Curiouser and Curiouser.

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Kym Zest

I’ve had a recurring dream.  It’s very simple.  I’ve had it for as long as I can remember.  I’m sitting on the ground with my legs extended in front of me.  Then gracefully I hinge forward.  My belly lies atop my thighs and my forehead rests on my shins.  Its effortless and comfortable.  Then I wake up.

In real life I have never been considered flexible.  As a kid the sit-and-reach was the one fitness test that was hardest to achieve.  Running, no problem.  Pull ups, piece of cake.  I had to train for the sit-and-reach so I could get that darn presidential fitness test award.

As an adult triathlete I’m certainly flexible enough.  Just enough to not get injured.  Flexible enough that among my endurance sports clients and friends I’m the flexible one.    So you’d think this would be good enough.

But my restless athletic urges have lead me to desire new challenges.  I considered martial arts and circus arts, and acrobatics.  The bottom line is that I want to handstand, and L-sit, and pistol squat.  Would pressing to handstand and a full bridge be too much to ask?  Whatever the movement is,  it’s the flexibility that I’ve always considered a barrier.  For a long time I’ve believed that these things were simply not possible for me.  If I wasn’t flexible as a kid then there was no way I could ever achieve it as an adult.

But then I started searching… Continue reading →

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Down the rabbit hole.

Posted on May 29, 2016 by Kym Zest

I feel unmotivated yet restless.  I have a vague sense of athletic drive that is unmoved by the thought of swimming biking or running.  It’s not to say I’m leaving triathlon. I totally want to do Beach2Battleship again.  Nor have I stopped swimming biking or running.

In April I did the traditional MN ironman bike ride in a thunderstorm.  It only confirmed that my bike and I need more time to heal our friendship.  In July I’m registered for my 19th Heart of the Lakes triathlon.  It’s the day after a friends wedding, so there’s really no point in training for a race I could be hungover for.  In August I’m registered for Point to LaPoint.  It is a two mile swim in Lake Superior from Bayfield WI to Madeline island.  I’m excited and I will need to train for it, it doesn’t feel like enough.  Something is missing.

After 18 years of triathlon and last Octobers big Iron Distance Tri, I’m feeling a bit like a one trick pony.  Type 2 fun is often about pushing your self outside of your comfort zone.  Right now triathlons are just too comfortable.

I’ve always admired dancers, gymnasts, acrobats, free runners, and martial artists.

It’s their combination of disaplined skill that can become expressive playful creativity that grips me.

That’s what I want.

Yoga brought me more piece of mind.  It brought me meditation and emotional balance.  But I didn’t connect with the movement practice of yoga.

For a long time I felt learning to handstand would unlock some movement magic for me.  This last winter I spent three days a week practicing.  I got almost nowhere.  So I started to do some research on handstands and movement… I’m falling down the rabbit hole of information that I still haven’t found my way out of.  I just keep exploring the edges of all these websites, clicking links that lead to more links.
alice-in-wonderland-disneyscreencaps-com-538

“Curiouser and curiouser”said Alice.*
I would agree.
I’ll share the journey when I stop falling 😉

*Quote from Lewis Carroll in Alice in Wonderland. 

 

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Slow Cooker Moroccan Lamb Stew

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Kym Zest

I ❤️ my slow cooker.  It may be an obvious love in the winter, but it’s just as essential in the summer.  If it’s even remotely nice out there is no way I’m going to spend the evening standing in the kitchen.  Having something that can cook itself frees more of my evenings for lounging on my front stoop.

This recipe I found in Real Simple.  I made way more of it, and I didn’t measure much.  They suggest serving it with couscous but I’ve never been a fan.  This time I did the garlic Naan from Target.  But really, you could eat it with any carb of choice.  Rice would be an obvious go to.  Or perhaps draped over potatoes?  Or with crusty french bread?

This is what I threw in my slow cooker most recently.  All measurements are approximate! Continue reading →

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Denial felt better.

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Kym Zest

It’s been ten weeks since I shared my big boring goal.  Time for an update AKA voluntary public shaming.   Budgeting is to security as training is to racing.  Some people like the training even without the motivation of a race.  Others need to be terrified by race failure and even then the training is a struggle.  Yeah, that’s me with budgeting.


Continue reading →

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Race Dreams

Posted on April 24, 2016 by Kym Zest

I confess, I have had strange race dreams that I never disclosed here.   They’ve made funny stories but I never thought much of them.  Until one of them took on a life of it’s own.  But let’s start with this one…

I arrived to see the transition area was in an arena.  Like the Roman Colosseum.

ro10_img_2339-img_2388_coliseum_at_night Continue reading →

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Actual fun.

Posted on April 17, 2016 by Kym Zest

I had fun!  Real fun.  Type one fun. The kind of fun that actually feels like fun the whole time.  Not the second type of fun that feels terrible until it’s over.  Will and I had a little vacation before our busy work seasons.  There was no falling through the ice.  There was no illness.  There was no debilitating soreness after over 13 hours of racing.  Just fun.  Well it did snow, but really it was mostly fun.

On our first day off of work we went to the Minnesota Zoo.  Followed by going out for dinner and drinks.  Courtesy of a gift card, we tried the swanky Prohibition bar in the historic Foshay tower.  We were unable to be serious or respectable.

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Continue reading →

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Guilt and Fire Cider

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Kym Zest

“Say something clever.  Ok, doesn’t have to be clever, just has to be words.  Say some words.  Any words will do. Oh my god.  This is the longest anyone has not talked ever.  There is nothing you could say to make this worse.  Say something!” *

I’m feeling guilty. I’ve been a bad blogger. I haven’t felt like I’ve had a lot to say. After some really big things (the honeymoon adventure, the 1/2 Iron Tri, the yoga school, and the Full Iron Tri) I feel a little lost. All my writing just peters out in… well a lot of deleting.

There are some things to share: an update on my big budget project frustration, a little vacation with some fly fishing, some events I’ve registered for and some athletic angst. But I’m going to re-start blogging with something easy to share.

FIRE CIDER**
It’s my new favorite thing.  I found two brands at the co-op.  It’s kept in the dietary supplements section – which it really should be everywhere because I use it:
– As a hot drink with honey
– A drop in my bourbon
– With olive oil as a salad dressing
– Take it just as a shot to clear my sinuses and freshen up Continue reading →

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Lemon Shrimp Pilaf Improv

Posted on March 13, 2016 by Kym Zest

Last week I was going to make a simple spring meal.  Just lemon, shrimp, rice, and dandelion greens.   Doesn’t that sound nice?  Just go with that inspiration, because things got a little out of hand.  I don’t have a recipe for you.  I can only try to recount what happened.

First I didn’t get around to making it.
Then a week later I was grocery shopping again and kept thinking of things to add to it.
I was going to cook it Friday, and soaked some mung beans so I could just cook them quickly with the rice.   But then I didn’t get around to cooking on Friday (which was caused by Andrea’s dumpling adventure).  So the beans sprouted.

When I finally got to cooking my lemon shrimp pilaf it was messy improv the whole way.

I wanted to cook the rice in sort of a shrimp stock.  I sautéed the shrimp tails in butter, black pepper and the zest of three lemons.  Then added the rice.  (It was actually more like a messy redundant process that I’d rather not admit).

With the rice bubbling away I squeezed the lemon juice over the shrimp to be added later.  I prepped the asparagus that enticed me the day before.  I rooted around the kitchen…

Meanwhile the rice was starting to stick to the pan.  I decided I should take out the shrimp tails before adding everything else.  This ended up being a long process of trying not to remove half the rice with the tails.

So now my shrimp flavored rice was sticky and getting mushy when I add the asparagus.  Oh, and the randomly bought cashews.  Oh, and I might as well throw in the sprouted mung beans.  And then the three ingredients which had started it all; the shrimp, lemon juice, and dandelion greens.

Then I found green onions and thought heck, those should go in too.
And a little garlic powder, and a little hot sauce…

It was not the simple meal I had envisioned, but it was tasty.

 

 

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The Next Goal

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Kym Zest

What’s next after last years big race?  What would be a good challenge?  Seeking type two fun is what make me an athlete, it’s who I am.

I’m contemplating a couple races.  Not another Iron Tri.  Not yet.  Maybe do some single sport races.  But I’ll write about those later because…

My next big goal has to be….Screen Shot 2016-02-27 at 9.00.33 PM

Budgeting.

Feel free to run away screaming or fall asleep from
boredom.
But this is seriously a type two fun adventure, just like all my normal race goals.  I’ve been both wanting and avoiding it for years.  Years!  I hate this, I dread it, I’m dragging myself to it kicking and screaming.  But I know it will be worth it later.  I know I’ll feel so much better when it’s over.  I’ll be less embarrassed and hopefully a little proud.

I know almost nothing about managing money.  Granted, I have so little of it to manage.  I know just enough to pay my bills and not get in too much trouble.  My only goals have been simply to spend less and make more.  It’s kind of like when someone wants to “get healthy” and has only a vague idea what might be involved.

Let’s compare this to running. Let’s say I had never run a mile but wanted to do a 5k.  I’m not injured, or overweight, or disabled, I just have never run.  With my background and goals it wouldn’t make sense to throw me into a CrossFit class, or overwhelm me with macronutrients, ask me to do hill workouts, or discuss marathon training.   That’s what all the financial classes and books seem to be.  I just need a walk/jog plan, the personal finance equivalent of the couch to 5k plan.  And then the discipline and accountability to actually do it.ch950222Which is why I’m announcing this goal publicly.  Budgeting is my next race.   I’m just going to get off the couch and do a little walk-jogging.  I’ll worry about the marathon of financial goals later.

Hopefully this will make paying for all my other goals possible.

 

 

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banana potato energy bars

Posted on February 21, 2016 by Kym Zest

I’m drafting more interesting blog posts, they’re just not ready yet.  Or I’m not ready…

But I can tell you it’s that exciting time of year where spring seems to feel more like a reality than a dream.  It’s that time when summer goals start to get real.  This time last year that I was getting ready to register for the Beach2Battleship Iron Triathlon.  It’s the season to prepare for the outdoor season.

So I’ll share the energy bar recipe that I developed at the end of my racing season.   It was my favorite because it was:
1) Easiest to eat – it required basically no chewing, but also wasn’t gooey.
2) Held up well – it was a nice neat shape to wrap and didn’t fall apart in transit or in my pocket.
3) Mild balanced flavor – not too savory, not too sweet, not too flavorful in general, which is great when you’re hot and tired and any flavor can get nauseating. Continue reading →

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