and the winner is....

ME!!!

Yup, that's right, not only did I survive the mini-tri, but I rocked it out, and at 1 hour and 14 minutes, finished first! Okay, so it ended up being a biathlon in my case, but still - after I crossed the finish line and they announced my time, I walked up to my trainer and was all, "so, where's everyone else?". She looked at me, and seemed confused, and said "everyone who?" I looked at her, and said "you know, the ones who are finished already." This was the moment when it hit me. Or when she mentioned, "uh, Carly? there IS no one else. you're the only one done."

Dude!

Okay, so I'm all over the place, but it was awesome.

Starting from the beginning:

E and I were up, ready (pb&j in tummies) and headed out by 7, with us being at the meeting place at exactly 7:30 am. We were weighed in (50 lbs, thankyouverymuch!), marked and measured, and then grouped up to hear the course. The trainers decided to do a 1.8 mile walk/run instead of a 3, with 9 miles biking and 1/4 mile swim, which somehow meant swimming or water jogging. We all got ready, and headed out to the pool.

Amanda & I, before go-time

Except for me, who headed indoors on my awesome stationary bike they brought over from the gym. Yup, I was that girl. It took me a few to adjust the seat, got on and "headed off". I've never been more thankful for my iPod, by the way, since it kept me pumped the entire time. About 3 minutes in, my trainer decided that instead of walking the 1.8 miles, I should just do an extra 6 on the bike, for a total of 15 miles. 2 days ago, I doubted being able to do 9 miles, and all of a sudden, it was practically double?!?!?! I decided to do what I could do, try my best, and hang on. Around mile 5, my energy level took a bit of a hit, so I decided to take some lemon-lime gu
- such a strange texture, it was like a Vaseline-maple syrup lovechild! It was kinda gross to be honest, but did the trick! Mile 9 was a tough one, and I ended up needing to use my inhaler. Then, the rest was kind of a blur. 6 miles later, I was done, hopped off the bike, and went out to the pool. I started swimming, but my heart rate went nuts, so I switched to water jogging, which was surprisingly still pretty challenging! The minute I was done, my goal was to dry off as much as possible, which I realized pretty quickly was easier said than done. Sopping wet, I threw on my clothes and my kicks, and headed for the finish line.

Being done was fantastic - I did what I set out to do, and even though I couldn't do it the way everyone else did, I did it my way, and succeeded. If you can't be proud of that, what can you be proud of??? I felt so much support, from fellow bloggers and readers to family and friends to the strangers at the tri, that there was no way I'd come out as anything other than a winner! The best part? The chocolate chip Cliff Kids ZBar that was waiting for me at the end, as was this.



In all seriousness, I don't know what was better: seeing my time, or realizing that I'd burned over 800 freaking calories doing it.

A week ago, I didn't know if I could bike the 9 miles - I figured if I could, it'd take 1 hour and a half to 2, I'd be in last place and I'd be too exhausted for anything else. It felt nice to put myself in my place, and prove to the most important person of all that I can and did do it.

tryin'

Today's the big day - the mini-triathlon for the show, and to say I'm nervous would be a massive understatement. At a 9 mile bike, a 3 mile run/walk and a 1/4 mile swim, it's nothing crazy, but it's a pretty big deal for us. I have horrible allergies, so originally, I wasn't even able to participate, but about a week ago, I got the call to be able to do most of indoors, so here I am. Sure, I've missed out on 2 months of training sessions, and sure, I have bronchitis, but what the hey? I'm determined to try!

E & I headed out to Dick's last night to pick up a couple of things, and I picked myself up a little gift that I've been wanting for a little while.

For those of you not in the know, this is the infamous Polar fitness monitor, which tracks your heart rate, calories burned and exertion level using a chest strap around your rib cage and the watch, seen here. This one's pretty cool - not only does it allow you to link your monitor with your computer, but it also keeps a weekly diary of what you're up to, has an alarm in case your heart rate gets too high, is waterproof up to 30m and, let's face it, is PINK, which is obviously the important part! At $98.99, it's definitely more than I would normally spend, but I thought it a fitting way to spend the birthday money from my dad, a marathon runner. Thanks Dad!

I also picked up a little motivation - it's going to be hard doing this with E in another area, so some positive self-talk is definitely in order.

Here's my gear all laid out, minus water bottles, iPod, flip flops and some Cliff Kids ZBars for after the race. Yes, that is totally my inhaler - a must-have for this morning!

My mission is to finish the biking and swimming, and evaluate. I'm hoping to be able to do everything, but if all I could do is the bike and pool, at least I've tried, and 5 months ago, I wouldn't have even tried that. We're also doing our final weigh-in and measurements, so emotionally, it's a big day.

Wish me luck!

back for good

hey guys, what's up?

it's amazing that it's been so hard for me to post lately - even though it sometimes feels like i'm chit-chatting away to myself, i really love having a little space of my very own, and being able to share it with all of you. there's been so much going on lately; a new little princess in the family, vacations, dilemmas, celebrations. so much to talk about, and hundreds of pictures that to upload, and still...nothing.

i feel like i'm regressing.
at this point, almost 50 pounds are gone, and as of monday, the show will be over, and it'll be back to normal, whatever that means. i can't see myself (or E, for that matter) no longer caring about what we're trying to accomplish, and going back to the way we were, which eliminates that concern. it's a slippery slope, though. as easy as it is to go overboard on the eating and slack on the exercising, it's just as easy for me to go the other way, and exercise too much with not eating enough. it's a tricky one, but hey, i can accomplish anything, right?

i read that the two worst things any blogger can do is apologize for not posting and to be negative, and i'll admit, i'm guilty of both. i'm in awe of most of my blog roll - positive thinkers with much busier lives than mine, posting multiple times a day and having a blast doing it. one day - i'll be there, too. for now? i'm going to ride the wave, and like with everything else, simply do the best that i can. comparing myself to others definitely gets me into trouble from time to time, so my resolution this summer is to stop it.

this is turning out to be a pretty serious post, but i'm glad i've made it.
maybe now it'll clear the air to bring the fun back!

big night out, take two

Last night we headed out on the town to go to opening weekend of a new restaurant: Rosendale's Modern Bistro. Although Rosendale's opened a couple of years ago, Chef Richard Rosendale switched things up this past year, putting the formal, white-gloved service restaurant upstairs, and making the downstairs into the Modern Bistro. Getting back to basics with custom dining, the bistro is a more social experience, with moderately-priced dishes that are simple yet complex, and perfect for sharing. In light of the economy, Rosendale's Modern Bistro is music to a foodie's ear.

We'd made reservations in advance, and I'm glad we did - they were bustling! As we waited for our table to be ready, we were greeted by Vince, who offered to make us something special from the bar. More than a bartender, Vince wowed us with what he prepared - we had to track him down and make him give up the ingredients. My drink, on the left, included Creme de Cassis, orange Vodka, Triple Sec, a splash of cranberry juice and a squeeze of lemon. E's drink, on the right, has (from what I remember!) Rye, Elderflower Liqueur and fresh lemon juice. I'm usually a lightweight, but these were so good that I had 2, along with a couple of sips of Malbec later in the evening.


Palates open and bellies growling, we were happy to see our appetizers and get dinner started! I didn't want anything heavy or cloying, so I chose the Ham and Melon Skewers, composed of watermelon topped with prosciutto, which sat atop a reduced sherry vinegar syrup. Salty, cool and sweet, this was a perfect way to start off.


I normally don't mention E's meals too much, but I'll make an exception. E chose the White Truffle Popcorn as his starter, and after I tried a piece, I was hooked. Tossed in butter, sea salt and truffle oil, it was reminiscent of the escargots in garlic sauce that I grew up with. Then again, I have a really strange palate, so maybe it's just me.

We also had some really fresh bread, which was just how we like it; soft on the inside with a crisp crust, and sliced somewhat thin.


It was served with butter that was sprinkled with Himalayan sea salt and black pepper, which enhanced the butter's creaminess and flavor.


When it came to mains, Chef Rosendale had me at "braise". I ordered the Olive Braised Lamb Shank, which was described as "traditional braise, rosemary, natural sauce". The lamb was perfectly tender, and the flavor was deep and complex. The meat fell off the bone, and was somehow tender and luscious at the same time, making it the perfect comfort food.


Since the menu was sharing-friendly, E and I split several sides. I normally hate sharing, but this weekend has been really fun - why limit yourself to one dish when you can try two?

The definite star of the meal were the French Beans with smoked honey, toasted almonds and tangerines. Absolutely magical, the beans were perfectly tender and the honey was smoky-sweet, with a slight bacon undertone. The almonds and tangerines rounded out the dish fabulously, adding just the right amount of crunch and acidity. Complex yet simple, this was a must-try.


I love ketchup, to the point that I was shipped two giant bottles of Canadian ketchup to tide me over last year. The sweet potato fries were so good that I didn't even want the ketchup, as good as it was.


I loved that the Steamed Asparagus was subtle. Flavored with Hawaiian sea salt and lemon oil, they had a slight crisp left to them, and tasted just like they should. Simple works, and I wish more chefs would understand that the way Chef Rosendale does.


We were lucky enough to have the chef take a moment away from his busy kitchen and come to our table. It was especially great for E - in high school, he was at the Greenbrier in the middle of a culinary competition, and needed to crack a coconut and be able to use the shell, meat and water for various dishes, but had no idea how. In a world of hurt, E spent dinner preparing himself to crack the coconut using (sterilized) machinist tools his shop teacher had brought along. Thankfully, the then-sous-chef came over to his table, bringing over a chef's knife and coconuts, and taught him how to do the cracking.

You may recognize Chef Rosendale from numerous specials shown on Food Network, and was the youngest member of Culinary Team USA and the captain of the team in 2008. He's also a certified ice carver, the youngest chef to be on active status for the Certified Master Chef exam, and an all-around nice guy.

We had a hard time choosing a dessert to share, but finally decided on the Lemon Curd, which also had ginger ice cream, toasted meringue and crushed berries. Refreshing, tart, crunchy, sweet and soft, it was a great ending to a wonderful evening.


We were also brought out a teeny bit of creamy tapioca to try. Olivia (our server) was right - this was just like Grandma's, only better.


Check out the tiny spoons, especially compared to a sugar cube!

In all honesty, it has never taken me this long to write a review, let alone post it. Having worked in several restaurants and eaten in many others, I'm pretty critical. I kept waiting to find a flaw, but I couldn't. Dinner at Rosendale's Modern Bistro was, in all honesty, the best meal of the year, and one of the best of my life. The food was fantastic, and had a price point that allowed us to spoil ourselves, and try some of everything. The staff was amazing - after we were done, Olivia apologized for being so short-staffed. Apparently, there were only 3 servers that night handling a full restaurant, and we never even noticed. We must have had every single one of them at our table at one point or another, and not only were they friendly, attentive and fun to be around, but they genuinely seemed happy to be there, even with all the stresses of opening weekend. The blog actually came up in conversation, and Olivia even wrote down the URL and later invited me to a girls-only brunch the next time I was in town. So Olivia, if you're reading, thanks for an amazing time, say hi to the rest of the crew for us, and give yourself a huge pat on the back for all of your hard work.

It takes a lot of hard work and dedication for a restaurant to survive, never mind thrive. I have a feeling that we'll be seeing Rosendale's for many years to come.