Active Rest

My legs didn't have much life in them at the track yesterday, so I decided to run mininally today (I'm running at least a mile every day this year), especially with the temps we had today (4 degrees for a high with a wind chill well below zero). I drove to the Y to lift and swim (the pool was very busy ... I swam a mile and a half) this morning and ran 2 miles when I got home. My toes were really cold. Late this afternoon I rode the bike for an hour 20 minutes which felt really good. My right ear seems a little bit weird today. I think there might be water in the ear canal. Sounds are really echoing through my seemingly empty head. It's really quite bizarre. Chatted at the Y with ... Brenda and Cherie, Brian, Lisa, greeted judge Lund.

I have a little "ditzy" blonde (before I became grey) story for you. I looked at the bottles on my shower caddy yesterday morning. I have a large orange one, which it tuns out, is conditioner. That's odd, I thought. The white one is also conditioner. Hmmmmm .... no wonder the "shampoo" hasn't been producing any suds, and my hair has been very soft as of late!!

I'm continuing my baking marathon for the Lace-Up Against Breast Cancer silent auction Sunday morning. (Even if you're not running or volunteering, you're welcome to stop by Mayo H.S. before 10:00 AM and bid!! Hint, hint. These homemade treats would make a wonderful Valentine's Day gift. Hint, hint.) Today, Chocolate Chocolate cookies (these are killer) ...

and Blueberry Bread (also a killer recipe).

Still on my "hope to bake" list ... English muffins, a blueberry pie, yeast breads and homemade jam. I'll get it done!! Friday evening we're packaging up the baked goods at Kristin's house. She's providing bread and soup, and Amy is bringing wine. I think it's fair to say that there will be a few cookies to be sampled. :-)

The weather sounds great for Lace-Up on Sunday. I'm still contemplating running it if the food situation is under control. A couple carloads of friends from St. Cloud are coming down for the race. Hip, hip, hooray! It'll be fun to see them. One friend from St. Cloud, Brian, is going to run 27 miles BEFORE the race. He's training for an ultra. Very nice article in the Post-Bulletin yesterday by Sarah Shonyo. Thank you, Sarah!

We found out today that some member of the Air National Guard stationed in Afghanistan found out about the Lace-Up half marathon. Here's some of the email we received: "I am 52 years old and I have been working with a few of my younger troops who really struggled with their fitness test running scores. They have been working really hard and actually like running now. They have a goal to run a half marathon before we leave Afghanistan . Our running track is a .4 mile road around our motor pool parking for armored vehicles and a helicopter landing pad. A half marathon is 33.25 laps. EXCITING. Our plan is to make a bib with Lace Up Against Breast Cancer- Afghanistan on it and wear pink shirts. After each lap put a hash mark on the bib so we don't lose count of laps. Your race would be ran in Rochester and in Afghanistan . We would take pictures for you to post showing your race ran across the world by troops in Afghanistan."  How cool is that???

I bought this bouquet of fresh flowers at Trader Joe's on Sunday ($5.99). They are just beautiful and still look so fresh. They make me happy every time I look at them.

Tomorrow evening, Team R.E.D. will be running from the Bear's Den. After picking up Chicken Wild Rice soup for 450 at the north Culver's, I will be attending the RTC board meeting to talk about the Fetzer 20K race, present and future. I'd hoped to disavow myself of race director duties, but I have not been successful. I don't want the race to die, so I guess I'll have to ramp it up and get going on it. If anyone would like to help me out, please give me a shout. I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks much.

Paul Christian passed along a Grandma's Marathon news item. Registration is ahead of last year (more than 5,000) and fees go up to $100 April 1. I registered last summer for the full marathon, but haven't decided yet if I'll run it.

Saturday events: Run from Brothers at 7:00 (or earlier ... I believe there's a group leaving at 6:00 AM as well). Mileage varies quite a bit. Also, Joe and Sara Ryan are having a pasta feed at their home at 6:00 PM. More info on the Team R.E.D. blog. It's going to be a very busy and fun few days coming up!!

Supper was ...

roasted asparagus and a salad.

Delish. Well, I think I'll read the newspaper and call it a day.

Later ...