Meatball Tribulations & other sundry items of note

My upper body strength is so pitiful I can't even get a plastic meatball to shoot out the mouth of a plastic man.

I had to take a First Aid course for my job and part of that was practicing the Heimlich maneuver on a dummy. Everyone in the class easily got the damn meat on a string out of SmooshyBoy's gullet without any trouble, but I had to practically molest the poor fellow to get it out. Not once, but twice: first for the meatball, and then again for the hot dog.

Sadly, the fact of my questionable usefulness in a hotdog emergency has not provided enough motivation to get me back into the weight room on a regular basis.

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I ran my third 5k this weekend. Here is the chronological comparison of all three 5k's:

December 4th, 2004: 35:04
February 19th, 2005: 33.20
April 16th, 2005: 31:16

I consciously pushed myself in this run, and felt a bit nauseous for my efforts. It was a crazy fitness day anyway, because I rode my bike a few miles to get to the race, then road my bike downtown to the YMCA to take a spinning class with a friend for the first time. That spinning class was hard! I could barely stand on the pedals for 30 seconds at a time and at a few points had to drape my entire upper body across the handles to give myself a break. And also, my ass hurt.

That just reminds me that I can't get too cocky about the small strides I make in my running performance, because then things like the Heimlich Incident and the Spinning pop up to show me that I'm not quite the Ironwoman of the Year that I imagine in my head.

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I was out of town the last few days on a business trip to Minneapolis. I hardly ever get to go on business trips, so I treat them like mini-vacations and try to cram all kinds of things into my available free time.

I loved it! My extended family lives in Minneapolis, so I've visited many times, but it's been a while. It's a gorgeous city in the springtime, and seems like a fitness junkie's paradise. There are extensive greenway and trail systems all over the city; there are bike lanes downtown and plenty of people using them (but put on helmets, people!). There are urban lakes where actual swimming is allowed.

It was very vibrant and swarming with active, attractive people. Not to mention the beautiful architecture and stunning homes and fascinating mix of Scandinavian and immigrant cultures.

I always tend to fall in love with new places I visit. I'm smitten.

I went for a 45-minute run my first morning to an urban park in perfect 50-degree weather, and then walked and walked all over the downtown and university areas when I had free time. I even almost missed my flight back home because I wanted to try Ethiopian food and trekked for an hour and a half to find the restaurant (which ended up being yummy and worth the hike).

The only thing I couldn't schedule time for was a bike rental. I could have conquered that town on a bike!

I love urban cities that bustle like this and have a vibrant inner core. It's inspired me to start a "Tourist in My Hometown" project, where I will explore my city with new eyes. It also gives me an excuse to make a massive list, which always makes me happy.

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Next up: another 5K this weekend to kick off a huge downtown parade. I think I might be too busy acting goofy and waving to the crowd to actually PR, but it should be fun. In years past I've participated in this parade as part of a dance performance group and enjoyed myself tremendously, so I'm glad to have found a way to participate again.

Happy Fiesta!