14 Days of Nothing: Day 3: Three More Meals

1. Saturday AM: “Tom and Jerry’s” at Grandpa and Grandma’s house. It’s like Eggnog, but SO MUCH better. It’s like sex in your mouth. But without the unpleasant KY aftertaste.

2. Saturday Noon: Thanksgiving meal at Grandpa and Grandma’s.

3. Saturday PM: Thanksgiving meal at Pharmie’s family’s house.

So I think all that eating counts as “rest.” Rest for everything but my fork arm...

Oh, and one last food-related thing: Chris at 10:10Wellness is revamping his site and his store. If you need some of his Monkey Shake (my “go to” recovery drink over the last 6 months), you can use the coupon code monkeysteve to get 20% off of any Monkey Shake order. Click here to learn more about the Monkey, and click here to order.

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14 Days of Nothing: Day 2: “New Flavor” Gu

Another great package came in the mail from my new BFF (a PR person that works with SUGOi and Gu).

In the package was a GoLite DriMove BL-3 Longsleeve Zip, which should be a good for some cold weather MN winter running! (Once my “14 Days of Nothing” is over...)

There were also a few Gu gels at the bottom: some Roctane, some Gingerbread Gu, and 2 that looked like this:

Now I’ve been known to take risks, but when the Gu is labeled “New Favor,” I THINK I need more information before trying that. ;) I e-mailed my BFF from the PR company, and she wrote back:

The "new flavor" is called Jet Blackberry. You might be, outside of the GU and the PR crew, the first to get your hands on it. Welcome to the family bud.

Sweet!! I’m honored!! Even though I’m taking 2 weeks off from any real physical activity, I HAD to try it right away. It was a little thicker than regular Gu, but it tasted like candy!! Really!! So I decided that it was the boost I needed to go do some core work.

Thanks for the goodies, BFF!! As Fergie says, they’re “T-t-t-tasty, tasty!”

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14 Days of Nothing: Day 1: One (Attempted) Good Deed

Yesterday (Thanksgiving), Pharmie had to work. So was planning on spending some time at my Grandma’s house in southern Minnesota.

Before heading south for the day, I got up early and headed to a nearby school. I thought I would help make Thanksgiving meals for “Meals-On-Wheels” for a couple hours. It turns out the meals were already boxed (and in MASSIVE rows at the edge of the parking lot) and they just needed people to deliver the meals. There were HUNDREDS of people waiting there to help:

The “line” didn’t start moving until about an hour before I had to leave, and I was pretty far back. There was nothing else that they needed help with, so I just had to leave without doing anything so I could get to my Grandma’s. I felt pretty bad that I couldn’t help. But I felt pretty good knowing that SO MANY people showed up to help on Thanksgiving morning. (Especially the St. Kate’s college girls next to me in line that kept talking about how they were still drunk. "...and look at how puffy my eyes are!..." They can been seen in the lower right corner of the photo.)

I sincerely hope EVERYONE had a great Thanksgiving! (Even if your Thanksgiving meal started off by being delivered by drunk college students!)

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Friday Funny 64: Farm Animals Are Popping Up EVERYWHERE!!

Remember this from about 2 months ago? (Watch this if you haven’t seen it. It’s my 2 brothers-in-law and I cheering for the TC Marathon runners. I’m not the rooster.)

Direct link on YouTube.
Then, there was Tribeaner and Greyt Times who spoofed us at the 2009 Des Moines Marathon 5 weeks ago:


Direct link on YouTube.
Now, there’s a new video from the 2009 Richmond Marathon!! Kate wrangled up 2 friends to dance with her (I believe Kate’s the cow). Check this out:


Direct link on YouTube.
That’s a VERY GOOD copy of us at the TC Marathon!! Nice job, ladies!! Kate was able to shake her ass much like Matt in the cow costume. But it was STRANGE to see the SAME chicken suit on seomeone else! I kept thinking "But THAT'S not me! I don't remember doing that!"

But then they took it one step further: They also danced to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” (albeit not very well...). Take a look:


Direct link on YouTube.
Oh, it’s ON Kate! Matt, Mike, and I will bust out some GREAT moves in 10 months at the next Twin Cities Marathon, and you’ll SEE what we can do! It’s time to start practicing my moves!....

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14 Days of Nothing

Thursday (Thanksgiving) will be the official start of my “14 Days of Nothing.” It’s my 2 week off-season where I’ll rest sore muscles, nurse minor injuries, and basically do as little physical activity as possible.

My self-imposed rules:

• No strength training. I’ve had a sore spot behind my right shoulder blade that flares up a bit when I lift weights, so hopefully some rest will help.

• No swimming. Again, for the sore shoulder blade.

• No biking or spinning. Cuz it sucks. ;) And my lower back is still sore from spinning so hard at the indoor tri.

• No foam rolling. That could be just a little too much during “complete rest” for my legs.


OK, I can’t just do ABSOLUTELY nothing for 14 days, so here’s what I’m allowing myself:

• Some core work. Doing core exercises has never really “hurt” anything else, so I figure I’m pretty safe doing some balance ball sit-ups, planks, Andrea’s exercises on the Bosu, etc.

• Some gentle stretching. This will be 3 days a week at the maximum. And it won’t be that intense.

• Maybe some lunges, leg presses, body-weight squats, etc. Again, this won’t be too much, but I might feel the need to do something more around days 10-14. And definitely NO calf raises because of my sore heels.

• Get a massage. Oh, that'll be a tough one... ;)

• 1 easy 2-4 mile run. No watch. Just nice and easy.


How does that look? Is that “off” enough? Do I need to rest more? Or should I throw in another easy run (or swim)? I’m new to “time off.”

So this will all start tomorrow (on Thanksgiving). Technically, since the indoor tri on Sunday, I’ve only stretched and foam-rolled once, so it’ll practically be 17 days of nothing once it’s all said and done. Today, I’d like to stretch and do a good core workout before starting “nothing” tomorrow.

Then, once the 14 days are over, I’ll ease back into it over 10 days or so. Then it will be time to be ramping up my miles in training for the Winter Carnival Half Marathon in January!

I’ll report back everyday with what I’ve been up to while I HAVEN’T been training.

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What’s Better Than a “Top 3” Finish?...

... stealing the very top spot, that’s what! Chalk this up as my first “triathlon” win:

• 4th in the swim
• 2nd in the bike
• 1st in the run
• 1st overall by 1 point!

Hannah did GREAT too! Back in March, out of the same number of athletes (60), she finished 52nd overall. This weekend, she moved up to 46th overall! She did that with a great bike (33rd overall), and a solid run that was 0.21 miles better than in March!! (from 1.82 to 2.03 miles in 20 minutes) That’s a GREAT improvement! Congrats Hannah! You should be proud!

That triathlon, albeit “indoor” and seemingly non-threatening, really beat us up:

• Yesterday, my lower back was KILLING me!! Spinning at a cadence of 160 for 30 minutes and then going on a hard 20 minute run is a way to destroy your back! Walking up stairs and opening doors (or any kind of reaching out) hurt like a mother! Let’s hope it’s better today.

• Hannah said she bent down to pick up her cat and she got stuck in a squat. I laughed in her face without telling her how sore I was. Here’s the bruise from yesterday on Hannah’s leg from when she slipped out of the pedals on the bike:

• Here are my 3 wounds from the triathlon:

Where the pedal “bit” me as I was finishing the spin.
You can see it a little in the last photo of me running in my race report.


Somehow I did this while getting my bike set up while still in T1.


Yeah, my foot is one giant “hot spot.” And yeah, those are blisters.

(One last thing: my “internet buddy” Jill is a member of Team in Training, so she’s trying to raise $4000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Today [Tuesday] she’s blitzing every outlet she knows as she’s trying to raise $500 today alone. Click here to help her reach her goal! Thanks!)

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Indoor Triathlon With Hannah

Yesterday was the Lifetime Fitness Indoor Triathlon in Lakeville. I told everyone from the CVA Triathlon Club that if anyone wanted to do it, I’d go do it with them. Hannah signed up right away, so I did too. We were the only ones from CVA to go race.

Hannah doesn’t have a car, so I figured that I’d pick her up and take her to the triathlon. A few days ago, I got this message from her confirming that thought:

I got ready on Saturday night by shaving my shoulders in order to get a little more speed in the pool:

I picked up Hannah yesterday morning, and we headed down to Lakeville. This indoor triathlon works like this: we swim for 10 minutes, take 10 minutes in T1, spin on a spinning cycle for 30 minutes, take 5 minutes in T2, and end with a 20 minute run on a treadmill. After the race, all the athletes are ranked in each swim, bike, and run, and then point values are awarded to each distance. Those numbers are tallied to determine overall ranking. Got it? Good.

Hannah was in wave 3, and I was in wave 5. So I was there to see her start. Here we are just before her wave started:

Sorry my hairiness is touching your shoulder, Hannah.

She hopped in a lane, and got ready to go:

We ran into Nick who was “officiating” over the swim! Here’s Nick giving a little pre-race meeting to Hannah’s wave (she’s in the foreground):

Nick shouted “GO!” and wave 3 was off! Hannah did 13 lengths at the indoor tri in March. She wasn’t sure if she’d do better or worse yesterday (she’d been sick a lot recently). Here she is breast-stroking in the near lane:

Well, yesterday, she was able to swim 13.5 lengths! That’s better than she did in March!! Congrats Hannah!

When she ran through the locker room, I followed with my camera ran upstairs to the spinning studio and got ready for her to start the bike. She came running in with 4 minutes to spare! (And that was even after she got lost twice trying to get our of the huge locker rooms! Really!) She grabbed a bike and we got it set up for her. A few minutes later, she started her 30 minute spin:

Well, I was back off to the pool to start my wave. I grabbed a middle lane thinking I could share with someone, but no one jumped in with me (must be the body hair). So I had the whole lane to myself. Nick shouted GO, and we were off!

SWIM:

I was surprised after 200 meters to see my splits weren’t horrible! (I haven’t been swimming a lot lately.) I was hoping to get 21 lengths or more. After 20 lengths, I knew I’d be able to get 22 lengths. But I thought if I pushed hard, I MIGHT be able to get 22.5 lengths. I gave it a shot, but I only got about 22 and one-third lengths, not 22.5, so I officially was credited with 22. (That's 550 meters, which is 1:49.0 / 100 meters.) Here are my 100 meter splits:

1:37
1:49
1:53
1:49
1:51
0:58 (last 50+ meters)

T1:

I was excited that my swim went so well! Now, I had to get ready to really power through the bike. I quickly got nude, threw on my bike gear, tried not to get too dizzy (does that happen to other people in T1?), and headed up to the spinning studio.

BIKE:

My main goal for the race was to push HARD during the bike (actually, that’s been my goal in the last 2 years of tri racing). So I was ready to go nuts. There was one big difference between this indoor tri and the other 4 indoor tris I’ve done: at the ones in the past, the resistance is pre-set, and the knob is taped down on the spinning bikes so it’s “equal” for everyone. At this tri, we could set the resistance to WHATEVER we wanted. So we could ride really loose and just hang on for the ride! And that’s what I did.

I checked my cadence over 15 seconds at 2 different points in the bike, and both times, I counted 40. That means my cadence was 160! Holy hell, my hips were quaking! After 5 minutes, I had gone just over 3 miles. So I figured I’d shoot for 18 miles over those 30 minutes (that’s NOT equivalent to road riding). I heard the wave before us finish up, and 2 guys were just over 18 miles. OK... new goal: shoot for 19 miles. ;) I was pushing hard.

Hannah came running up after she finished her run. She did GREAT!! In March at the indoor tri, she ran 1.82 miles. Yesterday, she ran over 2 miles, and she said it felt easy!! NICE!! Then she grabbed my camera and got a shot of me “ridin’ sweaty:”

Yay! The "vein of approval" on my forehead! AND a leg muscle!

I hit 19.1 miles by the time my 30 minutes were over, and I was happy with that effort. I didn’t let up, and pushed hard all the way through. The one problem was that because my legs were flying all over the place, my feet were sliding around in my bike shoes. So my second toe on my right foot was feeling pretty raw. Dang.

T2:

Ran out of the spinning studio, down the hall, and up to the treadmills. When I took off my bike shoes, I showed Hannah the little bit of blood on my sock from spinning so out-of-control. She said “Eww.” Oh, and we shared "battle wounds" on our legs from trying to stop the spinning cycle after our feet flew out. Oww.

RUN:

I started off at 9.0 mph, and that felt pretty good! Hannah snapped a photo early on, when I still looked “presentable”:

- Up to 9.5 mph at 4 minutes
- Up to 10.0 mph at 10 minutes
- Up to 10.1, 10.3, 10.5 around 15 minutes
- Ran the last 90 seconds at 11.0 mph - ouch... that was hard!

That first photo of me looked good: I was running upright and looked strong. Here’s another photo that Hannah snapped with just about a minute left, and here I’m a little hunched over, sweaty, and praying for the sweet release of death:

I out-did my previous indoor triathlon best by 0.04 miles on the treadmill: I covered 3.25 miles in those final 20 minutes. (That's 6:09.2 / mile.)

So both Hannah and I had a great day!! We drove back up to St. Paul and went on our ways. I took a photo of the bit of blood on my sock:

And yesterday evening, I snapped a photo of the bit of pus over the raw area that rubbed off during the bike:

Yeah... add that pus / blood to that dead toenail and those hairy toes, and you have the trifecta of “oh, there goes your appetite!” Ha! I’d apologize, but I’m not really sorry. ;)

I’ll be back with the results as soon as they’re tallied! I KNOW Hannah will place better than she did in March, and I’m hoping for top 3. We’ll have to see!

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Workouts? Maybe.

I haven’t been doing much for workouts lately. It’s sort of “that time of year” where you’re supposed to take some time off and let your body heal up a little. The problem is that I like to race, so I end up taking some time off only to jump right into some race that my body might not be ready for. So that sort of un-does all of the good things that taking time off does for a body. D’oh.

My regular workouts over the last 2 weeks (since the Tesfa 5K and bike ride) have been mostly strength and core - those are a winter focus for me.

Mon, Nov 9: Upper body weights and core work.
Tues, Nov 10: Nothing.
Wed, Nov 11: Upper body weights, lots of leg work, and core work.
Thurs, Nov 12: Nothing.
Fri, Nov 13: Nothing.
Sat, Nov 14: 8 miles of running with Pharmie in Long Beach, California. Because I recently did those two 10 mile races, 8 miles is TOTALLY a fine distance for me to be running. However, without sounding mean, I can’t go that distance at Pharmie’s pace. My heel will get sore not because of MILES, but because of TIME running. Eight miles for me takes well under an hour. But with Pharmie, we were running for about 1:20, so that “angered” my heel a bit. Oops. But it was worth it to get out and explore Long Beach by foot!

Sun, Nov 15: Nothing.
Mon, Nov 16: Upper body weights and core work.
Tues, Nov 17: Nothing.
Wed, Nov 18: Upper body weights and core work. Then intervals in the pool (to get ready for the upcoming indoor tri). I did 10 x 50 (with 12 seconds rest) with a 41.3 / 50 yard average. Then I took a 3 minute break before finishing with 5 x 100 (with 22 seconds rest) with a 1:35.8 / 100 yard average.
Thurs, Nov 19: Nothing.
Friday, Nov 20: Just core.
Sat, Nov 21: Rest for today’s tri.

Yesterday, I taught an 8 hour “documenting your work” workshop for high-schoolers who needed to learn how to photograph (and then digitally “correct”) their work to apply to an art college. So I spent a lot of time awkwardly hunched over a camera, so my legs are tired and sore today. (Then again, when DON’T I do things “awkwardly?”) We’ll see how far I can go at the indoor tri!!

Hannah, from the CVA Triathlon Club, is going with me to the tri. She did an indoor tri in March, a 4 mile road race in July, and a sprint triathlon in July (all with the CVA Tri Club). Here’s Hannah half done with the run at the Chisago Lakes Triathlon a few months ago:

So she’s an old pro at all this by now, so I'm sure she'll do great! I’m off to pick her up in a few minutes. Wish us luck!! I’ll be back tomorrow morning with our race report!!

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Friday Funny 63: Six Reasons I Hate Long Beach

#1: The food was terrible, so I had to hunt my own:

I better like Moose meat - I now have 15 moose to deal with...

#2: The local birds are hostile:

Little bastard.

#3: The public restrooms were scary to say the least:

No soap? What is this?... Canada?!?

#4: There were tampons in the street:

Gross.

#5: The sea life was horny:

Perverts.

#6: I got crabs:

Technically, it was just ONE very LARGE crab, but this dude is reeking havok on my pubes!! There’s not enough prescription “Crab-Be-Gone” shampoo in the WORLD to make him go away!

(Great. I’ve managed to piss off Californians and Canadians in the same post. I’m quickly adding to my list of “places I can’t go because the people there will kill me.” Dang.)

Hannah (a CVA Tri Club student) and I are doing another indoor triathlon on Sunday! So check back on Monday for our race report and photos! Wish us luck!

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Nutrilite: Post 1 of 2

(Note: This is “Post 1 of 2” because the second post will be a follow-up post in a few weeks that will contain my results from my bloodwork and phone discussion with Dr. Duke. At that point, I’ll have much more insight.)

So my last post left a glaring omission from the weekend: our Saturday experience at the Nutrilite Center for Optimal Health...

When we got to our hotel room on Friday, both Pharmie and I had a sweet Nike bag that had some Nutrilite info, Nutrilite gear, and some Nutrilite food products inside:

Saturday morning, we hopped aboard a short bus with some Nutrilite Reps and 6 other bloggers:

Here are all of us at the Nutrilite Health Institute:

We all got to work filling out paperwork and making sure we agreed to what was about to happen to us:

What WAS about to happen to us? All of this:

- Body Fat Analysis
- Flexibility
- Height and Weight
- Blood Pressure
- Grip Strength
- Bone Density
- Blood Work, which will determine:
       - Vitamin D
       - Cholesterol
       - LDL Cholesterol
       - VLDL Cholesterol
       - HDL Cholesterol
       - Triglycerides
       - Cholesterol/HDL Ratio
       - Insulin
       - Glucose
       - Serum Iron
       - Iron Binding Capacity
       - Percent Saturation (Iron)
       - Serum Ferritin
       - Unsaturated Iron Binding Capacity
       - GGT (Gamma-glutamyl transferase)
       - Homocysteine
       - Folate
       - Vitamin B12
       - High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein
       - TSH

Pharmie getting her blood pressure checked


Pharmie getting ready to have blood drawn

WARNING: The next 2 photos below show me getting blood drawn! There is a needle sticking out of my arm!! If you are squeamish about that, scroll down quickly past the next 2 photos until you get to the photo of me trying to bend myself in half.


OK?


Ready for the needle in my arm?


OK, here it is...

You can see a tiny stream of blood squirting to the back of the tube.
Yes, I took that photo myself.


Getting ready to switch vials (they took 3)

I’m fine watching all that (even when it’s being done to me), but I DID get a little light-headed when she wrapped up. So I sat there for a bit as she ran to get me some OJ. The cool juice helped, and I was perfectly fine in 90 seconds.

Remember the good ol’ sit and reach? I really impressed this lady with my bendiness. Really. Ask Pharmie.


Grip test. Note “muscly” forearm as I squeeze.


Bone density test


Body fat testing: 11.3%

We had all been fasting for over 12 hours, so they immediately fed us a great breakfast. Here’s the other table just before we started eating:

Here was our view of some of the Nutrilite campus from our breakfast window:

Bob giving us a tour of the facilities


Pharmie walking up to the big double helix

Then we headed into their auditorium to hear from different speakers. First, Bob told us a lot about some of their ideas for complete health:

The idea behind the 5 colors shown in that slide is to get the proper amount of foods in each color:

- GREENS like soy beans, kale, and broccoli for cell health, lung health, and liver function.
- WHITES like onions, cauliflower, and garlic for bones and circulatory health.
- ORANGES like carrots, tangerines, and corn for eyes, immune function, and healthy growth and development.
- REDS like cranberries, pomegranate, and acerola cherries for prostate and DNA health.
- PURPLES like grapes, eggplant, and beets for heart health, arterial function, and antioxidant function.

(That’s not a complete listing of all the foods in each color or all the functions of each color, but it gives you the idea. And that idea of getting foods from those 5 colors each day is just one of many of their ideas for “complete health.”)

Dr. Duke Johnson spoke with us a lot about how they grow and process their supplements, and how they help the body:

One of the more interesting speakers for Pharmie and I was Micheline Vargas:

Micheline spoke on sports nutrition and the proper ways to “carbo load” before longer workouts or bigger races. She talked a lot about how the body responds to different foods before / during / after workouts. We really enjoyed her presentation and her information!

One thing we didn’t enjoy as much was the over-the-top energy of Diane Paetz. She DID have some great ideas for getting in a quick, full body 10-minute workout, but then she made us do it, and that was a little corny. Here she is during one of the moments when she wasn’t jumping all over the place:

(I don’t mean to pick on her. The info WAS good. It was just that the presentation didn’t do a whole lot for endurance athletes like Pharmie and I. Maybe she came across better to some of the other fitness / weight loss bloggers that were there.)

Finally we heard from Jenn Stuczynski, the top US female pole vaulter (and second in the world)....

(Jenn and Andy)

....and from Tom O’Rourke: Olympian, recent 4-time masters cycling World Champion, and current holder of 2 masters cycling World Records:

(Tom and Joel)

Both Jenn and Tom were VERY interesting! (You can read some about Jenn in my last post where Pharmie and I talked with her and Andy while eating ice cream.) Tom is GREAT at telling stories, and he’s led one of those lives where if at least HALF of what he’s said is true, then HOLY CATS!! What a guy!

We all had a great lunch, and that pretty much ended our day at the Nutrilite Center.

MY THOUGHTS ON ALL OF THIS: Here’s what I think so far, after hearing what they had to say and doing some of my own research.

- People who love it say: Their most popular supplement “Double X” contains all good things for your body.
- People against it say: I can get just as many vitamins and minerals (and sometimes MORE) in a cheaper multivitamin at Target or GNC.
- My 2 cents: I believe that Nutrilite has a good combination of “things” in their supplements. Yes, you CAN get more in some pills, but Double X seems VERY well balanced. During our tour, they actually showed us how it’s a good “all-around” supplement whether you’re male, female, pregnant, a senior, etc., without going too high on some of the nutrients.

- People who love it say: It’s all organic! (and Kosher and Halal)
- People against it say: So what. It’s too expensive.
- My 2 cents: Double X costs over $2 / day. It’s NICE that it’s organic, but really, if I was more concerned about my overall health, I should cut out the breadsticks I had for supper last night and nachos I had for dessert 2 night ago. A few organic pills each day won’t fix everything. That being said, it IS nice to know that their ingredients ARE good and pure. Especially if you’re taking them day-after-day.

- People who love it say: Nutrilite is a GREAT company that treats all it’s farmers well!
- People against it say: Dude, it’s f’ing Amway.
- My 2 cents: Nutrilite is owned by Amway, but I don’t care. Some people have had a bad experience with Amway due to some pushy uncle trying to peddle their products. My parents dabbled in Amway for about a year when I was younger. They decided it wasn’t for them, so they dropped it. No big deal. From what I’ve seen, Nutrilite treats their people very well.

FOUR FINAL THOUGHTS:

- The Nutrilite Center for Optimal Health was just that: a center for HEALTH. It’s GREAT that it was NOT a “center for supplements.” They told us how their supplements can fit into and enhance different lifestyles, but they never simply offered a miracle cure in pill form. They taught us how to be well-rounded, healthy people. Good on them.

- I feel like it was clear to everyone at the event that the people telling us about Nutrilite (from the company spokespeople to the athletes [Jenn and Tom]) were 100% convinced that it was the best products for you, hands down. There was never any sign of reservation from what they were saying. I could tell that THEY backed the company. That’s important to me.

- Jenn (the pole vaulter) told a story from a big track event (I don’t think it was the Olympics - I think it was a World Championship event, but I’m not sure). She said that Bryan Clay (American decathlete) had forgot to bring his Double X. Bryan ran up to Asafa Powell (former worlds fastest man), but Asafa had none to spare. Then he ran up to Jenn, but she had none to spare. That tells me 2 things about Double X. 1: some pros swear by it. 2: it must NOT contain any amounts of “bad things” because with all the testing these athletes have to go through, it would have picked up on it.

- One of the biggest endorsements for me was when Coach Liz commented on my last post that she’s be using Double X for 17 years. If you’ve been blogging for long, I’m sure you know of other bloggers whose advice means the WORLD to you. Coach Liz is one of those people for me. So when she said 17 YEARS, I thought “Wow, that MUST be good.” Her endorsement meant just as much to me as a whole day of information at the Nutrilite Center.


So, like I said, this is post “1 of 2.” I’ll have the second post once my blood work is in and I talk with Dr. Duke. At that point, I hope to have read his book as well, and I’ll have more questions for him.

(p.s. There’s a good “Friday Funny” coming tomorrow regarding our trip to Long Beach. And I just signed up on a whim to do an indoor triathlon on Sunday along with a CVA Tri Club student! So check back Monday to see how it went!)

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60 Photos From Our California Trip

So Pharmie and I spent a great 3-day weekend in Long Beach, California!! We were contacted by Nutrilite and asked if we’d be interested in having a very individualized health assessment and tour the Nutrilite Center for Optimal Health. I didn’t know what to think at first. But after they answered all my questions and assured me that they weren’t going to try to sell me their products or turn me into a representative for them, I figured it was something to check out. They said they would pay for our flights, our transportation in Cali, many of our meals, and our nice hotel room, so we really didn’t have much to lose! In turn, they just hoped that we would write about our experience.

We were there from Friday AM through Sunday PM. Saturday morning and early afternoon was spent at the Nutrilite Center for Optimal Health, but other than that, we just got to explore a little that Cali had to offer.

My NEXT post will have photos and thoughts from the Nutrilite presentation, so check back for that. THIS post will be everything else from the weekend.

First things first: what NEEDS to happen before a trip to California?? You need to shave:

No, no, no... I mean REALLY SHAVE:

I’m not THAT hairy, but I DID need a touch-up


Leaving LAX just before noon


My attempt at photographing the Hollywood sign


Riding down THEE 405


Our SWEET hotel room


Our SWEET bathroom


Pharmie pointing to expensive nuts that I was NOT allowed to touch


Our rooftop pool (you can see the Queen Mary to the middle/right in the distance)


Our hotel from the side (pool area at the top left)

We got settled and looked for a place to grab a bite. Our hotel was on the edge of a complex known as “The Pike” which had all kinds of places to eat.

While eating, we got the most hilarious undecipherable text message from Pharmie’s Mom. What does this mean?

Maybe my mother-in-law was texting as she was having a seizure...

It was time to hit the beach:

My left nipple and I saying “hi” from Cali!


Lines in the sand from the waves






Putting my sandy feet back in my shoes


Pharmie and a palm tree


Pharmie and a pirate


Pharmie’s new favorite place in the world: a big taffy store!
(We had to stop back there again on Sunday!)


Walking the boardwalk

Pharmie and I were going to meet blogger-buddy Chic Runner for supper at the Yard House. We ate and chatted about training, racing, and (of course) blogging. Here’s a shot of the 3 of us after our meal:

It was great to meet you, Danica!


Ferris wheel at the Pike


Riding the Ferris wheel at night

So, the next morning (Saturday), we got up early to go tour the Nutrilite facilities, hear about their products, and hear from some guest speakers. All of that info will come in my next post, so for now, I’ll jump to the group run that we did back at the hotel after the tours. Here’s Pharmie cramming our room key-card in her little pocket in her running shorts:

Lucky key-card... ;)


Running around the harbor


Bob and Lindsay


Joel and Pharmie


Bob, Lindsay, Joel, and Pharmie


Turned around, and running back

We dropped off the other runners, and Pharmie and I continued on for a while on our own. We wanted to find our way over the channel to the Queen Mary.

Heading out to the lighthouse through the palm trees




As the sun was setting, we made our way over to the Scorpion Submarine and the Queen Mary


A submarine guy and me




Pharmie and the Queen Mary




Running back over the channel (Ferris wheel to the left, lighthouse to the right)


Queen Mary as it’s getting dark

So we logged about 8 miles as the sun was setting, and then we got back to our hotel room to shower. We met the other bloggers and Nutrilite folks, and we headed out for Sushi:

This was really good!

On the way back from the restaurant, Pharmie and I talked a lot with Jenn Stuczynski, the top pole vaulter in the USA (and the only US woman to clear 16 feet!). The intricacies of being a sponsored athlete are CRAZY!! She shared all kinds of stories: How meet organizers will set a height and say “if you break this height, I’ll give you $25,000. How her first time on the podium she wore the wrong shoes and immediately had to meet with her sponsors and meet organizers to work things out (and couldn’t enjoy her victory). How she trains in a Quonset hut with propane heaters, and because of the low ceiling in the hut, she now holds her pole low. How her longest runs are about 120 meters, and about two-thirds of her runs are done with her pole in her hands. It was SOO interesting! Here’s a photo of Pharmie, Jenn, and I back at our hotel after Sushi and Coldstone Ice Cream:

It was great talking with you, Jenn!

Sunday morning, we got up and walked to church. On the way, we spotted something funny. In the past, you’ve seen what my evil foam roller looks like. Well, we spotted a foam roller through the window of some sort of fitness club, and someone had drawn a smiley face on it:

The church was COVERED in mosic tile, and they had a painting of the Virgin Mary that they were adoring:

That’s not paintings on the walls - that’s all tile-work!

We checked out of our hotel room, and we still had 5 hours to kill. So we went to the Aquarium of the Pacific, which was just 2 blocks away.

Pharmie and Sea Lions


An adorable Harbor Seal who kept checking us out




Petting a 5 foot wide ray (just before dropping my camera bag in the pool)


Pharmie with some Lorikeet birds


Us with the Lorikeets


Petting a Lorikeet. It kept wanting to be pet harder.


Pharmie with an octopus


Me with a shark hat. I should have bought this. This a good look for me, right?


Tank full of “Nemos”




The Puffins were hilarious. Except for the one at the upper right who kept sharpening his beak on the rocks to get ready for his escape. Really.


Me with Jellies

We grabbed one last quick bite at a little Mexican restaurant, grabbed our bags back at the hotel, hopped in a sweet town car, and headed to the airport. On the way, I tried to get a better shot of the Hollywood sign, but I failed again:

Our flight was a little late (LAX seemed a little discombobulated), so we landed back in MSP around 12:30 am early on Monday morning (about 40 minutes late). We grabbed a cab, got home, showed our 2 cats some attention, and got to bed by about 1:30 am. We were both back to work that very same day. What a trip!! Thanks Nutrilite!

I’ll be back shortly with a post about my individual health assessment along with other things we learned at the Nutrilite facilities.

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Letting My Feet Tell the Story of My Weekend

Friday, 6:45 am, my yard in Minnesota


30 minutes later, riding the Light Rail Train


2 hours later, aboard a Northwest airplane


3 hours later, standing in LAX while Pharmie used the restroom


10 minutes later, riding in a swank Lincoln Navigator


1 hour later, standing on the edge of the Pacific just off the boardwalk (by thousands of yachts)


30 minutes later, standing in the Ocean in Long Beach


1 hour later, relaxing in our posh hotel room with Pharmie

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Meeting Jenn and Tom

If you’ve been around my blog for a while (like the last 3 years), you’ll remember a post titled “My Hot Wife and Female Pole Vaulters.” I showed a picture of US pole vaulter Jenn Stuczynski:

Click here to read the 3 short stories in that post.

Jenn Stuczynski is the only US woman EVER to clear 16 feet in the pole vault, and she’s ranked second in the world. And she picked up the silver in the Beijing Olympics. Well, it’s a LONG story (that I’ll tell over the next few days), but today, Pharmie and I got to meet Jenn Stuczynski!

We also got to meet Tom O'Rourke, a SUPER SPUNKY 75-year-old man who recently won 4 cycling world championships AND set two masters cycling world records!! He’s one of those old guys that can tell the best stories. He’s the kind of guy I could sit with and listen to forever. Here we are with him:

Don’t go anywhere... more to come in the next few days!...

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Friday Funny 62: Google Suggestions

Now excuse me while I Google “Why are Americans afraid of dragons” and “Why does my husband wear panties.” Inquiring minds need to know! ;) Happy weekend!

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Permanently Remove Your Toenails?!?

I think I found the answer to my problem in my previous post: surgically remove my toenails!

No, I’m NOT really serious, but there was just an article about it in the NY Times. Here’s an image of an ultra runner’s feet who has had his nails removed:

(Image courtesy of Matthew Staver for the NY Times)

He had a doctor pour acid on his nail beds in order to keep them from growing back in 1992. Dr. Robert M. Conenello, a sports podiatrist, was quoted as saying this about some ultra runners:

A lot of them look at their toenails as useless appendages, remnants of claws from evolutionary times long ago. I’ve heard them say, ‘Toenails are dead weight.’

Here’s another poignant quote from the article:

But the practice strikes some runners as overkill. “You know any sport has gone off the rails when you have to remove body parts to do it,” said Christopher McDougall, the author of a recent book about ultrarunning called “Born to Run.”

Ultramarathoners tend to keep quiet about toenail removal, Mr. McDougall said, because they “tired of being freaks, and they don’t want to add anything more freakish to their résumé.”

Click here to read the Oct 21 2009 article on the NY Times website. Now, where did I put my jar of acid?... I have some toenails to deal with... ;)

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My Purple Toenails Can Kiss My Ass

My toes have been fine all spring and summer. I trained for and raced IM NO 70.3 in April, did a bunch of sprint and oly triathlons, raced two 10 mile races, and all was well. But after a simple track workout 2 weeks ago where part of the track was covered in frost (and therefore a little slippery), my toes started to “turn.” Maybe “ripen” is a good word for it.

I’ve learned I beat-up my toenails when running on slippery or uneven surfaces (like packed snow in the winter). So this morning, I thought I’d snap a new photo for you all:

Try not to notice all the toe-hair (if possible)

Yeah. Nasty. And that started from a simple 3x1600 track workout! Stupid toenails.

Oh, and the official results from the Tesfa 5K are now up (see previous post for race report). I was able to out-kick Nicole by 12 seconds:

We’ll see if I can do the same next year. It’s ON, Nicole!!! ;)

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2009 Tesfa 5K Race Report

The Tesfa 5K holds a special place in my heart. I won this race 2 years ago, and it was the first time I had ever won an event. And it’s ALWAYS been on a lovely, sunny November morning! This year didn’t disappoint!

I “warmed up” the day before the 5K by doing 4 hours of yard work. Here’s 18 bags of leaves and garden waste waiting to be taken to the compost site:

So my back and hamstrings were nice and tight and sore for the race the next morning. Great way to get ready for a 5K. Sheesh.

I got down to Fort Snelling State Park, registered, and pinned on my number. They already had the fire warming the little park house:

There were a lot of women wearing University of Minnesota Cross Country jackets down there, and I asked one of them, “Is part of the U of M CC team racing today?” She said “No, we’re just volunteering.” So I replied with a smirk “Oh good - so that means I WON’T be beat by a girl?...” She smiled and said she couldn’t promise anything. I nearly shot myself in the foot with that comment, but I wouldn’t know it until later......

A half-hour before the 5K, they had a kids 1K race. A team of older ladies showed up with their bongos to cheer on the runners:

Here’s the first place runner in the kids 1K flying to the finish:

So I jogged a little and stretched a little. I said hi to Kirt. I chatted with Kris for a bit (who I met at the 10K a few months ago). We disrobed and threw our extra clothes in the ditch right next to the starting line. That’s why I love this race: it’s so small that I felt fine leaving my clothes, car keys, and camera right along the road during the race.

We lined up to start. They forgot to have a lead biker there to show the way, so they just tried to explain the course to everyone. Then, one of the guys with the race management team asked “Will my Mini Cooper fit on the trails?....” So this was the first race where I’ve followed a Mini Cooper through winding bike trails in a State Park! I thought it was pretty great!

Ready... Set... GO!!

I took off in the lead right away, but there were plenty of people running with me. At the trail crossing about a half mile in, this 15 year old kid was right next to me. “Great day for a race, huh?” I said. “Yeah... sure is,” he replied. A few feet farther, a deer that was drinking from the Minnesota River got scared up by the Mini Cooper, and it darted out just 20 feet in front of us. The pack of 5 people I was running with let out “ooohs and ahhs.” It was pretty cool.

I quickly glanced through our group: it was 50 year old local distance runner Kirt, a 35ish year old guy, a 15 year old kid, a woman about my age, and I. I yelled back “How ya doin’ Kirt?” “Oh just fine!” he replied. We were tightly packed, but all running smoothly.

Mile 1: 6:04. “Umm, that felt more like 5:45. Oops. I guess the 17:45ish I was hoping for isn’t gonna happen. Well, do what you can do, Steve.”

We ran to the end of the paved trail, crossed the main entrance to the park, and hit the gravel section of the race. (I was still amused to be “chasing” that Mini Cooper through those trails!) After 200 feet on the gravel, the trail makes a sharp right. Right before that turn, I was passed and moved into second place. Not to sound sexist at all, but I was caught off guard being passed by a woman. I’ve been beat by PLENTY of women before, but that’s usually in much bigger races. Usually, when I have a chance at winning a race, I’m not trying to out-kick a female for the win!

Our front pack of 5 had spread out. I was running in second, just 10 feet behind first. The lead female pointed up ahead: there were 2 turkeys just off the trail. I pointed and yelled back over my shoulder “TURKEYS!” I heard Kirt laugh back there and say “Oh, I thought you were calling ME a turkey!” Ha!

I was doing all I could to stay with the leader. We were still on the back gravel section at the mile 2 marker.

Mile 2: 6:04. “It’s time to go, Steve!”

We turned off the gravel and onto paved trail. We headed up a little hill toward the beach house. I started to make my move. I passed her near the beach house, and was working too hard to say “nice pace!” We came down the hill heading towards Picnic Island, and we ran past the “bongo ladies” seen in the third photo. I grinned as I heard many of them shout “YOU GO GET HIM!!” to the woman behind me. If I were watching this race, I would have been cheering for her too!

I was giving it everything. I checked over my shoulder just before the final turn, and I had a decent lead. I made the final turned and booked it to the finish. The official results aren’t up yet, but I think I had first by about 10 seconds.

Mile 3 and the last 0.1: 6:06. (that’s 5:29 pace over the last 1.1)

Total: 18:15
Average Pace: 5:52.1

Place: 1 out of 52

Second place overall (the lead female) finished just behind me, and we congratulated each other. I jogged over to my camera, and got back to the finish just in time to see Kris finishing:

Nice job, Kris!

The finish area started filling up:

I sat and stretched near the final curve and cheered for all the runners. When I stood up, I saw that I had left a pretty sweet “swass” mark:

(That’s “sweaty ass” if you didn’t know...)

I cheered for a while, and then headed back towards the warm fire for awards. The first place female caught me on the way. We chatted by her car. It was THEN that I found out who she was. Who was she? Take a guess...

Remember the fun photos of the costumed runners 2 posts down? Well, she was the speedy half marathon runner who finished in her underwear and a cape along with her boyfriend! Her name is Nicole, and she and her boyfriend finished the Monster half marathon in 1:28!! (They both finished in the top 30 out of 2,600 runners) Remember this photo:

We talked for a while, and then her boyfriend, Joseph, showed up. We all talked for a bit. It was great to meet you guys!! Joseph had just done IM WI 2 months ago. Nicole and I have some similar racing sentiments: she told me, “Sometimes, I get too competitive, but it IS fun to win a race now and then. But it’s also great to have some fun while racing!” (Referencing running the half in her undies.) I think I could like this couple!!

Awards started shortly. Tesfa has the “Pooch” category and the “Human” category. Awards for the top 3 dogs were first. This was the third place dog, and I don’t know that I’ve ever been in the presence of THAT big of a dog before:

Here’s Nicole getting her award for top female:

Nicole and I joked that we’ll have an all-out duel at the Tesfa 5K next year. So get ready for some trash-talk over the next year between Nicole and I! And if you want to see me get my balls handed to me, make it a point to come watch the Tesfa 5K in 2010! ;) Ha! Should be a fun one! Can't wait!

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MPH Don’t Matter Today

Yesterday, after running the Tesfa 5K, I joined Matt and Pharmie for a nice 32 mile ride down the Gateway Trail. (Note: my Tesfa 5K report will be up tomorrow.) This ride was not for speed - it was simply to enjoy the great 64 degree November afternoon!

Pharmie and I biked to Matt’s place, grabbed Matt, and headed to the start of the Gateway. Here they are a couple miles down the trail:

Matt showing some power


Pharmie working hard

We paused for photos at the North St. Paul Snowman, which is right along the trail:

We came home, cooked for a bit (chicken and pasta, pumpkin “flesh,” pumpkin bars, and “spaghetti bake”), and then headed to a bonfire for the evening. Yes, those are about 12 foot flames:

What a great day: a 5K, a bike ride, good food, and a bonfire with friends! Stop on by tomorrow for my Tesfa 5K race report!

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