Frigid 5K

Temperature was about 20 degrees at race time. Race is a double loop on the Minnesota State Fair Grounds. In spite of snows this week, streets were clear and mostly dry. We three all ran the 5K. It felt good to be in a race.
Pictures of runners gathering at the start:



View on the way home from the race: sunshine on fresh snow on the Minnesota State Capitol dome

Mall Walker Cross Training .. AGAIN !

4:40 (four hours and forty minutes, yes!) actually walking today at Mall of America

We were there for 5 hours (20 minutes for latte and potty stops), with no shopping at all this time.

On Sweet Pea's pedometer: 16,014 steps

Lots of mall walkers, mostly in pairs, but a few in groups of 3,
And we saw one fast walker, probably moving at 10 minute miles, looking very much like an athlete in training... mall walking!

Cyclamen plants (even the leaves are lovely) there at a memorial

The memorial explanation (You may click to enlarge.)


The memorial



A couple of fountains at the Mall



Security on a Segway


The roads were greasy due to the snow that fell while we were indoors walking.
On the drive home we saw this hearty runner along the Mississippi.

6 hours at the Mall of America

Toddler Tuesday at the Mall, East Rotunda

Also a celebration of the Chinese New Year for the toddlers

On our feet for a full 6 hours, walking briskly for more than 5 hours.
We did walk with our lattes for a time; Sweet Pea spent part of her Christmas gift card on a Weight Watchers book; a quick check of sale racks at a couple of stores yielded a $15 jacket for me; she picked out dark chocolate dipped marshmallow for each of us at Rocky Mountain Chocolate; we each wolfed down a small taco for lunch.
Yup! We had a good time. Way back on the day the Mall of America opened we three walked the whole thing, and I still think it is an interesting place.

I figure we walked more than 16 miles today at the Mall of America.

See Him Run!

I cook all that good food on his blog.... Because I love him ... and ... You should see him run.
That's him on the right. (Picture snipped out of a movie.) Maybe you saw "Grey's Anatomy" last Thursday. The partner said.. "Because I love him" and "You should hear him sing!" If you didn't see it, that's OK too. The scene was a love story.

ANOTHER SUBJECT:

Inflammation of the iris:
Woke up with incredible eye pain.. like my eyeball might burst.
It was about a week and a half ago. With a hastily made appointment, the ophthalmologist, was looking into my eye before 10am. He administered the first drop of prednisone, and with 2 more doses at home, I could look out of the corner of my eye without undue pain by noon.

Left untreated, which is difficult to imagine considering the extreme pain, iritis could lead to blindness. It looked a lot like conjunctivitis, but it wasn't. For eye pain: definitely see a doctor.

Because there may have been immune system involvement, we also made a visit to our naturopathic doctor (ND) for supplement advice.

A week later the doctor reported no evidence of the inflammation in my iris.
Now down to one drop a day for the rest of this week, I feel very lucky and blessed.

Happy Birthday Me

Some of my birthday flowers from my Honey.

(and oh look, I can make fruit bowls too!)

Our resident Cat, hunting squirrels from the cozy comfort of a chair.

Always interesting to walk at the "bubble" (St. Croix Valley Recreation Center). Last week there were some moms with baby carriers, strollers. Often there are a few guys practicing fly fishing out in the middle area. One day a man was training a German shepherd. It is inspiring to see the people with recent joint replacement doing their therapy.
And always, there are a few real runners.... running!

Snow Scupture by the Wind

Running indoors.

Winter in Minnesota

Twice in blue moon at the end of December:

Oh yes, we have snow in Minnesota. And it is cold, too.

We are running indoors: in the bubble, or at the community center, or anywhere else indoors. It's a good thing.

Happy New Year 01-01-10 or maybe 10-01-01

Home-made New Year ball at the party we attended:


Have enjoyed reading the plans some runners have for 2010. We have a couple of marathons in mind... and a half marathon or two, but not much for firm plans yet.

I'm not really a traditional person, but decades in the same house has yielded something of a traditional environment. In 2010 I would like to be selective about what to save, and take pictures of some stuff before donating to Good Will. We will see how that goes.

Thai food, which I know nothing about, is of interest to me.

My knee pain still hangs around, and I have resolve to work out and run through it.

I am hopeful that some of the effects of 8 Bush years will be resolved and that Obama will, less and less, be blamed for what lingers.... I am hopeful...

Maybe I can get new hearing aids. Progressive loss of hearing began before my mid-thirties, and I wonder what the future holds.

Wishing You, Dear Reader, blessings in 2010. May You run with joy.

Christmas Eve

Bumper sticker sighting in Duluth on December 23: a wise word for the arrogant.

Powerful waves on the shore of Lake Superior (Canal Park) in the stiff east wind that blew in the blizzard snow, water frozen on the rocks. December 23
(As always, you may click on pictures to enlarge.)

Back home in the Twin Cities, morning of December 24th. Yes! we have snow.

This morning we ran in the Stillwater bubble.

View from the front row (reserved for those who want to see the sign language interpreter) at St. Andrew's, 4pm, Christmas Eve.

Real live people, including the cute baby.

Blessings of the season to All!

Gluten Free Christmas

Gluten-free choices take a lot of the regrettable eating out of the holidays. See the previous post for use of organic teff flour for baking. Although whole grain, it is ground fine. We have used it for banana bread and ginger cookies... so far.

Whenever possible, choosing whole fresh fruit or dried fruit instead of sugar, and nuts (without oil added), avocado, or organic coconut oil or olive oil over other fat is a nice goal.

Moving toward wholesome eating is a journey. We are somewhere on the continuum.

On Saturday, December 5, in New Orleans, Sweet Pea and I walked a couple of miles on Magazine Street to Whole Foods Grocery, housed in the old Arabella Station building. Arabella Station, a historic site, was built in 1893, and later, in the mid-twentieth century, used as a streetcar barn.

This sounds like a commercial, but we have enjoyed access to organic produce at Whole Foods in nearly every city where we have run a marathon. We also try to explore farmers' markets and co-op markets.

After lunch in the deli there, we shopped for a few groceries which we packed in the 2 bags we brought. We walked the few blocks to St. Charles and caught the trolley.

Cooking our breakfast eggs in the hotel room worked out quite well, and helped keep expenses down. Organic apples and grapes supplemented meals eaten out. Bag on the left has the symbol for the International Myeloma Foundation.

Today's fitness report: worked out some at home