in need of inspiration.

I'm feeling a little un-blog-spired lately. Finding a way to follow up my 70.3 and massive road trip has left me without much to say this summer. Maybe I'll set the bar low and start blogging about what I'm eating or just whine about how hard it is to train for a marathon in the heat of summer. At least I'd get back at it.

18 days, 15 states, 3700 miles

The main reason that 2013 was dubbed "The Year of Stupid" was my decision to sign up for a 70.3 before I'd done a single triathlon. Stupid. Not only did I sign up for this massive race, I did so in a state very far away, requiring a lengthy drive (or plane ticket and the cost to ship my bike). As long as I was driving to NC, why not visit my friends and family up the east coast too? Stupid. So began the road trip to end all road trips.

Here was my route:

Stops included:

1. Champaign, IL
2. Columbus, OH
3. Durham, NC
4. Washington DC
5. Shrewsbury, MA
6. Tenafly & Leonia NJ
7. Toledo, OH

I hardly took any pictures on my trip. I decided I'd rather be in the moment than behind a lens. And it was incredible.

I had a rough year at work, and I needed to "run away" for a while. This trip ended up being exactly what I needed - not so stupid after all.

Hoping the rest of summer can continue to help me recover from the year and get if not excited, at least ready, for next year.

hitting the open road

Tomorrow I embark on my summer adventure. 3200 miles in 3 weeks. All in the name of a half ironman I'm attempting next Sunday. I'm super nervous and super excited. Exactly how I should feel before this craziness begins.

I'll update from the road.

definitely one of my favorite...

...things about summer.




mmmm. pesto.

it's hot

did you know that? the humidity is stifling. running has completely sucked the last four days or so. and sure don't know how 16 will go or is even possible on friday, given this weather. guess the only plan is to wait and see. gross.

my not-so-bummer holiday weekend

I wasn't looking forward to this weekend. I didn't really have any plans, and always feel like such a loser when I don't. But I ended up seeing Alejandro Escovedo at the Fine Line with Romantica opening on Saturday night, and it was awesome. I wasn't super familiar with his music, but it was so good. He's adorable and wore some kind of jegging-like pant, which normally would gross me out but totally worked on him. Anyway, I loved it.

Sunday, my sis and I made the last-minute decision to go to the Twins game. It was a beautiful day, and the Twins won 9-7. A high scoring game, sitting in the shade on a sunny day, enjoying a brat and a beer. Not bad.

I finished all my grading and submitted grades last night. Finally, finally done with the year. My sis came over for dinner and I worked while we watched a movie. Toss in the Wimbledon finals and it was a pretty great holiday weekend, actually. Not much about America's independence, but an afternoon with America's pastime must count for something, I suppose.

fringe festival

Oh my goodness, I cannot believe I almost wrapped up an ode to MN summer without including the Fringe Festival! What was I thinking?!? And I didn't mention the fair, either! Clearly, my brain is not functioning.

I was introduced to the Fringe about 6 years ago, and I have been hooked ever since. I love it. I love that I live in a place that can support so much theater and music, both professional and amateur. At Fringe, I tend to gravitate toward comedy, musical theater, and spoken word, though I've gone to dance, rap, improv, and puppetry in the past too. The shows are definitely hit or miss, but I have had some of my most memorable theater moments at Fringe shows. Plus, over the years as I've become more involved in local music and theater, I've come to know many folks that have shows. And it's so great to see acquaintances/friends on stage.

It's coming at a very inopportune time for me this year. I may have to cut down my usual 10-15 shows to 2-3. We'll see. I've got quite a few I'm looking forward to, and this is just the first glance:

The Damn Audition
Amaretti Angels
An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein
Bite Me Twilight
Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman
Trouble in Tahiti
Spin
Pants on Fire
Romeo and Juliet Go To Winnipeg

Decisions, decisions. Anyway, I hope to make it to at least a few shows this year. I'm going to the Showcase on Monday night at the Ritz, a short preview of bunches of shows in one evening. Maybe it will help narrow down to a few "must see" shows that I can squeeze in while I'm freaking out about my dissertation, my defense, and my new classes at St. Kate's.

And there's always next year.

campfire

To round out my week of summer posts, I would be remiss if I failed to mention my adoration for campfires. Mostly because I love s'mores and drinking around a campfire.

Actually, take out the "camp" part, because that implies that I enjoy "camping." Not that I don't enjoy it, it's just that I can count on one hand the number of times I've gone. I did not grow up camping, and didn't really have close camping friends in high school. In college I had camping friends, but the opportunity just never arose to go with folks. I've never dated a camping guy, so I just haven't done it all that much. It's on my list of things to do. I think I'd like it if I had the chance.

So, back to the campfires. Or bonfires. You get what I mean.

I like that around a campfire, you don't have to be too concerned about mosquitoes. I like that I can stay outside for a long time and not get too cold. 'Cause even in the summer I usually have to carry a sweater with me everywhere. I love getting mesmerized by the dancing flames. If it is near water, all the better. And then there is beer and s'mores, the real reason for campfires.



I haven't been to a campfire yet this summer. I need to rectify that.

There's more about summer that I love that didn't get covered this week: being out on a boat, happy hours outside, garage sales, farmer's markets. Maybe I'll return to these in the next month or so. Otherwise, I think returning to this week in January will accurately remind me why I love summer in MN.

love-love

Three of my favorite yearly sporting events take place in the summer, all three of which are tennis championships.

French Open (May-June)
Wimbledon (June-July)
U.S. Open (August-September)


I am a mediocre tennis player. I started playing under the tutelage of my dad when I was just a wee thing, and by the time I got to high school I was pretty good. Mostly I liked being part of a team. (That's me on the left. With frizzy bangs.)


I worked hard enough to play on the team in college, but I wasn't naturally talented. And I crack under the pressure of competition. In college I would get so nervous before matches I would make myself sick. I was tough on myself to the point that I had a constant bruise down my right calf from smacking myself with my racket. I lost sleep. And yet I wasn't completely dedicated to work hard enough to get much better.

When I watch the six weeks of slam events in the summer, I do not fantasize about playing in those championships. I could never ever no matter how hard I had worked, would never ever have been able to do that. Nor would I want to have done it. So I just enjoy the tennis.

I'm currently searching for a hitting partner. I don't like to play matches, which most people do. I only like to hit. It's a better workout to just continually hit back and forth, and my serve sucks. I admittedly still have occasional and spontaneous moments of brilliance on the court, but mostly I just try hard to get the ball back. And I could join a league, but leagues are for play. No, I just like to hit. No winners, no losers.

Tennis, anyone?

family

My parents grew up out east. Dad spent his childhood in urban NJ, just off the GWB and the turnpike in the shadows of NYC. Mom grew up outside Hartford, CT. When my dad finished his PhD back in '74, there were few academic jobs available in his field. Like, 4 in the country. So he applied to them all, interviewed for 2, and landed one here in MN, a job he still holds.

Neither of my parents had ever been to Minnesota before dad's interview. It was pretty far from home, being 1500 miles and a 24 hour drive from family. But he needed a job and to Minnesota they moved.

I know there have been moments that it was hard for them. I think especially as my grandparents got older, got sick, and passed away, it was hard for my parents not to be there for that. They missed their families. They loved it in MN and grew a network of close friends, but they missed being close to their parents and siblings. But my folks were incredibly committed to maintaining their relationships particularly with my dad's side of the family, and so they scrimped and saved all year to fly to NJ most Christmases and to make the drive during the summer.

I don't know how they did it. Especially the summer of '78. I was two, and my sis was three weeks old and cried the whole trip. No joke. The whole trip. We were stuck in a Dodge Dart with vinyl seats and no air conditioner and a screaming newborn for three days. Seriously, they deserve a medal of honor.



This was the summer '79 on the back steps of my aunt's house. I'm the one yelling at Brutus the dog. Even back then, I liked rule followers.

I loved, loved, loved our month in NJ every summer visiting the cousins. I loved my cousins, still do. You can tell because I look like I'm hugging my cousin so hard I might pop her head off. Or eat her. Weird.



Anyway, my parents' dedication allowed my sister and I to have relationships with cousins that lived halfway across the country. Particularly with the kids of my dad's younger sister, who were closest to us in age. I have such fond memories of pools and beach and picnics and boardwalks and salt water taffy and laughing and making movies and laughing and eating and laughing.




So happy.

And to this day, I continue to remain committed to maintaining relationships with my extended family. Summer '08 being the exception, I have made the trek out east to visit at least some extended family every year. Summer always means family for me.

mmm... ice cream

There is a pretty clear division between Minneapolis and St. Paul. The cities are actually quite different, and folks are usually either Minneapolis people or St. Paul people. I was a St. Paul girl when I first moved to the cities after college. But when I bought my house and moved across the river eight years ago, I wholeheartedly embraced the Minneapolis girl in me. I do venture east of the river to meet up with St. Paul friends, but I spend most of my time in Minneapolis.

There is, however, one location I could never give up no matter my allegiance.

Izzy's.



They beat Bobby Flay in a Throwdown. They top every cone with a tiny extra scoop on top (an izzy - how cute is that). They are busy with all sorts of people all the time. And their ice cream is just so damn delicious. Once a few years back I was craving it so intensely, and because my car was in the shop, I walked the three miles there and three miles back. Maybe that burned off the izzy at least.

Happy 10th birthday, Izzy's, on July 29th!


I have a pretty unhealthy relationship with food. I struggle with it almost every day. And darn it, ice cream is one of the foods I wrestle with the most. But with the increased mileage, I try not to feel too guilty when I indulge every once in a while.

running

One thing I love about summer is that I up my running mileage. And while this presents the challenge of increased time involved, the benefits far outweigh the half hour or hour of extra sleep I lose.

My favorite running route was first discovered when training for my first half-marathon and then really enjoyed throughout my marathon training last summer. Last summer was a runner's dream. Cool with occasional morning sprinkles. We hardly hit any days above 90, and most mornings were in the low 60s. Perfect. I made this route a bunch of times in prep for the marathon, and the training did me proud on race day.

Anyway, I love this route for lots of reasons. It has lots of rolling hills and a couple tougher ones. And then there are lots of flat parts too. But mostly, I love it for what I get to see along the way.

I start at my house and head to Mississippi River Blvd (River Road). I love to hear the crew teams out on the Mississippi practicing first thing in the morning. The first major landmark I come across is the U of M.


After I pass Fairview Riverside, the Weisman Art Museum, and the new Science building, I head under the Washington Avenue Bridge and there on the right, behind a couple other buildings, is Peik, my building at the U. And despite the bitching and moaning lately, I really am happy I took that leap into graduate school.


Next I come to the edge of downtown. I love seeing the Guthrie and the Gold Medal Flour building. This comes right after a big hill, and the view is completely worth the effort.



After running behind downtown, I run through the North Loop and past some condos and townhouses I'd nearly chop an arm off to live in. But I don't think anyone would pay me 2.5 mil for an arm. So I'll stay in my house and run past them, daydreaming.

Finally, I hit the Plymouth Ave bridge about 6.5 miles into the run. This is absolutely my favorite part of the run. As I begin to run across the bridge, I look to my right and see beautiful river and trees. Green and blue.


But when I hit the mid-point of the bridge, I look back and I see this:



The Minneapolis city skyline with the parks in the foreground. In the first light of morning, it's really breathtaking. And while I revel in the parks and lakes and river and green, I love the city just as much.

I head past this little marina and into Northeast. It's always a little strange running (something arguably healthy) through NE, a place where my imbibing has on occasion been arguably unhealthy. No matter.



I cross over the Stone Arch Bridge, back to the Guthrie and Gold Medal Park and River Road. From there I head home for a total of 14.5 miles or into St. Paul and down along RR on the east side of the river into Highland Park if I need more mileage.


I feel really great on the mornings I'm out there to have put in the time and energy to be able to complete a long run like that. And lucky to live in a place the offers such scenery along the way.

garden

After my post yesterday, I thought I'd dedicate this week to summer. That way, when January hits and I'm cursing my decision to stay here instead of applying to jobs in sunny CA, SC, or FL, I can look back and remind myself of the six weeks that make it all worthwhile.

I wish I could say that I love to garden. In fact, I don't love it. I love having one, but my interest in weeding and watering wanes around the 4th of July.

We had a delightful summer thunder shower last evening, and it left my flowers covered in the prettiest raindrops.


These lilies are on their way out. They're my favorites, so I'm always sad when they are done blooming.

Enjoyed homemade pesto with basil and parsley from my herb garden tonight for dinner.


Though I'm not blessed with a particularly green thumb, I'm always glad to have put in the time when I reap the benefits of my home-grown goodies.

ah, summer

Summer in Minneapolis is worth the winters. There, I said it. As much as I hate the constant crick in my neck from hunched shoulders bracing for the bitter cold, I love the summer here.

Saturday night was a celebration of all things summer in Minneapolis. Outdoor music, sunshine, beer, friends. The weather was perfect, even the warm summer sprinkles as we were leaving.


You can't tell, but this is a photo of The Avett Brothers. What a great set they played.

Ah, summer.