To Duluth!! (Link-o-Rama!)

A whirlwind trip to Duluth this weekend.  I came into some surprise concert tickets -- and the show was awesome.  Every hotel within 20 miles was totally booked, and I am thankful that I have generous relatives who will let me crash in their cabin overnight.  Waking up to the sunshine over the lake -- priceless.  Almost enough for me to wish I drank coffee.  I bet that would just add to the enjoyment!

Then into Duluth for a run along the lakeshore on the boardwalk, followed by a delicious breakfast at At Sarah's Table Chester Creek Cafe.  Everyone should go there.  All the time.  I left a postcard to my friend's Fringe Festival show.  Everyone should go to that, too.  Seriously.

THEN a quick stop by the Park Point Art Fair, where I bought a spectacular photo from Pat Parnow Photography (the pear one under "fruits & veggies.")

Oh, and a few rousing games of Road Trip Bingo (thanks to an iPhone app) on the road home!

SO fabulous.

I am SO TIRED.

Buble!

Cell phones are not cameras.  They like to pretend, but they just aren't very good.

Anyway, Saturday night I cruised up to Duluth for a spontaneous night of Michael Buble awesomeness.  I'm a fan, but not a FAN... or at least, I wasn't until after the show!

The opening act was an acapella group called Naturally 7.  They were awesome, and everyone should buy their album.  I did.

It was the last stop of the tour, and I don't know if that influenced this at all -- but Michael was crazy funny.  The best part was definitely his "roast" of each of his band members -- interspersed with him cracking himself up.  He also impersonated Michael Jackson, and a Catholic priest.  Basically he had a great time, and we all did, too.

It was weird to get used to him yelling "How ya doin' Duluth!??!!?"... I was all, "Oh, that's us!"

Amsoil Arena was not a bad venue.  We were in the nosebleed-iest seats available (there were no rows of seats behind ours) but it didn't seem that far away!

A faboo night, to be sure.

'Cause I deserve it!

One of my favorite things to do when I get to Trader Joe's is to buy fresh flowers.  They have a great assortment, beautiful arrangements, and they're affordable!

This was today's selection.

I hope I get to enjoy them before my cat eats them.

I am AWESOME!!!

Okay, just a little horn-tooting here.

I had kickboxing this morning at 6am!

BUT...

I GOT UP AT 5 AND RAN FOR TWO MILES BEFOREHAND!!!!

Considering I knew I'd be at work until after 7, it was a very pleasant day.  Up to run and box, then a shower and breakfast... drive to work, get stuff done... get a hair cut, do the frog dance, take some photos...

It was a great day.

Just a Slice of Life

It was one of those mornings where the sun is peeking out from under a really solid cloud cover, and I just love the light quality.

It was *really* awesome at work, but I didn't have a camera around or anything... however, I grabbed this shot with my camera phone on the commute in.

It;s sad how the camera can never quite capture it!

Awesomely Sore...

My first kickboxing class was yesterday.

Kevin totally kicked my butt.  I never want to try to work any part of me "to failure" ever.

It was fun, though.  Real fun!  The time went fast, and I got to hit things. (But not people.)

I learned how to wrap my hands, and I had gloves, and got to kick stuff, too!

The coolest(?) part was that about halfway through the day the soreness started creeping in... suddenly when I reached for something, it hurt a little.  When I gesticulated wildly in a meeting (as I am prone to do) it kind of hurt! And then later, when I had a nice belly laugh I capped it off with "ouch."

So excited that I'll be doing it again tomorrow at the peak of soreness.

W00t.

Hooray, Tony Awards!

So, this year I went to a bona-fide Tony Awards Viewing Party.  My date is pictured to the left there.  (Okay, not really... but she was one of my favorite parts of the night.  Seriously the teeniest kitty I have ever seen.)

First, the food was fabulous -- INCLUDING a delicious vegan artichoke dip.  I know, right?

Second, Neil Patrick Harris had the most awesome opening number and THEN mentioned IKEA.  And then I Tweeted about it, and then someone said that I was AWESOME!

Third, I managed to pick 12 of the winners on my Tony ballot.  I would have had more, but I was holding on to hope that "Book of Mormon" might relinquish their stranglehold and let "Scottsboro Boys" have a little glory.  No such luck.  However, I was UBER-happy that "War Horse" got a ton of recognition.  The puppetry looks incredible and I will HAVE to see it if it tours.

So... good food, good folks, cute kitty, great show... total awesomeness.

A Summer Tradition!

Okay, not MY summer tradition... but I did put on my "To Do This Summer" list to attend a MN Saint Game.  As luk would have it, a friend of mine had a spare ticket, so I got to go today!

The weather was not ideal... cloudy, cool and more than a little breezy.  We also had general admission seats, so I think my goal will be amended to attend a game another time this summer as well -- we couldn't really see any of the "fun" stuff.

It's been years since I've been to a game, but they still had the fabulous ball pig AND it had costume changes!  I also thoroughly enjoyed Muddona's shenanigans, and didn't realize they had a goat now, too!  Of course I had a ballpark hot dog (and UNLIKE the Twin's awesome venue... Midway Field has onions for your dogs!  Epic win.) and a soft pretzel... the unlikely choice was the hot chocolate.  It did do a lot to warm me up though, and it was very reasonably priced.

The Saints did win, 3-2.

Next time I'm jumping in the bounce house.

Oh, the Anticipation!

Monday is my first kickboxing class!  I mean, they SAY kickboxing class, but it could also involve PVC pipe filled with sand, or tractor tires, or running around with car tires chained to you, or lifting big wooden beams... "Caveman Training" supposedly.  I'm a little intimidated, but also pretty excited.

Minneapolis in the RAW!

Today was a big day for me!  First I was WOWed by Cirque du Soleil's Ovo, which I got to attend free due to the generosity of my (soon to depart) store manager.  It was incredible for sure!

THEN I ran home, and instead of packing it up and hitting the hay -- I dressed it up and drove to downtown Minneapolis (I know, right?  It was, like, 8:00!) There I spent a very hip and happening tome at RAW, featuring the artwork of a very talented coworker of mine.

I felt hip and cool, I got to wear a fabulous vintage dress, I didn't fall off my heels AND I figured out how to use the newfangled parking meters in Minneapolis.

It was a full day.  Of ME!

Best. Lunch. Ever.

I seriously had the best lunch ever this week.

Steak with garlic, ginger and lemongrass; a bell pepper, tomato, onion, and cucumber relish; plus Trader Joe's Brown Rice Medley.

I mean, I know it's all good for me.  But it's also delicious!  Why don't I eat this well all the time?  Seriously?

New Car "Bling"

My sexy reading mudflap girl
totally digs the new sticker.

I now proudly display "13.1" in my back window.  I've actually had the sticker for about a week, but didn't want to jinx my performance/success by applying it prematurely.

For about 2 seconds I thought about "leaving room" for a 26.2.

Ha!  Hahahahaha!
Not gonna need it.

I'm Alliiiiivvveeee!

Me and Kristin and our 
well-deserved hardware!

And not only am I alive, I finished the half marathon in 3 hours -- 30 minutes faster than I expected!!

<happy dance>

Of course, I'm tired and sore (and I know that is only going to get worse in the coming 48 hours or so) but all-in-all it was a fabulous time.

The weather was beautiful, Team Ortho really knows how to put on a race, and I had a wonderful brunch featuring the company of my fabulous sister!

(This post sounds like I'm still riding the runner's high... and I might be.  I spent the last 2 hours on the internet researching possible races to fill the gap between now and the duathalon in August.)

I'm looking forward to a quiet night at home, doing laundry, with an early bedtime.

I am not looking forward to tomorrow so much.

It's the Month of Me!

I figured that since I'm starting the month with my half-marathon debut, and I (for some reason) decided to cash in on a LivingSocial deal for unlimited kickboxing classes for a month... that June is going to be the Month of Me!

I think it's a good idea to try to set aside a whole month to be a bit selfish. The weather is nice for once, and I have a whole list of things I want to do. And in the immortal words of that makeup ad campaign... I'm worth it!

So it's going to be a month of focus on my health, my fitness, and my life. I feel good about this, and I hope I can stick to it.

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. :)