Off To Belize

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I leave for Belize tomorrow morning at 5:30 am for 10 days. Much of the time will be spent on an island with no running water or electricity. It's going to be great! That does mean no internet though...

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Probably no running and just sunbathing, scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking and maybe hiking over the next 10 days.

New Experiences

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This past weekend provided me with a few new experiences. The first was breathing underwater. I took a scuba course so I can finish certification on my upcoming trip to Belize. I found controlling buoyancy simply with breathing fascinating. Considering the fun I had just in the pool, I can’t wait until the open water dives. That will probably be as early as Friday or Saturday!

The second experience was eating bone marrow. Friends of mine made a wonderful dinner of goat. I’ve eaten goat before, but I learned the art of eating marrow. Sucking on a bone until the innards come out may not be the most dignified, but it provided quite a tasty result.

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When I bought my shoes I seemed to notice a stiff spot on the side of the shoe. I wasn’t sure how this would feel while running, but since I’d already been through 3 pair of the same brand, I still bought them. A friend of mine who is an avid runner told me to stop thinking about it and just get out and run. He was right. I took the shoes to the gym for a run this weekend and I didn’t notice a thing, except that they felt better than my worn out shoes.

Minneapolis Arts Facts

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Some fun arts facts from Minneapolis Arts Explosion:

More than 57 museums in the Minneapolis area.
More theater seats per capita than any other city besides New York.
The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is one of the largest urban sculpture gardens in the country.
Home to the country’s oldest continuously running theater – Old Log Theater (one of Mom and Dad’s favorites).
Minneapolis has the 4th most active jazz scene in the country.
The Minnesota Opera is now the 16th largest opera company in the nation with an annual budget of almost $7 million.

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After sitting out the single digits the past couple days, I got out for a run today. The wind chill was in the teens I think and I noticed. It made the $100 pair of running pants I saw the Running Room over the weekend almost seem worth it. Almost.

Cooking Light and Minneapolis

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Although I was pretty sure we didn’t get enough snow for a snow emergency, the fact that the ground was finally white drove me to the City of Minneapolis website to check anyway. While there, I stumbled across this article that states Minneapolis as one of Cooking Light magazine’s top American cities for smart healthy living. Apparently Minneapolis will be highlighted as number four in the September 2007 issue for things like exercise levels, farmer’s markets and parks and recreation.

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My parents agreed to buy me new running shoes for Christmas and I finally got them over the weekend. I went to the Running Room and even though I ended up with the same brand as before, the people were very helpful. And while looking for the website, I discovered they have a page listing some good routes around town.

The First 600

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I just got the email about the TC 1 Mile, the kick off to the Twin Cities Marathon season. The race is on May 3rd, but registration begins on March 1st. Like last year, the first 600 registrants get guaranteed entry to the TC 10 mile event during the marathon. I ran the 1 mile last year and got my entry to the 10 mile by getting up at midnight the day the 1 mile registration opened. If the bib number is an indication, I was the 13th registrant. It looks like getting up at midnight is probably a little overkill, but I’ll probably do it again, just to be sure I make that first 600.

Surly Birthday

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Today is the one year anniversary of the local brewing company Surly. I haven’t actually had any Surly beers, but friends tell me they are good. I imagine they must be with names like Bender and Furious. Bourbon Bender was their first beer brewed a year ago. The Happy Gnome in St Paul is hosting an anniversary party tonight with a six course meal paired with six beers. Sounds like a good time, but I have other obligations tonight. I’ll have to seek out some Surly another time at one of these places.

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I went for a late lunch so I could go for a run with a friend today. This was the best run I’ve had in a while. I really have changed my tune about running with people. Not only did we decide to go a little further, but we had a good time chatting.

Compliment

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When I run at noon from work I have a couple routes that involve running by the river on River Road. I’ve crossed paths several times with a friendly person with whom I’ve taken to exchanging greetings. Today, our paths actually crossed in the same direction for about a half mile so we chatted a bit and finally introduced ourselves. As we talked about getting out in nice the weather we also discussed the number of good runners we seem to see. He was nice enough to say I was at that caliber. Slightly unfounded, but this is a nice compliment. I’m sure he didn’t realize each time he saw me, I was just out for a four mile jaunt at noon. This is motivation though. I’m not incredibly fast, I’m not so sure I look smooth running, but to someone I looked like I belonged running. Perhaps he’s just noticing the tights though...

Get Fit Twin Cities

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It looks like Minneapolis and St. Paul are trying to get fit. According to the City of Minneapolis web site, “Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman are joining forces to challenge Twin Cities residents to become the fittest region in the nation. Get Fit Twin Cities is the area’s first ever team-based fitness challenge, which encourages families, coworkers and friends throughout Minneapolis and Saint Paul to form exercise or weight-loss teams.”
There are two categories: Weight Loss and Minutes of Activity. Teams of 2 -10 register and track in one or both categories each month. Considering the first 10,000 registrants that live or work in Minneapolis or St Paul can register for free, it really sounds like a positive initiative.

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After a good week off for vacation and recovering from vacation, I finally got out for a run today. I could tell I've been slacking but it was a warm winter day so it made the run feel a little better.

Back Home

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Happy New Year! My friends and I arrived back in Minnesota today after several days on white sandy beaches in Florida.


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