We went to Canterbury last night and let me tell you…Dollar Night is POPULAR! There were way more people there last night than I remember on the Friday of the 4th of July weekend which surprised me. There were also a lot of children there, but I guess…$1 for a hot dog or nachos or a pop and you can feel a whole family for relatively cheap.

So, Josh, Robyn, Chris & I headed down there after work and had a good night. We really needed to talk about our upcoming Chicago trip, although that didn’t happen until the drive home! I did a majority of the betting and was definitely the lucky one, but Josh did some betting as well. I am pretty sure I broke even or came out about $1.50 ahead! It’s better than losing it all, right?

We choose to watch most of the races from the lower level, pretty much “on” the track, or as close as we could get. It turns out that close doesn’t equal better…you can’t get a great view from there. However, you can hear/feel the pack as it races by near the finish line which is pretty cool!

That horse pictured above won me $6.80 on a $2 bet! I picked it to place and got $8.80 for my efforts…I had also picked a loser that round, but that doesn’t count, right?! I ended up putting most of it back into the next race which I promptly lost, but that’s okay. I will never bet more than what I am willing to lose which makes everything a-okay.

And, finally…the thing I think Josh & Robyn were most looking forward to was the Boxing that happened between races. I don’t understand why anyone would want to participate in that sport, but there were plenty of people standing around watching these men beat the crap out of each other. Weird.

Stop #2 on the Beer Tour was Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company in Chippewa Falls, WI and this tour was less than 24 hours following the Surly one! We were headed out to Mishicot, WI and practically drove right by the brewery so it worked out well to stop by…not only because it was fun to see, but also because it broke up the drive a little bit! The one disappointing thing was that we couldn’t take any photos inside the brewery. They’ve got some gorgeous copper containers and it was neat to see all the cases of beer stacked up…but, oh well!

The grounds that Leinenkugel’s is on are gorgeous. They’ve definitely embraced the trees and the creek and it just feels very cozy.

It rained at the beginning of the tour, but lucky for me Chris had spotted an umbrella rack & I got the last one so we stayed dry! After the tour we were given two samples. I think the one Chris is enjoying is the new Classic Amber. According to our tour guide, the current man in charge at Leinie’s has promised to have a new beer offered every year that he’s leading the company. Sounds interesting, huh?

This was definitely a different type of tour than the Surly one. Neither one was better than the other I don’t think…but if I were to ever go back to Leinie’s I’d be sure to go during the week when they’re actually brewing the beer because I think that would be neat to see - especially the bottling line.

Okay - to be honest, I’m not sure bigger is always better…but, since I just completed the Couch 2 5k training program, I decided to jump right into a 10k program to keep me out there running. I choose the beginner program that is available through Nike+ and I started on Sunday July 26. We’ll see how it goes. Depending on my success, I may register to run the 10k run that is associated with the Twin Cities Marathon the first weekend in October.

Workout 1: On Sunday, July 26 I ran my workout on a treadmill for the first time in a LONG time. Let’s just say that I am now, more than ever, appreciative of the fact that I have a beautiful lake to run around rather than having to run in a gym. Ick. I hated it. But, I did it…I completed the 3 mile run as my training program said I should!

Workout 2: On Tuesday, July 28 I ran another 3 mile workout. This time I was at home and ran around the lake. Unfortunately, it was 5:30 at night and H.O.T. outside! I am not sure why but I couldn’t slow my pace down even though I was really hurting at the end. I think I ended up stopping about .15 short of 3 miles, but I’m still going to count it because I was close & I really didn’t want to get sick! Sometime during that 3 mile run I completed my fastest 1 mile which meant that Lance Armstrong congratulated me at the end of my run. Weird, huh? Anyway, it was 9:31 which means I was really booking it during the beginning of this workout! I’m going to have to figure out a way to slow it down because as the miles start adding up I’m going to REALLY start hurting!

Workout 3: On Thursday, July 30 I ran the longest distance I’ve run…possibly since High School. 5 miles! I was hesitant as I started out, but I managed to keep my pace around 10:15 or so and I did it…I RAN 5 MILES! Wow. Thank goodness for cool weather & good music on my iPod. I don’t really know what to say except that I’m glad that the first week is complete and I’m looking forward to building on it as the weeks progress.

I put together a beer tour for Chris for his birthday this year! I’ve set up 6 different tours for the remainder of 2009 and have quite a few in the pipeline for 2010. I hope it’s fun & interesting to see the different tours breweries give and if there is anything specific they do differently than others. We’ll visit large & small breweries, mostly throughout the Midwest but if our travels take us past other breweries I will be happy to add them to the book I created as part of my gift to Chris.

On July 24, 2009 (Chris’s 30th Birthday!) the first stop of this beer tour was Surly Brewing Company in Brooklyn Center, MN. Right in my hometown’s backyard…although Surly was created in 2006 which happens to be 10 years after I graduated from Park Center - so whatever that means.

Andy & Christy scored the hard to get tickets for the Surly tour and were able to join us for the evening which was awesome. We all got checked in & then the beer started flowing. Each person got 5 wooden nickles, each one good for a sample of beer and they encourage you to enjoy your samples throughout the tour rather than all at the end. Obviously, I skipped a beer to save one for the scrapbook!

The group of tour participants gathered in the room where the brewing takes place and Omar, the Surly Brewing Co Founder, proceeded to speak to/with us for close to 90 minutes! He told us the background story of him starting with a home brew kit in his garage and the process that he (and his wife) went through before taking the leap and trying their hands at owning a brewery. The first hurdle was that Brooklyn Center didn’t allow breweries within the city limits, but somehow he was able to breeze through that…then there were some remodeling issues…not enough money in the budget…convincing a brew master to come work with him…etc. But, persistence paid off and Surly has been growing by leaps and bounds pretty much since their beer hit the market.

There are 2 rooms we saw - the tasting room & the making room. These are from the making room (my word, not theirs):

We also got to see walls of empty cans, some interesting clothing choices, warning signs and a huge Surly logo made out of Surly cans.

The tour was pretty fun, and very different than other tours I’ve attended. It’s going to be fun to see how some of these others are. Surly was very laid back, drinking during the tour, and included some pretty good laughs.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANDSOME!

All photos from the tour can be found here.

Happy 30th Birthday to my fabulous Husband!! I hope you have a wonderful day & remember…just because you’re getting older doesn’t mean you have to act like it!


Love you always!

The last official week of the Couch 2 5k program! Yippee…I’m almost done! I’m currently trying to figure out what my approach is going to be to training after the program is complete. I’m thinking continue running 3 times a week and add 3 minutes every week or two. There are also some training programs on the Nike+ site which I suppose I could try to use to get ready for the 10k in October. We’ll see.

Week 9 Workout 1 was completed on Monday, July 20. I went 3.25mi in 35 minutes which included a 5 minute warmup and a 30 minute run. I did it! Thirty minutes without stopping. I think there’s hope for me yet! The run felt mostly good although it was a bit windy-er than usual. Otherwise, 60 degrees and sunny…gotta love it!

Week 9 Workout 2 was run on Wednesday, July 22. I started out with a 5 min (.3mi) warmup walk, then I ran 3.02mi in 30 minutes (yay!!!) and finished with another 5 min (.3mi) cool down. It was great…I’m so happy I was able to average 10 min/mi for my run - that’s my goal so now if I can do it a few more times I’ll feel like I’m ready for that 5k on August 8. Woohoo! It was 57 when I started running, so I think I’ve found my preferred temperature…right around 60 degrees. The only problem now is that I’m going too fast & am going to have to run the extra piece (across Cedar) around Lake Nokomis to my workout…and I’m not sure how much distance that will add so I’m going to have to wait for a weekend morning to try it out.

I have to admit, I didn’t think I’d make it as far as I did in the 9 week program (although, I guess it took me more like 12 weeks since I started on April 19)…they said Couch to 5k, running 30 minutes on the last workout and I really thought that it was pushing it to think I could run a complete 5k in 30 minutes. However, I am happy to say that I ran almost that far in my last workout today. In the 30 minute run (sandwiched between 5 minute walks) I went 3.05mi! That. Is. Awesome!

I figured out my plan for ongoing running…I found a 10k training program on nike+ for beginners (who currently run 10-12mi/week) and signed up for that. My first run is 3 miles on Sunday…wish me luck!

The lovely people at Cake Wrecks posted a link to this video and I had to share here too. It’s a rap competition between Harry Potter & Lord Voldemort…hilarious!

Chris & I received a 12 month Beer of the Month membership as a wedding present from some of my coworkers and our first installment came in the last week of April. I hope to write about each of the microbrews we receive.

Clipper City Brewing Company (Baltimore, Maryland)
Clipper City began in 1995 so it’s not that old, but we were impressed by the beers. Definitely our FAVORITE beer so far was the Balto MarzHon. Yum. Seriously, both of our favorites! It had a good flavor but wasn’t too overpowering.

The Clipper City Gold Ale was good, but not as good as the MarzHon.

Cisco Brewers (Nantucket, Massachusetts)
Cisco Brewers started out making Vodka…and I’d venture to say that they did a good job moving into the beer market. We enjoyed both the Whale’s Tale Pale Ale (which, I admittedly tried first due to it’s cool name) and the Sankaty Light. They sound like a very friendly brewery and if we ever make it out east, maybe we’ll stop on in!

But seriously…is MarzHon a type like IPA, EPA, Stout, etc? If so…I need to find some closer to home. Delish!

I can’t believe I’m just getting to this post & we’ll be receiving another new set next week already. Goodness gracious…I need to get back on top of my blogging!

Yahoo! I’ve only got 2 weeks left of this program and then I can finally (after 3 starts) say I finished it! It’s still not easy running for 25+ minutes without walking, but I have a good feeling that if I keep a regular running schedule, it will eventually be easier. Only 3 weeks until I’m running the Upsala Heritage Days 5k with my sister so I have to keep working at it!

Week 8 Workout 1 was completed the morning of Sunday, July 12. I didn’t get started until around 8:30AM and the trail was pretty busy by that time which is kinda fun. I do enjoy the 5:30AM runs when the path is virtually empty because it’s so peaceful, but I also enjoy having other people around to say Hello to. That, and I am happy when I see other people out & about getting a little bit of exercise.

Workout 1 Notes:
* I don’t think the 30 minute distance is going to change much until I get my endurance up a bit…I was at 2.74 again.
* I got my average pace back under 12:00 which is awesome!
* I took a peek at my iPod and at 3.1 miles (a 5k) and I had been out for 35:30 which includes the 5 minute warmup walk & some of my cool down. That gives me a lot of hope for running a 5k in <30 minutes if I keep up my training!

Okay, and this is not really related to the workout, but related to health…what’s up with this quote?! Anyone who is overweight should try to avoid gaining additional weight. Additionally, if you are overweight with other risk factors (such as high LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, or high blood pressure), you should try to lose weight. I was playing around with the BMI calculator on the CDC site and if you get a result of overweight, that’s what they tell you. Why the heck do overweight people get off the hook? “Try to avoid gaining additional weight”…um…how about “try to lose some weight!” That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard…and is totally frustrating too.

Week 8 Workout 2 happened in the rain on Tuesday, June 14. I had started out the door ready for my run when I noticed sprinkles on the ground so I turned around and walked back inside. I didn’t really feel like doing a DVD workout, so I made the decision to just go for it. A little rain wouldn’t hurt me and if it started raining hard then I could turn around and come home! I’m glad I did. It was a good run and even though the rain became more steady, it was never an obstacle. I went 2.78mi in the first 30 minutes and completed the 28 minute run without walking!

Week 8 Workout 3 took place on the (relatively) chilly morning of Thursday, July 16. It was 58 degrees when I left the house…and 57 when I got back 40 minutes later! This workout went GREAT! I’m not sure if it’s the cool weather or just the fact that I’ve been back at running for 2 weeks (after the stupid 2 week break), but I made it 2.84mi in the first 30 minutes and in the complete 33 minute workout (5 min warm up + 28 min run) I went 3.15mi! I doubt I’ll finish the 5k in under 30 minutes in 3 weeks, but the run today makes me feel like I can at least do it in under 35 minutes! Woohoo!

Nope. Not those Broncos. I just needed a horse word that started with a B!

We started out our 4th of July weekend, well, honestly, by relaxing. But on Friday night Josh came over and the three of us met up with my parents, Rebecca & Nathan at Canterbury Downs for some horse racing! It was a really fun night…and I even won on a couple of the bets I placed! Here’s a photo of me with my Dad after the first race, which we both WON on!

It was awesome to get to see Rebecca & Nathan for the weekend…they only live 90 minutes away, but it isn’t always easy to find time to get together! Here is my sister with my dad:

They had fireworks that evening after the races, but Josh had a concert to get to and we were going to see each other the next day so we called it an early night. Chris & I stayed up playing Mario Kart on Wii, with ourselves and with people around the world! It was crazy.

Saturday around 11 everyone showed up at our house for a BBQ lunch before catching the Twins game at 3:10pm. We had lots of yummy food, and found plenty of places around the house to eat. This is Me, Josh & Rebecca having a couch picnic!

After some people had naps & other people played Guitar Hero, we all piled into a couple cars and drove downtown to watch the Twins take on the Tigers. It was DQ hat night & that was awesome because they’re actually cute! Here are my sister & brother-in-law sporting them.

I don’t remember all the details, but I did score the game and I remember that it was close & very exciting! Cuddy hit a home run, Morneau did too (and a Tiger…boo), both were exciting. A close game is always good, made even better by a W at the end of the game!! And, by the Tigers fans that tried to get a rally going.

Thanks to Josh for the free tickets and to Rebecca & Nathan for making the trip down! It was a fun day for everyone, I think!

After the game, Chris & I hung out at Huberts (where I saw the ad pictured below)…having a couple beers & checking out the Twins memorabilia…before taking the light rail home and relaxing for the end of the holiday day.