The Alcivar Family Staple... and Venison.

Tom and I each eat salads like these once a day, sometimes twice.


The content always contains the basic paleo standards - veggies, proteins, and fats - and we try to use a variety of sources: greens, cabbage, peppers, carrots, celery, cukes, broccoli, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, tomatoes, beets, radishes, artichokes, etc etc etc; chicken sausage, leftover Thanksgiving turkey, tuna, venison steak, hard boiled eggs, avocado, nuts, seeds, etc. Dressing can be as simple as canola oil, lemon juice, and pepper; or you can spice it up with any sort of herbs. Vinegar is higher in acid than lemon juice, but I sometimes throw in a shot of red wine or balsamic vinegar for different flavor. The salad is filling, it sustains, and it's just plain GOOD. When we have salads as a side dish, we tend to cut the ingredient list from 12-15 down to 4-6.

The salad prep can be time consuming if you do it daily, so we tend to have a "power cook" Sunday evening where we prep food for the week. It really makes things much easier during the week - you just grab and go.

Oh, and speaking of venison steak, we've acquired some venison from one of Tom's clients and from our brother in law. So we tested some out with venison steak and eggs this morning. YUM.

Paleo Spaghetti

So… Thanksgiving was FAR from being paleo and I’m ok with that. We had stuffing and mashed potatoes and homemade bread and cheese and casseroles with butter, cream, cheese, and bread crumbs. We had 4 different kinds of pies with whipped cream and ice cream. And there was booze. Ahh, manhattans – the drink to warm the cockles.

However, after a few days of leftovers, I was itching to get back to my “normal” eating routine, which still is a long way from feeling normal. I still get up in the morning wondering what to make for breakfast, when for so long I would each morning get up, walk to the oatmeal jar sitting on the counter, pour some in a bowl, add water, protein powder, and flax seed, heat it up, add honey, nuts and raisins and enjoy. But, I managed a few good egg dishes and last night for dinner I made Paleo Spaghetti, which is the recipe I want to share with you.

Have you ever had spaghetti squash? It is honestly a great substitute for pasta noodles. You just bake the squash and scrape out the flesh with a fork, and it comes out like spaghetti noodles:

It’s a little sweeter and crunchier than spaghetti, but it definitely curbs the pasta hankering.

And for the sauce, I just sautéed up a bunch of veggies, added some canned tomatoes, and voila. Paleo Spaghetti. I was left wanting a bit of meat with the meal; Italian sausage would have been a good addition, but this is definitely a good, easy, vegetarian/paleo dish.

PALEO SPAGHETTI

1 spaghetti squash

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, diced

2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced

Big bunch of kale

1 zucchini, diced

1 can stewed tomatoes, plus some tomato sauce/tomato paste depending on your thickness/quantity desires

Pepper, red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 400. Slice squash in half and scrape out seeds. Lay squash flat side up on a cookie sheet and cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour or until flesh is tender and easy to scrape out with fork.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook till fragrant. Add onion and mushrooms. Cook till juice is released from mushrooms and then evaporated. This will be awhile – mushrooms will shrink in size and start to brown. When they start to brown, add kale and zucchini and sauté until kale reduces in size. Add tomatoes, some sauce if handy, tomato paste (I use a few tablespoons of the stuff in a toothpaste-looking tube) and stir. Simmer until desired thickness, or until squash is done.

Scrape out squash into bowls (you may have to wait awhile for it to be cool enough to handle) and top with sauce.

...And in other news, the hubby has been sick with pneumonia since last Wednesday. He looks like a giant caterpillar, hunkered down in his sleeping bag all day. Poor Tom...

Paleo Recipe - Asian Tuna Salad in a Bell Pepper

So I am debating about starting another blog, documenting my adventures in Paleo Cooking. But with school, work, and everything else, I'm just going to add on to this blog for now.

Tom has decided to test out the Paleo Diet. For those of you who haven't heard about it, you can find more info here. We've always tried to eat healthy, but all of our diet changes up until now have been gradual and difficult to notice. This change was a big departure to our oatmeal, cheese-filled salads, and high-grain dinners. As many times as he told me I didn't have to follow his footsteps, it's awfully difficult for me to go on eating my normal diet when I keep hearing about the "benefits" of this Paleo Diet and I keep thinking that I'm "poisoning" my body with grains and dairy. ("Poison" is a huge exaggeration here... grains are just fine - the research on this subject is new and there are plenty of criticisms of the diet. But that's my mentality as my husband no longer eats the quinoa or rice I cook for him.)

So, I made my first foray into Paleo-world when I departed from my oatmeal one morning in favor of eggs, broccoli, chorizo and salsa. I started to think that maybe I could get into this. I need to have a creative outlet in the kitchen, and no grains or dairy definitely limits my options. But, a tasty batch of paleo pancakes - made with sweet potatoes and arrowroot powder - later and I'm thinking I should start documenting my wares. So, first up:

Asian Tuna Salad in a Bell Pepper

Note: I don't measure ingredients, so I'll do my best here to recall approximately how much I put in.

1 family size package of starkist tuna (not the cans, the softsided packages - no BPA!)
1 cup shredded purple cabbage
1 small carrot, julienned
3 green onions, chopped
1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice (or lime juice would probably be better - I didn't have any)
1-2 T. sesame oil
1 T. sesame paste (just throw a bunch of sesame seeds in a good blender, or buy Tahini)
2-3 T. cashew butter (just throw a bunch of cashews in a good blender for a long time. Add canola oil if too dry.)
Couple good shakes of cayenne
Little bit of salt

Mix all ingredients, cut the top off of a bell pepper - any color will do - and stuff pepper with tuna salad.

A perfectly satisfying grain/dairy free meal! Note that regular tuna salad is paleo as well, as long as the mayo doesn't have any added starch. Canola oil is the best to use in the mix.

If people are interested in reading more recipes, let me know. It will keep me motivated to keep posting.

Michael Phelps vs Hubby

Who has the better trucker 'stache?!

XTERRA Iron Creek Race Report

If you're interested, here's a LONG report of the race I just did in South Dakota. If you want to skip the emotional details, scroll down to the paragraph labled "PRE-RACE". Pictures to follow!

I just raced one of the most fun races of my life; not only because it was an off-road triathlon with some of the most beautiful, fun, and challenging single track I’ve been on, but because I went into it with a better race attitude than I’ve had in a long time.
My first tri was in 2004. I trained very consistently for it out of fear of the unknown, and after accomplishing it with a relative amount of ease on top of excitement from the atmosphere and enjoyment from doing 3 sports in 1, I was hooked. I signed up for more and more races, but with each new race, I put more and more pressure on myself. The pressure started becoming a negative stressor, to the point where I didn’t look forward to races, and the training was no longer fun. My expectations exceeded my limits for the amount and style of training I was doing. Plus, I'm not competing to win, I'm not even sure why my expectations were what they were. My attitude changed a few weeks ago, when I saw a good friend of mine finish a triathlon while 7 months pregnant. She had been doing running races up to this point as well, and at each finish, her attitude was amazing. It was either, “did you see my time? Whew knew I could go that fast while carrying around a fetus?” or, “yeah, I ran pretty slow, but I had fun anyway. I’m pregnant; what can you expect?” I questioned why I was doing these races and why I was getting so stressed out about them. I realized that I love the atmosphere, the physical effort required, and the chance to find new personal limits. I was getting too focused on the outcome and not focusing on just racing a good race for me. That’s not to say I shouldn’t think about my place or use other people as my carrot to push harder, but when all I am thinking about is “I want to beat that person,” it can be disappointing if it doesn’t happen, even if I give my best performance.
SO… I went into the XTERRA Iron Creek off road triathlon in Spearfish, South Dakota (http://www.icort.com/) with a great attitude and had a great race. Enough with the emotional stuff; on to the race report…

PRE-RACE
Tom and I arrived at Iron Creek at noon on Friday, and were quick to get out onto the bike course to scope out the first and last portions. We didn’t want to do the full 22K course, because it’s quite hilly and we didn’t want to tire ourselves out too much. We got to ride the most technical parts of the course which really upped my confidence, because I rode nearly everything without many issues. After a dinner in Spearfish, we came back to our cozy cabin right on the race site and went to bed early. The next morning, I began getting my things together, and I realized I forgot my tri shorts. In old attitude mode, I would’ve been quite upset, but I just decided to wear the tighter running shorts I brought under the wetsuit for the swim, put bike shorts on over them in the bike, and strip back to the running shorts during the run. No harm, no foul. The excitement was building as the race neared.

SWIM
I donned my new wetsuit for the first time in a tri. I was excited to see how I’d feel during the swim. We were at 5,800 ft elevation and last year, without a wetsuit, I redlined the entire swim. I settled into a fairly comfortable pace for the 2-loop, 1000M swim just behind the lead pack. When I got out for the first loop, I was told I was the first female, so I just stretched out the 2nd loop and tried to stay relaxed. The wetsuit was awesome; I could rest my legs after the between-loop run, and it allowed me to get the time I wanted to get without pushing too hard. I came out of the water 6th (including 2 relay teams,) but spent a LONG time in transition and a few people passed me then. The wetsuit came off great, but sliding the bike shorts up wet legs took awhile, and I didn’t prep my hydration sack. The hose wasn’t routed properly, and as I was trying to adjust, I broke the mouthpiece. So in a split second decision (partly decided because there was another girl in transition and I wanted to be the first out on the bike,) I decided to go without the camelback, and just rely on my 2 water bottles. I was on the bike 17:58 into the race.

BIKE
What a FUN course! Starts out with ¾ mile gravel road, then into some grassy, bumpy single track. Then up a difficult switchback (which I had to dismount for,) over a cow fence (also dismounted,) then down a hairy, loose-rock, white-knuckle descent. I made it down the entire descent the day before, but fell fairly quickly during the race (there were more people around, and it was tough to choose my line,) and gave myself a huge bruise on my hip/butt; I still have a hard time sitting down. I managed to hop on my bike and into the traffic towards the bottom of the hill and made my way to the wide open jeep trail. This is where Tom caught me, and I kept him in my sights for awhile. Into a section of grassy, muddy then rutted single track, and up to the big long jeep trail ascent. I saw maybe 1 person on this section. I used all of my energy on this hill last year, and this year just kept the climb fairly light with a high cadence. (I also took a huge fall just before the ascent last year, which zapped my energy.) Into some fun flowing single track; then the water stop where I stopped to fill one bottle. The stop was nice, it renewed my energy for the final hilly section before the crazy final descent. At this point, my coworker Gregg passed me, saying, “did I mention how much fun I’m having?” It was his first tri ever, but he’s an avid mountain biker and adventure racer. I impressed myself on the descent, easily flowing over rutted roots, big rocks, and tight turns until the very bottom where I walked the last really difficult portion. Into some flowy, roller coaster-y river crossings, I relax into the bike finish and my eyes pop out at my time: 1h 34m, compared with last year’s time of 1h 47m.

RUN
I forget to take my bike shorts or gloves off in the transition (just barely remembered to take off the helmet; wouldn’t that have been a sight,) and 1 girl who passed me right at the end of the bike exits in front of me, running quite slowly. I overtake her immediately and I hear someone shout, “you two are in 4th and 5th place; go get ‘em!” The first portion of the run is about a 5 minute, lung-busting climb. I walk a small portion of it, and when I get to the top, I run the flat section at a good, comfortable pace. Last year at this time I was dead, and in many other triathlons, the run is where I start to get chills, I stop sweating, and my fingers swell. So this race marks my first racing using electrolyte pills. As the temp is cooler than normal, I don’t take any pills until ¼ way thru the run, at which time I take 2. I’m not sure if the weather or the pills were more responsible, but I never got my usual run symptoms. Awesome breakthrough for me! The run takes you around Iron Creek Lake, and then into a rocky, technical descent and another very steep ascent which nearly everyone walks. I even put my hands down for some of it; grab onto trees to hoist me up in other spots. The run is 2 loops, and at the end of the first loop, I’m passed by a girl while I take off my bike shorts and throw them at my bike as I start the second loop. I’m now in 5th with 4th right in front of me, and someone shouts that 3rd is 2:30 ahead. I continue, thinking if I keep pace I’ll finish in 5th. The lung-busting climb hit me hard the second time, and I walked a little more of it. But I recover immediately when I get to the top and I settle into a good pace again. Plus, I see my MOOTS jersey-wearing friend Gregg ahead and I set out to catch him. I ask if he’s still having fun and he says, “not quite…” I get to the lake and I see I’ve made up a ton of time on the 3rd place girl (who’s now in 4th.) She becomes my new carrot. I pick up my pace very slightly and continue gaining on her until I pass her in the technical uphill portion. I try not to indicate that I feel like I’m about to vomit as I pass her. I just hold her off through the technical and physical tough stuff and then I let it out to the finish, putting 23 seconds on her. Tom finished before me and when he saw me running to the finish; he wasn’t sure if I had completed 2 loops or 1. When I say “this is it,” he yells, “WHAT?! Awesome! Go honey!” I dropped 10 minutes on the 8k run from last year to this year, from 1h to 50m. 10 min/mile seems really slow, but the pro men were at 7:15 min/mile, to give some perspective of the difficulty of the course.

So I finished 4th overall for women in a 2:41:48, 24 minutes faster than my time the previous year. Regardless of my place, I was psyched at how I felt during the entire race, the improvements I made technically over the previous year, and at my newfound nutrition habits.

POST-RACE
Relaxing at the campfire with a beer and clamato juice (best drink ever,) we discussed past races, got excited about future races, and talked about what a cool atmosphere off-road tris bring to the mix. But I have some priorities to rearrange now that I’ve been accepted to MBA school in the fall, and it will take me 3+ years to finish while working full time. But, as long as I can keep this good attitude, I can hopefully continue racing and enjoying myself in a scaled-back manner.

Condo Association Idiots

So I've gotten 3 phone calls in 3 business days from my condo neighbor who apparently can't handle any situation on his own. A little history on our condo; while it was still in the development phase, one of the units was sold under a clouded title, and the "owner" of the unit has been trouble from day 1. The most recent issues are the loud parties until all hours of the morning plus the smell of weed coming from his unit. Anyway, a few weeks ago, we found graffiti on the side of our building, and my neighbor "John" has gone a little off the deep end about it, calling me at work to tell me things like “we saw a car out front of our building this morning. It was blocking one of the tenants in. The driver of the car was inside our building for FIVE MINUTES then left. I'm certain it was a drug deal.” Or, “did you see the white car parked outside of our building for about 2 weeks? Well it was there the same time the graffiti went up on the side of the building. This CAN’T be a coincidence…” His conclusions are somewhat comical, and they remind me of some of the dialog in those Christopher Guest movies. I think there's a good quote from "Waiting for Guffman" which illustrates my point:

"I've been coming to this circle for about five years, and measuring it. The diameter and the circumference are constantly changing, but the radius stays the same. Which brings me to the number 5. There are five letters in the word Blaine. Now, if you mix up the letters in the word Blaine, mix 'em around, eventually, you'll come up with Nebali. Nebali. The name of a planet in a galaxy way, way, way... way far away. And another thing. Once you go into that circle, the weather never changes. It is always 67 degrees with a 40% chance of rain."

That's just good humor. Anyway, this is the guy who first introduced himself to me as "Hi, I'm [John], I have a phD!" Well, John, I figured you'd be a little more competent. Stop calling me at work!

Random Stories

A lot has happened since I last blogged; I got married, I went on a wonderful mini-honeymoon and took lots of pictures, had a great Thanksgiving here in Minneapolis, and plenty of other things to keep me busy. Wanting to update the blog with reports of all these things in chronological order has kept me from my random entries, and that's the reason why I haven't blogged in awhile. So, rather than tackle the huge task of recounting all those momentous occasions, I'm going to resume the random entries and give updates on the big stuff when I get around to it. But if you want to see a good photo-recap of the wedding, look here: http://www.kofoto.net/shows/steph-tom

Anyhoo, I have 2 random stories from last night and this morning which illustrate the utter insanity of some people (and actually make me feel pretty normal.)

1. I was driving by the Edina Auto Shop on 54th and France this morning. Under the sign, there's usually a religious message for all to see: "Prayer: It does a body good." Things like that. Well this morning, I drove by and this was the message: "Cats are little angels with fur." What?!
2. I went to the YWCA last night and there was this woman in a t-shirt bent over adjusting her pink spandex. I thought; that's brave, she's wearing pink spandex. Then she stood up and I saw that the t-shirt was cropped and she was wearing a neon green leotard over the spandex, and when she walked by I saw that it was a thong leotard. Hello Olivia Newton John...

San Diego Woes

Last month I got to go to San Diego for the first time and meet a wonderful part of Tom's side of the family. Now we're praying that they are staying safe during the fires and can make it out of town to get to the wedding on time...

We had beautiful weather for our visit, unhindered by smoke or fog:

Burrito Union Race Report

This fall, Tom and I were looking for an experience similar to the event leading up to our engagement last fall – the 9.5 hour Adventure Duluth race, consisting of swimming, kayaking, mountain biking, rollerblading, whitewater canoeing, and trail running. We were so disappointed when we learned that the race was canceled for 2007, and we were itching for another “off the beaten path” race. That’s when we heard about the Burrito Union 10-hour Triathlon (http://www.burritounion10hourtri.com/). The format is such that you do as many sprint course triathlons (1/3 mi swim, 14 mi bike, 3.1 mi run) as you can/want in 10 hours. Marketed as the “triathlon for the people” after the Russian Burrito Joint in Duluth which is its main sponsor, it really lived up to its claim. You could enter the race as a solo athlete (Fat Capitalist,) as a 2-person relay (Imperialists,) where you and your partner alternate triathlons, or as a 3-person relay (Comrades,) where each person does a certain leg of each triathlon. People of all ability levels did the race, some only going one lap, some lasting for 7 laps. The camaraderie was apparent as everyone cheered for each other on the course, and exchanged tips and strategies during downtimes.

The course was in Beautiful Pattison State Park in Northern Wisconsin. The swim was in a shallow, sandy-bottom reservoir in the park, and the start of each swim was at the top of a 100-yard hill. I felt like I was on Baywatch, heading in for a rescue! However, the run back up the hill at the end of the swim was no picnic…
The bike was an out and back course on the nicely-paved state HWY 35. It was all downhill on the way out and all uphill on the way back, with a pretty decent 2-mile climb at the very end. I’m told that the course for next year will be a loop; much more exciting.
The run was on a great unpaved trail through the park; it had the perfect amount of hills, stairs, technical terrain, and flat fast straightaways to keep you from getting bored with any one thing.

Tom and I signed up in the Imperialist category. He started the race off for us at 7:30am; about 55 people were in the mass start, and the competitors quickly spaced out based on ability level in the water. 15 minutes after Tom began his run, I headed to the tag-off area, ready for my first leg. While I was waiting, another Imperialist tagged off to his partner. I learned that he (Steve) and his wife (Angel) were doing the race together, and joked with him that they would be who Tom and I were gunning for. Tom came in about 2 minutes after Steve, in a time of 1h, 17m. I headed off on my leg; it was nice to not have the thrashing waters that come with a mass start. Instead, I was on my own in calm water using nice, easy power. I got to the transition in about 11 minutes, and passed Angel up (a weaker swimmer) with a quick transition. I maintained the lead on the bike, and headed out on the run with about a 1 minute lead. I quickly learned that she was a strong runner as she darted by me about ½ mile in. I was maintaining 8:45 min/mile pretty comfortably (which I was happy with, running being my weakest leg;) I didn’t want to expend all my energy on my first lap. I finished with a 1:20: split, and Tom was off for his second leg. We were nonchalantly keeping tabs on Angel and Steve, but we got more and more serious about this friendly competition as the day wore on, and it was clear they did too. Tom reeled Steve in a bit on the swim, lost a bit on the bike, and held steady on the run. In a show of extreme consistency he split his second lap at a 1:17: as well. My second lap was the least memorable; I just remember thinking that my running would deteriorate rapidly after that leg, because I was feeling fatigue in the balance muscles of my ankles and knees due to the uneven terrain. Overall, with my second 1:20: split of the day, I gained about a minute on the Steve/Angel team who were now about 5 minutes ahead. During my downtime, I had trouble maintaining body heat, so I took off my tri suit, wore sweatpants, sweatshirt, fleece jacket, hat, and a blanket and my lips were still blue. My legs were feeling achy so I took some advil. It worked wonders. As Tom came in from a very impressive third lap at 1:17, we only lost 1 minute on Steve and Angel and were 6 minutes behind. The swim seemed to be getting colder as the day dragged on, but after a few strokes I perked up and was feeling good. I let myself push the bike a little harder than the previous legs. They were a bit achy still, but no cramping; my nutrition was working perfectly and the Advil had kicked in. However, I did have to wear a supplemental pair of bike shorts at this point as saddle-soreness was becoming an issue! Tom and I didn’t waste much time on transitions, which really helped us in our quest to catch Steve and Angel. I was able to close the gap to within 2 minutes at the bike to run transition. Of course, she increased their lead a bit in the run, but she was slowing down and I was speeding up. I averaged 8:39s in my 3rd run and we were 3:30 behind. I tagged off to Tom who was in for his fourth and final lap. At this point we could predict that we could make 8 laps within the time limit (you have to start your last lap before the 10-hour mark.) We found out later that Steve made some voodoo concoction of coke and water for his last leg and had his fastest bike split of the day, gaining them some time. He slowed a bit on the run, getting a final split of 1:19, and Tom finished with an impressive 1:21. He was much closer to Steve in speed on the last 2 laps than the first 2. We were 5 minutes behind.

As I entered the water for my last lap, Tom asked my mom how bad their lead was. Her reply was “insurmountable” which was my thought as well. But having nothing to lose, I hauled on the swim. Somehow I reeled Angel in on the swim and with a fast transition, got on the bike just behind her. I immediately passed her on the first downhill (I’m much heavier) only to have her pass me about 10 minutes later. I stayed behind for the rest of the ride, but had her in my sights the whole time. In the transition, I threw my bike to Tom, slid into my shoes and was on my way after my fastest transition of the day. Now, there was hope in my mind of a victory, but I was still convinced that I couldn’t hold her off. I was running as if there was a fire under my you-know-what; constantly thinking I heard footsteps and “girl breathing” (during races, you can tell whether a person running behind you is male or female based on the pitch of their breath; I don’t mind hearing “guy breath” behind me, but “girl breath” is another story!) The turnaround for the course takes you back on the same path for about a mile. 10 yards into the turnaround, I see Angel, charging up the hill, and she looks like she’s holding together well. I think it’ll be a matter of minutes before she overtakes me. I’m beginning to fantasize about tripping and falling so I have a good excuse for losing. Instead, I keep running as if I’m being chased by a bear, optimizing every step on the trail to conserve momentum and minimize the number of strides. I make it up every hill and set of stairs without walking, and I finally reach open air where I can see the finish line and hear the music. I chance a backwards glance for the first time in the whole race, and I can’t see her! I cruise up the hill to the finish and throw my arms up in victory after the closest race of the day. Angel comes in 30 seconds later and we congratulate each other on an amazing race; a 10-hour race that came down to 30 seconds.

We thoroughly enjoyed recounting various parts of the race with Angel and Steve, and all have agreed to do it again next year.
I learned a huge lesson during that race. I don’t consider myself a runner, and never thought that I could grit out a win when it comes to running. When I’m tired and hurting, I walk. That’s all there is to it. Well I pushed through that barrier, and I feel like I’ve opened a world of possibilities for my running capabilities, which is very exciting.
My one complaint about the race is no fault of the race directors. I participated in a 10-hour race with Tom and didn’t get to actually spend time with him during that 10 hours. We learned so much about each other during our Adventure Duluth race, accomplishing all legs together as a unit. Although we learned some individual lessons, I did miss having him there with me, gritting out the pain together. Fortunately, my ever-so devoted parents were there to provide support and company. For that, Tom and I are both thankful.
My suggestion to anyone who is considering doing this race next year; do it! The entire experience is worth the price. You may race just for fun, or you may surprise yourself, breaking barriers like I did. But the location, the camaraderie, and the entire atmosphere really validated this triathlon for the people.

The boys

I have a few updates to give, but I'm waiting until I get my pictures all organized before I make a post about any of the updates. Until then, here are a few pictures of the little boys in my life...

Dylan, Will, Owen

Will's face of extreme concentration

Henners McDotious, as Henry is fondly called by his dad

State Fair Fun

For those of you who aren't as familiar with Minnesota, I must preface this entry with a statement: The Minnesota State Fair is a sacred tradition; whether you're a yuppie, redneck, or plain old midwesterner, the Fair is just something everyone looks forward to attending each year. Everyone has different motivations: eat the most food on a stick (spaghetti and meatball on a stick is one offering,) see the state fair princess' face carved into butter, look at the farm equipment, go on rides, or just sit with your ear of minnesota corn and sweet martha's cookies and people watch. Our wedding photographer wanted to capture the feel of the fair in a wedding motif, and we willingly obliged; here are a few of the many shots he took:

Bizarro Liz

Remember the Seinfeld episode where Elaine meets 3 guys who are a lot like Jerry, George, and Kramer? And they are known as Bizarro Jerry, Bizarro George, and Bizarro Kramer? Well, my work friend, Elizabeth has earned the name Bizarro Liz, because there are some very distinct similarities between herself and my sister Liz. They look somewhat alike, they got pregnant within a month of each other, they had the same cravings while pregnant, etc. It sometimes gets to the point where I'll forget who told me what because they run together in my head. The similarities are starting to get eerier, now that I'm hearing stories about Bizarro Liz's husband. He just bought into the company he works for to become a partner. My brother-in-law plans to buy into his company soon. Both of these men have favorite wars. Favorite wars! How many people can you go up to and ask, "excuse me, what is your favorite war," and expect an answer? Plus, both of their top 2 wars are the Civil War, and WWII. Bi-zar-ro!

I was going to post pictures from our company picnic a few weeks ago, but my computer is having technical difficulties. So rather than post pictures of people I know, I will recommend "dreams of flying"; a photo exhibit which I just love, taken by Jan von Holleben. Enjoy!

Free Bacon Night!

One of the greatest bars in Minneapolis just got better. Starting next Wednesday, the Triple Rock Social Club is offering free bacon from 9-11pm! What an ingenious business move! Who doesn't like bacon? And the drink special is a bacon mary (and PBR, of course.) Ahh, life is good.

Harry Potter Mania!

With all of the road trips Tom and I have been on lately, you may think we get bored spending all that time in the car. Think again! We have found that the best way to pass the time is by reading out loud to each other. Sure we get our share of dry throats and I get a little motion sick, but we can ride 300 miles and have covered tons of ground in an exciting, easy to follow book. (We have "real" conversations too; but the books make the time fly.) Harry Potter has been the best source of entertainment. Anything of higher literary value gets too distracting for the driver. We bought the final book, The Deathly Hallows, but after reading the first 2 chapters, it was clear that I needed a refresher of the last book. So we finished The Half-Blood Prince up in Duluth this weekend and have just re-started the final book in the series. It's great; we get to share in the excitement of the book, and reading out loud slows it down and makes it last longer, because let's be honest, who ever wants a Harry Potter book to end?! I'm hoping she comes out with a Prequel series soon!

We were up in Duluth to do a triathlon relay as the "Spring Lake Athletic Club". My sister Gretchen swam, I biked, Tom ran. It was great to have Gretchen involved, and hopefully more and more family members will join in in the years to come. We got third in our relay division; a decent showing, I think... Oh, and I should probably mention the "superb" fajitas we made Saturday night. They were, well, superb. Followed by homemade margarita pie that was smooth and tart, I was feeling good up until about 20 minutes before the race. Not good to bike on an upset stomach! If only I had my own personal Madam Pomfrey to cure all my ails...

Races Recap

I've been a bit busy with races in the recent past, so I'll try to give a quick recap.

Minneman Triathlon - 06/30/07, Oak Grove, MN
My first REAL triathlon of the season went fairly well. I had just gotten back from Brazil earlier that week and had found out I was off the Channel team, so my mind wasn't terribly focused. But it was a sprint-distance, and I found my focus soon enough. Nothing terribly memorable about the race itself except I had a faster 5k run split than ever before (during a triathlon.) Tom, my parents, one sister and two nephews were there which made the day much more fun. Plus, my old roomie Ariane (yes, she moved out :() finished her first triathlon, and did quite well.






























Timberman Triathlon - 07/07/07, Grand Rapids, MN
After a week of riding with a loose spoke, I finally replaced it the day before the race and my bike was in good condition for the cracked, bumpy roads in Grand Rapids. I love this race because it is in a beautiful location and the atmosphere is so fun; but there were definitely some downsides to the race:
1. My lake warmup consisted of me dolphin-diving off the bottom and hitting my face on a rock.
2. It was 90 degrees outside
3. I hadn't trained for that distance triathlon (Olympic - 1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run)
I was pretty tired when I finished, but Tom and I drove to Duluth afterwards and finished off the weekend playing with the other sister and set of nephews on Spring Lake. It was very relaxing.

Iron Creek XTERRA Off-Road Triathlon - 07/14/07, Spearfish, SD
This was by-far the most difficult race of the trifecta, maybe the most difficult race I've done (including a marathon, half-ironman triathlon, and a 9-hour adventure race. I won't deny that the amount of training impacted the level of difficulty...) A beautiful course, we did a 2-loop swim in Iron Creek Lake, a 22k ride on the Old Baldy trail system in the Black Hills, and an 8k/2-loop run around the lake. The bike was definitely the most difficult. Technical and hilly; I have the most massive bruise on my leg to show that I lost the battle between myself and the terrain. I learned a ton on the bike though, and I am very excited to get out and try more technical terrain in the area.






























Tom and I finished off the trip with a detour to Mt Rushmore; very majestic!

ousted

I just got back from Brazil yesterday morning, and upon returning I found out that I have been ousted from the English Channel team. It hit me hard. Apparently Dave has lost faith in me to 1) keep my training up enough to be able to pace him, and 2) to raise the money I was obligated to raise even though the fundraising deadline is two weeks away. I personally think that all the sacrifices I made in order to support his endeavor should negate the requirement for me to raise funds, but regardless, I signed up for the task with every intention of raising the money. Now I get to tell everyone who was following my progress that I've been asked to step down. That's always a horrible feeling. I just wish he had told me before I wasted a good portion of my summer, winter, last fall, and last summer dedicating myself to the swim.
I was angry enough yesterday to say something to Dave I might regret, but I think I'm over that phase now. I can't promise I'll pretend as if I'm not hurt the next time I see him (oh yeah, he hasn't told me yet in person; he told me through Tom who was ousted from the crew as well,) but I will wish him luck. He'll need it.

Borrachudos!!

I've been bitten by those nasty borrachudos; mosquito-like bugs that leave their poison in the form of terribly itchy, red welts. I try to control my scratching during the day, but while I'm sleeping, my legs go crazy!

Bom dia de Brasil

Oh boy, for some reason, my blog editing site is displaying in Portuguese because I'm in Brazil. Hopefully my translation skills are OK and this entry prints up accurately. I'm here accepting NWA's first Embraer aircraft. It has been a busy trip, and trying to communicate with the Portuguese-speaking workers at Embraer, the Compass Airlines employees who will be operating the aircraft, and with the execs at NWA who make the decisions but are never in their office or available for a conference call, has proven difficult. Our trip has been delayed 1 day, and hopefully only 1 day.
I did manage to relax yesterday at Ihlabela; the "beautiful island" off the coast of the state of Sao Paulo; city of Sao Sebastian. It was absolutely gorgeous, and after one Caipirinha, I was in a state of total satisfaction and relaxation. I snorkeled, jogged along the beach, dug my toes in the sand, and ate seafood. The only bad thing about the trip is that I'm feeling the effects of the mosquito bites that itch worse than any bite I've endured in the humid, Minnesota northwoods. Tomorrow is back to reality, and Tuesday is back to the states, and Saturday begins the three weekends in a row of triathlons. Needless to say I haven't been training much since I've been here...
Check out the travel blog for pics from Ihlabela.

Maah Daah Hey

I just got back from a long weekend of epic mountain biking on the Maah Daah Hey trail in the badlands of North Dakota. It was a great time; I got some of the best endurance and hill training I've gotten in all season. Fortunately, mother goose and co-worker, Gregg, is a master of planning which makes the trail seem much less daunting. For a recount of what it can be like heading out on your own to try to conquer the trail, follow this link. But due to near perfect weather conditions and a shepherd who steered the flocks of riders in the right direction, we safely and happily plodded along the trail. I can say "happily" now, although had you asked me a few days ago just after one of the thousands of feet of climbing I did, I don't know if that's the word I'd use. Fortunately, what goes up must come down and we were able to do some pretty wicked descents as well. I have the bruises to prove it! Got thrown from the bike a few times. All in all; an excellent trip. One I will add to my yearly calendar. More pics on my travel blog.

Tom's Celeb Look-Alikes

Quite the eclectic mix! No Patrick Dempsey or Steve Carrell?