Nerd Alert!

I might have to actually drag my tail into the office this Thursday.  Just realized that the monthly Professional Development Hour (PDH) presentation is going to talk about the "hydraulic jump."  I remember learning about hydraulic jumps in college and thinking they were the coolest thing.  In one of our labs we had a large water flume and were able to create a hydraulic jump in it.  As interesting as I find the science, different types of hydraulic jumps can create deadly conditions. 

Hydraulic Jump in a Flume

The video in the link in the caption is probably similar to the presentation that I'll be listening to on Thursday and around 11:30 minutes they create different types of hydraulic jumps in the lab and show how people can get trapped in them.  I guess you can consider this my public service announcement...be aware of potentially dangerous water conditions and pay attention to any signs you see posted on a waterway.  Conditions might not look dangerous to you but that might not be the case in reality. 

Told you I was a nerd. 

This PDH times nicely with a required software update to my work laptop that requires us to be physically plugged into the network.  I also like going into the old office every now and then to say hello to the folks I used to work with on a regular basis.  Which!  I was able to do a little bit of this past Saturday at the chili party I mentioned in my last post because it was hosted by one of my former coworkers.  This was her third annual chili party.  Initially, I thought it was just a chili party but quickly learned it was a chili CONTEST.  I love making chili.  And eating chili.  But I've always steered clear of contests.  Why?  Because I like my chili, but I fear no one else will like my chili.

And well, I didn't win.  But there were A LOT of really good chilis there.   I have oodles of new ideas now to incorporate into my own cooking.  Just wait until next year!!  In the meantime...leftovers...

I like chili with big chunks of stuff!

Saturday I spent most of my time in the kitchen, simmering my chili and getting my dishes ready for dinner on Sunday.  I made two of my favorite dishes...moussaka and a roasted veggie white lasagna.  Moussaka is sometimes described as a Greek lasagna with eggplant instead of pasta.  It's time consuming to make but oh so worth it.  Moussaka starts with a meat sauce, generally lamb, but you know me...why buy red meat when I have deer and elk already in the freezer?  You layer that with fried eggplant which in my experience takes a long time to do because of the sheer quantity needed - 3.5lbs.  I decided to grill it this time.  The eggplant filled my grill grates three times.  But took so much less time to cook.  I might have to make it more often now that I've shaved some time off the prep. 

Was really impressed at how even the heat on my grill is.  Go Weber!

The meat sauce is made with the ground meat, onions, garlic, allspice, cinnamon, tomatoes, and white wine.  After two layers of each the sauce and the eggplant you top it a cheese sauce. What is not to love about this dish?? 

Assembly!

 

Not an awesome picture but gives you an idea

 

I'm not Greek by blood at all.  But if my taste buds have any say in the matter I'd say I'm at least half.  :-)

If you're interested in the recipe I use just let me know and I'll happily share it.  Since it's from a cookbook I hesitate to put it up here without permission.  Not sure what all the rules are but if you like Mediterranean cooking as much as I do, you might want to check out this cookbook. 

So with the moussaka and the lasagna, a salad brought by my sister in law, homemade bread and two pies from my mother in law, another pie from my mom, and some cheese and dried fruit w/crackers from my brother in law's mother in law (got that??), we had enough food on Sunday for the largest dinner I've ever served...13 adults and 4 munchkins.  It was an awesome evening with family welcoming home the guys from their Colorado trip.  And...I think it come the holidays I might be able to convince Matt to have BOTH our families over at the same time.  We officially fit!  :-)

Do you have a go-to dish for entertaining? 
Any tips for hosting a large family holiday since I am seriously considering it this year??

Running out of time!!!

I only have two more nights with the house to myself before Matt gets home.  Call me strange (most folks already do), and I suspect it has A LOT to do with the fact that we don't have kids, but neither of us mind when the other goes away on a trip, whether business or pleasure.  Though I think the MONTH I was in NYC following Hurricane Sandy might have tested the limits a bit.  But when I disappear for 4-5 nights for a Ragnar Relay, and his biennial 11 day trip to Colorado, we can handle those.  Don't worry...this doesn't mean we don't love each other. :-)

Usually when Matt is away I spend time with my sister. Unfortunately, this time, she is away too.  Total bummer.  So I've had to entertain myself in other ways, like hanging with my friend Jen and catching up on all the stuff on the DVR that accumulated while I was in Missouri.

I also wandered around Wegmans for about an hour last night.  That's fun.  And I bought myself flowers.  Cheers up the room a bit I think!

Completely amused at my "glowing" vase.

The other day Matt had given me one job to do while he was gone.  Buy a pot to transplant some of our herbs from outside into so we can enjoy them all winter long.  Oops.  Fail.  Amazon delivered a new one that's about 1.5" shorter and should work nicely.

Look at me trying to be all "artistic."  Instead I think
I accomplished "poorly lit."

When it's just me (and Lexa) at home, I make coffee in my French press.  If Matt is home and drinking coffee as well, we use the regular auto drip so we only have to make one pot as the French press doesn't have the capacity we need for each of us to enjoy two (10-oz) cups.
 

Turns out that wasn't a baking pumpkin.  "Decoration" pumpkin it is I guess
with the last remaining flowers from our garden.

One day I need to run the French press and the auto drip side by side with the same type of coffee bean and similar quantity of grounds to see how  much of a difference there is.  Besides the fines on the bottom of the cup, could I actually tell the difference??  I splurged on an organic Sumatra coffee yesterday from Wegmans and used their machine to coarsely grind it.  I've been using my mechanical grinder and although it is great for grinding beans to be used in an auto drip or espresso maker, I find it incredibly inconsistent for a French press.  The resulting product is generally a mix of REALLY fine particles with a few practically whole beans.  I'll fore go freshly ground coffee for more efficiently ground coffee. 

I have to admit though, sometimes the cooking falls by the wayside when Matt isn't home.  I'm just not as motivated to cook for one as I am for two.  Yesterday though I did try a new recipes.  I joined a 5-day Facebook "event" during which each day 2-3 new "clean" and healthy crock pot recipes are posted.  You all know I'm a huge pressure cooker fan and my crock pot generally has to get dusted off each time I use it, but intrigued by the thought of healthy crock pot recipes I decided I'd give this a shot.  Last night was a beef and broccoli dish. 

Venison and broccoli "clean" recipe.  Pretty tasty!

The "sauce" it made was more of a broth, but for those of us who are turned off a bit by the overly sweet and thick sauces you get from a takeout joint this was definitely a refreshing and welcome change.  With permission from the recipe author, Kerry Bossard, here is the recipe:

Day 2: Afternoon
We LOVE Chinese food in our house, but between the high sodium and heavy ingredients, it always leaves me feeling "blah". This recipe has helped curb that craving and made me feel good about what I'm feeding the kids. I always steam extra broccoli plain on the side because my kids don't like theirs with "sauce", and then I can skip the rice. Enjoy!!

Beef and Broccoli
2 lb Flank Steak cut into strips, width-wise (this makes for easier shredding at the end!)
2 cups fresh broccoli, chopped
4 green onions, sliced length-wise (optional)
1/2 C low sodium Beef Broth
2 T liquid aminos
2 cloves minced garlic
1 t ground ginger
1 t onion powder

Spray crock pot with non-stick Olive oil spray Place flank steak in crock pot. If using green onions, sprinkle on top of steak. Mix together beef broth, liquid aminos, garlic, and spices, and pour over meat. Cook on low 6 1/2 hours. Shred beef using 2 forks and add broccoli. Cook an additional 30 minutes, or until broccoli reaches desired tenderness. Can serve over brown or wild rice, or with additional steamed veggies.

This morning they posted a recipe for clean and healthy Swedish meatballs.  Which is timely as I was thinking of making Swedish meatballs as an appetizer this Sunday.  Now I have to decide...which meatball recipe do I use?  I'm half tempted to make one of each and see which one every body likes better.  To even the playing field a bit I would use venison for both.  If only I didn't have so much other stuff going on for Sunday as well I would definitely be up to the task of making both. 

I have a few cooking projects this weekend.  For tomorrow evening I am making a pork and hominy chili from Cooking Light.  I guess one could argue (if you're that person) that it isn't a chili, but more of a stew since it lacks the traditional beans.  But I find chili to be a very broad term and use it loosely to describe a variety of chili-like dishes.  I'll let you know how it turns out!  I'm also making moussaka for dinner on Sunday. 

Moussaka being assembled.  Meat sauce, cheese sauce
and eggplant.  Comfort food!!

I was also initially planning a roasted veggie white lasagna (which is AWESOME) but found out a few minutes ago that three fewer adults than I initially expected aren't coming.  I don't think I'll need that much more food!  Sunday should be fun though, inviting folks over to welcome back Matt, Cort and Brennon from the Colorado trip, hear stories and see pictures.  I'm sad Brennon and his family won't be joining us, maybe next time!  But as of right now I'll have me, Matt, my folks, and maybe my nieces, Cort, his wife and two daughter, his in laws and Matt and Cort's folks. 

Hmm...now that I'm thinking about it though, I have all the ingredients for the lasagna, I  might as well make it also.  Because...leftovers! 

Busy schedule for the next few days.  Last night I made it out to yoga for the first time in forever.  Tonight I'm going out to dinner with my mom for Local Restaurant Week.  Tomorrow is a chili party and then dinner chez Ruminski Sunday.  I thrive on being busy though.  It isn't until I have what appears to be an unmanageable list of things to do am I actually motivated to do them (ask me how this attitude impacted my grades throughout high school and college).  So after work today, I go into hyper drive and I'm actually looking forward to it.  Throw on a few podcasts and away we go!

Do you have any fun plans for this weekend? 
Have you tried "clean" eating?  Any recipes you'd recommend?

Milestone Pod and other running related items...

...which may contain a little TMI.

My interest in running and yoga, as alluded to in my previous post, seems to wax and wane.  When I'm on a yoga high I'm all things yoga.  Same for running.  And when I'm on one of those highs I tend to buy stuff whether that's a new pair of running tights or a nice flowy yoga top.  With my recent running high I decided to tell you about a few of my recent running related acquisitions.  Some I have opinions on, others I haven't had long enough to form opinions on yet. 

First up...my new sneakers.  Here's the deal, I need to own as much stuff as I can so that I have as few reasons as possible NOT to run because the upcoming winter generally has a whole host of excuses not to run.  Well, this year I will have one less reason not to run.  I recently purchased the Brooks Adrenaline ASR 12 GTX.  I haven't picked them up from the store yet so I'm a little concerned reading the two reviews indicating they run small.  At the store they told me I shouldn't have to worry about them NOT being a narrow (which I usually special order if I'm buying Brooks Adrenaline regular sneakers) because these have a stiffer upper and will feel more narrow.  They even said they've put women in the men's version to account for this.  I'm hoping my narrow foot will find the fit works.  My theory is having a gore-tex sneaker with a more rugged tread will keep be running all winter long.  Fingers crossed!

Second.  One size fits all UNDERWEAR.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Under Armor sells a one size fits all pair of undies.  These were a bit of a Zulily impulse purchase.  Read the reviews on Amazon before purchasing.  A little mixed but one of the reviewers had similar dimension to me and she gave them 5 starts so I took a chance. I've run them once and, well, they are underwear.  I had no complaints.  They seemed to stay in place.  That might have had something to do with the particular pair of capris I had on at the time - compression - so I will have to try them again with a looser pair of running shorts to see if they stay in place as well.  But bottom line, I rarely wear shorts running anymore.  I'm almost capris or tights 100% of the time now so as long as they stay in place while wearing what I usually wear then I'm happy.  I just had to tell you about them because, well, one size fits all underwear?  Don't tell me you weren't curious!

While talking underwear though I might as well mention...third...Moving Comfort technical undies.  These DO come in sizes and I'm very happy with them as well.  And they do dry very quickly. If you haven't "upgraded" to athletic specific under garments yet I recommend investing in a few pieces. Wicking and quick drying fabric really does make a difference.  And I know I know...we're working out, we aren't supposed to care what we look like.  But underwear lines don't make me feel cute and I run much faster when I feel cute.  ;-)

I also recently bought three different sports bras by Moving Comfort.  They have a line called "Secure Collection."  I've decided these might be my favorites.  They are super comfortable.  The "Hot Shot" might be the best of the bunch though I really appreciate that Moving Comfort made a model, the "Fine Form", which has a hook and eye closure for those days I don't feel like being a contortionist in order to get in and out of my bra.  That one though, the straps seem to squeak a little.  Note, "Vixen" from their "Stabilize" collection has fallen to the bottom of the pile.  It is TIGHT around the band.  Not a fan.  And no secret here...I don't really NEED much "stabilizing."  :-P

Lastly, I think, is the Milestone Pod.  I've logged three runs on it now.  Was hoping to have better feedback on it than I do.  I mean, after two runs and calibrating it, my run Monday matched the mileage on my RunKeeper almost exactly.  That's cool.  But it keeps telling me I'm a heel striker.  Do I look like a heel striker to you?

Hmm...don't answer that.  But seriously, after seeing this picture and attending a Good Form Running workshop, I've made a concerted effort to NOT be a heel striker.  And it doesn't feel like I am, but the pod told me last  night that no matter how hard I try, I might always be a heel striker. 

So what is the Milestone Pod (if you didn't click on the link already)?  Its a little gadget that you lace into your sneakers and it automatically starts collecting data when it senses something that might feel like running to it using a variety of sensors.  It's small and light enough on the sneaker that I've never noticed it and since it syncs with your phone when you're done running (via Bluetooth 4.0) you technically don't need to have your phone with you on your run.  I do.  Because, podcasts.  But it's nice knowing that if I have a rainy or snowy run ahead of me I don't have to bring my phone and risk getting it wet. 

What information does the pod collect?  In addition to the stats below, it also calculates a run efficiency score which didn't make my screen grab but I'll chat more about that later. 

RunKeeper on this same run tracked me at 6.02 miles, a pace of 9:04 minutes/mile for a total time of 54:33.  I'm pretty sure that the Milestone Pod actually "pauses" when I do.  Looking at my splits from both devices this makes sense as I know during which miles Lexa wanted to take a break and when I had an extended period of time waiting for cars before I could cross the road.  RunKeeper tracked me at an average of 165 steps/minute to the pod's 169 steps per minute.  All in all I'm happy with the pod.  I'll probably always have my RunKeeper on me (or perhaps I'll get a Garmin watch one of these days - at which point I'll probably STILL run with my phone because (1) I love listening to podcasts and (2) it feels safer one long runs having the ability to phone for help should I need it).  I do like having an easy and cheap - $25 - way to track mileage on my sneakers.  I'm still trying to figure out what Leg Swing is and where you would ideally want it to be.  I had a short 2 mile run during which I set a metronome to 180 steps per minute to see how that cadence affected my stride and I can tell you that my numbers, especially leg swing, changed.  I was 48% low and 52% mid.  Is that better than 100% low?  I don't know!  I was faster though, my cadence was in the "ideal" range coming in at 178 steps per minute.  And the pod does calculate something called "run efficiency."  At the higher cadence my run efficiency score was 83, which is my highest tracked.  That number is calculated from a combination of stride length, stance time and cadence. 

All this is new to me.  I used to just run.  But with having had a few minor injuries over the years I'm trying to really focus on my stride and strengthening my "run muscles."  Hence my new Milestone Pod toy.  :-) 

I think one of the most effective running tools out there though might be a simple camera/video camera.  Here is another poached picture of me from the Wineglass Half Marathon. 

It's no wonder I often get stitches in my sides...I'm constantly rotating as I run.  My arms are crossing in front of my body and my torso is generally twisting.  This is very inefficient as it's using my core muscles to not only stabilize my run but to do this twisting motion as well.  This can really tire out your core prematurely.  So I'm working on trying to keep things straight as well. 

Ugh!  So much to think of while I'm running!!  I long for the day I can go out and just run.  When my stride has progressed to the point where I'm naturally doing all the "right" - or right enough - things so that I don't have to be thinking "am I twisting?" or "am I landing mid-foot?"  Nothing feels better than returning home from a 6-8 mile run and feeling as though everything went right.  Your pace was comfortable, your breathing wasn't labored, and maybe if you'd wanted to, you could have just kept on running.

So tell me...do you have any fun running related items/gadgets you're in love with?  Have you ever invested in gore-tex sneakers?  And Nike...does ANYONE else run in Nike sneakers or am I the only one??

I've never liked the term...

...hunting widow.  Have you ever heard it?  Basically it refers to me.  Right now.  Matt has been gone since Wednesday for his Colorado elk hunting trip.  When he's gone I probably hear from him two, maybe three times.  That is fine by me, that trip takes a LOT of planning, it is a ton of hard work, and it's not cheap!  So if not feeling as if he has to call home just to hear me ramble on about the opossum Lexa was barking at last night frees his brain up to focus on the next day's hunt, I'm totally cool with that.  He gets back on Sunday, the 25th.  That means Lexa and I get a solid week of girl bonding time.  Yesterday we went for a lovely 6 mile run on the bike path.  I can't remember the last time we went on a run that long together.  Over the summer she just isn't into long runs on warmer days so I do those solo.  But last night, you could really tell how happy and energetic she was in those low 50's.  At the end of our run we were treated to a beautiful sunset.

 

I get the question often...do the guys fly out to Colorado?  No.  They drive.  And they don't stop!  They take turns driving and sleep in shifts.  With all the gear they take out, and firearms, and (hopefully!!!) returning with several large coolers full of meat, it is truly the only way to go.  It was kind of funny though...the day after they left, I left for an exercise in St Louis.  And check it out...they drove through St Louis too!  I joked that they should have just dropped me off and saved the government a one way air fare.  :-) 

The exercise in St Louis was pretty awesome.  It was an earthquake exercise during which individual volunteers used their training to determine if a structure was safe to inhabit after sustaining damage from an earthquake.  This also happens to be the same mission our teams can be deployed by FEMA to assist with following a disaster.  Making this exercise an excellent opportunity to meet local and state emergency management managers in some of the mid-west states and get some of our Corps folks out into the field testing their skills and training as well.  It had been a long time since I had to dig out a red shirt, hard hat and steel toes! 

Check it out my rental car in St Louis.  What are the chances??  I take this as a good luck sign for the guys hunting in Colorado this week.  :-D

I took a picture of my dinner on Friday night in St Louis, but it isn't that great of a photo so you'll just have to take my word for it...the food was DELICIOUS!  We asked around some of the locals and learned of a place called the Shaved Duck that was once featured on the Food Network's Diners Drive-Ins and Dives.  Well, we had to go!  This place has a no reservation/call ahead policy.  First come first served.  And we were a group of six.  The Shaved Duck is tucked away in a very residential area.  You wouldn't expect to find a restaurant there among the homes.  But as we turned our way through the streets we found it.  And there were already people waiting outside.  Sigh.  We got our party on the list and were told an hour and a half wait.  Since we could grab a few beers and enjoy them outside at the tables we decided to wait.  Leave it to our teammate from the Alaska District to make instant friends with some of the folks waiting for tables as well.  Herschel is probably one of the friendliest, easiest to approach guys you'll ever meet (and he told me that Matt can visit him anytime and he'll take him moose hunting...in Alaska!!!!).  We all enjoyed  making new friends and the time waiting for the table flew by.  It's possible our wait was a little closer to 2 hours but I was enjoying a few locally brewed Schlafly T.I.P.A.s and didn't notice the time at all.  Upon the waitress' suggestion I ordered some brown sugar and walnut bacon for an appetizer and the slow smoked duck with Brussels sprouts for dinner.  And yes...pecan pie for dessert!  (Did I mention I ran yesterday??  Think I need to run a few more times to account for that meal!)  If you're ever in the St Louis area and looking for a place to eat, I highly recommend the Shaved Duck.  You might want to avoid a Friday night at 6:30pm though.  Unless you're cool with not getting back to your hotel until 10:45pm. 

The next day at the exercise I was given a tour of the I-BEAM tent city.  I-BEAM is the Indiana Building Emergency Assessment and Monitoring Team.  And wow...they have some REALLY cool toys.  Without getting into too much detail, they are self sustaining following a disaster, capable of generating their own electricity and communications. 

Those wind turbines on top were generating more electricity than they needed to run their communications that day.  And inside that trailer you could feel the rocking from how fast they were spinning.  I'm impressed.  And it's always so cool to learn what capabilities each state brings to the table to assist with disaster response and recovery. 

It was a VERY worthwhile trip for me and a few members of our team. 

Sunday morning I woke up early to drive to Holland to retrieve my pup who had been enjoying a few days with my in-laws.  There is no cooler feeling than the love and excitement that emanates from your dog after you've been gone for a few days and they spot you.  Lexa spotted me through the window in the door and started running full bore towards me.  Her tail was wagging so hard her whole back end was wagging too.  She made me feel like the most awesome person in the world.  I was happy to squat down and get some puppy love while scratching her ears and bum. What made me even more happy though, was taking her to dinner at my folks' later that evening.  My 93 year old poppop (mom's dad) LOVES dogs.  And Lexa...well...he just can't get enough of her.  After dinner he gave her some treats and she lay down at his feet in the living room.  It made his day to have her give him that type of attention, not just waiting for a treat, but lying there by him.  He told my mom a few times to look at her lying there.   (Admittedly...lay, lie, laid, laying, lying....AHHH!!!  Yes. I Googled it and I'm 99% sure the versions of those words I just used are correct though I really wanted to type, "she laid down at his feet...")

I feel like it's Sunday already.  I have so much planned between now and when Matt and the guys get home that I feel like the time is going to fly so fast it's already here!  Tonight I'm hanging with my friend Jen (and though she doesn't know this yet...I plan on bringing my workout clothes so we can do one of her DVDs together), tomorrow I have yard work to do (mow the lawn and start cutting back some of my perennials), Thursday I am keeping my fingers crossed that I drag my butt to yoga (I know I know...I've been a total yoga slacker because I find it hard to focus on running AND yoga but I'm attempting to turn over a new leaf that makes me believe I can do both), Friday I have a dinner reservation with my mom at the Buffalo Chophouse for Local Restaurant Week, Saturday is a chili party and then they're home on Sunday.  Busy, busy, busy! 

I'm curious...has anyone else visited a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives location?  If so, what did you think?  Did it live up to the hype?

Trying to be good...

...but there are so many food temptations around come fall.  I have two, yes, TWO, pear pies in the oven right now.  See, I happened across a giant bag of delicious pears on Saturday, had a really busy weekend and am now scrambling to use them up.  So one pear pie for me, and one to head to my inlaws this evening.  Hopefully it's yummy as I'm not much of a pie maker but drew inspiration from a few different recipes and threw my favorite parts of each into one pie shell.  

I have been better about cooking healthy meals at home though.  I made a huge batch of venison, cabbage and barley soup.  I ate that for about a week.  Mental note...next time freeze some!  I do love that soup though. It's a recipe I happened across, tweaked it a bit (way  more veggies and half the sugar) and cook it in the pressure cooker.  Because, well, why not?  

I also made some oven fries and blackened walleye (caught locally in Lake Erie by my skilled husband).  Matt had this awesome fry cutter when I met him.  It doesn't work so well on a tough root veggie like a sweet potato unfortunately but on good old russet potatoes it makes cutting fries SOOOOO easy. 

While I was on a roll cooking locally harvested wild game, last night I cooked up some braised rabbit using one of my favorite recipes from Wegmans, Braised Hunter-Style Chicken.  It works for chicken, rabbit, squirrel...  They have a crock pot version of the recipe too if that's more your style.  Either way and whatever you're cooking, I highly recommend trying this recipe.  I served mine over polenta last night.  I'd say this is a pretty healthy meal too as long as you keep the polenta in check. 

All this healthy eating in the past few days has been to make up for this:

That is a loaf of harvest bread I made at a class on Friday evening.  It was taught by a woman I met on a Facebook page dedicated to cooking.  She prepared the dough for us and then taught us how to make it in to shapes.  I went for the rosettes.  Do you see rosettes?  I do!
  

And it was DELICIOUS!  I ate so much of it that night I ran 6 miles Saturday morning. And a wonderful 6 miles they were.  I've run three times since my half marathon and I feel awesome.  I'm a little surprised actually given how I felt a few weeks before when I went to the doctor and side-lined myself until Ragnar.  It's amazing what some stretching and strength training will do!  I also attended a Good Form Running clinic at a local running store, Fleet Feet, on Sunday morning.  Trying REALLY hard to figure out what causes me to fall apart right when I start to increase my miles.  This week is tough though.  Have a lot going on.  Managed to snag two quick miles yesterday before heading to the craft show at Letchworth with my mom, sister and nieces, using the new stuff I learned Sunday, mostly increasing my cadence to 180 steps per minutes which was HARD!  And trying to keep my arms along my sides instead of crossing my body.  Also harder than I imagined.  But all these changes should help my run efficiency score (more about that next time!) and make me a "better" runner.

Work has been busy and will be through Saturday evening,  I am really looking forward to Sunday when I can hopefully sit back and relax.  I know this is terrible, but I told my mom if she has an apple pie for me Sunday I'll come visit.  :-P  What do you think...should Lexa and I head into the burbs for a visit??  

I really only mentioned that so I had an excuse to share this picture of Lexa I took today.  She was trying so hard to get my attention while I ate my lunch.  She knows this makes me laugh.  

I'm curious...anyone else out there make pear pie?   

If so, do you use cinnamon or nutmeg?  Maybe ginger? 

***Updated***
Apparently the link to the cabbage soup recipe raised security concerns on some computers so here is a picture of it:

This is how we do it

Oh geez. I wrote that title in and now I've got Montell Jordan stuck in my head. 

This is how we do it. It's Friday night and I feel all right...

I firmly believe that if you have a song stuck in your head and you manage to get it stuck in someone else's then it will be released from yours.  Sorry. Not sorry. 

Anyway, this is how we do what?  

Hehe. This is how we jack up cars in the country.  Matt didn't have to go into work until late yesterday so he took the opportunity to remove the old rusty brackets that used to hold the running boards on my Escape. The running boards rusted and fell off a bit ago and I've been driving around with a tetanus hazard. Good to have them off and the good ol' Escape looking a little more presentable. 

After work I went for a run to test out my legs. Very happy with how things felt after Sunday's half. Though my left upper butt is still sore. Does anyone know what that is?  And how I make it go away??  I figure strengthening my glutes won't hurt and is probably a good place to start. Going to be doing a lot of yoga bridges and leg lifts because I really want to tackle the Lake Effect half marathon with all I've got. If it's snowy or icy I probably won't PR but I can train like that's my goal!

As part of that I'm working to revamp my diet. I think I do pretty well but there are times when I don't think I eat enough veggies. And that means more yummy salads. 

Does any one have a love for Kraft Catalina dressing like I do? 

My mom would make a salad with lettuce, tomato, celery, cucumber, carrot, chickpeas, and havarti and I'd put Catalina dressing on it. I was feeling nostalgic yesterday and decided to make that salad. Then I looked at the ingredients on the dressing. First one...sugar. I guess it could have been worse. Could have been high fructose corn syrup. So now my mission is to figure out a homemade version of that dressing that's a little better for you. Will let you know if I have any success! 

Besides jacking up cars funny, we also over heat out here too!  

Ok, maybe not everyone out here but certainly us. We heat with wood. That woods heats water which cycles through tubes under our floors. That heats the floors which radiates heat up into the house. It's pretty cool because our gas bill is actually lower in the winter than the summer!  And having so much wood available to us (and the power company just dropped 11 trees on our property while doing line maintenance so we have even more wood now!) we don't foresee ever really having to buy wood. But it's a SLOW heating process. Once we start the system up we have a tough time on sunny not exactly cold days like this. So it's 77 in my house and I have several doors open. Nice to have fresh good smelling fall air in the house!  It's "wasting" wood but I hesitate to shut the system down though because tomorrow is going to be cooler and rainy and Saturday's high is only 55F. 

What about you...anyone else heating already?  Anyone else out there struggling on these weird in between days?

And please...if you have a Catalina dressing recipe you like please share it!!

Wineglass Half Marathon Weekend!

Runners are supposed to eat pasta the night before a race, right?  Well, not this runner.  :-)  This runner's magical pre-race dinner includes a burger, fries and beer.  Not sure when I discovered this but it's worked for me for several relays and half marathons so I figured I might as well keep up my tasty tradition!  So with that in mind, my friend Michele and I went to Market Street Brewing Co. in Corning, NY for dinner.  My burger was very tasty and much to my delight, the fries offered were sweet potato with a maple dipping sauce.  Because you know, sweet potato fries made the meal (feel) healthy.  Washed it down with two of their Wheelhouse IPAs.  There are carbs in beer after all and runners need carbs.  ;-)  Maybe one day I'll figure out a healthier sounding pre-race meal, but in the meantime I am happy to indulge in my burger and fries knowing I'll torch them off the next morning!

It's not that I don't eat pasta though.  Last week I was gifted some tomatoes, an eggplant and a giant zucchini.  Recently having been told by my sister in law that there is a super easy way to make a tomato sauce by simply roasting tomatoes and smashing them I decided to give it a try.  Put a healthy swirl of olive oil on my pan, placed the halved tomatoes on it, added a few cloves of garlic and seasoned with S&P.  Normally you would roast this at around 400F.  But I was also doing the eggplant and zucchini which would roast closer to 450-475F.  So I split the difference and roasted at 425F which resulted in some burnt stuff on my sheet.  I didn't let that upset me though, I simply removed the tomatoes and garlic then added some red wine to help deglaze the pan and added that to my sauce for a nice deep color and extra flavor.  I might burn my tomatoes on purpose next time.  I ran the tomatoes through my food mill to remove the skins, added my roasted veggies and boiled a little bit of pasta.  The pasta wasn't the star of this dish - the veggies were!  I love making simple meals like this using fresh ingredients.  I just long for the day when I have my own garden and fresh veggies to experiment with in the kitchen.  :-)

Ok, enough about pasta...how about this amazing glass sculpture I saw at the Corning Museum of Glass where the Wineglass Marathon/Half Marathon Race Expo was held?  I can't imagine being able to create something like this.  Bums me out I wasn't able to catch the Chiluly exhibit when I was in Seattle a few months ago.

After grabbing a delicious dinner (see first paragraph :-) ) we checked into our hotel.  Umm...I usually don't complain about hotels but this one, well, I will NOT be staying there again.  Not sure the bathroom had been cleaned, ever. 

Regardless, I managed to get a good night's sleep but we decided to cut, peanut butter and eat our bagels in my car instead of the hotel room - it just seemed cleaner.  (Hehe...they JUST sent me a survey...)

We were really impressed with how well everything was run by the race organizers and were totally surprised when, out of a few thousand people, friends from my Ragnar team wound up on the same shuttle to the half marathon start line.  It's always good to see familiar faces, especially when those faces reassure you that you can do this (thank you Kevin G!!!).  The start line was a little chilly but I took the opportunity to raid my Goodwill bin and snag a fleece to keep me warm until it was time to run and then drop it.  Many races take dropped clothes and donate them.  I was happy to contribute to that and it made my wait much more comfortable because you all know how I feel about cold!

We totally lucked out with the weather. It rained ALL day the day before.  But sometime in the night the skies started to clear and we were treated to a beautiful sun rise while waiting for the gun to go off. 

The race itself, well, it's a little silly for me to call it a race.  I placed 688th out of 2,381.  That doesn't really make me competitive.  Unless you are an "elite" runner though, it is rarely about the race.  It's about your own accomplishments.  Running faster than you did last time.  Farther than you did last time.  You learn things about yourself during all the miles leading up to the event and during the event itself.  I learned that with a little more training, I'll be able to run a sub 2 hour half marathon.  I learned that when there are 3.1 miles to go, I can dig deep and find more speed in me.  I learned I want a do-over to do it better.  I won't be happy until I break 2 hours. 

You also learn a lot about other people.  Runners are some of the most caring and supportive people I've ever met.  One of the gals I met last weekend (Ragnar ADK) organized a finish line welcome wagon for another one of the guys I met last weekend who was running his first full marathon.  It should be noted that last weekend during Ragnar, this guy also ran the toughest leg of the entire relay...a week before a full marathon!  Talk about an inspiring runner.

Apparently Swedish fish are THE marathon running power tool.  


Being a part of his finish line welcome wagon though, shoot...there was a little water in my eyes.  Whether it was from the sheer emotion of the day (a text message my husband sent me seconds after I crossed the finish line also made me cry!), the feeling of being there to witness someone accomplish one of their goals (and crush it!), or being a part of something so great and supportive - I was all warm and fuzzy inside.  Seriously.  No joke.  

After a little parking lot tailgate with our fellow finishers, Michele and I wandered around Corning a bit, visited the Rockwell Museum for a little wine tasting and then hopped in the car for the 2 hour drive home.   I unpacked, and then related in the hot tub with my Stick and the champagne/wineglass we received with our race registration.  Perfect end to an amazing, hectic, and physically demanding weekend.

How do you unwind after a crazy weekend?  

I love the Stick for helping with muscle recovery...do you have any favorite tools you'd like to share?
 

What a Weekend!

I wish I could tell you how much fun Ragnar Relays are.  I've tried explaining it before. But not many folks understand that it is fun to run, sit in a van, run again on tired legs, get no sleep and run a third time.  All while you may or may not have gotten a chance to shower.  But the folks over at Ragnar have built this really cool brand that inspires fun, comradery, a little healthy competition and the urge to dig deep and give it all you've got.  Each time I run one of these I come home with new friends and even more passion for running. 
 
So where did I leave off last week???  Oh yes!  My ride had just arrived as I was hitting “submit” on my last post.

Fast forward to Friday morning.  We arrived at the Ragnar Relay Adirondacks start line around 9am and met up with the rest of our team, packed up the vans, decorated them, took a group photo at the start and then saw off runner 1. 

The Start, a.k.a. Saratoga Spa State Park

Then those of us in van 2 had about 4 hours to burn until runner 7 had to be at the exchange to get the slap bracelet from runner 6.  So what did we do?  We went to the mall.  Wandered around Dicks Sporting Goods (seemed like a good runner thing to do) and grabbed some lunch at a fresh market there.  And I found a great deal on a fleece vest from Old Navy.  I can’t help myself. I always start to get worried that I didn’t pack the right clothing for the weekend ahead of me and I generally wind up buying something to soothe my nerves.  

I was runner 7.  I ran on Friday around 2pm for 7.8 miles.  Then again Saturday morning at 12:30am for 2.3 miles.  My last leg was a little later that same morning around 9am for 5 miles.  In that time I probably logged a total of 3 hours of sleep, though broken sleep, some in the front seat of a minivan and some on the floor of a middle school hallway.  I had opportunity to eat some pretty normal meals, a turkey wrap, Tunisian bean salad (it was labeled vegan so in my head that meant I could throw it in the van and consume it hours later knowing there was no meat or dairy to immediately go bad), a Greek salad with a few sliced of pathetic chicken on it, a breakfast burrito and a cup of squash soup.  Half a CLIF bar and a banana rounded out what I ate during the course of the relay.  This is important to me because this was the first relay where at no point during it did I feel unwell.  See, in the past there has always  been stretch of time, usually somewhere between my second and third legs, where I feel nauseous and wonder why I signed up for another relay.  But this time, everything felt perfect.  I can't help but think that my attention to eating real foods and not existing on CLIF bars alone contributed to my well feelings.  Nothing against CLIF bars!  I do love them...but I don't think either they or I are designed to subsist on them for 30 hours while running 15 miles.  

As for my legs, my first leg had an unfortunate amount of traffic on it.  And for the most part I ran just off the shoulder in a gravely path, once stopping to get a little pebble out of my sneaker.  My second leg was along a wide well lit section of route 9N and utterly boring.  I'm happy that during my night leg I didn't miss any beautiful Adirondack scenery.  

Ready to start my second leg...can you see me??

The last leg was rather beautiful though as most of my running was along the Ausable River (still route 9N!).  And yes, I did pull out my phone to take a few pictures while I was running. 

Ausable River and Whiteface Mountain,
taken while running my last leg.

Last mile of my last leg...bitter sweet

Checking the box for my last leg.
And still smiling.  :-)

Our last runner crossed the finish line 28 hours and 3 minutes after we first began.  I'd say that is VERY respectable for having run 194 miles.  We had some seriously inspiring runners in our van, especially runner 12 who prior to Ragnar had never logged a single run longer than her first leg of 5.2 miles and who finished it up with a very hard 7.8 mile run for her last leg.  Talk about pushing yourself!  In my book she gets the award for toughest cookie.  

Toughest Cookie out there!

More Ragnar Bling!

Sierra Nevada Hop Hunter never tasted so good!

This year, when assembled,
all 12 team medal have a message on the back.

After we left the party we went to our rental house.  There are some amazing finds on vbro.com and one of our team members, Phil, is rather talented at finding them.  This house was gorgeous!  Though it lacked a single pan capable of frying an egg without having to use at least 2T of oil.  But I digress...

Much better than sleeping in a van or the hallway of a school

It had steam shower, sauna, hot tub, massive kitchen, sleeping for 12-14 people and conveniently located in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks.  That made getting to our trail head on Sunday morning for our planned hike pretty easy.  That was the end of easy though as far as I was concerned.  

Sneak preview of the view we were going
to be treated to once we hit the real summit.

I mean, I'm not a mountain climber.  These legs are made for flat land.  I admit I struggled a bit climbing that mountain, especially after having just run 15 miles, but the views we encountered along the way and on the top were well worth the sweat!  Big Slide Mountain is #27 on New York's high peak list at 4,239ft above sea level.  From the trail head, you gain 2800ft  of elevation over a 4 mile hike which includes three other summits, the Brothers, as well.  And what exactly does "three other summits" mean?  It means that at several points along your hike UP you find yourself going DOWN.  Only to have to go back up again.  My legs were screaming at me!!!  

Hello Big Slide Mountain

Panoramic view on top of Big Slide Mountain

 

Mountain top yoga because it's becoming a tradition

Team photo taken on the way down.

We got back home Monday afternoon.  It was, again, an amazing weekend.  As long as there is opportunity I will probably be signing up for relays.  Not once have I returned home and thought to myself, "that is the last relay I'm doing."  I always come home anxious to sign up for another and wanting to train for something else.  What else do you ask?  Well, yesterday I signed up for a February half marathon in one of the snowiest cities I know.  No rest for the weary!  I have my planned half marathon this Sunday, take a few days off and then get right back in it.  Strike while the iron is hot, right??  

Another really cool thing happened since last I wrote that I want to briefly mention because I don't think its an experience I'll be forgetting anytime soon...I attended a wine tasting dinner.  My friend in law, Jen, invited and treated me to this wonderful event at the Buffalo Club where she and her husband are members.  We were assigned a table and got to know some wonderful people throughout four courses of fine dining and delicious wines (on of the gentlemen recognized my last name and turns out grew up in the same town as my husband...Buffalo is a small world!).  I'd always wanted to attend an event like that.  When Jen suggested it, it was as though she jumped into my brain and knew exactly what I desired.  We don't see each other as often as we used to, a function of new families and distance I imagine, so it was nice being able to spend an adult evening with her sharing that experience.  And I will definitely keep an eye open for some of those wines next time I'm out shopping.  

Have you ever attended a wine tasting event?  Or perhaps a dinner where the food as been prepared around the wine selections?