April Running

Last weekend in Nashville, John and I joined Kira and her mom for the last half of their long run. Since they're training for the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, they needed to get 20 miles in. We met up with them after 10 miles and finished out the last 10 to make a new personal distance run for me, John, and Kira. The weather was 100% perfect in my book, and we ran on the Brentwood Trail in Nashville, which was shady and super green. Even though I was glad when it was over (and hungry!), I'm so glad we ran with them since it was a real confidence booster going into the end of my 10K training cycle and planning for my first half-marathon.

John had an even better experience than I did and ran around shirtless after we were finished. After he shouted, "I feel like a fucking warrior!!!" Kira kindly reminded him that there were children running around all over the place. It looks like he'll be joining me for the half in Fort Wayne, and I'm stoked that he'll be able to keep doing long runs with me.

In the short term, I have the Forest City Road Races 10K coming up in just over a week, and I'm trying to just focus on that for now. The past week involved a lot of eating out and celebratory meals (re: cake), so I've decided to go on a kind of food streak between now and then. My plan is to not eat dessert of any kind so that I eat a particularly clean diet until the race. It might not sound like much of a challenge, but I actually eat some kind of dessert pretty much every day - melted chocolate chips over berries, a piece of candy or 5, a handful of chocolate chips, etc. It adds up. I want to focus on eating well. After the race, of course, I'll go to town on one of the chocolate bunnies that my mom sent me back with. I'm really hoping to PR in this 10K, I've trained well for it, and a little change to my diet can increase my awareness that the race is coming and help me focus on good preparation. First running. Then chocolate bunnies.





















On a related note, John and I started listening to a podcast called Garden Variety Triathlon. It's written and produced by a friendly southerner who makes triathlon sound like a completely achievable and fun idea. He doesn't seem to take himself too seriously, but I've still found the information and discussions on his podcast to be interesting and helpful. I've never done a triathlon, but I have an interest in them, and his comments about running and swimming are up my alley. It's also nice to get an idea of what issues you face when you're new to the sport and just want to compete against yourself, as the author of the podcast does. Two thumbs way up.

Kira's Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests

My bff Kira was ordained last weekend and it was an incredibly moving experience in which to participate. Moving and personal. So instead of going into a lot of detail, I'll just share a few photos of the elements involved.

Ragdoll cats.




















Shown here: Duke Ellington, the cat who thinks he's a dog. Or a supermodel.



Cake.



















This was from a local lady and it tasted like some kind of magical almond paste.


Champagne!

























The order of events went like this: super long run on Friday. Ordination and 2 parties on Saturday, with champagne in between. The Episcopalians know how to party!


White chocolate crosses.




















A few people debated whether or not eating a cross was weird, and we decided to go with it because the chocolate was so good. The Episcopalian church ladies know how to throw a good party (see above).


I got to read the Litany, during which I noticed that the Queen was conspicuously absent (Anglicans in Canada pray for her and other world leaders). I was honored that Kira included me in the ceremony! It was beautiful and she picked some killer hymns.






















Kira got to wear very pretty vestments, which she modeled for me.

























Since the discernment process and her seminary training lasted several years, it was exciting to be present for her actual ordination, the culmination of so much work. I'm also a little surprised at how well the timing worked out, since I asked her to marry me (...you know, to John) several years ago, and now she has the authority to do so. This weekend was so much fun, I wish we could go back in a few days and do the whole thing again.


Congrats again, Mama K!*























*Click the link above for a full explanation. Basically male priests are often called Father ____, so Kira can be addressed as Mother Kira. But the kids at the camp where she was a chaplain last summer abbreviated it to Mama K as a nickname, and luckily for the rest of us, it totally stuck.

7 Day Green Smoothie Challenge and Hemp Protein

Last week I participated in a 7 Day Smoothie Challenge, which I heard about from Jen at Peanut Butter Runner. I love a challenge that involves something I would normally do (so...a "challenge"), and so I joined in.


























The only remotely difficult aspect of eating smoothies every day for a week was that the temperature dropped back down to normal, seasonal weather with highs in the 40s. Smoothies are my preferred breakfast when it's warm out, not when the morning temps are in the 20s. It was a bit like eating ice cream for breakfast in the winter. Lest you think I want to make a #whitegirlproblem out of this, let me say I enjoyed it and I felt healthier for having consumed veggie smoothies every day for a week.

My basic recipe didn't change, but I experimented with a couple of new protein powders, both made of hemp.


I solicited some suggestions for protein powders on facebook, and I was happy to see how many of my friends had one that they liked. For now, I've started using Manitoba Harvest Hemp Protein, suggested by my dear friend Jess (some know her as JHoles, my favorite hippie) for a couple of reasons. First, it's made in Canada, and I think that makes it a little cheaper than it would be otherwise. Also, I'm trying to cut down on the amount of dairy I eat for a variety of reasons, so whey protein just wasn't my first choice. They have Manitoba Harvest at my local grocery store, so it was easy to find and about $20 or less a pop. You can read about the different types of protein powders they make here.

I've tried two kinds. First, the Hemp Protein 50.


























It's ideal for people who want a little more protein in their diets but who aren't ultramarathoners or anything extreme. Its green color blended perfectly in my green smoothies, and while I could taste that something else was in them, the powder's flavor doesn't come through much (this is ideal). It helps make the smoothies a little more filling so I can make it all the way to lunch without feeling super hungry.

I also tried the Chocolate Hemp Protein, which tastes a bit like hot chocolate mix on its own.
























This one has fewer grams of protein per serving (both call for a serving of a 1/4 cup), and it has a little cane sugar for sweetness. It made my smoothie taste like a chocolate milk shake. And to be honest, I try as hard as possible to make my healthy breakfast smoothies or oatmeal taste like dessert, so this one is great for me. I also don't add any other sweetener to the smoothies, so it adds just a touch of sweetness.
Adding chocolate-flavored powder to a smoothie with spinach was kind of a mental hurdle, but I'm glad I did it. Totally tasty.
I also made a sort of faux-ice cream with it last night:

1 frozen banana
3/4 cup almond milk (3/4 cup-ish...)
2 tbs peanut butter
1 tbs chocolate chips
1/4 cup chocolate hemp protein powder

I blended it and the froze it for about 10 minutes while I waited for John to start watching X-Files with me, and it was perfect. I would eat this for every meal if I could.

Two other random things I wanted to include in this post:

John and I made these Ancho Lentil Tacos from the PPK, and LOVED them.


















We just used regular chili powder, but the addition of the adobo sauce goes a long way. Lentils make a perfect meatless taco filling. It seems so obvious that I'm surprised I don't see more recipes like this on the food blogs. They were also super easy, so we'll definitely be making these again soon.

























And finally, I'm nearing the end of Born to Run, but I wanted to give it another shout out because it's so awesome. McDougall's writing is fantastic and really entertaining. The other characters who show up to run this crazy race in the desert are hilarious and I literally don't want to put it down. If you love to run, you will love this book. If you know someone who loves to run, and you think they're kinda nuts, you will love this book. Actually I think anyone who enjoys reading about sports would probably like it.
Sadly, one of the runners in the book, who goes by Caballo Blanco, was found dead this week out on the trail in New Mexico. It's strange to me that he died while I'm reading the book. He and the other runners in it are inspiring.

March Meals, Running Plans, and Smoothies.

This month has gone by in a flash. I think that's what happens when you're writing your dissertation proposal. A little scene like this has played a few times in my head:


[looking at the calendar] "What day is it? The __? Already?! But I'm supposed to have this proposal done in another month or two! HOW CAN THE CLOCK BE MOVING SO FAST??!!! AGHHHHH!!!!!!"


It'll get done. Little by little.

Anywho. Here are a couple of delicious foods we've eaten this month.


Southwestern Pizza, found on Kira's blog, Cook-Pray-Love.


















This is the first Mexican pizza I've made, and we were both really happy with it! Avocado+Greek yogurt+lime juice = happiness. It was perfect for some of the unseasonably warm weather we've been having. I love the mashed black beans as a sort of base instead of a sauce. To make this vegan, I'd omit the cheese (duh) and just mash avocado with lime juice for the topping. It reheats well! This will definitely be on the menu again soon.


Chickpea Picatta from the Post Punk Kitchen


























John and I both loved this recipe. It's really easy, especially if you already have some bread crumbs on hand. The sauce just takes a few minutes to make, and the aroma had both of us drooling while we waited for it to finish. I took Isa's suggestion and made mashed potatoes. You can't see the under the chickpeas and greens, but they're perfect. We also served this over a portobella, which I loved, but John felt was just unnecessary.


In non-food-related news, I decided that THIS YEAR IS GOING TO BE THE YEAR.

I registered for the Fort4Fitness Half Marathon in Fort Wayne, IN. It's on September 29, 2012, so that gives me lots of time to get ready in what are debatably London's best running months of the year. Seriously, running in the summer here is designed for people like me who are a) students and b) too lazy to get up early. You can run in the afternoon here in the summer.

I digress. The half! I'm excited and nervous. My official training for it won't start until May, since I'm running the 10k at the Forest City Road Races on April 29th. That's a goal race for me, in my efforts to beat a 60:00 10K time. But I'm increasing my long runs to help train for that, so I should be in good shape to get ready for the half marathon.

Running the race in Fort Wayne is strategic. Besides just the weather, Fort Wayne is a fairly flat place (just like London). I'll get to run past mostly places I know, and the finish line is on the home plate of the relatively new baseball stadium in downtown. I feel like I need to prepare mentally more than anything, and I hope to write about that process here.


Slight subject change (no attempt at a transition here).
For me, one of the best ways to get motivated to run is to read about running. It's part of what I love about Runner's World and the may running-related blogs I follow. After Kira wrote about having read some running books, I decided to check out Born to Run from the library.

























I'm about fifty pages or so into the book, and I'll just say that this story is way more complicated and interesting than I expected. Drug cartels. Ghost stories. Impossible terrain. Cultural traditions. Chia seeds. And running. I'm really enjoying it so far! Only some of the story is focused on the Tarahumara tribe and their running. The stories about other crazy trail runs in Colorado entertain me just as well, and hearing about other people's running experience gives me the itch to get out on the running path. It's great motivation.

But you don't have take my word for it! It's on Amazon, of course, and (probably) at your local library.


And finally, this week one of my favorite health and fitness bloggers, Peanut Butter Runner, invited her to take part in a 7-day Green Smoothie Challenge, and I decided to join. On her site, you can see a list of readers and bloggers who are participating.


















Day 1: check. You can see my collection of ingredients in that picture: spinach, almond milk, frozen banana (in tupperware), and frozen strawberries. Tomorrow's will be slightly different in that I've bought some hemp protein powder to experiments with. I have two different kinds of hemp powder so far, and I plan on writing a similar post about them. We'll see how well they blend into the taste. No matter what I put in those green smoothies, I find that the peanut butter/banana combo dominates. Just how I like it. I plan on trying a few variations on the usual recipe.

Here's to March somehow also going out like a lamb!

Californ-i-a

Last week I got to go to L.A. to present at a conference. During the trip - subtitled "Random Girls Weekend in the Desert" - I got to spend time with some of my favorite people, like my brother Andrew and my good friend, Sargibso.

Obviously, I took about 5 pictures to commemorate my travels.





2 of the five pictures were of Zorro, Andrew's dog. Surprise!


















Instead of tons of picture of sunny Santa Monica, here are some highlights!

- This was the sixth trip I've taken to L.A. since my brother moved there in '94 to go to film school at USC. And I finally had my first celebrity citing! Nothing too life changing. We went to a restaurant called Rustic Canyon and saw Michael Keaton at the bar. Andrew asked if I knew who he was (a fair question, I've only seen about 12 movies in all my life), and I said, "Of course! He's Batman! And Beetlejuice!" At that point Andrew told me to stop looking at him, so as not to be obvious. Michael K. looked good for his age, but older than I picture him.

- I went on two pretty memorable runs while on the trip. The first was during my day alone in Andrew's neighborhood in Santa Monica. Since his house is only about a half mile from the ocean (!), I started there and ran 6 miles total along the ocean-front path, including a brief stint in Santa Monica Pier. To my right were trendy, cool houses, to my left was the ocean, and dead ahead I had a great view of the mountains.
The second run was more impromptu. I left on Sunday morning from Sargibso's apartment, in a totally different part of town than where Andrew lives. From his house, it's hard to get lost, since the ocean is a good mark of where you are (duh, on the land). But from Sarah's, all I had was a giant mall (The Grove), and my mental image of the route she and I mapped. Unfortunately, my 3-mile route turned into a 5.35 mile exercise in suppressing fear, since one of the key turns did not make it into my list of directions. I managed not to panic, though, and got directions from a dude at a Von's grocery store.
Related side note: for some traveling entertainment, I bought the Kindle version of Mindy Kaling's book, Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me?, which I would totally recommend. Near the end of the book, Mindy reveals that she lives in a Spanish style house near the Grove - Sargibso's neighborhood! In my 10-block hike up Sarah's street (after getting directions and figuring out that I was a mile out of the way), I may have passed her house! Very exciting. Maybe even more exciting than seeing Beetlejuice.

- The real reason I got to go to California was to present a paper on George Crumb at the Frederick Loewe Symposium on American Music, at the University of Redlands. It was a productive little conference of 5 papers by grad students and 1 young scholar, followed by a keynote by Larry Starr. We had a modest panel discussion at the end of the day, and the topic was something like this, "Analysis: what's the point?" My favorite topic!
Sargibso agreed to go with me to Redlands, and we stayed for the night at the Dynasty Suites, a perfectly nice motel with a few oddities inside. Sarah kept referencing an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia where Frank recounts the story of a bar he once owned called "Shadynasty," (terrible youtube clip, but it's the only one I can find and you get the point) pronounced either sha'Dynasty or Shady-Nasty. What with the fake fire place in the entertainment center, or the torso-level mirror in the shower,* you can guess which one we used to describe our lodgings. But it was fine, for what it was. Sarah and I bought cheap wine and bridal magazines at CVS and then settled in to Shadynasty for the evening.

- The night after we returned to L.A. from Redlands, I went with Sargibso and her boyfriend, Aaron, to a vegetarian restaurant named Hugo's in West Hollywood. Hugo's had a HUGE menu, or so it seemed, since I'm used to picking the one veg thing on the menu and calling it a day. I ended up choosing the vegetarian club sandwich, with tofu, guac, and fake bacon,** and it was delicious - though not better than the AMAZING lentil soup with carmelized onions. I need to recreate that.

- The only other restaurant whose name I wrote down was Zengo, where I had brunch with Andrew, his wife Nora, and some of her family. It was a belated birthday brunch for Nora and her brother, David, and the food was tapas style. Of course, they had several delicious vegetarian items, like the veg omelette, the veg benedict, and veg sushi with a tasty sauce. I loved having so much choice! It's a wonder that I did not eat my weight in brunch food. The hilarious - and best*** - thing about brunch at Zengo is the DJ. Oh yes. They can't just play an ipod or internet radio. They had an actual DJ for brunch. Andrew leaned over and said he expected to hear a record scratch, followed by, "This is BRUNCH, muthafuckas!"

- Andrew and I got to take a walk around Santa Monica the day before I left, where he graciously bought me beer at bars on Main St. The weather was perfect for my entire visit, and it was great to do something relaxing and mundane with my brother, who I rarely get to see.

- Sarah had some errands to run at USC the day we left for Redlands, so I chilled in the main library and (theory nerd alert!) read Thomas Christensen's edited book of papers presented at a conference on early tonality (two thumbs up, if you're interested). Andrew pointed out to me that the inside of the main USC library has been in several movies, like - wait for it -

Ghostbusters!

It has an impressive painted ceiling, and when I walked in, I immediately thought, "Wow!...Private school." And then I pictured Andrew, Nora, Mike, Heather, and the other folks I know who have gone to USC, studying for their undergrad classes there.

It was a great trip! All this is to say, I wish I lived closer to California.






The view from basically every spot on the Redlands campus.













*"The mirror I never knew I always wanted."
**or, "fakon."
***not.

February in Food

Our kitchen didn't produce a high number of outstanding meals in February. Being busy meant turning to old stand-bys and only making a few adventurous dinners. But here are some recipes that stand out.

Black Bean Cakes with Corn Relish and Avocado Cream Sauce from Annie's Eats.


















My only complaints here were that this recipe took kind of forever and it has eggs in it, so it's not properly vegan. But they were SO flavorful! And I'm glad to have made the avocado cream, which is just lime juice, mashed avocado, and greek yogurt together. Dream come true.


Endurance Crackers from OhSheGlows.





















When I made these, I felt like I'd performed a magic trick! Chia seeds + water + time = glue. These are gluten free, soy free, nut free, and vegan. Just a bunch of seeds hugging each other in a delicious cracker. I think I'd add a little more salt and pepper, just because I expect a cracker to be salty. They were delicious and we'll definitely make them again. I loved taking them with some hummus for my lunch.



Quarter Pounder-Style Beet Burgers from Post Punk Kitchen.


















These may look and sound a little strange, but I cannot wait to make them again. We both drooled over these burgers. The texture is great, and they look disturbingly similar to ground beef! Cast iron worked perfectly to give them a little browning, and they held together better than any veggie burger I've made. This is my new favorite veggie burger by far.



Beet Bourguignon from Green Kitchen Stories.




















John has a thing for the real version of this dish with the beef, and when I saw a beet version, he was ready to try it. Neither of us is big on beets, but after the burgers went so well, we figured this preparation might also be good. It's basically just a stew made with wine - what could be bad about that?
I think we both wanted to tweak this recipe slightly. It calls for 8 beets, and we felt that was too much labor and too much beet. Four would be plenty, and we would up the mushrooms. Big slices of portobello give this a meaty flavor and texture, especially when combined with the lentils. We served it over mashed potatoes. I think I would also up the herbs (more thyme, especially as a garnish) and wine (maybe 1.5 cups instead of 1, and definitely an additional splash with every re-heat). Still, we were both pleased with it and it was a delicious way to end a cold, damp day in February.



I'll leave you with two images from our trip to Bloomington a couple weeks ago. First, this onesy I saw in the window at Greetings. Excellent.

















And last, John and Mark in the on-going arm wrestling battle. Even though John has built up a lot more upper body strength, he has yet to beat Mark. Ultimately, Mark has a fierce desire to win that John cannot seem to match. This month's battle took place at Nick's where we watched the IU basketball game with my mom and some other IU people. It was a great trip to Bloomington and I'm glad that we'll have more and more reasons to return there soon!

Run It/Walk It for Chris Brown 5K

A week ago, John and I ran the Run It/Walk It for Chris Brown 5K in Fort Wayne, hosted by IPFW. It was a cheap, flat alternative to the Really Chilly 5K in London this time of year, and it was actually above freezing. Running in the sunshine in February is such a luxury!

























As an additional challenge, the 5K was timed but overall place didn't matter. They awarded prizes based on how close your finish time was to the entered time.

























John entered a time of 22:30, a goal he felt was a little out of his reach beforehand. But he finished in 22:15 - a new PR! I hoped that was close enough to the entered time for him to place, but there were other guy runners who finished within 2 seconds of their entered time, and the winner finished exactly at the time he estimated, something like 17:37. Crazy.























I entered a time of 28:30, assuming that my PR wasn't the most realistic estimate for a winter race, but hoping I would beat it nonetheless. But this time, everything worked in my favor and it was a fast race! I'm not sure what to make of my time. The 5K was not chip timed, but they had a timer calling out the time-per-second at the finish, and we were told to write down the time they told us so they could figure out who was closest to their estimate. My official finish time was 27:28. But I started past the middle of the pack, so I didn't cross the starting line until at least 2-3 seconds after the official start. Also, the rules of the guess-your-time game forbade everyone from wearing watches, so I couldn't time myself. That makes my time about 3 seconds or so behind my PR from last fall, 27:23.








I think I could fall asleep in a forward fold like this.


















But I'm really pleased with how consistently I ran! I wasn't exactly gunning for PR and I've only consistently been working on speed for about 2 months, so I think an improved 5K time is within my reach this year. And moreover, it was a strong, pain-free race.

Other highlights: a good friend of mine from elementary school, Allison, was there with her husband and another of my old classmates, Drew. I was behind Drew for most of the first 1.5 miles. When I finally pulled up next to him, and he recognized me, I realized I needed to spit. So right in that moment, I had a look on my face that said "Hi, I might throw up on you." But I managed to keep from spitting on him, and I finished just about 15 seconds behind him. It's nice to see old Fort Wayne friends at local races. We also got to hang out in the new, posh IPFW Field House. Everything at IPFW is newer and nicer than when we first moved here, and especially since I moved away. They had tons of food after the race, and everything was very well run!