First thought:

The other day, I was perusing running blogs. There are a lot of fast runners out there.  I was feeling pretty down that I couldn’t run as fast as some when training. After going back and forth beating myself up, going through the “why can’t I”, “I should be able…”, “wish I could…” scenario, I was able to put everything into perspective.

Some people are able to train hard and run a decent race. Some train hard then don’t achieve very good race times. Some, and this is my category, train slow but end up running a good race. My training runs are very often just under a 10 min. mile. But my races are any where from just below an 8 min. mile (Boilermaker 2010) to my marathon pace of 8:39 minute mile (Wineglass 2010), a Boston Qualifying time for my age. I should be happy with that.  Besides, if I don’t push the limits in training, my body will tolerate the training longer before breaking down to injury (or so I hope).

I can accept that I’m a slow runner in training and that my race pace will be faster.  Are you faster training than racing? or are you faster racing than training?

Second thought:

Ted and I were discussing strategy the other day. In particular, running at a constant pace or running intervals, and even run-walk racing. Some run-walkers can complete a race faster than consistent pace runners.  Interesting!

I’ve tried to push my speed at the start of a race but my body doesn’t like it. My mile pace is slower in short races (5K’s) than in longer races (15k’s) and it takes me those first 3 miles to ease into a good run.

To sum up:  whatever strategy it takes to finish the race, use it.   Cross the finish line in one piece and RUN YOUR OWN RACE.

What kind of a race do you run? Constant speed, interval? Is running and walking acceptable to you?

Third thought or question…:

Why are my legs so sore from my long run which was only 2 miles farther than last week?

Sometimes I can run long distances with not an ache, pain, twitch, or tingle and other times, I run five miles or less and my body aches all over. Based on last years training, I realize that every long run makes the next one a little easier or at least there’s less soreness. In fact, last year I got to the point in training of running 20 miles and only feeling a little stiff for the first 4 hours after the run. 

How many miles or length of time running before you suffer sore, stiff legs? 

Fourth thought – not running related:

Cottage cheese vs. Yogurt comparison. Cottage cheese seems so much lighter to me in taste and texture yet the nutritional values don’t show a huge difference. I like the added protein in CC though.

3/4 cup Fat Free Cottage cheese: 120 calories 9g carbs. 7.5g sugars and 21 g protein.

3/4 cup Fat Free Plain Greek yogurt: 100 calories 10g carbs. 9g sugars and 14 g protein.

Wrap up:  Ran a recovery run today of 5 miles.  Just went with it since there was virtually NO hip nor hamstring pain.  Nice easy run.  The roads were clear, the air cool, but no wind. After the horrible weather yesterday

I was expecting snowy roads and some tough running.

Week Stats:  Total miles = 54  Long run = 14.2

Good eats:  We were out of most fruit except one orange (shared with the hubby) and strawberries. 

An omelet (3/4 cup EggBeaters + 1/2 cup left over meatless greens with HOT Cherry Pepper –YUM! + 1/4 cup chopped asparagus + 1/4 sweet potato – topped with 2 TBS feta cheese) and berries.

What could be better after a good recovery run?

Well….maybe a good cup of Joe! 

It was a vacation from New York but not a vacation from running. That has become the beginning to my day just as some people rely on coffee or orange juice.  Although South Carolina was hot and humid and the runs were slow, that wonderful feeling of accomplishment after all was done still fueled my day.

Tuesday:  3.11 miles   Wednesday:  4 miles  Thursday:  4.3 miles  Friday:  3.36 miles Saturday:  5.28 miles and Sunday:  6 miles.  Shane ran with me every day.  The humidity was tough on him but we did it.

This coming week, I only have Tuesday and Wednesday scheduled:  Tuesday is a 50 minute easy run and Wednesday is a tough workout at the track with THE TRAINER! I’m a little nervous.

VACATION RECAP – in pictures

Glenda Taylor’s Ceramic Art show.  Gorgeous pottery pieces reflecting nature.  There were 20 pieces that were available for viewing at the Cheryl Newby Gallery, Pawleys Island SC.  They were just setting up when I walked through.  The artistic ceramic ability of Glenda Taylor was impressive. The pieces were too over priced for my wallet but I would love to eventually own a few of them.

The walk to the marina.  It was crowded with boats. There was a party the night before.  Shane and I sat for a while and admired the serenity.

Frisbee the last time in the back yard.  Admiration for the roses adorning the arbor.

The beautifully landscaped fish pond. My father is meticulous about the look of the fish pond.  The fish (Coy Fish) go crazy when you approach.  Shane actually went up onto the bridge but had to back all the way off. It was funny to watch.

Texas Steakhouse and Lounge in Winchester, VA.  I picked Ted up from the Myrtle Airport Sunday at noon.  We made it to Virginia on the drive home. 

The food at the TS Lounge looked impressive but….

The wine was TERRIBLE. We tried the Sam Adams Summer Ale, draft.  That was TERRIBLE.  AND…..look what they put on my salad…. (GARDEN SALAD mind you)  BACON!!!!!

That is a pan seared Tilapia filet topped with crab.  Steamed broccoli on the side. One filet was brought back to the hotel for Shane to enjoy.

The kitchen prepared the plate as I asked  – seared in olive oil and lemon and no butter. Same for the crab.  The broccoli was steamed with not sauce/butter. 

Ted had fries with the BIG BLEU salad. That was blue cheese crumbles topping salad green, onion rings (Ted doesn’t like onion rings) and steak tips. Topped with bacon.

After a very restful evening and good to be reunited with my spouse, we set out again for home.

Our first stop of the morning (other than the Dunkin Donuts Coffee) was Bob Evan’s Restaurant for breakfast.  Delightful!  Above you see a list of events posted on the table.  I was impressed.

A wonderful fresh fruit bowl (because I don’t eat hash browns) and a gorgeous Egg Lites (egg substitute) omelet with spinach, onions, tomatoes, pepper jack cheese topped with Monterey Jack cheese ( a little TOO much cheese but ok).  Whole Wheat dry toast.  

We were really pleased with the meal at Bob Evans.  Neither Ted nor I are aware of any BE in our area but when traveling, we will be sure to visit again.

This is the first time I’ve come across this SUGAR FREE JELLY.  It’s good!

The omelet was good and….

it was nice to get home.

More tomorrow.  Happy Memorial Day!

My hamstring was so sore all day Friday.  When I woke up this morning, it didn’t feel bad at all. But then we hit the deep snow….later in this post.  We’ll start with Friday night recap.

Friday night, Ted and I went to Woods Valley to snow board and ski.

It was better than snow boarding for me and I think after Ted saw how easy it was, he was  thinking he should convert.  First of all, I took a lessen since I have only been one other time.  There was a group of 12, mostly young kids.  There was only one other adult.  I didn’t fall once. But things got interesting when we had to get on the lift.

One little girl was scared to death to get on the lift. The instructors paired her with me who was also a bit skeptical about getting off once we got to the top.  However, once in the air, I said to her “Now you have to help me off because I heard you say you had done this before” Little Girl: “ONCE!  I don’t know what to do!”  Me:  “I bet you do.  We’ll be fine because those two in front of us look like they know what they’re doing and we are going to copy them”.   The lift came to an end and instead of putting my hands on my knees like they told us to, I supported the little girl who was a bit wobbly.  We both made it without falling. YAY!  It wasn’t pretty, but at least we didn’t stop the lift like the two that followed us did.  HA!

Another little kid experience:   We broke into two groups.  While waiting to begin our decent,and standing in the “pizza V” position (this in important because you have to imagine the open gap in my skis while facing down hill.  Skis in an upside down V)  all of a sudden I hear a little yell “AHHHHH!”  then a young boy appears between my legs. HELLO!  I was laughing and he kept saying “I’m sorry” “I’m sorry”.  The instructor said “I got him.”    Then the instructor had to convince him to get up and get down the hill. It was slow going.  Another young kid saw the littlest one in our group sliding down the hill on his bottom and he yelled “LOOK! He’s on a LUGE!”   That got me laughing even more.  That young kid (with the sense of humor) and I took off and went skiing down the slope without the rest of the class. We had a good conversation and more fun than waiting for everyone else.

I’m in no hurry to go again even though it was fun with no spills. 

Dinner:

When in Rome….

We stopped at Teddy’s in Rome, NY.  We had heard about Teddy’s because they won one of our local “Riggie” contests. 

Thirsty and craving our happy hour quaffs, we had a healthy brewski and a Sutter Home Chardonnay (so they don’t offer my type of wine but it hit the spot)

We enjoyed a fresh garden salad, crispy and warm bread, Teddy’s greens (no meat-capicola)

I had the special, Frutti Di Mare (over steamed broccoli, no pasta) and Ted had the Chicken Riggies (Ted has a favorite riggie dish and unfortunately, Teddy’s wasn’t it)

Ted being true to Utica (born and raised) said he preferred Utica Greens.  The greens were not as cheesy as what we get in Utica. They had good flavor and were not riddled with bread crumbs. I enjoyed them but would have preferred more cheese, less garlic, and more hot cherry pepper chunks (didn’t find one).

The lighting was perfect over our table. We don’t often see these types of bulbs but more restaurants should use them because there is no obnoxious glare.

After the lighting analysis    ,  a good cup of JAVA was in order

It was homeward bound to watch about 1/2 hour of the Olympics before falling asleep in front of the TV.  It was a long day. 

BUT…….Saturday morning, up at 6:15 am and out the door with “Fur Face” aka SHANE,

We enjoyed a 4.85 mile stroll around the Parks which we had to ourselves.  Heading down Culver….

Making it to the deserted park

Someone had climbed the steep steps which were blanketed in snow..

My hamstring felt pretty good. That was until we hit some really deep snow and I felt it kind of “ping”.  Luckily, there was a snow mobile trail that packed the snow in places and I was able to get some relief by walking along that path. 

We made it home in an hour fifteen minutes.  Good beginning to a great Saturday.

Hunter Mountain Arrival: No Snowboard yet.  The desk at the Kaatskill Mountain Club Resort

didn’t have our room ready and they wouldn’t allow us to get the rental passes until we checked in so, we were sent off to the Van Winkle lounge to indulge in the most wonderful glass of  Petite Syrah.

After sharing a glass of wine and checking once again on the room which STILL wasn’t ready, we ventured off to explore the ski/snowboard area.  Walking was treacherous since ice paved our way. 

We found the “staging” area where we would spend the better part of our day tomorrow.

The temperature was 27 degrees but people were sitting in reclining chairs outside the lodge soaking up the late day sun. I told Ted that I hoped to stay warm enough to appreciate that tomorrow. 

In the meantime, I found someone doing a method of snowboarding that I thought I might be able to handle:

Ted said “NO!”

Our biggest fear upon learning this sport is …

the dreaded lift!  

We checked out the beginner slopes

and then vowed that before we leave, we will make it to the top of something more challenging…see the right hand corner?   We’ll shoot for that!

After checking in at about 5:15 pm, we decided to drive down the road to find a restaurant.

In a small town called Tannersville, NY there is a cute cafe called “Last Chance CHEESE Antiques-Cafe”. 

See the note that is cut off in the photo?  Lower right corner?  “BEER – Over 300 imported & domestic varieties”.  No kidding.  I have never seen so many beer choices. I had to try one.  

There was virtually no beer taste in this ale what so ever.  It was as close to drinking cherry soda as one could get.  Needless to say, I made it through about 3/4 of a glass, leaving 2/3 of a bottle of Organic Fruit Ale unfinished.  The bottle was twice the size of Ted’s beer (Dos Equus). 

Dinner was good, not gourmet but it sure hit the spot for these two hungry, future snowboarding vacationers.

I had a photo of the stuffed sole but with the crab meat stuffing poking out, it reminded me of someone’s tongue sticking out at me. 

The girls at the table next to us ordered the s’mores for dessert.  The flame reached surprising height.  At one point a lady at the other end of the room yelled out “THAT’S MAKING ME NERVOUS”.   

The restaurant offered a little store area with all sorts of old style candy, nut, and chocolate favorites.

What a great experience. 

It’s time to watch the Pro-Bowl then settle in to get ready for a 30 minute run in the morning and a full day of snowboarding.  Stay tuned and here’s hoping that the photos tomorrow show Ted and I spending more time on our feet than on our behinds.

 This week cooking with the CEimB group is hosted by Apple Crumbles.  That’s right. You’re in the correct place.

It was one recipe where I thought I’d get away with cooking one dinner for both Ted and myself.   I told Ted what was on the menu and he considerately said “sounds good”, then turned in the direction of the freezer.  I knew immediately what he was up to, so I threatened…”if we have to add ground beef to your pizza, then you have to share the meat with Shane”. 

Back to the pizza…. so we added ground beef to Ted’s pizza, and made a few adjustments to Ellie’s recipe, which is found on pages 174 – 175 of The Food You Crave.

Put on your aprons …grab your sharpest knife… preheat the oven…lets go!

Making the Bean Dip: You don’t need to make the whole Mexican Pizza to enjoy this dip.  Try it with crudites or crackers.

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion – diced
• 1 clove garlic – minced
• 1 tomatillo – I saw it in the store and it screamed MEXICAN at me.   

Otherwise known as a "green tomato". Tart in taste and a staple in Mexican cuisine

• 1 TBS seeded and minced jalapeno pepper (I used 1/2 a Chipotle pepper in Adobe sauce)
• 15 oz can Black Beans – drain and rinse *NOTE:  Beans are a legume and a good source of fiber, protein, iron, calcium, zinc, and B vitamins… also low in fat.  They are NOT however a complete protein as animal products.  In order to compensate for the essential amino acid deficiencies, we combine plant proteins e.g. wild rice and beans, or whole wheat bun with grilled portabella and roasted red peppers, or… tonight’s meal! 
• 2 TBS fresh lime juice (I used the juice of 1 1/2 limes)
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 2 TBS chopped cilantro – substitute parsley if you prefer
• 1 TBS water
• Salt and pepper to taste

Assembly of the Black Bean Mexican Pizza:

• (4) 6” whole wheat or corn tortillas
• 1/2 cup of the Black Bean Dip you JUST made
• 1 ripe tomato, seeded and diced * I used 2: 1 large and 1 plum
• 1 cup shredded green cabbage 
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro – My cilantro mysteriously disappeared from the fridge …TED!       I used parsley instead.
• I added about 2 tsp per tortilla of Cheddar & Mont. Jack cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place the tortillas on a baking sheet and spread 2 TBS of dip on top of each.  Note: At this point, I simply sprinkled cooked ground beef on top of the black bean dip for the meat eater. Top with tomato and cabbage and bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with cilantro (parsley).   Cut into 4 wedges and serve.

Ted's BBMP with ground beef.

We enjoyed the flavor – nothing was too strong.  The tortilla wasn’t too heavy.  The crisp cabbage complemented the soft tortilla which also had a nice crispiness around the edges.  The flavor of the bean dip was fantastic with the lime melding in harmony with the cumin and heat of the pepper. 

Ted questioned whether there is a cooking rule that might bar the coupling of beans with cabbage.  I reassured him that since the beans were mashed, their “TURBO POWER” had been deleted.  

Joanne's BBMP

Ted's BB(GB)MP...that would be: Black Bean Ground Beef Mexican Pizza -PHEW!

If you made the pizza this week, hope you liked it. If you didn’t, make sure to leave me a note any way so I can see what delicious dinner you did cook up.  Such a talented group, I love to read your blogs!