Minneapolis Taste Buds

Today I visited my physical therapist for a check-up. I hadn't been there since May, right before the Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon. I kept meaning to check-in, but life really happens sometimes, and we put off some of our favorite and most productive forms of self care for 4+months. Oopsie. I was a little nervous, but excited to see the results of my hard work this summer. I know I'm the strongest I've been since my 20s, thanks to 80 Day Obsession, my PT exercises that I'm still very dedicated to fitting in, and now LIIFT4. But I wasn't sure how the healing and strength were in the hamstring that had hurt so badly after an injury in March. My PT confirmed that my hard work paid off, and I felt pretty proud. No dry needling or lasers needed today. There was no need for "therapy," and we could finally start adding exercises just focused on isolating the hamstrings. I think I should always have some sort of a coach in my life, whatever form they take - o...

So, my last post was seven years ago? A lot has happened since then. I had my daughter in 2012. I changed jobs a couple of times, threw in a couple more marathons, and here we are. I'm ready to start writing again. I ran my 10th marathon in May, which was my fourth fastest. I was really proud of that accomplishment after a brutal winter of training, and a weather-related injury. My TC Orthopedics physical therapists never doubted that I'd get to the finish line. One of them even ran the same marathon! They helped ease the hamstring pain and and taught me exercises to strengthen the weak runner's butt. I felt great on race day and was blessed with perfect weather. For me finishing a marathon is followed by a honeymoon phase filled with pride and excitement. But, it also brings up questions like, when will I do all of that great creative thinking I do on my mid-week runs? How can I possibly justify three hours to myself on Saturday mornings now? And, inevitably, will I do...

Mark and I had a great time at the Campus Club Centennial Party last night! My sister and Campus Club Executive Chef, Beth Jones, was signing copies of the new Campus Club Centennial Cookbook. Mark did the layout for the cookbook, and the Campus Club's graphics guy, Joe Burgmeier, did the beautiful photography. The cookbook features many of the favorite dishes served at the Campus Club , including Beth's amazing creations like Irish Stew with Guinness, Chili, and Apple Galette, and Sous Chef, Jorge Ortega's, Steak and Strawberry Salad. Beth also featured many of our family favorites, such as Beef Bourguignon, our mom's pie crust, and my Strawberry Bread. I love that the cookbook talks about easy substitutions, and features the local Minnesota farmers they work with. Many of the recipes include personal stories - Nettie's "Sure to Ge Me a Husband" Rice is one of my favorites. The Campus Club Centennial Cookbook is available for $14.95. Call 612-626-...

I'm very excited for Women Run the Cities 10-miler this weekend! I love the course and most of my long runs involve some or most of the route. I ran it the first 2 years but missed it last year. Wondering if I'll PR . . . can't wait to get my cute shirt tomorrow . . . happy to be volunteering at packet pickup - my first time (long overdue). This is a great race to run with the New York City Marathon on the horizon. Can it really be just 6 weeks away?

Mark and I are getting very excited for the New York City Marathon on November 7! We can't believe we both got in. I recently starting doing long runs with a friend, which makes training so much more fun. We finished the 13.1 Minneapolis Half-Marathon today and it was great! We had nice weather, a lot of shade along a beautiful course, and wonderful volunteers. Mark and Scout came out to cheer us on. Scout and I will have a much needed nap very soon. Golf is on now so that should help! It's been a good summer of running, but I'm really looking forward to cooler temps and less humidity. Some of my mid-week runs have been pretty icky. The Red White & Boom on July 4 was very fun, but tough due to the heat and humidity. Thankfully it rained! I have a shorter run next weekend and then the miles will start to jump quite a bit. Sticking with the Marathoning for Mortals plan, but I've learned to modify it when I need to. I don't like cutting back on long runs quite a...

Mark and I are running the Fargo Marathon this month and we’ve been in the “hungry” part of training. We had our heaviest mileage a couple weeks ago, with our longest run on the 1st. I did 20 (following the Penguin’s program for the 3rd time) and he did 22 per Bart Yasso. Now it’s time to taper. Mark could eat about 7 times a day. Full meals, not snacks. We’ve instituted Taco Tuesday at our house. We’re hungry, and we still have a good 30 pounds of ground beef from the ½-cow we bought forever ago. Our neighbors are hunters and gave us a pound of ground venison, which made for our best Taco Tuesday to date. Oxendale’s, our favorite little grocer is stocking amazing lettuce right now, and my chive crop is out of control. We also chop up red onion, tomato, shred some Monterrey jack, and top it with taco sauce and Salsa Lisa. We’re buying packets of seasoning but I think we should start crafting our own recipe. Any suggestions?

Our first loaf of bread was a definite success, made evident by the fact that we devoured the whole loaf in one meal. (Must get to the Y) It’s just as easy as the book says. Pull a chunk of the refrigerated dough out, fold it under, let it rise, and bake. We had it with Amy’s organic bean & pasta soup, which I added a cooked chicken breast to. I’ll make our second loaf tonight along with a meal we created at Let’s Dish in Highland Park . We made 8 meals last Saturday and this will be the third we've tried. Our favorite so far is the gyros. Put a pork roast in the crock-pot, shred it, put it on pitas and add the yogurt sauce. That was a huge meal and fed us one night plus made several lunches for Mark. Tonight we’re having lemon parmesan chicken with green beans - and homemade bread, of course - before heading to the Highland Theater to see Gran Torino.

This week I finally began the process of making our own bread using “ Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day ” – My sister gave me the book a good 6+ months ago . . . The wretched economy is definitely causing me to change how I spend my $. I utilize every coupon I can find. I saved $10.30 today at Super Target. Doing this every week does add up, especially with the rising cost of food. I’m not sure whether this is what prompted me to start baking bread, if it’s the wonderful breads my sister has made from the book, or if I’m just trying to stay warm this sub-zero winter by turning on the oven. It’s probably a combination of all of the above. Whatever the reason, my house smells amazing! I mixed up the recipe on Monday. You can keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and it makes 4 one-pound loaves. My only tip so far is to measure your flour into a separate bowl before adding it to the other ingredients in the KitchenAid. I may have lost count on the flour so I’m praying the bread will turn...