January 2009 Archives

For most of us, New Year's Eve is full of friends, revelry and maybe one too many glasses of champagne. And if you're not careful, you might wake up the next morning with foggy memories of things you immediately regret. We've all experienced heard stories about this, right?

Well, my NYE didn't involve anything remotely resembling lechery, but I did wake up in a panic the morning after. Because on New Year's Eve I decided it was a fantastic idea to sign up for a triathlon AND do a marathon.

That's right folks, 2009 will be the year of my first triathlon and marathon! And I am absolutely excited. Oh, and terrified. But still excited. Mostly terrified, actually.

I've signed up for a marathon clinic with a local running store, so I'm not as worried about finding a training plan for that race. I'm shooting for the inaugural Minneapolis Marathon on May 31. I chose not to do Grandma's, a larger and arguably more "prestigious" race, because I want to sleep/toss fitfully in my bed the night before. Staying close to home eliminates a lot of variables that I'd rather not deal with for my first marathon -- travel, hotels, weird Duluth food, weird Duluth people, and so on (just kidding, I love you Duluthians).

(Disclaimer: By saying "first," I in no way mean to imply that there will be a next.)

Running 26 miles is certainly a special kind of crazy. But do you know what's even crazier? Voluntarily signing up to get kicked in the head and drown in the middle of Lake Phalen. Also known as the St. Paul Triathlon.

Here are the pros of this whole triathlon situation, as I see it:

• It forces me to cross-train, something that I usually neglect.
• I will learn about bike maintenance.
• It's great motivation to get stronger and healthier and try new challenges.
  
• I signed up with two of my good friends, so I'm not alone.
• We're going to make T-shirts. Clever team name pending (ideas, people!).
• It's not until August.
• UPDATE: I also get to wear special biking pants with a padded butt. Awesome!
  

And the cons:

• I don't know how to swim. I mean, I can keep myself afloat and know the strokes, but I am just awful. I'm going to have to figure something out there, or death is imminent.
• Imminent death is a pretty big CON, come to think of it.
• I don't have a training plan (yet) or training group. This means I need to get my responsibility on, and that is a tricky business.
• I don't really know how to bike, either. At least not in a "Ooh, hot aero bars, where'd you get your clip-in shoes?" kind of way. Leisurely pedal to a nearby restaurant? Sure! No problem! Ride in a race where I'm not allowed to do things like "drafting" and I have to ride many miles CONSECUTIVELY? Eep.

I have many things to learn between now and August. Well, hopefully I learn them long before August so that I can practice the skills I learn, like "not drowning" and "how to bike fast without tipping over." I might join a training group through Life Time, and will probably volunteer at the LTF Tri in July, so that I can get a feel for it.

If you seasoned triathletes are still reading, I am in need of recommendations for good training plans (and any other tips you might have).

(Photo by ableman, of a tri that looks much more my speed)

Last week I had a blast trying out recipes from my new cookbooks.* One of my favorite recipes was the Lentil-Walnut Burgers from Mollie Katzen's The New Moosewood Cookbook [Amazon].

I haven't eaten red meat in over 10 years, so I'm not the best source on what tastes like meat, but others tell me that they have a very similar texture and taste to ground beef. Whether or not that's true, they're delicious!

You can find the recipe here. They take about 90 minutes to prepare (the mix needs to chill for an hour before cooking).

The finished product looks something like this:

I'm going to make them again tonight for a friend. I'll probably serve them with Alexia sweet potato fries (it would be healthier to make my own, I know, but I'm all about saving time these days).

My mom probably finds this post hilarious because for most of my young life I hated lentils. Despised them. Unadulterated vitriol. I guess I'm living proof that palates can, in fact, mature. (Although I still refuse to eat lima beans. Don't even get me started.)

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* Simply Salads by Jennifer Chandler, Wholefood by Jude Blereau and The New Moosewood. All recommended!