What’s in a name?

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My husband has been blogging for years.  He was an early adopter, and his online persona just sort of evolved, and fits perfectly…  the NorthStar Nerd.  We live in the North Star state, we have a cabin on North Star Lake and well, he is a nerd.  And darned proud of it!  If you have interest in all things techie, particularly social media and collaboration tools, check out his blog NorthStarNerd.org.  There are plenty of interesting off-topic posts as well.

So that left the question of my moniker.  These things can’t be forced, you just know when you find the right thing.  I used my newest best friend – thesaurus.com – to look up various words I thought would describe me.  I bounced around ideas in my head, and being the consummate list-maker, I wrote them down.  But as often happens, inspiration hit when my brain was idle and the wind whipped through my hair, on a bike trail.  I had it!

Petite Perfectionist.  That’s me all right.  I’m small, but I pack a lot of energy, and no one will argue my perfectionist tendencies.  Blogging world, meet the PetitePerfectionist – your host of Superior Footprints!

Map before you run

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GPS is great.  But it doesn’t do much for planning routes in new areas, or figuring out where to run or cycle in an unfamiliar city.  That’s where mapping websites come in handy.

I happen to use the Gmap-Pedometer website.  It’s a handy mapping tool that allows you to click on roads and trails to create a route.  It shows mile or kilometer markers and allows you to “undo” if you want to change a section.  There are several types of maps to choose from, including satellite maps and terrain.  It understands running and cycling paths, and if you just need to get from one spot to another, you can tell it to just draw a straight line.  Sometimes I use all three methods to draw the map I want.  The mileage calculates as you go, and records the final distance.  When you are satisfied with your map, you can save it and bookmark the URL.  Alternately, if you create an account you can name and save your maps there, which I find to be a lot more convenient.  The site also allows you to record your workouts.

USA Track & Field website has similar capabilities.  I find it a bit more tedious for mapping as it only uses straight lines, while gmap-pedometer will automatically follow the curves of a path or road.  However, it does calculate total climb, and present a graph of the elevation profile.  The site also has a database of routes entered by other runners.  You can search for routes in a particular location based on distance, starting point and route rating.

Note the accuracy – each of these examples follows the same route that I ran and captured on my Garmin GPS and SportTracks in my previous post.  The mileage is almost identical.

Check these out to eliminate guesswork and plan your next route!

Workout Tracking Mania

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The best part about my Garmin Forerunner GPS is downloading my workouts to my PC.  There is so much data packed into that little device and it all explodes into a vast array of information that can be displayed on my screen in a myriad of ways.

I currently use SportTracks by Zone Five Software, which supports most Garmin GPS models.  While it started out as a free program, it is well worth the $35 price for the current version.  It is easy to use, has a good visual interface, and more than enough features for my needs.  For each of my workouts, I can view all of the following and more:

  • Summary statistics – time, distance, average pace, elevation changes
  • Splits with distance, time, speed or pace, elevation
  • Graphs of speed, pace, elevation by time or distance
  • A map of my exact route, marked with splits.  When looking at a specific split, it is highlighted on the map.

Click on any of the images to enlarge

There is a reporting module that enables me to look at my mileage or other statistics over time.  I can filter the reports by activity, and group results by time period, location or other parameters.  But more detailed filtering and analysis requires cutting and pasting the results into Excel, which may not suit everyone.

I like being able to look back on the maps of my routes to plan future workouts, or to look at alternative turns or add-ons to create a new route for the future.

One drawback is that the software is resident on my PC.  When I’m away from home, I no longer have access to my data.  An alternative is to use Garmin Connect.  This is a free service for Garmin devices that provides the same tracking features online.  It also allows you to share your data with other users, connect to Facebook, blogs and other social media.  I like the idea of “access anywhere” so I just may have to give this a closer look.

What a difference technology makes.  Where I was once content with recording my time and distance in a spreadsheet, I now have access to seemingly infinite amounts of data.  It may not make me a better athlete, but I know a lot about where I’ve been!

Love my Garmin GPS

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A number of years ago, out of the blue my husband gave me a Garmin Forerunner 201.  Knowing how compulsive I was about tracking my running miles, as well as my IT background, he knew it was the tool for me.  Nirvana!  Was he ever right!

No more spreadsheets.  No more driving my running routes to estimate mileages.  No more guessing.  This gadget that I could wear on my wrist did it all.  Not only could it track time and miles for my runs, it could tell me my pace, auto-pause when I stop, and calculate my splits.  Even better, I could download the data to my PC and analyze it ad nauseum.  I fell in love with GPS!  Never mind that it was big and clunky on my petite wrist.  Never mind that it regularly lost its satellite signal in the north woods.  I could no longer go running without it.

Time marches on, and as always technology changes.  I’m up to the Forerunner 205 now – not exactly the latest and greatest, but it has all the features I need.  And with my aging eyes, I’m reluctant to move to one of the newer models with smaller displays.  (sigh)  It is still my favorite piece of gear, only now it’s also a necessity for cross-country skiing, cycling, hiking, snowshoeing – any activity that involves moving.

Here are some of my favorite uses:

  • Tracking everyday workouts – it makes sure I don’t cheat on distances.  And I can tell how far I’ve gone so far mid-workout.
  • Tracking my pace – am I on target?  Do I need to speed up?
  • Running in unfamiliar places – I can tell by the distance when it’s time to turn around, or if I should have been back by now…
  • Pacing for races – particularly marathons where they provide balloons at mile markers but not time clocks.  Great for both splits and time per current distance.
  • Training partner – it shows a graphic of me and another runner at a specified pace.  At a glance I can tell if I’m ahead or behind.

These features are useful during my workouts.  There is even greater value when paired up with software to store my workouts, track them over time, and provide infinite levels of detail.  But that’s a topic for another post.

Destination Training

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What’s better than doing a training ride?  A ride with a destination!

My husband and I have initiated Saturday training rides together, as part of our preparation for our cycling vacation this summer.  Today we set our sites on Mocha Moose, a funky coffee shop up the North Shore just before Two Harbors.  It would make a nice 34 mile ride round trip – not bad for our early season training.

Never mind that it was 40 degrees and cloudy.  Never mind that there was going to be a headwind on the way back.  Never mind that “real athletes” never stop.  It was warm and friendly inside Mocha Moose.  The decor was eclectic, as required for a true coffee haven, and the offerings were tempting.  Having done our homework, we’d originally set our sites on the sinful cinnamon rolls.  But when confronted with the bakery case, it was the breakfast turnovers that called to us – layers of flaky pastry surrounding ham, cheese and egg.  We’ve earned these, right?

Owner Patti lived up to her vivacious reputation, and kept us entertained while we lingered.  She was a bountiful source of local flavor, including tales of other cyclists who are regulars at her place.  And she was just as easily absorbed in the details for our upcoming cycling trip, which will pass by her door.  We just might have to make it a stop on our tour!

The Miracle of Life

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There is nothing like the birth of a baby, especially when it is your grandchild.  With our first, we cherished holding our little bundle, just hours old, in the normal confines of the hospital room.  But this second one had a different plan!

I was the designated grandparent to come stay with big brother, should the trip to the hospital require leaving in the middle of the night.  Sure enough, I got the 3:00am call asking me to come.  I jumped in the car and raced down the highway for the half-hour trip, little suspecting the drama that was unfolding.  I arrived to find two police cars in the street with lights flashing…  Inside, I was met by my son-in-law, Matt, who informed me that baby Mya had already been born!  Less than 10 minutes before, the baby had made her abruptMya footprints entrance into the world, on the bathroom floor attended only by her parents – before any help could arrive!  By then, the police were cheerfully assisting and the EMTs soon joined them.  It was a scene of joyful chaos, as baby and mother were both doing well, and it was just a matter of preparing them for the trip to the hospital.

How privileged I felt to be present.  To see baby Mya, just minutes old, still white with mucous but already gaining a pink glow.  To hug Matt, still fresh from the shock of delivering his own daughter, impressed with his level-headedness through it all.  To see my own daughter, Karen, radiant with joy as they strapped her into a chair to take her downstairs.  Relief and happiness were written all over their faces.  They were precious moments, that will remain with me forever.

When the assembled multitudes finally left the house, and the street returned to darkness, it was unbelievably quiet.  Big brother Ben had slept through it all!  The adrenaline was still pumping through my body, and I could hardly wait for dawn to come so I could take Ben to the hospital and hold that little bundle – cleaned up and wrapped in hospital blankets, as expected.

Click here for Karen’s personal account of Mya’s arrival.

Click here for pictures of the event.

Lunch with a View

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It’s all in the perspective.  I had lunch with a friend recently.  It had been a couple years since we’d gotten together, and in the meantime she has fallen in love with the North Shore.  While she had always been a year-round runner, and did some cross-country skiing, she didn’t consider herself an outdoors person.  But that has changed!  I was amazed to hear her excitement over camping in the early spring and late fall, hiking the trails and staying in a remote cabin mid-winter.  She’s already anxious to get up there again.

It made me reflect on my own love affair with the North Shore.  Some of my earliest memories include picnicking on “The Rocks” and dipping our toes into the chilly water.  My family’s interaction with the shore was more limited to car trips to visit parks or ski at Lutsen.  It took my high school girlfriend to introduce me to camping at Gooseberry Falls before I really engaged with the outdoors.  But that was a wonderful beginning.  From there, I embraced hiking, backpacking, canoeing and cross-country skiing.  I learned to get closer to nature and experience the shore first-hand.  I expanded the seasons for my visits and discovered the many different faces of Lake Superior’s shoreline during the freezing months.

Hearing my friend’s enthusiasm made me realize what a rich cache of experiences I have with the North Shore.  We are so fortunate to have this rich wilderness area right in our back yard.  Sometimes it takes hearing it from someone else’s point of view to help us remember that.

 

The best birthday present

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“What is that?” my husband asked skeptically.  “A mother/daughter journal”, I replied.  He was clearly not impressed.  To him it was just a hard-bound blank book, probably a last-minute purchase for a birthday present from my daughter.  But I knew better.

Inside was the start of something wonderful.  It was an entry by my daughter, complete with pictures of when she was little and filled with words about what I meant to her.  She captured moments and recounted memories that filled me with warmth.  But the next step was up to me – I was to write back.  Since that day, the cycle has repeated itself many times, as the journal has been passed between us for many years.  Sometimes the exchanges have been in rapid succession; others occurred with months lapsing in between.  But each return fills me with anticipation.  Reading it requires the right time and place – surprisingly, days may go by before I find time to sequester myself for my private read.  But I am always rewarded.

That first entry was in her senior year of high school.  The journal has seen us through her college years, figuring out that her best friend was meant to be her husband, launching her teaching career, wedding planning, and the joy of her first child.  I’ve traversed maneuvering through a job change, easing into empty nesting, performing in a church musical, watching my mom slip away into Alzheimer’s and ultimately her loss.  We’re well into volume 2 with no end in sight.  Just recently I handed it back to her, and can’t wait for her to read my entry and respond.

I knew it.  It was the best birthday present ever.

An Invitation to Dinner

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I’ve always been an organizer.  So it probably was no accident that soon after we moved back to Minnesota in 1985, I started up a “Gourmet Dinner Club.”  It seemed an unlikely group, with three other couples whose only common bond was their connection to me and an invitation to a trial dinner at our house.  But somehow it all worked.

Before going any further, I should quickly dispel any notions that this was a high-brow, strictly silver palate group.  The concept was simple: The host chose the theme, planned the main course and provided the wine.  The other accompanying dishes were provided by the guests.  Sometimes assignments were made, occasionally recipes were provided (by those who required control!), and at times it was left up to participants to choose.  Most often the meals were delicious.  A few were marathon sessions of overly rich foods.  Occasionally a dish was a complete flop.  Once we even took ourselves out to dinner.

We’ve seen plenty of change over the years.  In the early stages, dinners often required a trip to the library to research ethnic recipes.  Themes were sometimes elaborate – remember those “Mystery Dinner” games?  Yes, we did them in full costume.  Then children came along, and recipe selections were based on what could be prepared between a soccer game and driving carpool to music lessons.  Since then the internet has simplified everything.

And here we are, 27 years later and still going strong!  We’ve seen each other through raising children, weddings and now grandchildren.  We’ve shared the loss of parents, and the stress of job changes.  We’ve marveled at tales of exotic travel, and agreed on the simple pleasures of going Up North.  We came together for the food, but we’ve stayed together for the friendship.

Ah, Memories!

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What kind of memories do you take away from an experience?  Do you remember the sights, the sounds and the smells of the places you visit?  I think I retain visual snapshots of certain scenes, probably reinforced by the real photographs I take with my camera.  But none of this compares to my friend who has “food memories!”

Name any trip, and she can tell you her favorite restaurants and what she ordered.  Name any gathering of friends, and she can remember what was served.  We’ve been going on annual cross-country ski trips for the last 20 winters, and she can recall the specialty dish from each bed and breakfast where we have stayed!

I will admit to a certain degree of food-centricity in my life, so I rather enjoy these food memories of hers.  We entertained ourselves for a good portion of the long drive home from the North Shore on one of our recent winter trips, recounting all those breakfasts together.  In fact, on the strength of that exercise, we added a new category to our trip journal to go with our notes on kilometers skied, weather, equipment failures and B&B ratings – you guessed it, food memories!

What will you remember from your next adventure?