running a lot

I have been running a lot lately. I can hardly believe that I have run 49.2 miles this year. I haven't been biking much. I put the old drop-downs on the Ross Compact. Somehow it wasn't as fun as riding on the Schwinn in the summer. I can't wait to get the Schwinn down from my bike rack.

Last Saturday I was at the Bike/Travel/Fitness expo in the bowels of the Minneapolis Convention Center. I was volunteering at the Minnesota Ironman booth. I was able to sneak away and I got to ride my first fixie. Edina Cycle had a bunch of recumbants and then they had a 52cm Redline fixie hidden behind their big Minnehahaesque quadcycle. I was drawn to it. The sales guy told me that he had better flip the hub and I said, no that is what I want to try. Apparently I was braver than he. The only anxious part was taking off on the cement floor. Once I was going it was smooth and fun. I backpedaled a lot because I was riding around a very short track. This hurt my knee.

I visited Hiawatha Cyclery last Sunday with the boyfriend. It is a really cute little store. We chatted about a lot of the products and the background on the stuff. The boyfriend had never seen an Xtracycle so that was fun. Jim also had a Redline fixie for me to check out. It goes for $500. I got my back Reelight (which he was sweet enough to sell me separately) and a water bottle. After we left the store, the boyfriend turned to me and said, "Wow, you ARE a bike nerd". I forgot the difference between a geek and a nerd, but I think that I'm more of the one that know everything about a category of thing, as opposed to knowing everything about one specific thing.

back from Ireland

I went to Ireland with my dad for 3 weeks. It was the longest time we had spent together since I moved to the Twin Cities nearly 9.5 years ago. Holy crap, I have been here for 9.5 years.

I learned alot. I learned how to drive a stick shift down a very narrow road that looks like there is only room for one car anyway so I didn't have to worry about which side of the road to be on. I learned to veer towards the left when I met another car and to smile and wave. I learned to check to make sure that I have a jack when I drive off with my rental car. I learned alot of other stuff that is not car related as well.

I rode my bike to work and back for the first time in months. It was good. Windy. The Midtown Greenway is one of the most depressing places in Minneapolis in this muddy goopy time.

I'm starting to train hardcore (well, hardcore for me) for this Leukemia/Lymphoma Society marathon this summer. I'm going to 2 group runs every week and then I run on my own 2 times a week. I ran 4 miles on Wednesday. It was the farthest I have ever run in my entire life. I like the fact that I'm being introduced to distances around the Twin Cities. I had no idea that it was only 2 miles from Lock and Dam #1 to Lake Street along the river. Our coach seems to enjoy the Minnehaha Falls/Creek/Lake Nokomis area, so I'm looking forward to becoming intimately acquainted with those areas. I was really worried about injuring myself with the mileage that was assigned this week, but I believe that if I run any distance slowly enough, I'll never get hurt.