Pop(Corn)

Seems like that's all I've eaten and drank today. Pop and popcorn. The day started out at Panera with Jean for a 5.26 mile run.

Actually, the day started out with baking cookies for the Snowshoe Crew. But I'll get back to that. We ran down toward the lake ...

and turned around at the bridge on the south side of 7th Street. There were LOTS of people out running today. We spotted Liz (who was later spotted at our table at Panera), Candy and friend, Judy and friend,

Jim Li (also spotted later at Panera), Tom O' and Paul doing their pace run (also spotted later at Panera), ...

P.K. and Gerry (and friends) ...

and many other runners that I didn't know. My run today went much better than yesterday's fiasco. While chatting away, I confessed to Jean something I've done since childhood. Crunched these little shelves of ice along a sidewalk.

The sound and feel of that "crunch" is so satisfying. Strange, I know. But ... Jean confessed that she likes to do the very same thing!! Ha. Then it was back to Panera to meet up with the others.

Tom O', Paul, Liz

Jim

Sorry Jean ... I didn't get an indoors pic of you! Then I made my way home and ... you guessed it. Ran another 4.76 miles bringing the total for the day to 10.02. :-) Tomorrow, a swim is definitely in order. When I got home at 11:25, I put some oatmeal in the microwave and put on a dry shirt before heading over to pick up LaRee for snowshoeing. By the time the microwave quit, I had 2 minutes to eat some hot, soupy oatmeal. Not. So I stuck it in the fridge and took out 2 slices of leftover pizza and a piece of banana bread and headed out the door. Breakfast and lunch. There you go. When I got to Oxbow, I also consumed a 90-calorie Quaker granola bar, thinking I still needed a few more calories to get through the snowshoe without feeling famished (the pizza slices weren't very big, 1/12 of a pizza each, and the banana bread was about 1/4" slice of a 5" loaf which is 1/4 of a normal loaf).

We had a very nice turnout for the 'shoe through the woods of Oxbow.

The snow was crusty and disappearing in spots, but it sounds like we could get quite a bit later in the week. Good for snowshoeing, but bad for just about everything else in my life (running, shoveling, driving, ...). It was a nice day in the woods. Great for a hike. Adam led us up a couple of pretty steep hills. Yikes!!

I really don't mind the uphills, but the downhills wig me out. On a couple of them today, I could easily have pulled a groin muscle or twisted something. But I managed to keep the sliding in check and emerged from the woods uninjured. YES. Here's our group shot for the day, minus myself and Aaron Nepstad:

Quite the Snowshoe Crew!! Then we were off to The Bear's Den where I consumed popcorn and 2 Diet Pepsis.

Late afternoon, Jean and I and John and Tom O' ended up at Whistle Binkies where I consumed ... more popcorn (The Bear's Den is MUCH better) and a DC (Diet Coke). Interesting ... Binkie's offers both Pepsi and Coke products. I much prefer Coca Cola products and they're quite hard to find at restaurants around here. Pepsi definitely has the corner on the market. After all the junk I'd consumed, I was craving a salad. So here's variation #87 on my salad:

Really hit the spot.

Tuesday is "Social Night" (second Tuesday of the month). We're going to switch it up this month and meet at Brothers rather than Beetles. So stop on by and join us any time after 6:00 PM. No running required. But there will most likely be people running the indoor track (5:00 or after) or the hills (5:30) in case either of those activities is something to your liking. :-)

I'm going to peek in on my 2011 resolutions and see how I'm doing. In 2011, I resolved to:

•Lose weight. Don't have a number of pounds in mind. Just want to feel better about how I look. Ummm ...  not much progress.
•Get more sleep. Goes without saying. I seem to require a little cat nap just about every day. Ummm ... NO progress.
•Log all my exercise each day. (Before I forget ... today was 2 hours on the Stairmaster and then an 8.03 mile run in the late afternoon.) Batting 100%.
•Run at least a mile each day. Batting 100%.
•Run a marathon I've never run before. If I run New York, that will fulfill this resolution.
•Get a stamp in my passport. I got a passport in 2010. I've been out of the States once, in 1977 (Norway with a brief layover in Denmark). I would love to be able to swing a trip abroad. Most likely will not happen. Almost 100% sure not this year. Maybe never ... :-( Just can't picture being able to swing this one.
•Say "thank you" more often. "Shows some improvement".
•Say "I love you" more often. << These last two will perennially be on my list I think. >> "Shows some improvement".

Quote for the day: "No day but today." --RENT

Good night.