The Final Countdown...

Today was the last long run before the Half Marathon.

Officially, it should have been a "taper" week where you take it easy since the race is coming up.  However, that is a luxury left to those who managed to stay on track with their training.  I am envious and in awe of such people, for sure.  Anyway, I decided after the big jump to 12 miles last week, that I could probably get away with something around 8 today.

To be honest, I don't know how far I actually ran today.  My goal was 8, at a pace of 15 min per mile... so I set out to run for 2 hours.  I took a nice meandering route through a lot of Como Park, through the Midway Parkway median to the State Fairgrounds, and then back again.  It was kind of pleasant.

I also made a 10-minute pit stop at ye olde Java Train for some Izzy's ice cream and water.  And that probably helped my longevity a bit.  If I think about it, I don't think there's an Ice Cream stop on the Marathon route.  I think I may need to talk to someone about that for next year.

Not that I'll be doing any Half Marathons next year.

Anyway, here are some pics I snapped on the run!

The Conservatory -- another one of those beautiful things that is so close and I never go to.

One of my favorite "behind the scenes" part of the Fair.

No, this is not what I picked for my pit stop.  But I really wanted to.

Mango Ice Cream and Water!  Fuel of Champions!

A nice pool and a gazebo... what a great place for a rest.  (Yeah, right.)

Is it the Rapture?

Oh, SO many NEWs today.


First, I ran 12 miles. It took over 3 hours. I started in the rain, and then with less than a mile to go, when I finally felt dry -- downpour. Oh you are cruel, Mother Nature. (Also, if the end of the world was coming, couldn't it have come BEFORE I ran? That would have been nice.)

Noms.  Delicious, well-earned noms.

On to lunch at the Birchwood.  I indulged in a rhubarb bar with cream cheese frosting (better eat dessert first.  Heaven knows if the Rapture might come early.) Then I enjoyed a cup of cauliflower fennel soup and a tofu Thai sandwich.  Delicious as usual.  If I ate at the Birchwood every day, I'm pretty convinced that I could just sit on my butt all day and still lose weight.  Such great, good food.

The sky was blue when we arrived.

And then, for dinner -- Duplex on Hennepin.  The weather was looking a little inclement, but we opted to dine on the patio.  It was lovely.  I had a fabulous bison burger and fries, and then we split a Boston Cream Cake for dessert.






...and we didn't get rained on.


...nor were we Raptured.


All-in-all a great Saturday.

Cleaning out and setting up!

I'm really struggling for a NEW here... but how about starting to clean out my NEW desk? That's kind of fun. Nothing like going through years of documents you don't know anything about, and having to decide what's "important" and what can get recycled. It's pretty freeing, actually.

Another NEW is that Cirque du Soleil is setting up in the overflow parking lot of the mall. This morning when I drove in it was just a lot -- but by lunch they had their first tent up! They sure are speedy professionals. The tent is blue and yellow, too... so at least they won't clash with our building. :)

Delicious NEW!

Another delicious NEW today: Izzy's Grapefruit Mint Sorbet.

Nom. Nomnomnom.

It is finally gorgeous and I took my bike out for a spin today. (Some would say I didn't want to run. I would say I elected to do some cross training. Both are accurate.) Mid-way I decided to stop at one of my new favorite places: Java Train. As I re-filled my water bottle I decided to peruse their Izzy flavors, and couldn't resist trying the Grapefruit Mint Sorbet.

It was teh delicious, and definitely helped motivate me to finish my ride!

Oh, and something that is NOT new.... still not a great idea to head off on a ride without the padded bike shorts.

I'll learn one day.

Good Weather, Good Eats!

Today's NEW was Common Roots Cafe on Lyndale in Minneapolis.

The most impressive part for me was an info graphic they had posted about their commitments to local foods and reducing waste. Oh, and they have fantastic bagels. For real.

I had a egg, sausage and cheese breakfast sandwich on a whole wheat bagel. And the coolest part of that was that I got to choose bison or turkey sausage. Awesome.

Seven Miles!

...Accidentally!!

Last weekend I was lucky and it was a "rest" week for the runners that are on-track for their race training. This week I thought I was lucky that the first water stop was 3.25 miles in -- so I could run for the water, and turn tail and get back to the car.

I was happy to discover, once I reached the water stop, that it was actually closer to 3.7 miles in!

Hooray!

So, today's NEW is running 7 miles -- something I've never done before.

I also ran in the rain... which although it's not my preferred weather was not so bad.

Next week everyone runs 12 miles -- including me. I thought it was smart (and necessary) for me to try the distance before the race so I knew what I was getting into and could set some reasonable expectations.

Oh, and have 2 weeks to recover -- and re-attach my legs if necessary. :)

Giving Is Awesome!

I just had the most fun ever shopping for the "Stamp Out Hunger" Postal Service food drive.

A few weeks ago the Boy Scouts were doing something similar, but I totally spaced it. So, maybe my enjoyment was due in part to my getting to squelch the guilt of missing out on that opportunity.

In any case, instead of pawing through my (not very stocked) cupboards -- I hit the local grocery store to buy all kinds of wonderfulness. I couldn't help but be reminded of the South Park Episode where Kenny wins a can of creamed corn to feed his family. I also vaguely remember elementary school food drives where we seemed to always donate the stuff we didn't want to eat ourselves. (Canned green beans were one of my favorite things to inflict on the needy.)

So in my bag: enriched penne and rotini, Kraft Mac 'n' Cheese, pineapple tidbits, tuna, garbonzo beans... and some more things I have forgotten.

Here's hoping I don't forget to put it out tomorrow!!

One Mile!

Okay, so today's NEW was a one-mile race.

Some people may know that my experience with one-mile races is both short and traumatic. When I was younger, perhaps 10 or 12, I participated in a St. Patrick's Day Fun Run on Summit Avenue.

I came in dead last.

I like to blame this experience for my hatred of running... but I think I'd just be looking for a scapegoat.

In any case, I and a gaggle of friends decided to try our hand (feet?) at the TC Marathon 1-mile. We got a tech shirt and 1,000 finishers will be drawn at random and given the opportunity to participate in the 10-mile race associated with the Twin Cities Marathon in the fall. The weather was a bit gross... damp, a little sprinkly, and cool.

(At this point you say to yourself... wait. It's cold and wet, I had to drive and park in Downtown Minneapolis, and I'm running this just so I might be able to run 10 more miles in the fall? WTH?)

Aside from a little chilliness, the experience was pretty awesome! We all finished within about a minute of each other. One of my friends finished under 10-minutes, which is awesome for her, and I finished in 10:34! Afterward we stopped at the car for more layers, and then watched the "real" runners. Who were incredible.

The lead male runner finished in under 4:00, the lead woman at 4:30.

I'm not saying they made it look effortless, but it certainly looked like they were working a lot less hard for their 4-minute mile than I was for my 10.5.

Just saying.

Then we celebrated with delicious food at The Local, and I had the most delicious cheesecake of my recent memory.

A faboo day.

Mmmm... Pasta.

My family isn't great at holidays. I mean, the major ones (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, for example) are set -- but the smaller ones (Birthdays, Mother's Day, etc.) are a little more fluid. If we can gather to celebrate these events in the same moth in which they occur, we are doing really well.

Anyway, we celebrated Mother's Day on Tuesday -- a two-day delay being nearly unheard of!

We celebrated at the Olive Garden, a much-anticipated meal because I was hoping to partake in the pear gorgonzola pasta I'd seen advertised on the telly a few months ago. Of course, it was no longer on the menu. However, the Olive Garden doesn't disappoint! Their new Four Cheese Pastachettis (with italian sausage or chicken) are delicious. And because I enjoyed so many breadsticks, I was able to take the leftovers for lunch for two days! A great value.

Topping it off with a mini-dessert (Limoncello) was darn near perfect. I know that the whole "dessert shot" thing was hot a while ago, but the more often I'm given the option to NOT get a full slice of pie, or cake, or what have you... the more I realize that I only really require a couple bites of dessert. Give me a whole serving and I will eat it -- but I will be just as satisfied with less.

A lesson I think a lot of us could benefit from in all kinds of situations!

The runner's high...

...fades so quickly.

...and all you're left is the memory of the run...and the aching, aching muscles.

As you cozy up to various ice packs and frozen vegetables, unable to traverse the simplest of obstacles: be they stairs, or chairs, or putting your pants on...

...and you wonder, "is it worth it?"

...I'm not sure. But I am afeared about what tomorrow will bring.

:)

Going the Distance

Today's NEW... Running 6 miles.

I know, right?

According to the established half-marathon training schedule, it's a "rest week" and the run is 6 miles. According to MY awesome training place -- I'm just finally reaching 6 miles. So, it allowed me to partake in a group run with a good friend. We totally got lost, but we also got to run by a very scenic cemetery and check out some buff guy turkeys trying to mack on a girl turkey.

And the weather was perfect.

IKEA Superstar!!!

Today I was in the same room as IKEA North America President, Mike Ward.

He talked to us for over an hour!

It was AWESOME!

Strangely, he kind of reminded me of a subdued Henry Rollins.

Yeah, I'm gonna sleep on that.

Gambling.

...or rather, I shouldn't explore gambling.

We had a team dinner tonight at Dave & Buster's, along with alcohol (which I didn't partake in) and pre-loaded game cards!!

Apparently it was also half-priced gaming night or something, so I would have lost my arm playing all that Whack-a-Mole.

So, I decided to try one of those games where you drop coins to try to make other coins fall off the cliff which in turn gives you tickets. Not usually my gig -- I'm more likely to blow all my bucks playing Time Crisis or something.

Anyway... Strangely addicting.

So Many New Faces!

Today's NEW has to be meeting (most of) the people who do my same job at the IKEA stores across the country. I can probably say I've got 6-8 names down solid... but there are almost 40 overall (plus trying to remember which store they work in.)

Thankfully(?) we have another 13-hour day of training ahead of us today!

Know what another NEW is that I particularly like about a new place? New places. Grocery stores like Rite Aid and Giant. Restaurants like Friendly's. "Competitors" like Bob's Discount Furniture and Sleepy's - The Mattress Professionals.

And what the heck is a Wawa?!

Obviously I don't have any time to actually see them at all, but I've driven by!

Ugh. Directions.

I pride myself on a fairly innate sense of direction, as well as a fairly honed skill at reading maps.

This morning was not a shining moment for me.

Thankfully, I always try to be early. Because of that, I was still able to be precisely on time. And the last to arrive.

*sigh*

I was also surprised to discover that though it was my first day on the job, there was another woman who was experiencing her first day of IKEA as well! I was uber impressed with her ability to speak about IKEA product and concept during the mock interviews we went through. Big kudos! Talk about NEW!

I did try to maintain a little of my old routines here... Today on the way back to the hotel I picked up groceries to make my lunches for the rest of the week. A little structure in an otherwise whirlwind of a week! I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Unstructured Awesomeness!

I never did pick a theme, and here it is the first of the month.

So... I celebration of today being my FIRST day of my NEW job, and I'm currently in a NEW city ready to start all kinds of NEW learnings in training this week... I guess it will be a month all about new.

So, let's see what's new today...

MSP airport now has US Bank ATMs, instead of Wells Fargo... It also sports a Surdyk's Wine Bar.

I happened to fly with a nice gentleman who is ALSO starting a new job tomorrow, and will be commuting from AZ to DC to do it. (Crazy.) However, I think I did convince him to look at IKEA when he and his wife consider redoing their kitchen.

Though rental car upgrades can be awesome, having to spend 5 minutes trying to figure out how to move the seat forward so you can reach the pedals is a little embarrassing. It would be nice if they would keep the car manual in the glove box.

Driving in the dark can be exciting, but I would prefer to drive in new places in the light.

...I anticipate all kinds of new tomorrow!!