Endless Summer Trail Series Lebanon Hills

As I train for the Twin Cities Marathon (gulp!), midweek mileage continues to be a struggle.  Committing to a weekend long run is no problem, I can carve that time out religiously.  But waking up early for 5 milers or begrudgingly tackling them after a long day at the office is tougher.  I do it, but I'm not happy about it sometimes.

Enter, the Endless Summer Trail Series 7 miler at Lebanon Hills. 6:30 p.m. on a Wednesday night, this "race" (quotes explained shortly) makes a loop around the park, rolling over moderate inclines and enough trail switches to keep you on your toes. It takes something truly special to make me excited to run 7 miles after work, and this race nailed it. Despite a delayed start due to parking issues (hopefully that gets sorted out next year), the crowd was happy and relaxed, no whining about that extra 15 minutes standing around.

This isn't for the uber-serious racer because it starts off with a good half mile of single track, causing an instant bottleneck. If that frustrates you, maybe pass on this one, or make sure you are leading the pack. As I'm very comfortable with my slower-than-average pace, bottlenecks are just a gentle way to warm up. Start, stop, run, jog, stop. Warming up.

Cheaper than most races (you get a cute little coffee mug instead of the do-I-really-need-another-tech-shirt tech shirt), supported locally by Rocksteady Running and TC Running, beer and pizza await you at the finish.  Sure, it's Dominoes, but if you're a snob at the finish line I probably don't want to be your friend anyway. It's a casual, friendly run with wonderful volunteers and organizers. I'll give an additional plug to the race director as he did me a wonderful favor when I accidentally signed up for the race twice (genius) and canceled the second transaction before it was processed.  Such is the benefit of a small-ish, local run. The community is warm and inviting and the organizers really want everyone to have a great time (and not accidentally pay twice for race entries). The small size also makes it a great race to do solo.  Instead of being swallowed whole by a throng of thousands, I chatted with a couple women on the trail and others at the finish. No pretension, no show-offs, just a great bunch of folks enjoying a beautiful summer night on the trails.

The fourth of the Endless Summer Trail Series, this was the only race in the series I did this year.  But my experience at Lebanon Hills pretty much guarantees I'll be signing up for the full series next summer.

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Marin Restaurant and Bar

Our waitress introduced us to Marin Restaurant and Bar, a new Hennepin addition downtown, by letting us know that Marin is a county in California. And once you take a peek at the menu and try the food, it will all become clear how all those movie stars stay svelte. The trick, I hazard to guess, is a live-in chef whipping up healthy, delicious meals with impressively low calorie counts like those found at Marin. This isn't rabbit food, so don't let the "healthy" descriptor fool you.  The menu provides calorie/fat/protein/carb counts for each dish and the vast majority of offerings were gluten free. But that doesn't mean the dishes lack flavor. Quite the contrary, my scallops with lobster-fingerling hash and corn sauce were delicious and satisfying.  I ordered a side of kale which could have easily been split between two people but I ate it all myself (at 70 calories why on earth would you share those spicy, garlicky greens?). And my picture doesn't do the dish justice, it was infinitely prettier than the picture provides. Beautifully sliced potatoes, expertly done scallops (so easy to overcook those suckers), and a handful of popcorn (!) made for an exciting, I-can't-wait-to-eat-this presentation. If I had a chef in-house making me meals like this every night, I would never worry about my hips again. But, hips be damned, we split dessert. And further gaining my respect, Marin doesn't list the calories for the dessert list. Dessert shouldn't have anything to do with calorie counting, it's just a small, often shared, slice of happiness. And after a light, no-guilt-necessary supper, what's the harm in sharing a dish of something sweet? The lemon cake was light and summery, the perfect end to a perfect pre-theater meal.  I have definitely found my new favorite spot before heading to the Orpheum. Follow me on Twitter @TheMinneapolite