Hills

It was hills tonight rather than repeats on the track, and it was a nice change. What a treat to have temps in the 70s though it's a mighty brisk south wind we were dealing with. Paul, Tom, Jim and I gathered at 5:30 to get in a few early miles (about 3) before joining the rest of the crew at 6:00 pm. Then we headed over to the 10th St SW hill which is on the north side of the Plummer House hill. It's a good hill for doing repeats, similar to my Monday morning Lenwood Drive SW hill. The plan was for 8 repeats, starting waaaaaay down the hill by a triangle where 3 streets intersect. After my many miles yesterday, and a fast 5 on Sunday, I decided on a shorter recovery and do just the steep part of the hill rather than also including the long approach to the hill. I was not expecting much out of the workout after yesterday either. But I felt strong and did 12 1/2 repeats of the hill. A good workout. 8.67 miles. Then we ambled back to the memorial where chia seeds were distributed to those who had an interest.

Roger ...

Jim ...

Tom ...

and Renee.

And of course, I had a few cookies. Chocolate chip/pecan/toffee.

Interesting tidbit from Jim Li. He recently purchased 22 pairs of Asics 2140s!! Yes ... twenty-two pairs. They've been replaced by the 2150s, he really likes them, and said he found a few sources at about $69 and he must have bought everything they had!! That's a lot of shoes, Jim!! He's going to need a closet dedicated solely to storing those babies.

When I got home, I had a bowl of baked potato soup, some asparagus and some toast.

Way back to Sunday pm. LaRee and I met at DQ. She'd been craving DQ (she only lives a few houses away ... that would not be a good situation for me). She'd taken a rain check on a DQ run the last time I asked her, so this time she decided to cash it in and I celebrated my Human Race 8K. I had a vanilla cone and she had a Buster Bar. Puck, her dog, just had fun watching squirrels.

And now, back to yesterday. I stopped at Rochester Cycling & Fitness on the way to the Good Food Store. I looked around for that splashy orange Trek Madone. It wasn't there. I was crushed, but it was my own fault for not being on the ball and buying it when it was still there. It's now at a new home in Wabasha. So I have to start the search over again. Deb thinks I'd be happiest with WSD Trek (women's specific design), so she directed me to http://www.trek.com/ and the build your own bike section. I guess I build some bikes, save the specs, and then send them off to her for the real price. BTW: All SkirtSports clothing was 40% off. I have no long-sleeved jerseys, so I got this one for 40% off.

After leaving RC&F, I headed over to the Good Food Store for the promised chia seeds.

A little bit more from yesterday's evening run. Jim had a sweatshirt for me for "special volunteers" (very nice of him).

It was a large, so I'm going to switch it out for a small. He also had a hat for me, which is what you get when you register for the race. I really like the embroidered design.

Back to the AM today. I drove to the Y and swam for an hour. Talked to Kim and Cherie in the locker room for a bit. Just an average swim. The pool was very quiet. I was the only swimmer for most of the hour. After work, I met Judy and Betsy for lunch at Green Mill. It was good to catch up with them. Judy had a cute new haircut and they both have new vehicles!!

I had the Thai chicken salad. It was good, especially for 320 calories, but the dressing was very spicy. I'm glad it was on the side.

Betsy's daughter Laura is doing the 3-day breast cancer walk again in August. Here's the scoop:

Join us for an All-You-Can-Eat Spaghetti Dinner! Also with Raffle and Auction, featuring Lia Sophia Jewelry! Monday, April 5th, 2010  6:00pm – 9:00pm  Edina Realty Building  1301 Salem Road SW, Rochester MN, 55902  $5 for All-You-Can-Eat Spaghetti  Raffle tickets $5 each or 5 for $20  Auction starts at 7:30pm! Raffle to follow; need not be present to win! Auction items include over 15 pieces of Lia Sophia jewelry, as well as many other goods! Raffle items include over 25 gift certificates to local businesses!

All proceed to benefit Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for the Cure! For more information contact: Maria Gregerson at 507-259-8634 or Gregerson.Maria@mayo.edu , or Laura Baartman at 507-398-7708 or Baartman.Laura@mayo.edu.

My son Matt sent this pic from a bike ride he took today through Pleasant Valley near Winona. I love it.

It looks like he used the panaromic feature for the camera on his phone. We have the same phone, but Matt does a lot more experimenting than I do. And knows way more about it than I do. No surprise.

OK. Here are the much anticipated, eagerly awaited, videos of Brian Erwin doing his Tom Petty/Springsteen/Bob Dylan/animal in agony impressions.

Take two.



Take three.



Another lululemon quote: "That which matters the most should never give way to that which matters the least."

Until next time ...