First Snow

Despite my wishing for a snow free winter I got outside this afternoon. Almost two hours on my old mountain bike churning through up to 4 inches of snow from home West to Blue Mounds State Park along the trail trail. A quick stop at the bike camp and I headed home, into the wind driven snow.

Once home and ready to warm up Zack wanted to build a snowman. We had to drag Kevin out to get the middle ball in place. Even with his help we ended up needing a ramp to slide it into place. Zack is happy with the result and I'll sleep like a rock later.

Sunday Brunch

We headed out Sunday for a late breakfast, aka brunch. Chad suggested Marigold Kitchen in downtown Madison. We arrived at a great time, ordering and seated before a long line formed. The food was great.

After eating we hiked around downtown, touring the Capitol and heading down State Street. The Capitol Christmas tree is up, but undecorated. Guess we'll have to go back again to check out the finished product.

Kid's bike

I've stolen, temporarily at least, the 29er Kevin got this summer. He hasn't ridden since August and I was curious so on went my pedals. So far I've ridden it three times, all from home via the rail trail. I'm not sure I like it in the tight trails at Blue Mounds but it makes the ride there and back much faster.

Way Behind

We didn't disappear and will get some new posts up soon.

Just a few pics for now.

Cupcake Party

A cupcake party has been long in the works. I've had recipes to try and recipes to redo. Tonight we had the party with family and the cupcakes were a hit.  We had mini cupcakes for appetizers and big cupcakes for dessert. There was an actual meal in between too.

The cakes were made yesterday and frosted today. I'm no grand baker; the cupcakes are from a box cake mix which I split the batter in half and add mix ins to. That way I get a dozen of each flavor. One must for me is homemade frosting. You can really tell the difference.

In the line up tonight were:

Lemon Burst with Blueberry Buttercream- white cake flavored with lemon. These have lemon curd filling, and a buttercream frosting with pureed blueberries and lemon juice mixed in. The frosting turned out a little thin. I think last time I made it with cream cheese in the frosting.

Peanut Butter with Chocolate Frosting- Yellow cake with peanut butter in the mix. These always bake up nice and puffy. The frosting is chocolate with peanut butter mixed in. This time I used dark chocolate peanut butter that I had in the cabinet.

Coconut Lime- Everything in this cupcake had coconut, lime juice and lime zest in it. The frosting was a cream cheese frosting and there was coconut and lime zest sprinkled on top. I think these turned out pretty with the star frosting tip.

Gooey Pumpkin Caramel- Yellow cake with pumpkin and spice mixed in. The cake was filled with caramel then topped with a spiced cream cheese frosting. More caramel and chocolate on top. Next time I will heat the fudge topping so it looks more like a drizzle.

The cupcakes were much enjoyed but there are dangerous amounts leftover. I need to go for a run tomorrow to counteract the sugar rushing through my blood.

Father's Day bike ride

Just a few pictures from my ride with Zack last weekend. The tandem has been equipped with crank shorteners until a growth spurt hits at least. We swapped rear pedals to my oldest set of SPDs and now Zack can clip in without help most of the time. One slowly leaking flat tire due to a tiny piece of gravel is fixed now, first day on new cross tires I thought they would be tougher.

Madison Marathon 2012

Chad's goal this year was to complete another marathon, after the course in 2010 was closed down early.  His training started in the cold winter months.  Unfortunately this year the Madison Marathon course was closed again, this time on Friday before the race.  Anticipated weather forecasts were into the 90's for the day.

Marathon runners were asked to run the half marathon.  Chad was not exactly happy about it.  Before the expo, he suggested that we could run the 10k that is run at twilight on Saturday night before the half marathon since he was not running the full marathon.  Since I had a 6.5 mile training run scheduled, I figured the 10k would fit well enough.  I like races that look like they would be fun and the Twilight 10k was run starting at 8 pm from Capital Square and runners wore issued twinkling lights.  I guess shiny, flashing lights are all I need.  We both signed up, and Chad was able to save $20 on his entry after asking for a discount due to his marathon run being cancelled. 

We did my scheduled run/walk training plan for the race, and it worked well.  I was happy with how well I felt at the end of the race, and I didn't die on the hills.  Running towards the Capital at night was also very motivating for those last hills.  I finished in 1:04.  I even received a medal.  They had post race snacks perfect for night time including chocolate milk, Rocky Rococo pizza, and a beer.

Chad's half marathon started at 7:15 Sunday morning.  It was pretty cool out yet, but weather was still looking to be hot by late morning.  He had an app on his phone called Glympse, that let me track his up to date location.  I saw him out on the course a couple of times, and the rest of my time was spent waiting in line for a coffee and bagel.  I felt lazy; Chad ran 3 miles in the time it took me to wait in line for a mocha.  It wasn't too hot by the time he finished, but the heat was rising.  I think he was happy with his race, given the conditions. 

Chad in sleeveless blue shirt under Monona Terrace on John Nolen

Just before the turn to the finish on Capital Square

 

Training runs for me continue through the summer until my half marathon in August.  Chad will be running with me.  I guess I'll let him carry all my water and fuel.(just kidding)  Here's hoping for good weather for the Madison Mini-Marathon.