madcity girl

To say that I am obsessed with Island Lava Java would be an understatement. During the course of my four days on the island, I’ve eaten at Lava Java four times. The very popular Kona dining spot offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The food is super fresh, and everything I’ve ordered has been delicious. And in the days leading up to a big race, it’s nice to have somewhere to go where the food is healthy and always good.

In my opinion, the breakfast offerings are most impressive. Everything from Kona coffee to pancakes with coconuts, macadamia nuts, and bananas, topped with buttermilk coconut syrup. There’s also an amazing bakery selection with mouthwatering scones, muffins, cookies, and the biggest cinnamon rolls I’ve ever seen (and have been salivating over all week). Without a doubt, I will be back on Sunday morning after the race to get my fill of gooey cinnamon rolls.

Entertainingly, Lava Java also seems to be the place to “see and be seen” among the triathlon community that has literally taken over Kona. Triathletes flock to Lava Java all day for good eats, smoothies, and some good ‘ol sizing up the competition. I’ve seen countless professional triathletes in line or sitting at tables on the outdoor patio.

Lava Java also offers “triathlete specials” for the week—many of which are named for well-known professional triathletes, like Bree Wee, Chris McDonald, and Chris Lieto. On Wednesday, I enjoyed the Bree Brulee—oatmeal layered with plain yogurt and sliced bananas, then topped with caramelized brown sugar brulee. Served with a cup of fresh fruit. See? Now you know what I’m ‘talkin about!

Yesterday my parents and I took a roadtrip to Hilo, which is on the opposite (east) side of the island from Kona (and a 2.5 hour drive). The trip really put into perspective the wide range of ecosystems on the island of Hawaii. For example, Kona is mostly made up of dry and barren lava fields. In contrast, the Hilo area features luscious vegetation—including majestic rain forests and water falls that are the result of 130 inches of rain each year.

Along the way to Hilo, we stopped at the dramatic ‘Akaka Falls, which drops more than 442 feet, tumbling into a pool drained by the Kolekole Stream. It was a breathtaking site.

Once in Hilo, we explored a few ocean-side parks, and eventually made our way to Island 100, a local favorite, for lunch. Not wanting to venture into traditional Hawaiian foods a few days before the race, I stuck with a “safe” grilled chicken sandwich. Boring.

After lunch, we strolled through the downtown area and explored the Hilo farmers’ market and several shops and boutiques. We then ordered massive quantities of shaved ice, a very refreshing Hawaiian treat with gallons of flavored syrup poured over shaved ice.

On the drive back to Kona, we stopped at Hapuna Beach, which locals apparently consider the “best beach” on the island. The beach is 1/2 mile long with white sand, turquoise water, and rolling waves.

It was nice to get away from the intensity of Kona for one day and take in the sights of another part of the island. I’ve been so anxious and nervous the last few days (didn’t sleep well at all on Wednesday night), so I think a little time away was just what I needed. But one thing’s for certain—I can’t wait to live a little and truly vacation once this race is finished! I’m picturing myself on the beach with a Mai Tai in each hand. Ahh…yes. But 140.6 grueling miles still separate me from that vision…

So this past weekend I entered a pie eating contest. What was I thinking? Seriously, I don’t know. When I was much younger, like probably ten, I entered a few pie eating contests during summer festivals in Rockford, the town where I grew up. Not only did I do well during the contests, I usually won. I could take down a whole pie in a matter of minutes. I was always the proud kid taking home the grand prize—I seem to remember baseball tickets and my pick of several CD’s from the local radio station. Clearly, I’ve been quite the eater (and competitor) my whole life.

So when I was in Door County this past weekend and saw that there was going to be a pie eating contest on Saturday at Orchard County Winery’s Fall Harvest Fest, I said sign me up. I arrived to the winery around noon, and immediately hit the sign-up tent. The woman manning the booth informed me that I was the fourth adult entrant, so my chances were looking good. I then sat and waited. And got nervous. Very nervous. My friend immediately noticed my nervous tendencies—I was tapping my fingers, had become very quiet, and my expression was clearly anxious. You know, you don’t have to do this, Kristin, she said. I know, but I have to, I replied. Then she switched strategies and told me something about how I’m all gun and no throttle, and I was like, it’s on.

So when the time arrived for the start of the contest, a woman from the winery called up all five entrants. Me and four huge, burly guys lined up and took a seat at the picnic table. It was pretty funny. All of the women in the crowd were like, you go girl! Go get ‘em. The woman leading the contest then explained the rules—one piece of pie, no hands, whoever finishes the slice first wins.

When the whistle blew, I dug my face into that piece of pie and started devouring. It was like I was ten years old again and hadn’t lost a thing. I still had it! There was a lot of cheering, and I could tell that I was keeping up with the guys. Chew, chew, chew, swallow. Chew, chew, chew, swallow.  But alas, I was not quick enough. Two of the guys beat me. But I totally held my own with the big guys. I’m going to practice up and come back next year. Then I’ll show those boys what this pie eating sister is really made of.

Last weekend I traveled to Door County (aka “Cape Cod of the Midwest”) for a great weekend of camping at Penninsula State Park. I grew up camping with my family in Door County, and in recent years, have traveled there for an annual fall weekend with friends. I look forward to the weekend all year. I love Door County, especially in the fall. There’s not much not to like—amazing Lake Michigan shorelines, five great state parks, idyllic lakeside communities, twelve lighthouses, great fall festivals and apple orchards, nightly fish boils, etc.

My friend and I arrived to the park on Friday afternoon, after having taken the day off from work. We were a little worried about the weather since forecasts called for a weekend of rain and storms. My friend had recently purchased a new tent (more spacious than my backpacking version), and I think she was looking forward to testing how well the tent would hold up in rain. Not me. I remained desperately optimistic that our weekend would not be a total washout.

On Friday, we set up camp and then explored the shops of Fish Creek during the town’s annual sidewalk sale days. For dinner, we opted for a fish boil at Pelletier’s. Last year, we had experienced the fish boil at White Gull Inn, so we were anxious to try something new. Pelletier’s was very comfortable and casual. We also loved the master boiler at Pellitier’s—super friendly and cute. After dinner, we headed back to camp. Sometime during the middle of the night, it began raining. Very hard. Luckily, the tent held up extremely well and we stayed completely dry. And thankfully, that was sort of it for the weekend rain.

Saturday was a big day. I had to do a final long run, so we did about ten miles in the park—primarily on the Sunset Trail. It was gorgeous, especially with the leaves beginning to turn. After that, we headed to two fall festivals—one in Bailey’s Harbor and the other at Orchard County Winery in Fish Creek.  The rest of the day we drove along the peninsula, stopping at the various shops and apple orchards along the way. I consumed an ungodly amount of sweets—caramel apples, pie, apple spice donuts, ice cream, etc. I even participated in a pie eating contest—but more on that later.

Later in the afternoon, we napped on beach chairs along the shore in Ephraim. With the late afternoon sun still shining, and a cool breeze from the lake, it was perfect. After restoring our energy, we headed to dinner at Wild Tomato, a great pizzaria near the park that recently replaced long-time Door County favorite Digger’s Pizza. After dinner, we drove to Wilson’s, Door County’s longtime favorite ice cream parlor, where I enjoyed the three-scoop Dusty Road sundae with french vanilla, chocolate, and chocolate chip ice cream topped with hot fudge and dusted with malt and a cherry.

The next morning we woke up bright and early for a short run. After that, we broke down camp and headed back to Madison so I could get in a long bike ride that afternoon. Albeit shorter than usual, it was a great fall weekend in Door County. The last few years, my Door County weekend has fallen after Ironman Wisconsin, so I’ve been able to completely relax and not worry about workouts and such. Although I didn’t have that same luxury this year, it was still a very relaxing and refreshing trip. And I definitely needed that coming out of last week’s work and bike-related stress.

In my mind, nothing is nearly as iconic of summer as “fun island.” As I’ve mentioned previously, fun island is the name we termed for the inflatable water trampoline that floats just a few swim strokes away from the pier at my friend Karen’s family’s lake house on Green Lake, in south central Wisconsin. I’ve had the great opportunity to spend both Memorial Day and Labor Day at Green Lake for the past several years. And in my memory, fun island is always in the water by Memorial Day and out by Labor Day, thus in many ways signaling both the beginning and end of summer.

Much in the same way, this past weekend at Green Lake was bittersweet. After a half-day in the office on Friday, Karen and I arrived at the lake early afternoon and immediately claimed sunny spots on the pier. Eventually we were joined by Karen’s sister Kate, as well as our friends Kim and Matt. The weather was amazing—sunny skies and 80’s throughout. We enjoyed an abundance of reading and napping on the pier, barbecuing, and an array of water sports—kayaking, tubing, water skiing, and swimming. And of course I had my requisite long workouts, which are thankfully soon coming to an end.

As always, the weekend went by way too fast. Before I knew it, Monday had arrived and we were hauling fun island out of the lake, officially putting an end to summer and all of its glory. So until Memorial Day next year, the still-inflated fun island hangs precariously from the rafters of the garage—Kate’s genius storage idea.

Until then. Farewell, fun island. I will miss you like the deserts miss the rain.

This past weekend I celebrated another birthday. Compared to last year’s surprise party, this year was relatively uneventful. Not that I’m complaining—I knew I needed to get in solid training miles, and beyond that, all I wanted to do was relax (and eat). So I spent the weekend with my friend Karen at my family’s cabin located on a small lake in Northern Wisconsin, inbetweeen the towns of Minocqua and Rhinelander.

Leading up to the weekend, the weather forecasts called for rain and severe thunderstorms. Undeterred and hoping for the best, Karen and I set off for the 3-hour drive from Madison at 2pm on Friday. Although we encountered rain throughout most of the drive, we arrived to sunny skies in the north woods.

As we unpacked groceries upon arrival, Karen noticed something in the freezer. She turned to me and sheepishly explained, I think there’s something in the freezer for you. I curiously poked my head in and found a note from my parents, along with candles and a cheese cake sampler from Joyce’s Cheese Cakes in Eagle River. Apparently they had placed the items in the freezer the previous weekend. It was a great surprise.

The rest of the weekend was filled with biking, running, eating, relaxing, and shopping. Luckily, the rain held off and the weather was relatively decent throughout the weekend. On Saturday, I slept in and then did an 88-mile bike ride—which seeemd to eat up most of the day (no pun intended). Afterwards, I rewarded myself with a massive root beer float. That evening, I enjoyed dinner at Culver’s (er, did I mention I also had Culver’s for dinner on the drive up on Friday…) and Karen and I went to see the movie Julie and Julia, which I loved. We hit up Dairy Queen on the way home so I could top out my day’s ice cream consumption with a thin mint blizzard. It was sheer bliss.

The next day, we ran 16 miles on the Bearskin Trail, which is a great gravel path from the town of Harshaw to Minocqua. The trail was a railroad in a former life, so there’s several great tressles along the way (like the one pictured, above). There were also many ripe raspberry bushes, which made for easily accessible fuel throughout the run. Luckily, we did not encounter any bears on the trail this time (you may recall that two years ago we were not so lucky).

After the run, Karen made me waffles for breakfast and then we drove into Minocqua to do a little shopping. Minocqua is like the most tourist-y lake town you could possibly imagine (picture gawdy t-shirt shops and hordes of weekenders). Needless to say, we didn’t end up purchasing much, but certainly enjoyed window-shopping and people-watching. We packed up and headed back to Madison later that afternoon. I did, of course, prepare a final root beer float for the road (hey, it was my birthday).

Since then, I’ve been enjoying my cheesecake sampler and all the many varieties from which to choose. There’s Turtle, Oreo, Chocolate Chip, Cafe au Lait, Butterfinger, Amaretto Almond, Chocolate-Chocolate, and Reguar (boooring). So far, my favorite is Amaretto Almond. Delicious. Each slice has been a lively accompaniment to my daily PB&J routine.

And so, the eating continues…

It’s official…I’ve booked my ticket to Hawaii. I’ll be there from October 5-16, with time on both the big island and Oahu. I can’t wait for sunshine paradise, pina coladas on the beach, swimming in the ocean, and learning to surf. And there’s that Ironman thing…

Speaking of which, my next task is to figure out how to get my bike to Kona. Initial research leads me to believe that it will cost upwards of $400 to get my bike  there and back, which is frightening. Considering I bought my bike 7 years ago for approximately $1,300, I’m pretty sure it’s not even worth $400 today. That being said, I’m considering other options. Possibly renting a triathlon bike once I get there. Not sure if that’s completely stupid, though. Obviously, it would be ideal to race on the same bike I’ve trained on all season. But, what’s the point of spending a small fortune to ship a crappy bike? And who’s to say my bike will be the same (as in the one I’ve ridden all season) once it’s disassembled, shipped across the ocean, and reassembled by mechanics in Hawaii? Thoughts?

Karen, Matt, Kim, and Kristin

Matty and Kim fire up the grill (aka the new Mr. and Mrs. Tobin!)

Allie proudly prepares to perform her dance recital number (clad in hundreds of yellow feathers!)

Kim follows with an energized dance number (laughing-on-the-ground-funny)

Matt juggles to the musical accompaniment of “Tijuana Taxi” and stellar pyrotechnics

Megan plays “Yankee Doodle” on the clarinet

Although I was tired from Sunday’s marathon, the prospect of pre-Memorial Day festivities at Green Lake with great friends was truly energizing. (It wasn’t until Monday that I was hit, like a wall of bricks, with marathon fatigue.) There’s no better way to kick off summer than a barbecue on the boat house, followed by a lively and humorous, not to mention fiercely competitive, talent show at Green Lake. Karen was the genius behind the talent show, which was originally conceptualized as an opportunity for Allie to perform her recent dance recital routine in full-costume in front of family and friends. But very quickly, the idea of the talent show became larger than life with smack-downs exchanged via e-mail before the show, great prizes, an MC, and numbers intermixed with dance-offs and group sing-alongs. Needless to say, it was an extremely memorable evening featuring  extraordinary talent.

There’s nothing better than competing in a triathlon that features Elvis and Corky’s BBQ at the finish line. Those are just a few of the things that make Memphis in May one of my all-time favorite races. This past weekend, I competed in MIM (an Olympic-distance race) for the 4th time. The first time I travelled to Memphis for the race in 2003, I actually skipped my college graduation to do so, and my teammates and I also watched a tornado touch down during our drive there. Ah, the memories…

I was a little under-prepared for this year’s race, to say the least. I’ve been running a lot (in preparation for this Sunday’s Madison Marathon), so I’m certainly in shape, but have yet to spend much time on the bike or in the water. Lack of training in two of the three sports of a triathlon isn’t the best way to go into a race. I literally swam for the first time since Ironman Wisconsin (September 2008) last Wednesday, three days before the race.

The Memphis in May triathlon is one of the biggest triathlons in the country, and part of a month-long, city-wide celebration that includes other popular events like the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and the Beale Street Music Festival. I’m definitely a fan of Memphis and its great music, food, and cultural diversity. And I always look forward to trying another great, local barbecue joint. If you ever find yourself traveling through Memphis and need a BBQ recommendation, I’m your girl.

The race went relatively well. I was proud of my run time since it’s a very hilly 10k course, but my swim felt a little labored and it was extremely windy on the bike course. I ended up placing 12th in my age group with a finishing time of 2:28:12 (21:37 swim, 1:15:13 bike, 47:09 run). I definitely wasn’t impressed with my performance in the bike leg. I do, however, feel more motivated to ramp up my training, and to focus on my bike training. But first, I have to get through this weekend’s marathon. Yet another race  for which I’m feeling slightly unprepared…Yikes.

Yesterday was a picture-perfect Wisconsin spring day—sunny, blue skies, and temperatures reaching the low 80’s. My friend Karen and I decided to leave work a little early to drive to Devil’s Lake State Park (approx. 45-min. trip) to hike the bluffs. The trail around the lake that we typically choose is very rigorous, but the payoff is unbeatable—amazing panoramic views of the crystal waters of Devil’s Lake set against a backdrop of  towering bluffs that overlook the emerald rolling hills of southern Wisconsin. It’s Wisconsin at it’s finest.

The hike took about 1.5 hours to complete. We finished just as the sun was beginning to set. On the way home, we stopped for dinner at the original location of Culver’s in Sauk City, embarrassingly my third dinner at Culver’s in a week. What can I say? I like butter burgers and custard. A proud Wisconsin girl at heart.