Homemade Sausage Recipe

From an older magazine.  Portions approximate
 
1 lb of lean ground pork
1/4-1/2 cup of finely diced onions
clove of pressed garlic
1 egg
spices (from 1/2 teaspoon to 1.5 teaspoons depending on your preference)
oregano
thyme
sage
fresh parsley
freshly ground black pepper
fennel seeds (which I left out)

Rolled the mix into meatball sized portions (1-2 inch sphere-like orbs), flattened them out in a hot cast iron skillet and cooked them until they are no longer pink inside.

Love true love

And so this morning in my early morning haze as I rummage around trying to find every last thing I would need for the day what should I find? My aero water bottle, completely assembled with every tiny part in place. What makes this most amazing is that I did not put this together. Joe did. Months ago after my last triathlon. :-)

I am so lucky to have a husband that does not "let" me do triathlons , he does not "tolerate" my sport, he wholeheartedly supports it down to every minute little detail making sure that I will be ready to go on race day even if he can't be there.

That is pretty amazing.

I am a very lucky woman!

Farewell Jet. You are missed.

Not long after Christmas, Joe and I had to say goodbye to Jet, our wonderful doberman.  She was about 14.5 years old when she passed.  She came to us as a rescue when she was 9-ish.  No one thought she would live more than 6 months.  4.5 years later she took a piece of our heart with her to the special place reserved for loyal animals.

Beloved by many. Sang like a Wookie.  My baby-dogs...farewell.

RR: Jacksonville Marathon 2012

By now most people know the take home message.  I finished in 4:07:08 which is a 16:25 faster than the PR set at the Disney marathon in January of this year.  Disney was also a PR by 7.5 minutes. But to be honest I was disappointed. I wanted 4:15 but didn't get it.  Had GI issues despite my best efforts. The 2012 triathlon season was more of the same.  Never felt like I fulfilled my potential. 

Then in August I landed a new full time science tutor position at the local college. Suddenly, work hours jumped from 35 hours a week to 60-70. There was no time for a triathlon training schedule so I went with the basics:  running and crossfit.

The biggest differences between last year:
Higher mileage - 40-45 miles most weeks vs. 35-40 last year. 
Modest weight loss of 5lbs and about 2% body fat.

Move back to standard HR training

I went into the race feeling confident that 4:15 would be mine.

The last three marathon seasons have ended with PRs for me. By now I have a good idea of what works for me. The mental game is HUGE.  My plan played to my mental strengths.

Miles 1&2 Warm up - easy to let my HR settle which keeps the perceived effort low for the rest of the race
Miles 3-20 Patience - hit goal pace, not what feels easy at mile 10, because the half way point is really mile 20
Miles 21-26.2 - Believe - burn anything that's left in the tank

The weather was warmer and humid than anyone had planned.  My error was not bringing electrolyte tablets with me to race day.  The race's error was handing out water in half filled Dixie cups. If you wanted 4oz of water, you needed to grab 3-4 cups which was nearly impossible given the short water stops. But you race with the conditions of the day. I bring my weather with me.

The race started perfectly. Because ye olde HR monitor often tells me that my HR is 189 when I'm running 12 minute miles, I've sort of given up on it. And a lot of the fancy HR zone calculations. Instead, I've honed a sense of effort based on breathing rate.  

Well that pattern put my pace about a minute per mile faster than I had planned. Odd, but it's just a number.  As long as the effort is on the mark, just run.  The same thing happened at mile 3 when I transitioned to race pace.  9:30s felt too easy.  As long as I don't get lured into dropping the pace too soon, it's all good. A little faster is OK.  Not half marathon pace. My intestines were not 100% and a visit to a blue box would ruin any PR chances. Patience.

Which was a good idea because by mile 18, 9:20s felt hard. Cumulative dehydration made my stomach rebel. The legs felt stiff with weird twitches and warm weakness that usually lead to muscle cramps. On the other hand, I couldn't really slow down. Because it hurt to slow down. My body had settled into its stride.  And I was passing people like they were lawn ornaments. Pink shirt girl, down.  Arrogant ironman guy?  Another one bites the dust.

At mile 20, 4:15 was a given as long as I didn't trip over squirrels or small children.  Woohoo!  I opened the throttle as far as it would go. Only 20 seconds per mile faster. 20 painful seconds. But 4:10 would be awesome. Over and over I repeated, "I am fully present", eyes focused on the road ahead, not the ground.  Don't think about mile 21 until you get there. As we approached mile 22, the shade from the lovely oak trees gave way to relentless sunshine.  Wet hair simmered. Shoulders baked. Someone yelled "Go Linae!" but I didn't have the energy to look around to find them. Beautiful blue sky with no clouds. So close to throwing up, even the offer of mimosas at mile 25 was unbearable. 

The 1/4 mile jaunt over the grass into the football stadium was interesting.  My legs were not that stable. As we entered the stadium there was a guy ahead of me who kept looking back. So worried that I would pass him, I laughed out loud.  Dude, you are the last thing on my mind. My thoughts were: Don't trip.  Don't die.  Run fast.  Hi Joe!  Hi Layne! Don't trip. Run fast. Don't puke.  While closing the gap, I didn't have enough to pass him.   Which is fine, especially when I saw 4:09 on the clock!  Holy crap!  Sub 4:10 even in clock time.  YEAH BABY!!!!

Chip time 4:07:08 which is most awesome for a former 6:37 marathoner.  After a few days of rest, I'm ready to get back at it.  Just have to decide what 2013 will look like

Another semester over

And so the Fall 2012 semester ends.  Between 9 hours of adjunct courses and new 40 hour a week tutoring position, it's been over the top busy. Over the top as in I haven't been this busy since the barge observer jobs of 2008 where it was 70 hours a week in the middle of the bay.  It's close but being on land makes it a lot easier to run to the grocery store for lunch.

Fortunately, I had a moment of sanity before this all began.  My inner voice said:  let triathlon go.

Not forever.  Just for now. 

Trying to fit 3 sports into a heavy work schedule was just not happening.  It's much easier to run.  No pool fees. All I need is my shoes and a road.  Rain?  If it ain't rainin' it ain't trainin'.  Sunrise?  I don't need it.  Those blinky light manufacturers made their $$ off me FOR SURE.

Streamlined training: running and crossfit.   

Not that this was a minimalist training program.  With the help of several training partners, I ran 5-6 days a week. Several 38-40 mile weeks, a few 45s and my longest week ever: 51 miles of running. 2-3 days a week of Crossfit.  On top of that I got serious about eating clean foods, avoiding wheat, and keeping the calories low.  Four of those "last 10 pounds" are gone.

And so I made it.  The semester is over. The big race start at 7am Sunday.  Jacksonville Marathon.

Clearly I'm racing for a new PR. All I need is sub 4:23 but sub 4:10 would be better. Can I do it?  I remember when a 9:30 pace was more than I could handle.  That first sub hour 10K is blazoned in my brain.  Now I'm asking myself to hold that pace for 26.2 miles?

Heck yeah!

Extra special for this race is the fact that my sweet-baboo will be joining me AND we will be staying with a very good friend.

Can't wait.

Recipe: "Morrocan" Zucchini Boats

This recipe started here:

http://www.whatigather.com/2012/05/moroccan-zucchini-boats.html

My modifications have to do with the spices and cooking style.  This is another recipe that is awesome for those of us living in a "mixed diet" household.  Simply make some couscous or basmati rice as a side if needed.  This would also be awesome with my cauliflower based version of tabbouleh but I digress.

Cooking style:

#1) If you thoroughly cook the meat/veggies/spices in the skillet, there is no need to bake them.  It's not like you're melting cheese or crisping bread crumbs.  Simply cook the zucchini 20-25 minutes in the oven while you cook the meat/spices. If you want your zucchini on the crunchy side, take them out early.  This enables the meal to be served much more quickly.  Dump the tasty innards and go.

#2)  It's humid in Florida, I had to take extra time to boil off the moisture from the meat/veggie/spice mixture.


#3) This version was designed for 2 people.  There will be leftover beef mixture for lunch the next day.  You can cook extra zucchini, put it on top of a hamburger but for a sloppy joe style lunch or get even more creative.

My version of the recipe:

Spice mix (dump the entire mix into the beef):

2 tsp
-cumin
-coriander
1tsp
-cayenne (not recommended unless you like it hot!)
-ground pepper
1/2 tsp
-tumeric
-cinnamon
1 pinch
-salt
-sugar (not paleo I know)

Other:

• Zucchinis (1 medium one)
• Garlic (1 tablespoon of minced garlic in olive oil)
• Ground beef ( 1 pound)
• White onion ( medium whole onion diced)
• Tomato ( 1 large)
• Canned tomato of your choice (15 oz)
• Parsley, fresh (1/2 cup diced)

Thaw any beef.  Prepare the spice mix in a bowl.  Cut the zucchini in half, take out the seeds, pare it down until there is only ~1/4 inch of flesh.  Save any extra flesh but not the seeds. Chop the onions and tomato.

Brown the beef.  Drain the fat. When the beef is browned, spray the zucchinie with olive oil, sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.  Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Now, add the garlic, onion, leftover zucchini and tomatoes to the beef. Cook for beef/veggies for 10-15 minutes to boil off the water from the veggies. If there is too much water, the spices will taste diluted.  Add the spice mix, cook for another 10 minutes.

Remove the zucchini from the oven.  Top with beef mix.  Open a bottle of Shiraz. Enjoy!

Thoughts from my dog

The number of treats the dog needs is n+1.