I won, I really really won!!!!

I suggest that Julie Berg posts a recipe and says it is an outstanding dish on her blog…I recommend trying it out! 

I stole her Halushkis recipe that she posted in December for our crock pot contest at my office.  My girlfriend and I spent hours shredding potatoes (knuckles and fingernails safe), boiling, and preparing the crock pot dish to be in the contest.  As we made them, I must admit, I tasted one and thought I was about to be close to last again…  There were 20 entrants.  I have never scored in the top 15 in this event in past years.  (6 past attempts in 13 years…)  But not this year… IT WON BRONZE!  Eating them after adding the bacon and cabbage mixture was a lot different.

 

 Of course, the awards are paper medals, but as an additional award, I received a bottle of Balsamic Vinegar that I will have to give to Julie someday. 

 

Excellent is all I can say…  Everyone loved them, and they loved them more when they heard how healthy they were!

 

Carry on…

Under 250…. Over 30…

Well, Sunday was a good day, I think….  Nice weather, nice runs, and a weight of 248.6…  Cool…  I also am back over 30 miles.  It's not much for the people I hang out with, but I will build slowly.  I still lift three days a week and bike 50-70 miles.  But the runs, and half the miles outside, totaled 34.9 miles.  I found going 5-plus miles easy, which was not true just weeks ago.  I have had no pain, and that is good.  I think I was more emotionally screwed up over quitting at 77 miles at the Superior 100 than anything else quits. 

I feel good, so I registered for the 50 PsychoWyco race on February 9. It should be fun, and I hope to make it an easy 8-hour run. I have never run a race there before, but there's a 10-hour limit, which will surprise me unless there is a challenging course. 

Ran outside for 10 miles today.  It rained.  Holy crap, rain in January.  It was big drops, not just a little rain/sleet, but actual rain.  You could see it on the sidewalk as I finished my run. 

I recently found a new website that allows me to download my Garmin 305 and share data. I ran Sunday with my girlfriend, and the results can be seen at http://allsportgps.com/Data/ActivityDisplay.aspx?tripId=129710. I love this watch, but if they only had a plug that would allow accessory charging without a cradle, I wouldn't have bought it. Oh well, it is as near perfect as I can expect. 

Carry on…

Seems like a little, but it is a lot….

A Sunday came, and a Sunday went with only ½ pound weight loss this week, which is strange as I feel lighter and stronger.  It could be that I beat myself up with the weights, biked, and ran hard, and I could be a little swollen.  Sometimes, a good day of rest results in a 5-pound weight loss.  Always baffled me when that happens.  I am not going to get hung up on the weight.  It will come off once I get the base back up to 40 miles or more a week.  Right now, staying healthy and shaking this cold is the priority.

 

While many of the ultra group snowshoe and love it, I never caught the knack…  It could be at 250 pounds, and I would sink anyway (haha), so I run outside when I can, mainly on the roads.  As I said, I am still trying to shake this cold with which I started the year.  The coughing and wheezing are annoying, but I will keep plugging on.  I had my mileage up to 27 last week, which is not much compared to many, but I also had 100 miles of biking.  Slow to build back up, but I found from years of experience that slow is good.

 

I am anxious about the upcoming races. At this time, I plan on the 50K in Kansas City on February 9. My girlfriend has a lifelong friend she will visit while I complete the race. From what I hear, it should be quite a bit of a challenge. All I can keep doing is working out, increasing the pace and miles, and waiting for the days I can be back on the trials. 

Getting in the groove...

This past week has been filled with ups and downs, almost like the weather. I cannot brave the cold and have been outside less as I still have a slight cold. The dry weather is worse than I ever recall. The humidifier has placed two gallons of water daily into my place, and I still have below 30 percent humidity.

Training indoors has been going well. I did get outside for a few runs, including a 6-mile run, which was only planned as three. My girlfriend and I ran from her place in Apple Valley and got lost in the night. It was my first road run in a while. I have always been so energized that I stopped and asked a person walking their dog how to get out of their neighborhood. The twists and turns were like I had never seen. The street names were not in any recognizable order, and I felt stupid. Although I blamed my girlfriend as it was her neighborhood, I live in Bloomington.

I am getting excited about my success. Doing the 4-6 mile runs is again just part of the day. I have been mixing in the exercise bike. I have been riding 25 to 30 miles on the bike at least four times a week and consistently getting my miles above 20 miles a week. I am taking it slow as I increase the miles again. In addition, I add weight lifting to the formula at least three times a week.

A significant impediment to my training is that I am a United States Tennis Association Official, my second hobby. This takes many weekends, and some weekends are long. This past weekend, I officiated 40 out of a possible 52 hours. Sure, it is great training to keep functioning on little or no sleep, but normally, it means I do not exercise after the lunchtime run on Friday to Sunday night. But then again, we all have busy lives. But I am off this weekend and think I am getting out the dancing shoes… I love live music. We have great local music two nights in a row, and I look forward to attending. On Thursday, January 17, Allison Scott and Pamela Mcneill are at Famous Dave's, Uptown. If you want to hear a great pipe set and see some fun artists perform, this is hot… Goggle them for MySpace pages and music samples, but I assure you will not be disappointed. Then, on Friday, January 18, Kurt Jorgenson is at Minnesota Music Café. He is a solid guitar player with a Rob Thomas sound if you do not know him. Love his work!

I am getting excited about a crock pot contest we are having at my office. I am stealing a recipe from Julie Berg. She posted a recipe for halushkis. She describes them as "a wonderful potato-flour dumpling, mixed with bacon and cabbage." If I win the contest, I must send the measuring spoon prize. If you have yet to experience Julie's recipes or her great stories and uplifting thoughts, look at http://julieberg.blogspot.com/. Reading about her accomplishments and success makes me jump off the couch.  So many fun people who run the 100-mile races (or aspire to) have blogs. At times, this is the best reading. Once I figure out how to link these (I know it is easy, but as soon as I quit being lazy), I will link to some outstanding blogs for your enjoyment.

It's hard to believe that in about five weeks, we can bike outside regularly. My girlfriend got me a used Cannondale SR 400 street bike with lots of enhancements. I'm looking forward to getting out for some long rides again. Last year, I went long periods without a car, and it was great. That was on the old, heavy, and clunky mountain bike. This new bike should feel like heaven after the beast I have been riding.

Anyway, my Sunday weight was 250.5 pounds, meaning my planned loss of 2.5 pounds per week is happening. At this pace, I will be ready for the 50K in Kansas City in February. I am getting excited and feeling great. 

Carry on!

Who said I was smart?

It was a great way to start out the New Year.  A run.  My girlfriend called and told me how nice it was out there.   Who cares? It was below zero wind chills! The sun was out, and I would run the Minnesota River Valley trails.  I never gave much thought to the fact that there was all the snow in the past month.  I assumed walkers had forged a great trail.  I was wrong.  The beauty was one thing; the mid-shin-deep snow at many locations was another. I was not going to let it ruin my day.  I forged on at a 13-minute mile, which was good given these conditions.  One hour rolled by, and I was cold.  I had to choose to continue with my loop or turn back.  Mentally, I wanted to quit; physically, I was fine. 

I trudged onward, but that was not a bright thing to do. The second half of the planned lop did not have little protection.  The wind was atrocious!  I was an ice cube.  It was ten miles in just under 2.5 hours, and I knew I would get sick.  I did. I tried to run through the cold. I got on the treadmill and could do so for 4 more days.  Then, on Saturday, I was done. Breathing was hard.  I took the next 4 days off and finally can breathe again.  Hope the warm weather lasts a few more days before the cold returns. 

With this setback, I am rethinking the Psycho race in February.  Let's see how the next two weeks go!  

A New Year

Well, it is time to quit pouting about not making 102 miles at Superior in September. I know 77 miles on that course is not a failure, but it sure is a monkey, or shall I say an elephant, on my back. I have gained 25 pounds since the 100—currently 255 pounds. Part of the blame was a pinched nerve and five weeks of limited activity.

Enough already, as I am ready to move on with the sting effort to conquer the Superior beast in September. I need to drop 55 pounds as the first goal. This is doable. I plan on running the Wyco 50k in February. I may do the 50 or 100 miles in April with other steps along the way. Since the first of the year, I have worked out for at least 2 hours for the first three days and feel great. I decided I would only weigh myself on Sundays with a minimum goal of 2 pounds per week, which puts me near my 200-pound goal at Grandma's Marathon, where it WILL be my 24th finish in a row. I always had a goal of 25 consecutive years and am so close.

Fantastic to have 23 years in a row, which saw me through grad school, fatherhood, marriage, divorce, 11 homes in four States, and ballooning to 296 pounds (2005) from a low of 176 pounds (1988). I must have the record for times at Grandma's, which ranged from 3:24 to 6:05 over the 23 years. This year, I have a goal of being under 4 hours. With my girlfriend's and running friends' help and support, I have no excuse for not achieving my goals except for laziness. So carry on...