Boston Training: Week 13

My first 40-mile week this season! It was a rough one – I am definitely ready for an easy week. I hate those nights before a 5:30am workout when you can’t fall asleep. “If I fall asleep now, I’ll get 6.5 hours of sleep… I’ll get 6 hours of sleep… I’ll get 5 hours of sleep.” The urgency to fall asleep builds which only makes it harder to actually fall asleep. The demands of high mileage are catching up with me, but I can’t seem to fit more sleep AND more time running into my days.

Workouts:

Monday – Easy 5 miles
Still recovering from Saturday’s long run.

Wednesday – 10x800m in 3:05 w/ 3:05 recovery jogs
I love 800s, but this was awful: rain, wind, and I didn’t sleep much. Yasso’s 800s is a staple workout of many marathon plans, but I remain a skeptic. During previous training seasons they’ve been pretty easy at 3:25s or 3:18s, but I didn’t run near those times in subsequent marathons. Today’s 800s were all over the place, varying with the gusts of wind. 3:05 was ambitious and the last 4 were really tough. Hopefully it will go better when I do this workout all over again in 3 weeks, perhaps aiming for 3:10.

Thursday – Easy 6 miles
I opted for an extra hour of sleep this morning and waited until the evening to run.

Saturday – Long run 20 miles at 8:12 pace
Mud. Snow. Sun. Snow. Rain. Sun. Rainbow. Forest Park is definitely a temperate rainforest, creating a rain shadow and sunny day in downtown Portland. Unfortunately, I was in the park. I didn’t mind the wintery mix until I realized I was completely soaked, very cold, and still had 11 miles to go. The next 5 or 6 miles were miserable as I attempted to warm my hands in wet gloves. By the last few miles the sun came out, I warmed up and realized I wasn’t sore or tired. In hindsight, the run itself was awesome, and I was really happy after a hot shower.

Highlight:

Realizing what a great 20-miler I ran on hilly, rough terrain while dodging mud puddles. I’m going to crush the Newton Hills! Maybe…

My shoes getting ready for a bath.

Leek and Pancetta Risotto with Fried Egg

As seen on Tasting Table

Risotto for brunch? Excellent idea and a testament to the versatility of risotto. Pancetta is a classic Italian addition to this wonderfully creamy dish, but the egg adds a twist and shifts the risotto to the brunch category. If you are looking for something pretty quick for a weekend morning or craving breakfast at dinner time, visit Tasting Table’s website for the recipe.

Also check out my recipe for Grilled Asparagus Risotto.

Boston Training: Week 12

Two months to go! In several ways, this week was a turning point: the two hardest workouts of my training are done; now I have workouts 8 to 10 miles long to look forward to for the next six Wednesday mornings before work. That’s right – the mileage is starting to pile up. Next week I plan to hit 40 miles. I’m already looking forward to my easy week…all I have to do is get through the first of three 20-milers next Saturday.

Workouts:

Monday – Hilly 5 miles with 15×1:00 fartlek
Once again, I thought I was cruising up the longest, steepest hill ever until I took a few seconds breather and watched a very old man fly by me. Good for him! At least this week I remembered the route and ran the whole 5 miles.

Wednesday – 5x1600m in 6:40 w/ 400m recovery jogs
Hardest workout done! I’ve been dreading these mile repeats, and I was so excited to have them over with that I ran the last one in 6:30. Really, they weren’t as bad as I had been anticipating, and I wasn’t the only one at the track at 6 AM in the rain!

Thursday – Easy 6 miles

Saturday – 16 miles with 9-mile tempo at 7:40 pace & fast-finish mile in 7:00
This may have the mile repeats beat for hardest workout. There was a ridiculous head wind for the first half along the river. The effects of fighting through the wind caught up with my by mile 10, along with this being my first long run on pavement. Now I’m exhausted and sore.

Highlight:

It was a good week for food: Valentine’s dinner at Oven and Shaker and a Persian cooking class at Hipcooks.

Cooking Class: Persian Immersion

Cucumber salad with herbed meatballs. Chicken and saffron rice. Chicken stewed with walnuts and pomegranate. Rosewater-cardamom ice cream.

Now that your mouths are sufficiently watering, check out Hipcooks to find a location near you (sorry – west coast only). Looking for a fun, affordable way to learn a few new tricks in the kitchen or try something new? This is it! If you’re in Portland, I recommend taking a class with Monika, the animated high energy owner of Hipcooks.

The Persian Immersion class made for a unique date night last week.  They don’t just teach you how to cook the items on the menu – you’ll leave class understanding the theories behind the techniques you learned and are encouraged to go home, create, and experiment with new ideas.  There were only 14 people in the class so everyone had a chance to participate.

The best part: you get to enjoy a delicious meal you helped make!

Know of a great cooking class venue near you? I’d love to hear about it in case I’m (or anyone reading this) is ever the neighborhood!

Coconut Crusted Shrimp Curry

Mmmm…coconut. This dish is so tasty I can’t describe it – you just have to try it. There are a lot of little steps making it take a while, but it’s worth the effort. Breading the shrimp takes a bit of practice to get the coconut to stick; it’s messy and you have to really press it on. You can always return to the egg to pick up a second round of the bread mixture. Deep frying cooks the shrimp quickly for a wonderfully tender result.

Serves 2
Active Time: 45 min, Total Time: 1 hour
Oven Temp: 350°F

For the Shrimp:

½ lb medium raw shrimp (31/40 count – see tip)
2 bread slices
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp ground cumin, divided
½ c flour
½ c shredded coconut
1 egg, beaten
vegetable oil for frying

For the Curry:

1 tbsp vegetable oil
½ small onion
½-in fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves
¼ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground cardamom
⅛ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp chili powder
1 c coconut milk

¾ c uncooked rice

Quote of the Day

Try to run a few inches above the running surface… This way, you avoid harmful pounding.

Mark Remy on Runner’s World

Heel-strike versus forefoot strike continues to be a hot topic of much debate in the running community.  Check out this post for a more lighthearted approach to the discussion: Should I heel-strike or forefoot strike?

Boston Training: Week 11

9 weeks to go. Butterflies in my stomach. Until now I’ve had mixed feelings about running Boston. Training takes a lot of time away from other parts of my life. Despite my goal, I know it’s going to feel awful. No matter how prepared I go in, I’ll only push that much harder because I’m too competitive with myself to have anything left at the finish line. After four months of hard work, I’m going to want to know just how prepared I am. Qualifying is a big deal and I had to prove to myself I could do it. Now, in 9 weeks, I’m running the Boston Marathon. Maybe the 18 miles this weekend hit home that I’m actually doing it, my training is going great, my knee is hardly bothering me anymore (knock on wood, everyone, please!), and I’m having delusions about what time I could shoot for. Yesterday I found myself looking at fall marathons – nooo! Boston 2012 is supposed to be it! Marathons are awful. The half marathon is the longest sane distance and even that’s pushing it!

Workouts:

Monday – Hilly 4.3 miles
I must not have been fully awake this morning. I should have realized I wasn’t running 8 minute pace up a 2 mile long hill with a 500 foot elevation gain. In fact I was running really slowly and had missed a 0.7 mile loop on my newest 5 mile route. It still felt great, and I’m still not getting a GPS – the memory game keeps things interesting.

Wednesday – 6x1000m in 4:00 w/ 200m recovery jogs
200 meters makes such a difference. The 1000s were a relief after lasts week’s 1200s.

Thursday – Easy 7 miles

Saturday – Long run 18 miles at 8:15 pace
Did I really do this? I’m tired but not sore. I was definitely ready for it to be finished the last few miles, but overall it was a comfortable pace.

Highlight:

Biking home in twilight with the city lights sparkling on the river.  This time of year is exciting when you’re no longer leaving work in the dark.

Caramelized Carrot and Ginger Soup

It finally started raining here in Portland, so that means it’s time for more soup! Homemade soup is wonderfully tasty and so easy to make I’ll never go back to buying the high sodium canned variety. Roasting the soup ingredients adds time to the process but the flavor is worth the extra effort. The baguette in the photo is homemade as well, but it’s a really basic recipe and the bread machine did most of the work – maybe I’ll post it another day.

Serves 2
Active Time: 20 min, Total Time: 1 hour
Oven Temp: 425°F

1 lb carrots
½ medium onion
2 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper
4 garlic cloves
1-in fresh ginger
½ tsp ground cumin
3 c vegetable or chicken broth

2 tbsp sour cream
fresh parsley for garnish

Boston Training: Week 10

Hurray for easy weeks! I realized mid-week that my workouts weren’t much different from a normal week. The weekend run really made the difference in cutting mileage. This gets back to the miCoach verses Smart Coach approach: Smart Coach cuts mileage and eliminates all harder efforts during easy weeks while miCoach leaves in some harder efforts. What’s your take? How do you alter your schedule to be sure you adequately recover during a mid-training easy week?

Workouts:

Monday – 5 miles with 15×1:00 fartlek

Wednesday – 5x1200m in 4:55 w/ 400m recovery jogs
This workout wasn’t nearly as bad as I was anticipating. I definitely had to work to maintain pace but wasn’t too fatigued or winded.

Thursday – Easy 6 miles
Group run at the local running store with friends. Got to explore a part of town I’m not usually in.

Saturday – 8 miles with 5-mile tempo at 7:30 pace & fast-finish mile in 6:40
I don’t know what happened today, but this was an awesome run: it was sunny and I only had to go half as far as last weekend. I admit the fast-finish mile was overall downhill. The last couple miles I realized I could see Mt Rainier (you know it’s a clear day when you can see Rainier from Portland) which made me happy. I like snow-covered mountains.

Highlight:

A beautiful Saturday at the Oregon coast, including a hike with views from the Cascades to the Pacific and even up to the Olympic Peninsula.  Is this really February in Oregon?  Looks more like August!

Saddle Mountain, elevation 3,283 feet

Sunset at Cannon Beach

Vegetable Chili… with a Hot Dog Forest

It’s Super Bowl Sunday! I don’t follow football at all, but I’ll get in the spirit for a day full of food and hanging out with friends. When I heard about this dish, I knew it had Super Bowl written all over it: chili topped with cornbread and a forest of hot dogs. I opted for a deep pot and the hot dogs sank, making for a young forest.

Serves 8
Active Time: 20 min, Total Time: 1 hour 15 min
Oven Temp: 400°F

4 medium carrots
3 celery stalks
1 large onion
4 garlic cloves
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp black pepper
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
½ c water
2 14-oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 recipe cornbread batter
6 hot dogs
shredded cheddar cheese