View from Sunny Side Trail

We picked a great year to finally make a trip out to Washington for some cross-country skiing! Steve and I plan to do a rather large ski race in late February, and we hadn’t yet been on our skis. Metro-area Minnesota – at least until today – has been bereft of snow for much of this winter, so we really needed to log some time on the skinny skis. Our friend Jon reserved a great cabin in Winthrop, and we spent the recent holiday weekend up there, mostly skiing, and also enjoying food and board games with him, Amy and Todd.

The skiing was great: 20k on first day, 12k on second (hip flexors were screaming from day 1′s effort), and about 10k (quads joined with a howl, as day 2 involved lots of climbing) on the third. The biggest challenge for me was handling my legs on day two. Its funny how 4 hours of classic-style skiing is maybe just a bit too much for my first time out since last February. Ah well. I’ve since recovered and gained more motivation to do some more ski training and lots of healthy eating in the next 4 weeks.

Bourbon Crab Chowder

The consuming and gaming on this trip was also memorable: while in Winthrop, the four of us did some cooking together, which was good fun and very satisfying: Jon brought along quite a formidable quantity of great mushrooms for a pasta dish, and Amy and Todd cooked up a monster-size batch of great lasagna, the next night. We enjoyed a great post-ski snack -which included some fantastic Polish porter- at Wesala Polana, which was next to the fascinating architectural (and zoning) feat of the Rolling Huts. Our only view of them at the time was from the back, where they look like a bunch of platform tents, sitting above the snow, but “rolling huts” was still something intriguing to see on a ski trail map. On the second day, we enjoyed a post-ski lunch at the beauteous Sun Mountain Lodge, where we watched the Packers lose (on TV) and the stunning evening alpenglow (through the windows) of that day’s sunset.

That evening our belated dinner plans were foiled by Winthrop’s early closing hours, so we cooked up an interesting storm, with leftover lasagna, lasagna noodles, onions, and salami. We “suffered” a similar fate the next day, while departing Twisp: the pub there was closed for the MLK holiday, but the Cinnamon Twisp Bakery served us up some good sandwiches, treats and coffee.

Gamewise, we enjoyed several hours of Bananagrams, Mexican Train, and Carcassonne. And a short dip in the cabin’s outdoor hot tub. That was bliss, after that first long day of skiing!

Recently added (wow, we crammed a lot into this week!): After a long drive over two snowy mountain passes, we arrived in south Seattle just in time to meet some old friends of mine, Annette, Christina, and Gayle & family, for some great food at Flying Squirrel Pizza. Puget Sound’s great week of snow had just begun, so we all departed at an early hour, to allow for safe travel time.

Boneyard IPA & friends

The second part of our trip didn’t involve skiing, but it could have: we got marooned at our Tacoma hotel, due to a freak snow storm that left maybe 8-10 inches on most of the roads surrounding us. This, in a town that gets snow infrequently, and when it does fall, it melts within hours. Usually! It’s a good thing that we’d planned on staying at the hotel and reading those 3 days, though due to weather closures, our dining was limited to just 2 of the 6-8 restaurants on Ruston Way. Thank heaven for the Spar, and also for Duke’s Chowder House! They kept us fed, in between long bouts of reading (I finished 3 books on this trip), identifying the showy waterfowl that were scavenging outside our Ruston Way hotel window (a cute pair of Barrow’s Goldeneye kept us company), and a short run I took along the waterfront.

Also, we got in a few short visits with my Dad & Robbi, enjoying some of our meals at the Spar with them, and also heading out to see a movie. We watched the Iron Lady, which I don’t recommend. However, I do recommend the Lakewood Loew’s theater, as all the seats are comfy leather recliners!

Our last day was spent in Ballard, an older, funky part of Seattle which I’d never visited. We ate, sipped, and shopped our way around the neighborhood (the Noble Fir was a favorite, as was Second Ascent) until we returned to Jon’s house for some Bananagrams and sleep. The next day, we returned home, our spirits satisfied by the trip of snow fun, friendship and good northwest treats.

For more photos, visit this page. Enjoy!

Glassberg on the Mississippi

Some great things from 2011:

Camping with my honey in the Red River Gorge and in the Ozarks, in October. I’ll enjoy the glow of a camping lantern and later be afraid of scary tent-shadow monsters with him, any day.

Loving and being truly interested in music, again. Teaching yoga has brought this about, which surprised me.

We finished our basement! Paying someone else -especially a friend- to help you achieve a goal was a terrific idea.

Packing into a car and singing crazy songs with great friends at a very rainy campsite in Moab, Utah. The supreme red stone scenery and superb climbing (once the rain stopped) wasn’t too bad, either.

Spotting Atlantic puffins, arctic terns, and a black-backed woodpecker with my Mom in Maine. Enjoying a terrific Cuban meal and some lobster (another night) with her was tops, too.

Some things I’d like to see in 2012:

Seek more balance in my days and weeks: a little less physical exercise and a little more reading, art, or technical-skills building. GEEK OUT.

Continue to share, practice and teach yoga, and to build that business. Possibly swap or add a class to my schedule, at a new location.

CHILL OUT on my urgency to travel far and wide. I will get to Thailand, Japan and Peru, just maybe not this year. Spend time with my family, camp.

Breathe. Pack less into each day. But eat more vegetables.

Fireworks at Stone Arch Bridge

Way better than a movie: the Edo Pop exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Faced with a few spare weekday afternoon hours, I filled nearly two of them with a visit to this show, earlier this week. My favorite item was Utagawa Hiroshige’s Fireworks at Ryōgoku – check out a sharper digital copy here, with a handy magnifying feature. There’s a great audio clip about it here. At the time I considered the rendering of the fireworks of it to be clever and very skillfully done, but now that I compare it to my photo from a recent fireworks display in Minneapolis (at right), it seems very realistic. However, what appealed to me more about the print was the fine detail in the wood block carving, as well as the story behind it: those fireworks were done as a memorial event for citizens who had died in a cholera epidemic. This print, and so much in the the show is such a celebration of life, that I couldn’t help but leave the museum with a smile and to not be bothered so much by the insane rush-hour traffic that I had to handle shortly thereafter.

Other favorites were Katsushika Hokusai’s Hodogaya on the Tokyo Road, Kesai Eisen’s No. 20: View of Hiratsukahara in Rain near Kutsukake Station, and Emily Allchurch’s Tokyo story – the installation pieces can be seen here, but the experience at the MIA was far superior, largely as the images are backlit and fairly large. The latter was the last part of the show I saw, with other pieces of more modern art that has been influenced by the Edo period prints. What struck me was how much the Allchurch work, any many of the older prints, made me feel like I was immersed in one of the visually rich online games (namely World of Warcraft, but now also Skyrim) that my husband enjoys playing. The super-saturated colors, the extreme range of scale in the scenery, and the deliberate clear imagery on every plane, are strong similarities I see between the classic works and today’s “pop” gaming scenery. I’m sure that’s intentional, or at least, the resulting effect is.

Great show. I’d like to go back – two hours for it weren’t enough, and there’s a great audio tour that I did not use, during my visit, partly due to near-dead phone battery.

Sparkly Morning

I’ve been belaboring a post about a Yoga Nidra class I went to last week at Minnehaha Yoga Studio. Really, my message is simply to encourage people to try this kind of yoga session. Push aside any concerns you have about participating in what looks to be a 90-minute communal sleep session. Look forward to far more than two or ten minutes in a relaxed state. Get a little insight into how effective a positive thought can be, especially when you’re not distracted by movement or sensation, for about 45 minutes. Walk away feeling like you got a brand new set of facial muscles, and they are all relaxed.

Peace, and Merry Christmas. Enjoy your holidays!

It'll be Ale 8 one.

I just learned that The Six Million Dollar Man was almost titled “Cyborg,” referencing the book on which the show was based. Would I have watched it, with the original name? Probably; Steve Austin was super cute (I was about 7 years old), and I was enough of a general sci-fi/fantasy fan that using “cyborg” may not have deterred me. I likely would have learned the term earlier, had that happened. But, they chose The Six Million Dollar Man, and The Bionic Woman.

Over the past few months, I’ve been shopping around for the next mobile phone I’ll buy. For a while I flirted with the idea of owning a very basic, non-smart phone, mainly to save money, but I now rely on being able to look up things like rice wine vinegar while pushing a cart around Dragon Star Foods or being able to upload a food-and-legos snapshot to Flickr. I also enjoy some of the other benefits of the smart phone, like mapping, gaming, reading headlines while killing time in a doctor’s office wating room.

My iPhone 3G has become so sluggish that to a degree it has deterred me from getting another iPhone, even though just updating the model would likely solve the speed problems and also offer some other excellent enhancements.

However, I’m finding that the adventurer, designer, and rebel in me really wants to get a phone with a different name, a phone that might be fun to learn to use, and a possibly less expensive phone, as well.

Which is why I opened this post with bionics. The phones currently in the running have names like Razr, Galaxy, Droid, Vortex and/or Charge. The one that’s winning is called the Bionic. It looks to be a pretty solid, though not perfect, appliance. And it might bring my coolness (and strength?) just a bit closer to that of the most excellent Jaime Sommers.

I’m a designer, a word fanatic and also someone who works in technology, so it’s no surprise to me how important the name of a product is to marketing that product. In fact, I’m currently facing that exact problem in another area: what the heck should I call my yoga business? Related: I posted the above photo because Steve and I discovered Kentucky’s “Ale 8 One ” soda on a recent trip. We loved the gingery soda and its name. It sounds especially good, when requested in a Kentucky accent.

Anyway, I found an interesting study done on mobile phone names, done 2 years ago. You can check it out here (you’ll need to download the PDF). Enjoy.

From Louisville With Love

Culinary wins, lately: Sweet & Spicy Fried Okra, Goat’s Milk-Braised Lamb Shoulder Chops with Garlic, Fennel, Sweet Onions, and Carrot Caponata.

Culinary fails, lately: Lavender-scented Fudge, Italian Fruit Cake, Herb and Cheese Soufflé.

We experiment.

Artfully stuffed potatoes

This week’s realization: I like eating fruit cake, but not making it. However, my love of food that resembles stained glass lives on. Check out the Samosa Stuffed Baked Potatoes that Steve and I made, last week. Yum!

Spices for Indian Cooking

Shown at right is a recipe (at top) and the tin of spices that enabled me, my friend Mary Irene, and several other friends to put together a fantastic meal of Indian food, last weekend. Mary Irene spent September in India, and part of that trip was a cooking class.

Cooking in a strange kitchen with some strangers, some friends was a very different, and good, experience. What made it even more so was the format of the recipe. It flowed more like a conversation than a standard recipe from one of my cookbooks or favorite magazines. Each time we lost our place (which easily happened, due to the beverages, appetizers, and animated conversation), we had to re-read the entire thing to make sure we didn’t miss something. It was a perfect activity for getting to know some very nice people.

It was also a good example of what happens when you set up for a collaboration and discover that the people at the table may speak in different languages. In this situation we had a few borders to navigate: cooking experience, and navigating a recipe organized in an unfamiliar manner. The third could be literal language, but Mary Irene had already spent the morning sorting that out at the Indian grocery. I’m glad that her only mobile-phone inquiry for me was regarding cilantro’s similarity to coriander, as I had no idea that chickpea flour is also called besan or gram flour!

One or two of us had enough kitchen familiarity to be able to navigate most recipes, so in general we weren’t intimidated by the ingredients or skills. However, we  were a little mystified by some of the quantities and instructions (hence the need for an Indian cooking class – M.I. made a good choice!). Also, I so rarely cook with anyone other than my husband or self, that preparing a meal with eight other people was a very foreign experience. And it was good! There were efficiencies and boy, was it fun, as we very carefully checked and-rechecked each quantity, step, and technique. It helped to have a huge kitchen, as well.

The Indian meal collaboration was a success, likely as there was minimal punishment for failure (calling for pizza was a possible escape route), and with cooking, what you have there on the counter is what you have to work with. There really aren’t too many hidden factors.

Other collaborations can get infinitely more complicated, however. With those, it’s even more important to constantly communicate and verify that every participant understands each term and step. Last week I attended a business & technology discussion that was sponsored by the AIGA. Two women from local interactive agency Clockwork, along with their client on a successful web project, the new site for the YMCA, came to share their insights on their collaborative experience.

It wasn’t surprising to hear that a stream of clear communication and a trusting relationship between client and vendor were vital. Sometimes it boiled down to agreeing upon definitions of seemingly simple items, as what seems simple to one person may not be, to another. Getting on the same page can sometimes require daily effort. What was a little surprising to me was to hear about a few leaps-of-faith that both parties took, in order to make it a success. Such leaps amounted to challenging the other party on their traditions or even their requirements. Perhaps this is the true prize of a collaboration: not only is a pre-set goal achieved, but both parties have achieved a small amount of enlightenment or growth, from the experience.

I’m desperately trying to find the connection that last nugget has to our evening of Indian cooking, but I’m struggling. Perhaps it’s that my assumption about cilantro and coriander was wrong (man, that pakora was GREEN!), or that I should put India back on my list of places to visit.

Eating Flowers

One of the best ways to overcome disappointment delivered by the hand of someone else … is to bake cookies. Well, it worked on Sunday, for me.

Combine it with the celebratory and magic-carpet-ride effects of flowers (and spices, and pistachio nuts, for that matter) and you have a most excellent close to your weekend.

Pictured are the Pistachio-Rosewater Cookies that I made, from the Veganomicon cookbook. Recipe is here, but do investigate this entertaining, useful, and encouraging compendium of plant-based cooking.

These treats are also useful on Mondays, if you are observing Meatless Monday in a vegan fashion, and want to share cookies with your yoga students.

45 Minutes In

Aside from the 3.07 hours it took me to run further than I’ve ever run before, it feels like the rest of my focus this weekend has on food. Acquiring it, fixing it, eating it. Reading about it. Asking vendors at the farmers’ market about it, even. Researching where to buy seeds to grow it. Food, food, food.

This is either because there are signs everywhere that winter is around the corner, so we’d better start stocking up, or because I burned enough calories during that 3:07 that I’m probably still hungry, regardless of all I’ve eaten.

About a month ago I signed up to do the 27k Surf the Murph trail race. My main race this year was the Ragnar Relay, back in August, but I’ve been enjoying some of the fitness that training for it provided by doing a few other races, before the snow and ice hit. The TC 10k road race  in early October was fun, and I felt reasonably speedy. I was overdue for a trail race, as the last one I did was in April, at the Trail Mix 50k (of which I did just 12.5k, as part of a team). For this race, speed wasn’t my concern at all, in fact, it’s been a few years since I covered that distance on trail, and I was a little worried that my longest trail “distance” recently was a 1:45 run I did last weekend. I was reasonably sure that I would finish, but what I wasn’t sure about was how it would feel, the last hour of it. I was sure, however, that unless conditions were outright nasty, I would have a good time and the event would recharge my spirit for a good long time. Maybe even until spring, or at least until I get out alpine skiing this winter. The stunning scenery, the great people, even the exhaustion, these are things I need.

So, the food thing this weekend all started with the power porridge I cooked on Friday night, knowing that in the morning I’d have little time for cooking it, but plenty of desire for its runner-fueling qualities and certainly enough time to take it out of the fridge and nuke a portion. Oatmeal is my traditional pre-race food, and most of the time I’m perfectly happy with a bowl of the instant Quaker variety, mixed and nuked up on the spot. For summer races often that’s all the effort and heat I want to put into it. But, somehow, the current month inspired me to to a little advance prep – and to use a blend of grains and fall spices that would warm up my morning. Quinoa, amaranth, steel-cut oats, cloves, cardamom. Plus a “marmalade” of whipped cream, toasted pecans, and toasted coconut.

A few hours later, Chris, Joe, I and about 125 others were running. Up and down, a lot of it: the first third of the course was extremely hilly. The first 20 minutes seemed to take forever: this was how long it took my cold fingers (even within thin mittens) to warm up. Then suddenly, we were at the 2nd aid station and a full hour had passed. I was floored; this surprise gave me a confidence boost. I downed some energy drink, a few pretzels, and my first pack of Gu; I’d eaten one grape (I’m not sure why; maybe I was wondering if, given that it’s Halloween weekend, it might be peeled? I had to find out)  at the first aid station, 3 miles in, and I’d been using my Camelbak to take on water pretty regularly.

All Smiles

Shortly thereafter, we were in the less hilly middle area of the course. At this point, about five of us, three of whom were strangers to me until this time, started to stick together, forming a sort of pace line. Our paces were similar, we had a good time talking about whatever, helping each other out if we tripped, missed a turn, or needed to stop and walk up a nasty hill. This was well, great. I met some more really wonderful people and spent two hours playing in the woods with them. What’s not to love?

Calf cramps, that’s what. Somewhere in this area was when my calves started to talk to me: until the very end of the race, I was playing a strange game of calf-cramp management. At the middle aid station (or two?) I’d grabbed a few pretzels and a peanut butter & jelly sandwich quarter, so I was reasonably sure the cramps weren’t electrolyte-depletion related. Over the last month or so I’ve been adapting to a new shoe & insert arrangement. I was forewarned that it would take up to two months to adjust, and that my big toe, arches, and calves might very well bear the brunt of the adjusting. Well, calf exhaustion came early, and I found myself in the peculiar position of trying to relax my calf muscles while running a trail race.

Not surprisingly, this made other areas of my body work harder. Left hamstring, in particular. So, the last half or so of the race, I spent looking for things to draw my attention away from the annoyance in my legs.

And the distraction came in the last third of the course: the fun zone. It amounted to a sort of hopscotch through the park’s collection of stumps, logs and brush that had been removed from elsewhere. This section really wasn’t that long, but it was one machete short of a bush wack, and it had a monster of a hill climb in it – one that nearly had to be attacked using hands as well as feet, it was so steep. I had the one full-on calf cramp of the race on that hill, but I somehow stopped it before losing my balance and rolling backward, bowling over a possible 15 or so fellow racers, Did you know that a sharp intake of breath and muttering an obscenity can make a cramp stop? I know, now. Not that I desire to test it again.

After the fun zone, there were still a few miles, or at least a few kilometers: I had no idea but I knew that the end was “near” and that was good enough to keep me going. Chris punched me softly on the arm, I figured to just encourage me as perhaps I looked a bit ragged. I found out a few seconds later that he was telling me that the finish line was right up ahead. I was surprised: I’d already braced myself for another 30 minutes. What a relief! I found a little juice to speed up toward the end: probably not trail-runner behavior, but what can you do? I’ve been running since I don’t remember when, and when you see a finish line, you rejoice with a little kick, if you have it in you.

I finished! The reward was lunch at Birchwood Cafe, upon which Chris and I had decided at about mile 4. Well, the official reward (aside from memory of the experience) was the race medal: a wooden plaque that we got to brand with our race distance – there was even a DNF branding-iron option that, earlier in the day when I learned of it, I found oddly attractive.

Not attractive enough: I’ve now run further than I’ve ever run before. Not a whole lot further (about 2 miles), but still, further. And, at a slightly faster pace than the prior longest distance. As I get older and possibly look to longer races, this may not be the wisest measure to focus on, but it feels good to feel speedy, and of course, that means that I was on my feet for fewer hours, which in the endurance game is a good thing to consider.

So is food. Here’s what’s been on my mind, the rest of this weekend:

• Power Porridge for breakfast, Saturday
• Random mix of race fuels, including a Dixie cup of M&M’s and a ham & cheese sandwich quarter at the finish
• Pumpkin hand-pie at Birchwood Café
• Pear-blueberry buckwheat cobbler
• Slow-Baked Lamb w/Fennel, Pecorino & Potatoes for dinner, Saturday (my husband, who cooked it, rocks)
• Chanterelle’s Breakfast Waffles, at home, today. I think I found the perfect waffle recipe, finally!
• One sinful red velvet cupcake from Byerly’s, today. Dang, they nearly put Cup•Cake to shame.
• Capital Brewing’s Autumnal Fire
• Chips and mango/plantain salsa from El Burrito Mercado
• …where I had to go to buy epazote and hoja santa, and I also bought some yuca to fry up, later this week
• Pan-Roasted Salmon in Aromatic Green Pipiáin, supper today (husband is still awesome)
• Smoky Braised Mexican Pumpkin, which I just prepared for the cookoff at work, tomorrow

And with that, I can say that this year’s competive running season is over, for me. I’m looking forward to next year: a few trail races for sure, and possibly a road marathon. It’s been a great year, of runs enjoyed with friends, of challenging training, and of lots of laundry. God bless Body Glide.