I’ve been staring at my laptop for about an hour now. I haven’t blogged in months and the pressure is mounting. Part of me feels like I don’t have anything interesting to write about. Part of me feels like I’m going to explode if I don’t start writing something.

I suppose I can share some of the amazing things I’ve been up to in the past two months. I still ride my scooter almost every day. I love it more than I thought I would. I sometimes wish it would go faster.

The Twins season has been going well. The new ballpark is amazing. Still with every game I’ve been to, people are smiling, the food is amazing and even when it rains, people are happy to be there. Friday night Target Field held its first fireworks show. The weather couldn’t have been better, sunny and in the 70’s. When the game ended, Twins beat the Tampa Bay Rays, then the stadium went dark. Only the Minnie and Paul neon sign and Twins logo above the videoboard stayed lit. From the parkinglot behind the right field, bursts of color exploded above the stadium. It was amazing. The show looked great. It was much better than I anticipated. Especially because the beautiful downtown Minneapolis skyline was draped behind it. Here’s a link to a video my friend Peter took of the fireworks.

On Saturday I went to the Twins game with my Grandma for her birthday. At 87 years old, I think she was way more excited than she let up to be. After weeks of worrying about how she’d get to the seats with her walker, what would happen if the weather was too hot, or rainy and every other crazy scenario, we went to the game. The staff at Target Field could not have been any more accommodating. We explained it would be more difficult for her to get to her seats because of her walker, but they arranged for us to sit in a handicapped section so she could not only sit in the shade, but wouldn’t have to deal with stairs. I got her a hot dog and chips and we sat in the cool air conditioning of the Kirby Puckett lounge in the Ledgend’s Club.

The pregame was amazing we enjoyed music from a military band and five sky divers  dropped into Target Field to deliver the game ball. Nanny loved it. The energy at Target Field was electrifying. When Jim Thome walked up to the plate, he knocked the ball out of the park. That home run tied Harmon Killebrew’s major league record for career home runs. It’s a huge deal. As if it were scripted, Thome’s next at-bat was a home run too. He swung himself into the MLB record books. It is definitely one moment I will always remember. My grandma got so excited too. The Twins lost the game, but the experience of the day is something I’ll never forget.

This summer I’ve spent more time enjoying and exploring Minneapolis. My work schedule has changed, so I’m once again working overnights. I didn’t know if I would enjoy it as much as I have. Like any show, there are challenges, but there are many benefits too. Yes, I go into work at 10 p.m. and yes, I sleep most of the day. However, I can enjoy the morning to go for a walk, or run errands. The city is still quiet and calm. Then I wake up around 5 or 6 and start my day. I can meet friends for dinner, get stuff done around my apartment, or catch up on TV and the news of the day. I’m not necessairly more productive now than I was before, but I’ve found a different way to go about my day. There are some benefits too, for instance, my weekends start at 7 a.m. on Friday mornings.

A week ago, my friend Megan came to town for her birthday. We did all of my favorite things: saw live music, ate at great local restaurants, biked around the Minneapolis river front and shopped. It was really nice to just enjoy the Cities. I’ll post pics of our adventure later!

I have to get ready for work now…

My scooter. I love it.

I’m taking it downtown for the first time tomorrow.

Wish me luck.

It’s time to get serious… about running. I went for a run, jog brisk walk with my running coach Heather. I’m afraid I disappointed her. I know I was a little disappointed in myself. However, she did give me some good advice which I’ve been thinking about.

Lately I haven’t been consistent with running. I have a schedule on my refrigerator, but I haven’t been good about sticking to it. Because I haven’t been consistent, I’ve almost regressed in running. I definitely haven’t improved.

That’s about to change.

I don’t need to run every day, but I’ve got to be consistent. I like exercizing, I just haven’t been willing to rearrange my schedule to work it in. Heather suggested picking four days a week (Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday) and blocking out time to run those days. It’ll make it possible for me to work out in the mornings and still go see music at night. Also, with consistency, I need to get on a better sleep schedule. That means going to bed by midnight and waking up by 9 a.m. That will help give me time in the mornings to get other stuff done like running errands, catching up on the news and getting ready for my day.

If anyone can do this - I can too. What I mean by that is anyone can run. You get better with practice. When I started I could barely run 20 seconds without having to stop. I eventually ran a minute, then three, then five, then ran a whole mile. My inconsistency has only stopped myself from being able to run farther and longer. I’ve found running is a lot like golf, you improve every time you go out. You are also only competing with yourself. You don’t need anyone else to do it. No one knows how you’re doing but yourself. That means you have to push yourself to continue to improve and not quit because you’re scared. I think it’s okay to ask for help and support. I need to get better at doing that.

Remember your goals and it’s okay to change them. When I decided I was going to become a runner I had all these lofty goals. I was going to run a half marathon, then I decided to sign up for three. I also signed up for two 5ks and a 7k along the way. It’s hard. I’m surrounded by inspirational people who have worked their butt off to become good runners and they make it look easy. I thought I could do it too and it would be easy for me. Now my goals have changed. If I’m ready I’ll run the half marathons this summer. But now I want to focus on running 5ks. I don’t need to run more than three miles at any given time. It’s long enough. Once I get the 5k down, I’ll focus on running them faster, more frequently and in different places. After that, I’ll work on longer distances.

I don’t look at these changes as a cop out. I think it’s a step in the right direction. My goals and expectations are much more realistic and manageable. Now instead of being overwhelmed, I can take it one day at a time without giving up anything that I like.

I start now.

Goodbye Metrodome, you old palace of plastic. Hello Target Field, you beautiful outdoor ballpark!

Opening Day was better than I anticipated. I wore my sunglasses, brand new throwback jersey and hooded sweatshirt. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Honestly, is there anything better than having the wind blow in your hair while watching baseball? There were fireworks, flyovers and people squinting into the sun. I saw Mayors RT Rybak and Chris Coleman practice the “Minney and Paul” dance. The Twins played well - Joe Mauer hit two doubles, Jason Kubel hit a home run and Nick Punto made some great catches. The Twins beat the Red Sox 2-5. I have no complaints.

It’s hard to explain how awesome the experience was, so here are my highlights:

1. Everyone was happy. No matter where you looked, people were smiling, laughing, standing in awe. It was so obvious this ballpark was long needed. Twins fans are proud of their team, proud of their city and proud of Target Field.
2. The food selections = AWESOME. I had a the Twins big dog, a grilled all beef hot dog with grilled onions and potato chips. Yum! The Bud Light even tasted good. My buddy Peter and I also tried the cheese curds. Other food I want to try: nachos (they came in a bowl with yummy toppings), roasted corn on the cob, soft serve ice cream, Manny’s Steak Sandwich… okay, I’ll stop drooling now.
3. The opening ceremonies were sentimental. Twins greats included Tony Oliva, Harmon Killebrew, Kent Hrbek, Bert Blyleven and Frank Viola. Kirby Puckett’s son, Kirby Junior participated in his father’s behalf. Al Newman showed up to raise a championship flag. It was great. And on cue, the wind picked up and each flag blew proudly in the wind.
4. Acoustics in the ballpark are phenominal. Unlike the Dome or other outdoor stadiums I’ve been to, there was no echo from the loud speakers. From the 300 level and way out in right field, I could hear the crack of the bat on the field. In fact a small crowd started chanting in right field. We could hear them.
5. HD video screen. The picture quality is so crisp. The graphics used are phenominal. They did use a mockup graphic from the Dome - it was so bad it was good. During the game the screen is designed to look like a classic scoreboard with a TV screen build into it.
6. The new ballpark has 40% more women’s bathrooms. At more than one bathroom I saw lines 3 times longer for the men’s room than the women’s. Victory.
7. Leaving the stadium was a smooth process. I was impressed with how quickly you can get in and out of the stadium.

Overall I was so impressed with how awesome everything went. The one lesson I learned is to not wear lipgloss. Sticky lips + breeze = hair sticking to your lips (that’s just not a good look).

Want to go to a Twins game but don’t want to risk buying scalped tickets off the street? Have no fear: I’ve listed a few of the tickets for Twins games I can’t attend on Stub Hub. Here’s the info if you or anyone you know would like to buy them.

My seats are in the 300 level, even with third base, beautiful view of downtown and in the sun. They’re actually much closer to the field than you’d expect. See my last blog post for info on my seats, or I can send you more.

I listed the price for both tickets after the game info (that is the price for two tickets). Those prices are either the average price or below the average price of what other tickets are selling for on Stub Hub for that specific game. I am willing to negotiate prices.

Seats: Sec 321 Row 5, seats 3 & 4
Most games are Mon-Thursdays. I can’t attend them because I work.

April 2nd vs STL @ 5:10 ($30)  (SOLD)
May 6th vs BAL @ 7:10 ($50) (SOLD)
May 11th vs CHI @ 7:10 ($60) (SOLD)
May 26th vs NYY @ 6:10 ($100) (SOLD)
June 9th vs KC @ 7:10 ($45)
July 16th vs CHI @ 7:10 ($60) (SOLD)
July 20th vs CLE @ 7:10 ($50)
Aug 17th vs CHI @ 7:10 ($50) (SOLD)
Sept 2nd vs DET @ 7:10 ($50)

You can post a comment to this post for more info… or e-mail me: tracyperlman@gmail.com.

Imagine, if you will, sitting outside, sun on your face, people around you talking baseball. You have a cold drink in one hand and a hot dog in the other. In front of you, a sparkling brand new baseball stadium. The field is covered, but it doesn’t matter, you know great things will happen on it. In the distance, downtown Minneapolis stands as the perfect backdrop. The video board is showing a live baseball game. Next to it, the Twins flag waves proudly in the wind.

Is this heaven? No, it’s Target Field.

Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but the truth is, Target Field is amazing. As a season ticket holder, I got a sneak peek to the stadium. Wow. The first thing I noticed was how accessible the field is. I walked all around the stadium, from the seats behind home plate, to the outfield, I even checked out three different spots in the upper decks. All had a great view of the field! I kept thinking, “Yup, I could sit here,” and “I’d love to watch a game from this spot.” Did I mention the seats all turn inward towards home plate?

My seats are up in the 300 level even with third base. They’re great. I can see the entire field, giant video board and the downtown skyline. The field doesn’t seem that far away because the seats are tiered, like the Xcel Center. I sat in my seats for about 20 minutes watching the Twins spring training game on the video board, squinting into the sun and smiling.

In fact, everyone I saw at Target Field today was smiling - and it was before they knew Joe Mauer agreed to an 8-year-deal!!

This summer will be awesome.

Only in Minnesota.

I went for a walk around Lake Calhoun today. It was amazing. I know, it’s early March. I live in Minnesota. Am I crazy? Absolutely not! Although, it was an “only in Minnesota” experience.

We had record tips in the Twin Cities. The mercury went all the way up to 64 degrees. Not too shabby. However, there’s still plenty of snow on the ground. The lakes are still frozen over. None the less, there were no clouds in the sky and I wasn’t going to stay in my apartment.

I put on my running shoes and headed to the lake. A short two block walk later I was there. Ahh, fresh air! Sunshine, my old friend, how I have missed you! There’s nothing better. As I made my way onto the path, I couldn’t help but notice, everyone plus their mom was out. I had to swerve in and out of people. It was a great problem!

I couldn’t help but notice how great it felt to wear a t-shirt and not be shivering. After a few minutes I came up to the playground. There were dozens of kids playing on the swings, slides and climbing on the equipment. I couldn’t help but laugh. The lake is still frozen over. People were ice sailing on it. Apparently there’s still 22 inches of ice on Lake Calhoun.

Only in Minnesota would there be a full ice on a lake, and kids playing on a playground while adults ran by in tank tops and t-shirts.

It’ll probably snow again in two weeks. So I’m going to take this opportunity to enjoy the weather. You should too.

Minnesota is widely known for a few things: silly ‘oh-don’t-cha-know-it’ accents, being REALLY nice and having an awesome music scene.

I rarely blog about stories we do at work, but tonight we did a really cool story. We featured a local band, the Melismatics and took a look at their music. Literally.

The Melismatics are one of the hottest bands in the Twin Cities right now, and becoming a top Indie-Rock group in the country. They’re always on the road. I blogged about them a few months ago. Their songs are featured on TV shows and they tour the country. If you are lucky enough to see them live, you’ll notice the band rocks out hard on stage.

The stage show isn’t just because they’re really into their songs. It’s so others can hear their music. Pony, the co-lead singer, has deaf parents. She wanted them to enjoy her music because they couldn’t hear her. So she signs a lot as she sings and moves with the music so they can hear the rhythm. In my opinion, it makes their performances that much cooler.

You can watch Liz Collin’s story here (and pay attention, you’ll hear my voice).

Let the training begin! I’ve got about 13 weeks until the Minneapolis Half Marathon! Yikes! That means it’s time to get my butt in gear. I found a few different training charts online and have decided this is what I’m going to do. It’s based on Hal Higdon’s schedule.

I think it’s do-able. It’ll be hard, but it seems to move slowly, so I’ll be able to keep up. The weather is starting to get really nice, so I’m hoping to start going outside for the 3-4 mile runs. It’s 3 miles around Lake Calhoun, so I’ll use that for my shorter runs.

After being in pain all of last week and limping through Thursday, I’m feeling 100% better. (*Note to self, don’t get a deep tissue massage on Tuesday, spend Wednesday with your trainer doing lunges and Thursday morning with your physical therapist working on strengthening exercises, it’ll leave you in a lot of pain.)

I was able to run today virtually pain-free. It’ll make starting my new schedule much easier. Yay! Grab your shoes! Here we go!!