best sermons are lived, not preached.

Until next time ...