Running Recap

I have been running, but my progress is slow.  Each month that goes by seems to bring a higher daily average that is needed to meet my goal.  I've run five times since my last running post.  Check out the runs below.

Run 20 - 3.2 Miles - May 11
Run 21 - 6  Miles - May 15
Run 22 - 5.5 Miles - May 17
Run 23 - 2.64 Miles - May 21
Run 24 - 5.1 Miles - May 23

That leaves me with 975.2 Miles to go and 222 days left to run it in.  That averages out to about 4.4 miles a day or 31 miles a week.  Impossible?  Maybe.  But I'll give it the old college try anyways.

Garden Started

I enjoy the simple things in life. Running, eating... growing the things I'm going to eat. I started my garden at the beginning of May and wanted to get some initial pictures up now before I start getting ahead of myself with its progress.  Last year I built out the two boxes on top and had a decent yield but over planted the space.  This year I spread out a little more and planted several containers around and about.  Hopefully the stink bugs stay away.

Ketchup (Creative I am not)

I've been very good at filling up my free time lately, so if any of my four readers wonder what's been going on I'll try to summarize the last 4 weeks!  First I'll cover the running, and then we'll get to the food.

So I'm still not to where I want to be, but I think I've been improving.  Besides a little break for my brothers wedding and a reawakening of an old back injury, I've been trying to stick to it.  It helps that the weather is finally getting nice.

• Run 14 - 6 Miles - April 22
• Run 15 - 3.1 Miles - April 25
• Run 16 - 6 Miles - April 29
• Run 17 - 5.58 Miles - April 30
• Run 18 - 4 Miles - May 2
• Run 19 - 4.1 Miles - May 3

And because I was so good about running (not really) I had to indulge heavily in food.  Of course this is all after the eating (and drinking) at my brother's wedding and rehearsal dinner!

First, Cate has mastered the onion tart, and has had it ready for me twice upon arrival in the city.  Sweet onions and smoky bacon glued to the tart with creme fraiche.  It takes a bit of time following all the steps for this apparently simple dish, but I find it well worth it (especially when she's making it!).  While Cate slaves away over meals she prepares for me, I find the simple recipes.  Its not because I can't cook, or am afraid to try more daunting recipes, I just find simple tastes good.  A few Friday's ago I made Cate and I a simple dinner.  It was just a salad and roasted potatoes, but more then enough for a meal.  The salad was an Asparagus salad that was very interesting.  After cleaning and trimming the asparagus, I used a vegetable peeler to create paper thin slices of asparagus.  I then tossed the shavings in with a vinaigrette I made from grated Parmesan, lemon juice and olive oil.  It was airy and refreshing as well as easy to make, that is, after I figured out how to shave the asparagus!  The potatoes I just roasted and served with a chive presto.  Simple, delicious and good for you.  

Besides the one meal I made, we went out to many different places.  For now I'm just going to list them out, but hopefully I get back to write more about them later, and what I thought:

• Katagiri - Interesting that it makes the list as this was a japanese grocery store where we found some cheap and different mochi and other desserts
• Bocca di Bacco - Nice wine bar around west 50s
• Bar Carrera - One of my favorite places for laid back tapas
• Boqueria - A new tapas place we tried after Tribeca Film Fest.  Maybe I'll start a new adventure to find the perfect Patatas Bravas
• Fada - Small French restaurant in Williamsburg.  Had mussels fries and ratatouille.  Want to try the bouillabaisse which you have to call ahead for two days in advance with a minimal party of 4. 
• Studio Square- Beer Garden in Long Island City.  Do not get the large fries if you only have two people.  Great pretzel.
• New Leaf - Beautiful restaurant in Fort Tryon Park.  Nice brunch on a gorgeous day
• Grand Daisey - Bakery with a asparagus egg sandwich that I often crave.
• Bel Ami - Small french bakery/cafe between our apartment and the park... if you go out of your way a few blocks
• Levan - Bakery with awesome everything

I'll come fill in some more later and provide some photographs as well!

1100 Miles in 2011 - Run 13

Everynow and then in relationships you will have miscommunications.  Thursday evening was one those times when I thought I had indicated the desire to go on a short run to recover from back injuries, deal with alergies and of course ease back into running as I have not run since my last post.  Unfortunately, though she heard me (I think), Cate's idea of a short run was still 6.5 miles, about 3 miles further than I wanted to run.  I have to add a good dose of idiocy to blame on top of miscommunication as I knew as we ran further out, the further back we would have to run and the further past my desired distance we would go.  Did I speak up or turn around?  Of course not.  Needless to say we probably walked at least a mile of this run on the way back, but I'm so far behind I'm going to claim it all.

It might seem at this point that my goal is out of reach, but I'm not quite ready to give up yet.  Hopefully we have a great spring for running and I can start putting those miles and winter months behind me. 

Map of our run w/some walking

1100 Miles in 2011 - Run 12

Chilly dull and gray, the quiet not quite silence broken by a still wind in still dead trees full of spring birds remembering how to sing.  Another beat, a steady cadence of pounding feet  and a slowly quickening flow of blood from head to legs clears all thoughts to a mindless numb. right, left, left, left, right, left, right, left, left

Chilly dull and gray, the quiet not quite silence broken by a still wind in still dead trees full of spring birds remembering how to sing and a steady cadence of pounding feet, beating heart to flow of blood from head to legs clears all thoughts to a mindless numb. left, left, left, right, left, right, left, left

Chilly dull and gray, the quiet not quite silence broken by a still wind in still dead trees full of spring birds remembering how to sing and a steady cadence of pounding feet, beating heart to flow of blood from head to legs clears all thoughts to a mindless numb. left, left, left, right, left, right, left, left, right

Chilly dull and gray, the quiet not quite silence broken by a still wind in still dead trees full of spring birds remembering how to sing.

What does that mean? It means I've gone coo-coo. Gold star.

Cook, Eat, Drink, Eat, Cook, Eat, Run... to the Bathroom

This weekend was packed full of fun cooking, eating and drinking. Much cooking, much dining in, and much dining out.  Oh yeah, and much making room for more.

It started off with an urge for mussels after looking over my brothers blog on my ride up here. A simple provencal mussels reciepe, some fresh sliced and roasted sweet potato "fries" and a nice loaf of Ale Bread from the store down the street and a delicious meal was born and served on our finest china.

Saturday Cate's sister Megan came into town.  One of her old friends from high school started a small baking company in Brooklyn that has a stand at the Brooklyn flea.  After some catching up, she bought a few different treats from the stand. Delicious Stroopwaffels (thin waffle cookies with a carmel center) were incredible.  From the Brooklyn Flea we wandered up and down Atlantic Avenue and made a few laps around 1 Hanson Place before heading off to Radegast Hall and Biergarten in Willaimsburg where we joined up with some friends.

A couple of liters of beer, a krautwurst, and the attention of the Corey sisters keep the smile on my face. 

When I got home last night I began my late night exercise in ice cream making.  I had been meaning to attempt a fancy cake for my fiance for the past two weekends, and I had decided this weekend would be the one.  And because you can't have cake without ice cream I decided my ice cream attachment needed a work out as much as I do after this weekend. 

Besides being slightly hung over and tired, I manged to perserver through the custard making processes.

  

This morning we headed up to Harlem to meet another friend for Sunday brunch.  More good food, and more exercise debt.  Full from brunch, it was hard to get motivated, but once we got back home I started my four hour cake adventure. 

The batter looked good, smelled good,and tasted good but it didn't deem to rise more then a smidge.  Oh well, sliced it all in half and made a dense 6 Layer Chocolate Cake.

With desert covered we ordered in for tasty Thai from SPICE, my latest favorite Thai restaurant.  Delivery gets here as fast as food you order in the restaurant!   Thai followed by chocolate cake and coffee ice cream followed by seconds.  It made for a nice finishing touch to a far too indulgent weekend.  Tasters agreed.



Drink responsibly and don't drown in the Liter mugs.





1100 Miles in 2011 - Run 11

Sunny and 55 degrees.  The conditions were perfect except for the 25 mph sustained headwinds we faced once we reached the Hudson River. After we finished the run I researched the impact that a headwind has on a run, and a 10 mph wind apparently increases the effort required by 7-8%. With a 25 mph sustained headwind that is an increase of about 17.5%. So even though we only ran 7.5 miles, it had the effect of 8.88 miles!

1100 Miles in 2011 - Run 10

So what?  You might be thinking what I'm thinking; that I've been slacking off a little too much to hit my goal.  Well, we'll see about that once the weather is a bit more consistant.  Cate and I chugged around the northern loop of Central Park on this, at least sunny, mid 30's day.  Gold Star.

Escarole with Bacon, Dates and Warm Walnut(Bacon) Vinaigrette

This post is a place holder for a later post on last nights salad dinner for two.

1100 Miles in 2011 - Run 9

Gold Star day.  A nice run through the southern end of the park.  The skyline looks beautiful through the naked trees, and the clinging snows softens the mood just right with the near full moon dipping in and out of the clouds...  Especially when you are running in shorts.  Beautiful isn't really the way I'd choose to describe the skyline and scene as a whole, but I'm not quite poetic enough to say it right.

1100 Miles in 2011 - Run 8

A beautiful, but windy evening. Had a nice run around the northern end of Central Park up and down all its lovely hills. I was surprised by the number of women out running on Valentine's Day right around dinner time. NYC must be a lonely place. Gold Star Day. Almost 7 miles in just over an hour.

1100 Miles in 2011 - Run 7

Gold star day. Four miles, but they were on a treadmill. Do I need to put an * on these miles? The temperature was in the teens and it was dark outside so there was no way I was running outside. Four miles in place is still four miles?

1100 Miles in 2011 - Run 6

It's a little bit sad that I'm so far behind, but hopefully it will become better as the weather improves.  Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day in NYC, and there was a nice crowd in the park as a race had just finished when Cate and I started our run.  Gold Star day. 

Roasted Root Vegetables

Last night I cooked up an assortment of root vegetables inspired by a Jamie Oliver show Cate and I had seen a few weeks ago.  For this dish I used sweet potatoes, leeks, parsnips, carrots, beets, garlic and an assortment of herbs.  Cleaned and chopped all the veggies into about 1 inch cubes.  Boiled the sweet potatoes for about 10 minutes, and blanched the beets.  I also melted down a half stick of butter and added about 1clove of garlic to the butter for a minute before taking it off the heat.  After the veggies cooled I just got creative with the seasoning.  The sweet potatoes got a toss in butter, garlic and thyme.  The carrots and parsnips got tossed in olive oil, rose mary and honey.  The leaks got a bath in olive oil, garlic and sage, and the beets got tossed with balsamic vinegar, thyme and a few bay leaves.  Everything got a good hit of salt and pepper.  All the vegetables went onto a single baking sheet so the flavors could run together a bit.  Into an oven preheated to 425 for about 40 minutes and they were ready to go.  Didn't get any pictures of the finished product because Cate and I were too hungry! Delicious and simple. 

1100 Miles in 2011 - Run 5

Cate and I went for a run in the park yesterday morning.  Not a nice morning with cold/freezing mist turning to a steady light rain.  Silver Star day but a gold star effort!

1100 Miles in 2011 - Run Four

Gold Star! Cate and I went for a run this past Saturday.  Central Park was still beautiful and covered in snow from earlier in the week.  The route is strange because we also ran by the movie theater to get tickets for the King's Speech which we went to see that evening.  

1100 Miles in 2011 - Run Three

Only run three?  Yipees!  Well I'm back from vacation in Paris and first day back knocked out 5.7 miles and it felt pretty good.  Gold star day. 

Foods from Paris

Two of my favorit meals in Paris and the two that I happened to take pictures of.

Duck Confit with Sauteed Potatoes

Fish with White Sauce and Pesto on Creamed Potatoes

Eiffel @ Night

Not many food pictures coming as promised but the wifi at the apartment is broken. Here is the Eiffel Tower instead from one of Paris' free wifi zones.

Departure eminent

> Bon Voyage
>

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

I'm leaving for Paris this afternoon, and I have to say I'm excited to spend time in the City of Lights with my fiance.  I'm looking forward to the food and sites.  Who knows, maybe run number 3 will happen in the streets of Paris?  I doubt it.  I think I'll be too stuffed from a day of non-stop eating and too tired from endless walking, but you never know!  I'm going to try to send mobile posts along the way so check back for some action from Paris.

1100 Miles in 2011 - Run Two

Gold Star.  I had an okay run. It was one of those runs where you think you are running far and fast, but it isn't that far and you aren't going that fast.  Funny thing is I've run this route many times so I know how far it is, but I still couldn't shack that feeling.  Tonight was close to an even 4 miles in just under 40 minutes.  I realize I might not have time to map every run as I move forward though I do plan to start a cleaner log then these run postings.  However for these post I'm going to use a star system. A "Gold Star" means I did 4 miles or more which I will need to do to hit my goal.  A "Silver Star" means I did the bare minimum 3 miles for the day.  A "Bronze Star" means at least I got out there and ran!


View Neighborhood Figure 8 in a larger map

1100 Miles in 2011 - Run One

Cate and I took advantage of the mild winter weather in NYC and enjoyed a nice run in Central Park.  Nothing gets rid of any alcohol lingering in your system better than water and a run.  Besides the hordes of tourists ignoring all etiquette it was a beautiful run through a scenic, snow and ice covered Central Park.  Only 1094 miles to go!