101 things about me.

I first saw this on Beth’s blog, so I started writing my own (because who doesn’t like reading these?!). But, thinking of 100 things about yourself is tough, so I stopped around 45, changed it to 51 things about me and was about to call it good. Then teammate Beth wrote her 100 things, which inspired me to come up with 100 (and one because I like odd numbers better). 

So, here goes! 

1. I can’t leave the co-op without buying sweet potatoes and avocados.
2. My bike is my happy place.
3. Also, if someone would pay to be bike every day, I would be one happy girl.
4. Favorite drinks: pino nior and all the guava kombucha.
5. Life is better with a sister. I look up to her more than she probably knows.
6. Life is better as an auntie. My niece, Finley is the cutest ever! She turns two on Valentine’s Day. 
7. I am a creature of habit and for my shorter runs, often run the exact same route over and over and over again.
8. I also eat the same breakfast nearly every single day (gluten-free toast with sunbutter + raspberry jam).
9. Aside from water, my favorite non-alcoholic drink: my morning double shot espresso made in the Bialetti with full-fat coconut milk (from a can).
10. I love being up before the world is awake.
11. My most perfect day involves a few hours on my bike, good espresso, sunshine, family + good friends, Finley, dinner + wine al fresco and a camp fire. 
12. I feel younger now at 35 than I did at 25. I’m certainly in better shape.
13. Nick and I met at a stoplight while out biking. Funny thing: We met two years prior at a stoplight party (we were both wearing green, but we didn’t hit it off, obviously).
14. I am an eternal optimist. 
15. I truly believe that kindness can change the world. You never know what battle someone else is fighting, so BE KIND ALWAYS.
16. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Do we ever really know?!
17. If I could pick one superpower it would be teleportation. Because how cool would it be to suddenly be in Norway or the Maldives?!
18. My first car was a five-speed, and I had no idea how to drive it. Four days after I got it, I drove it to Winnipeg. That was a fun trip!
19. I drove a five-speed for nearly 10 years before switching to an automatic. I miss shifting into fifth gear at 70mph. 
20. I wish I would have gone to a larger college. 
21. I went to college and then lost 20 pounds. The photo from my freshman ID… I barely recognize myself and won’t show it to anyone.
22. I must have a paper planner. There’s something about writing down each week on actual paper.
23. I’m a sucker for to-do lists and have Russell+Hazel post-its all over. 
24. My first job post-college was a newspaper editor. I even had my own weekly column on the opinion page where I mostly talked about my weimaraner, Zoey.
25. I have a lululemon speeds shorts addiction.
26. Triathlon has introduced me to so many amazing people, both online and in real life.
27. I will eventually not work the cube life. There is more to life than staring at a computer for eight hours a day and responding to emails. 
28. I spend far too much time tethered to my iPhone.
29. Norovirus is awful.
30. I only wear socks in my running shoes, rarely in other shoes. 
31. Winter running is one of my favorite things. 
32. Girl Talk has gotten me through hours of trainer workouts; it’s the only music I listen to during intervals.  
33. Other than the month abroad in England during college, I’ve lived in Minnesota my entire life.
34. I wanted to be a doctor when I grew up and was pre-med my first two years of undergrad. Then I switched my major to English. Dumb move number one.
35. I went back to school in 2006 for physical therapy, but after I was waitlisted by my choice school, decided not to pursue it further. Dumb move number two. 
36. I sometimes have a hard time saying no. Working on this so I can say louder YESES! 
37. Snail mail is the best mail.
38. I have every card and letter my Grandma Klegstad has ever sent. 
39. If you get a card from me, it’s letterpress. 
40. My sis and I didn’t always get along. I once slapped her back so hard it left a handprint, and she used to claw me until I bled. She’s now one of my best friends. 
41. I am an introvert and could spend days holed up at home reading good books.
42. Hydrangeas are my favorite flower. 
43. My teeth were never that bad, but they bothered me enough that I got porcelain braces my freshman year of college. #nerd
44. One of my favorite jobs ever was lifeguarding and managing at the outdoor pool in my hometown. 
45. How on earth am I 35?!
46. Sometimes I feel like I wasted my 20s because there are so many things I want to cram into the next 10 years that I didn’t do back then.
47. Like pursue triathlon. 
48. Or, travel more… for example, spending a year teaching English in South America or Vietnam or in the Peace Corp would have been amazing. Why didn’t I do that?! 
49. Growing up in a small town of 1,100 people was the best thing ever! 
50. That said, I could never live in a town that small now. 
51. My hometown was 20 miles south of Manitoba, so I’ve been to Canada more times than I can count.
52. I call my hometown home-home to differentiate between home in MSP.
53. I can still tell you the birthdays and home phone numbers (landlines!) of nearly all my close high school friends. 
54. My graduating high school class (class of 1998!) had 39 people. I spoke to a crowd of about 500 during the ceremony.
55. I took piano lessons starting in second grade until my teacher said she had nothing left to teach me. Now, all I can remember how to play is the intro to Under the Sea from the Little Mermaid.
56. I played the flute and piccolo starting in fifth grade through high school. Again, can’t remember a thing and wish I would have kept with it. 
57. My two biggest fears: An inattentive driver crossing the white line and hitting me while I’m out biking, and losing a loved one.
58. I am not a good multitasker. In fact, I don’t think anyone is. The human brain wasn’t designed to do 87 things at once.
59. That said, I believe focus is the key to all success, whether professionally or athletically. 
60. I’m stubborn and don’t like being told what to do – except when it comes to triathlon. #allthegreenboxesintrainingpeaks
61. My grandma, aunt, sister and I all have scars on our chins. Mine’s from falling while rollerblading in fifth grade.
62. I had a mole cut off my back when I was six. Thank goodness it wasn’t cancer. 
63. I grew up two houses away from my grandparents’ house. 
64. As a kid, I spent a ton of time at my best friend Kate’s farm. We were always outside, building forts, riding four-wheeler and playing in grain bins. It was awesome. 
65. Lutefisk is a Christmas Eve tradition in my family. I try it every year, and it almost always makes me gag. 
66. I love camping. Thank you, mom and dad, for all the weekend camping trips around Minnesota and west to Washington state. 
67. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten more comfortable in my own skin. Not all the time, but it’s far better than it was in my 20s. 
68. Except for my genetically imperfect half eyebrows. I won’t leave the house without them penciled in.
69. My sister and I both have half eyebrows, and we will eventually have them tattooed.
70. I do 99 percent of all my tri training solo. I love this time to just think and soak up all the swimbikerun love. 
71. I once practiced yoga 100 days in a row. Read about it here. 
72. I’m still trying to master headstand. It’s happening this year!
73. CrossFit used to be my jam (before it was all the rage). Then my skinny jeans didn’t fit, and I got rhabdo. 
74. I have a 14-year-old weimaraner named Zoey. She’s sweet as can be now, but was a little shit until she was six. Example: She ripped up a 10-pound bag of flour all over the house.
75. I am obsessed with kombucha, and after years of buying GT’s, I’m finally brewing my own.
76. I have approximately seven Burt’s Bees pomegranate lip balms stashed around the house and in every jacket I wear. 
77. Skydiving is one of the most incredible things I’ve ever done. I’d jump out of a plane again in a second. 
78. Cheap scented candles are the worst and give me an insta-headache and red, burning eyes. Do you know what kind of toxins are in those, people?! Do not buy them! 
79. I joined twitter in 2009 when I started grad school. I primarily used it for school, but now never use it professionally. 
80. I’m a big quote person and write down my favorites in my weekly planner. 
81. In my 20s, I was an avid quilter. I made, hmm, 10 quilts(?) and even hand-quilted one of them. They’re all getting great use in a vacuum-sealed bag in the basement. 
82. My mom was a home ec teacher, so I have her to thank for my sewing ability (I even own a Bernina sewing machine). 
83. I also have her and my dad to thank for my love of all veggies (we always had a giant garden, which my sis and I had to weed). Nothing better than a carrot straight from the garden with a little dirt still on it! And, beets… I love beets!
84. I bought my first road bike, a Trek Pilot 2.0, in 2006 because of a running injury. 
85. I spent that first summer biking my heart out with the Bike and Fitness Co. team in Alexandria, Minnesota. It was bike love at first ride. 
86. When I was 29, I traveled solo to Costa Rica and stayed at a B&B for eight days. Best trip ever. I even learned how to surf (it wasn’t pretty)! 
87. My PR in the 800m is 2:21 or 2:22 (I can’t remember for sure). I went to state as a ninth grader, which was super intimidating for a girl from a tiny northwest Minnesota town. 
88. Furniture, or anything for that matter, that’s positioned at an angle drives me crazy. Symmetry and right angles FTW, always. 
89. I like odd numbers better than even numbers.
90. I haven’t eaten gluten for five years (except for the occasional cookie).
91. I stopped eating eggs four months ago after years of GI issues. I miss eggs, but feel so much better without them in my diet. 
92. My favorite post-race food… nothing better than a burger and maybe some poutine. 
93. Other than Chipotle, it’s been years since I’ve eaten fast food. Gross. 
94. The Holiday is one of my favorite movies.
95. I’ve always been an avid reader. Some of my favorites books… find them here. 
96. I’m a tea junkie and don’t leave home without a to-go mug of jasmine green or Moroccan mint tea.
97. One of my favorite things to do at home-home is visiting with my grandma over tea (using antique teacups from her collection!) and playing Scrabble. 
98. I’m half Norwegian, one-quarter Swedish and one-quarter Ukrainian. 
99. There is nothing better than an ice cold Mexi Coke during the middle of a sweltering century ride or after a long run.
100. My biggest pet peeves: random capitalization; mixing up words like loose/lose, they’re/their/there, etc.; and mixing up who and that.
101. My dad’s nickname for me: Bezba. He even wrote a little jingle to go with it 🙂