I Laughed So Long and Hard, It Hurt

It all started last Saturday, when I was far, far away in St. Cloud. Well, apparently it started even before that ... when some of us gals started wearing our running skirts. Anyway, the talk last Saturday somehow morphed into the possibility of "man-skirts" making an appearance at one of the upcoming Team R.E.D. runs. I got wind of it, thought it sounded like a hoot, and before you know it I was taking a pair of scissors to some leftover fabric (I'd made running tights out of this stuff!) and a short time later ... man-skirts!

I thought the Melby version (pink) would be way too short, and way too tight, but you know what? It was a perfect fit! The O'Leary model ... well, I thought the waist might be a bit too loose, and it was, but didn't have time to re-work it so we just had to go with it. Randy created his own version of the man-skirt using a pair of his shorts--he cut the crotch out of them, sewed them back together, and put a nice little pink ribbon stripe down the side. Stylin'!!

I think they wore them well, truth be told. : ) But they did get some strange looks at the Bears' Den! When we were sitting at the Den, I no sooner started asking Roger whether he wanted one, and he was shaking his head 'no'. I showed the pix to a couple guys at the Y this morning and Mike said, "That's disturbing on so many levels." I'm still laughing out loud. The man-skirts even led us in a little pre-run stretching exercise:



Soon, we were hitting the streets of Byron, and I was still laughing. Tom O' was a sight to behold!

I am now working on a little surprise from the Girls of Team R.E.D. I believe the debut of our little secret may be in two weeks. In Byron. I think we're running in Roch next week. Let's have a little contest ... Name Those Legs.

And the correct answers are ...

Melby, Saxman, O'Leary, Quint. :-) Here's the whole evening, in pictures. What a hoot. Yeah, it's a little disturbing, but a hoot nevertheless.

Oh. We did run 6.25 miles. I wore my new ds trainers. They were fine. Light. No issues. They sounded kind of noisy (stiff), though. I may wear them on Sunday. We played Rock/Paper/Scissors for prizes. Which turned out to be a hoot, too. I totally muffed it up at one point. I somehow threw a karate chop in the mix. (I'm laughing out loud again.) But I did make it to the final three. (Tom O' had 2 gift cards.) Somehow ... I lost. Go figure. And ... I left without paying my bill. AGAIN. Something is amiss here. I never get a bill from the server. Either: 1) Someone is covering for me week after week, or 2) Every server somehow forgets to give me my bill, or 3) It's not worth their bother charging me for just a Diet Pepsi. OK. It's really time to move on. And I'll back up. The morning started with a little surprise birthday party for Jean Murray at the DAHLC.

I was awake at 4:09 am, so I got up and made another batch of scones. The ones I'd made the night before didn't turn out right and I wasn't happy about it. These were fine.

It was a fun way to start the morning. Kristin, Randy and I ran a couple of miles first.

After work, I met with Joey Keillor ...

at Running Room to talk about a summer high school running program he's proposing. I think it sounds like a good idea, and I'm going to pass the info along to the RTC board. He will need volunteers to make it a go, so stay tuned.

Then I baked a couple batches of cookies.

The ones on the left went to Byron last night. I resisted until the bitter end. Didn't eat any until after done running when I broke off about 1" off a half cookie. : ) The ones on the right went to the Y this morning and the rest will go to the run at the RAC tomorrow. Dark chocolate m&ms, dark chocolate wafers and semi-sweet chips. I'll have them at the water stop and somewhere afterwards. Either the RAC and/or Brothers. You're all welcome to join us there. For coffee. Or for breakfast. (There's a story that goes with that, too, right Melby? But this post is getting waaaay too long already.)

This morning, I actually drove to the Y. No running. I am tapering. Really. (It's really hard seeing these emails flying around today about a 22-miler in the morning. And I'll be doing absolutely nothing. Except pouring water and Gatorade at a waterstop. I already feel like a slug.) Today I lifted, then swam. A nice thing happened at the pool. I was in lane 4 and a guy was in lane 5. He sounded like he had a Jamaican accent. Anyway, when we were both at the end of our respective lanes, he said "I hope I can swim like you some day." Blow. Me. Away. What a nice thing to hear. About super-slow swimmer me. Anyway, he had some questions about breathing and kicking and I gave him what assistance I could, not being an expert by any means. But I was more than happy to help.

After work, I was at Sam's again.

I got some asparagus (among other things :-) to make some asparagus soup for supper.

This batch tasted especially good for some reason. I don't know what I did different. I did add a dash of fresh nutmeg, but I thing I usually do that. I used fat-free half & half instead of 1% milk, but that shouldn't matter. I don't know ... but it hit the spot. And of course, I had a salad. Tonight I used a fat-free balsamic vinaigrette from Trader Joe's for a dressing.

I don't cut up veggies every day for my daily salads. I cut up a bowl full; eat it 'til it's gone; repeat. I do add berries, if I'm using them, at the last minute though. They're too fragile.

Monday, Jim Mason and I are going to run on a new paved trail NE of town. It runs from county 9 to Plainview. I'm meeting him at 5:30 pm for 10 miles or so, but will get some early miles in beforehand so I get my long in for the week. Here's a map. Feel free to join us.

Let's play 20 Questions (Or So) From Renee. Tonight we'll meet the Hardyman's. First up, Marilee.

What's the last movie you saw? Old Dogs

Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket? No

What was your first car? White Chevy Chevette

Do you play a musical instrument? Used to play flute and guitar

Have you ever gone skydiving? No

Ketchup or mustard on a hotdog? Mustard

Favorite running shoe? Brooks or Saucony

Do you weigh more or less than what's on your driver's license? Less

Eye color? Brown

Any tattoos or piercings? Yes. Multiple ear piercings. Tattooed eyeliner. A tattoo that's always hidden by a bikini.

Favorite cookie? Sugar cookie

Favorite race? Boston Marathon

White or dark meat (poultry)? White

Beef: rare, medium or well-done? Well-done

Ever worn braces? No

Where were you born? Wells, MN (Also graduated H.S. there)

Have you ever broken a bone? Yes. Finger. (At a H.S. party picking up a tailgate on a pick-up truck while unloading a keg of beer. Tough one to explain to parents.)

AM or FM on the car radio? Always FM

Middle name? Jane

Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi. (She's the first one with that answer.)

Favorite indulgence food? Chips and salsa

Favorite color? Orange

Favorite fruit? Mango

Favorite veggie? Tomato

Favorite pizza topping? Black olives

Favorite movie? The Parent Trap (the new one)

Favorite book? Anything by Janet Evonovich

Favorite TV show? Grey's Anatomy

Favorite Rochester restaurant? Chester's

Favorite nut? Cashew

How many siblings? 4

Hobbies? Watching kids' sports, golf, reading

Favorite grocery store? HyVee Barlows Plaza

Sleep on your back, stomach or side? Stomach

And now, let's meet her hubbie Tim.

What's the last movie you saw? Old Dogs (ha ... same answer as Marilee!)

Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket? No. But he has been arrested. There must be more to that answer ... !
What was your first car? Chevy Cavalier
Do you play a musical instrument? Used to play guitar
Have you ever gone skydiving? Yes
Ketchup or mustard on a hotdog? Both
Favorite running shoe? asics
Do you weigh more or less than what's on your driver's license? Less
Eye color? Hazel
Any tattoos or piercings? No
Favorite cookie? Chocolate chip
White or dark meat (poultry)? White
Beef: rare, medium or well-done? Medium
Ever worn braces? No
Where were you born? Darlington, WI (and he's a Packer fan)
Have you ever broken a bone? Yes. Hand.
AM or FM on the car radio? FM unless he's listening to sports
Middle name? John
Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi. (He's the seocnd one with that answer. :-)
Favorite indulgence food? Ice cream
Favorite color? Red
Favorite fruit? Pears
Favorite veggie? Carrots
Favorite pizza topping? Sausage
Favorite movie? One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Favorite TV show? Monday Night Football
Favorite Rochester restaurant? Chester's
Favorite nut? Walnuts
How many siblings? 4
Hobbies? Basketball, running
Sleep on your back, stomach or side? Side
Did you play high school sports? Baseball, football, track, golf, basketball (whew!)

Enough! I'll close with another lululemon quote: "Do one thing a day that scares you." Interesting.

Ciao.