Daniel's Bread Marathon Dinner Blog

Sausage-walnut-pesto-parmesan pasta

2011-12-24T12:31:00.000-06:00

Well, I think I have to admit that this has been a failed experiment. Other than a few glorious tangos with MSPaint I never really got excited about writing these posts. I think it's time to bring the breadblog to a close yet again, so I'll wrap this up with one final recipe.

And a nice and easy one, at that. Start off by sauteing 1/3 cup of crushed walnuts in 2 T butter. Remove the casing from ~1 pound of sweet Italian (turkey) sausage, add to the walnuts, and cook until done. This would have been a good point to drain off the excess fat from the butter/cooked sausage, but I forgot to do so. Anyway, add a half-cup of delicious, delicious pesto, and a half cup of grated parmesan. (This is one of the rare instances in which this blog served its function: I was feeling lazy and wasn't going to grate any cheese, but then I thought "this will sound like it tastes better if I add in parmesan..." Which I think is true, but regardless of whether it sounds that way, it definitely tastes that way.) Ideally, serve over linguine...but all I had was a box of shells, but it's all pasta, right?

Verdict: Pesto makes everything awesome.

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p.s. My attention was just called to the following little factoid: I have successfully (as of 12/24/11) created a webpage that comes up as the #1 hit on google if you enter a one word search ("pusstabrot"). I feel like I should get a ribbon or trophy or something.

Quick steak

2011-12-11T16:28:00.001-06:00

Curiously, for those of you keeping track, only the third non-vegetarian post of the new blog. Anyway, today I was mostly motivated by a rather large amount of hunger (having just run a few hours earlier two-thirds of a half marathon, as they say) and a relative paucity of ingredients. So, a quick and easy recipe.

Start by pan-frying a cheap cut of steak in 1 T butter, about 3-4 minutes per side. While the first side is cooking, cover the other side with some pepper and grated horseradish, then flip. When the other side is done, keep warm in a 250-degree over, and deglaze the pan a la Hunter S . Thompson. Add an extra T of butter, and throw in 1 t tarragon, 1 small chopped onion, and 1 clove garlic. Saute until the onion is soft, throw it all into some basmati rice, take the steak out of the onion, and enjoy. Easy peasy.

Peanut sauce, attempt #1

2011-12-05T19:16:00.001-06:00

On the one hand, I realize I've been pretty inconsistent about posting lately and for that let me just apologize. On the other hand, I've literally spent the last 6.5 hours (since lunch) finalizing, looking up, and formatting a set of references, so perhaps you'll forgive me if I'm not overwhelmingly excited about this post.

Nevertheless, it does deserve at least some excitement. I rank peanut sauce pretty high in the pantheon of foods that truly let us know we have evolved beyond our primate brethren; if it was socially acceptable I would probably just have white rice and peanut sauce all day. Every day. Or, that is, I would if only I could find a recipe I was truly happy with. Thus, let me present the first in what will doubtless be an intermittent series as I embark on my own little quest for the perfect peanut sauce.

Combine the following: 0.6 cups neutral vegetable oil (you can already tell I've search high and low for this recipe, right? I mean, what kind of recipe starts out with 3/5 of a cup of anything?), 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar, 1/4 soy sauce, 3 tablespoons dark sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds (white; toasted), 1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon grated ginger, 1.5 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, and 1/2 cup smooth, natural peanut butter.

Whisk it all together and serve over, e.g., soba noodles with snap peas, red bell peppers, and green onions. Makes enough peanut sauce for...a lot of food.

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Verdict: Excellent. But since I promised this would be the start of an intermittent series you probably have already guessed that I am not totally satisfied with this. It's definitely the best of all the peanut sauces I have made in the past but... there's some small amount of balance that I think the flavor lacks. Maybe I need to add a little bit of something spicy to balance it out? Maybe more ginger? I don't know. Any suggestions?

Pancakes

2011-11-19T15:43:00.001-06:00

I'm an adult. So, errrr.... that means I'm allowed to have pancakes for dinner once in a while, right? Let's all say that I'm just trying to recreate the magic of brunch night.

Do I even need to write the recipe for this? Combine 1.5 cups of flour, 2 T sugar, 3 t baking powder (NOT baking soda... I made that mistake once, and you end up with pancakes that taste inexplicably like burnt pretzels), 1 t salt. Add in a liquids mixture of 1 beaten egg, 1.25 cups of milk, 3 T butter, and one capful of an ingredient that -- for "family recipe" reasons -- I'm not supposed to divulge, but is probably pretty obvious. Mix until smooth, cook in a frying pan initially coated with just a bit of melted butter.
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Speaking of tonight's dinner, here's something I stumbled upon a while back... before clicking this link ask yourself which you honestly think is flatter: Kansas or a pancake? The second-to-last sentence crowns the winner thus: "That degree of flatness might be described, mathematically, as “damn flat.”"

http://improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume9/v9i3/kansas.html

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Verdict: pancakes are awesome; what more need I say?

tomato soup

2011-11-07T20:15:00.001-06:00

Nothing fancy this week -- I've been feeling ever-so-slightly under the weather and so haven't been able to get too excited about spending time in the kitchen. Hence:

Roughly chop up ~ 2 pounds of tomatoes, 2 small onions, and 2 cloves of garlic. Saute the garlic and onions in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for a few minutes, then add the tomatoes. Turn the heat to medium, add some salt, pepper, rosemary, oregano, parsley, chili powder, and paprika (couldn't be bothered to measure anything...sorry). Cover and let simmer until the tomatoes start to break down (~20 minutes or so). Use a hand-blender to blend the soup, then simmer for a while.

While it's simmering, make some simple bread.

Rip up chunks of bread, thrown in a bowl, pour soup on top, enjoy.

Tomato-pesto pizza

2011-10-30T16:53:00.000-05:00

Ever wrestle with that terrible feeling of trying to decide whether to make your pizza base out of tomato sauce or pesto? Worry no more.

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The Dough:

We'll go with an easy, "no-knead" recipe for this one. Take 1.25 cups of water, and add 2.5 teaspoons of yeast, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and 3 cups of flour. Stir it all together, let it rise for 2 hours, and then put it in the fridge. This'll be enough for 1 pizza dinner and 1 calzone dinner. Awesome.
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The Tomato Sauce:

Finely chop 1 medium onion and 1 shallot, and saute in some olive oil until the onion/shallot is soft. Add a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, turn the heat to medium-high, and simmer until the tomatoes start to break down. Add a bit of salt, rosemary, oregano, and ground pepper to taste. Reserve half of the sauce for some other cooking activity, keep the other half simmering.
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The Pesto:

In the world's smallest food processor, try to fit: 1 cup basil leaves, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts, a bit of salt, and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Press the "blend" button.
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Pizza time:

Take the dough out of the fridge. Dust half of it with flour, throw that half on a wooden board, and roll it quite thin. Transfer to a pizza tin, and first lay down a layer of pesto, then a layer of tomato sauce. The focus of this is just the sauces, so top with just some grated parmesan, then bake at 400 degrees for about 11 minutes.
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I know, I know...I'm getting really good at drawing pizza.

Verdict: Delicious!! Also, I need a better pesto recipe.

Pasta a la fondue

2011-10-23T17:03:00.000-05:00

"...and on a mountain, all of grated Parmesan cheese, dwell folk that do nought else but make macaroni and raviuoli, and boil them in capon's broth, and then throw them down to be scrambled for; and hard by flows a rivulet of Vernaccia..." -- The Decameron, describing a place I would like to go to.

Since man first crawled from out the primordial ooze (sorry, Dean Grudin), he has struggled with the most difficult of questions: "What to do with all of those random bits of left-over cheese from other meals?" Today's simple, only slightly absurd, empty-kitchen-inspired solution: modify a fondue recipe, and serve over pasta.

So: melt a tablespoon of butter and saute 1 shallot until nice and soft. Grate the following cheeses into the smallest size your grater will allow (for easiest melting): ~ 5 oz. gorgonzola, ~5 oz fontina, and ~2 oz asiago. Add the grated cheese along with half a cup of half-and-half to the shallots, and melt over low to medium-low heat. Thrown in a few pinches of ground pepper and salt, and finally add two tablespoons of whisky (you know, to thin the sauce a bit, give it a little backbone, and contribute to the Scottish-fondue authenticity). Serve over elbow macaroni, and enjoy.

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Verdict: Nice. Nothing to write home about, but a bit less heavy than my usual pasta gorgonzola, and with a nice mix of flavors. Next time, I'll skip the salt and add a bit more pepper, but otherwise if I ever happen to have that particular combination of cheeses again I know what I'll be making.

[Update -- Leftovers from this dish: substantially less tasty than the meal itself. I mean, there's almost always at least some drop-off in quality after a few days, but more flavor seemed to leave this pasta than usual.]

"Moroccan Almond" Chicken

2011-10-16T15:50:00.000-05:00

This week I used something in the Times International as inspiration... of course, the actual recipe calls for making an entire stuffed chicken, but I scaled everything down and tried to re-create what struck me as the essential flavor combination the recipe was trying to get at.

So chop up 1 onion and 1 large shallot, mix together with 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, and make into a bed on the bottom of a glass baking dish. Prepare a mixture of 1 teaspoon each powdered ginger, coriander, cinnamon, and black pepper in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and coat ~1.5 pounds of chicken breast with it. Put on top of the onion/shallot/ginger bed. Finally, sprinkle a handful of sliced almonds on top, and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
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The conference in Cleveland was excellent, as it turns out. Let me summarize as follows: the science went well, and now somewhere on the internet there exists a picture of me hanging out with Slider at Jacobs Field. I'll try to dig it up sometime.
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Verdict: Nice. Not mind-blowing, certainly, but an excellent future option when I want to make a quick chicken dish but am tired of the usual herb-and-parmesan version that has been my go-to for the past x years.

Next week: I'm not sure, but don't be surprised if it's pasta-based.

Conference Cassoulet

2011-10-12T11:52:00.002-05:00

So, p.s., no dinner posts this last week as I am in a conference in Cleveland. I've been here since Sunday, and surprisingly this is one of the rare times I've had internet access. There'll be a new dinner post next week; sorry if you've been holding your breath waiting for this post.

Bitter Garlic and Tomato Chicken

2011-10-02T17:04:00.000-05:00

I recently was given a copy of the Times International Cookbook, and for those of you who don't know, it is kind of hilarious. Just leafing through it there are all sorts of writing quirks and various hints that it was, in fact, written in the '70s. Most of the recipes have specific serving sizes (you know, "Serves 4-6 people" and the like), but some of the ones in the "China" section just go with "Serves any number of people. Within reason." Also, based on a very unscientific counting, I'm guessing that at least half of all of the recipes call for 2 tablespoons of warm cognac.

Anyway, today's dinner isn't from that cookbook, but I'm sure some some of the upcoming ones will be. Today I went with a simple chicken dish. Start things off by cooking 7 teaspoons of garlic (a terrifying amount) over medium heat in 1/4 cup olive oil until it is brown (but not burned). Add 1.75 cups of diced tomatoes, turn heat up to medium-high, and cook for 15 minutes, until the tomatoes start breaking down. Stir in 1 teaspoon each salt, pepper, and cilantro (the recipe called for parsley...thank you, herb substitution guide).

Cut up 1.5 pounds of chicken breasts into thigh-sized pieces (speaking of being off-recipe, it called for thighs, and I went to the supermarket, bought chicken thighs, and put them in the fridge. Somehow, between then and now, the thighs mysteriously turned themselves into breasts. I'm almost positive that I didn't actually buy the wrong thing, so it's quite amazing that the chicken was able to do that). Add them to the sauce, and cook until down (~10 minutes). Serve over basmati, and enjoy.

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Well, my phone's camera is still broken, and while I'm sure my homages to Dads MSPaint skills will continue some other week, this week I've just spent far too much time creating and editing figures for papers and presentations to get really excited about drawing lots of little grains of rice mixed in among the chicken and tomato.

Still, at least that means that the Science is going well these days -- the Society of Rheology meeting is one week away; woo...Cleveland! But no, it should be fun.
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Verdict: Delicious. Actually, I think I made one mistake with this recipe... I didn't strain out the tomato seeds before adding the tomatoes to the garlic, and think the bitterness of the seeds muddied the supposed bitterness of the browned garlic. Still, this was a meal that combined three of my favorite food groups: carbs, garlic, and tomato, so it couldn't really lose.

Braised broccoli

2011-09-25T17:40:00.001-05:00

This post is a public service announcement (wait...did I actually just link to that song?) because while this recipe might not be a full dinner, it makes an awesome side dish, especially if you have to bring it over somewhere else...

This weekend I went to potluck and was in charge of bringing a side dish (aside: other than the broccoli, other items included: salad, hummus and pita, olives, watermelon, and Little Caesar's pizza. Odd.), and what makes this dish amazing is that is tasty when hot but also excellent at room temperature. So, when everyone shows up late, it still works. How many veggie dishes can you really say that of?

Broccoli.
Or maybe a tree, hard to know.
P.S. College folks: does anyone know what ever happened to the painting of me as a piece of broccoli?

So, to start off: cook 1 teaspoon minced garlic and 1 finely chopped shallot in 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. While waiting for the shallot to get reasonably soft (4-5 minutes, medium heat) chop up about 2 pounds of broccoli florets (stem works too, but I don't like it as much) into bite sized pieces, and then add to the olive oil/garlic/shallot. Cook for a bit less than 5, and then add 1 cup of dry white wine that has had 0.5 teaspoons of salt and some arbitrary amount of ground black pepper. Let the wine heat up and start bubbling off for 2 minutes, turn the heat down to medium-low, cover, and let simmer for 6 minutes.

Uncover, turn the heat back to medium, and let most of the remaining wine bubble away. Serve. Enjoy.
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Saddest moment of the week: I apparently convinced somebody to try making the most delicious pie ever, and then did not get to have any. Le sad.

Otherwise, though, life is good.

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Tastes better than it looks.

Verdict: Implicit in the above description.

Next week: I'll actually try to have an interesting new recipe.

An ominous second week: Giotto's pizza

2011-09-18T20:16:00.001-05:00

So, first announcement: my phone is still semi-broken, so prepare yourself for more incredibly life-like MSPaint images. Anyway, as the title suggests this dinner blog is getting off to something of an ominous start: it's only week two and I've already had to invoke the "hey, it's not a new dish but at least I won't look at the recipe" rule. But, after you read my justification in paragraph below I think you'll agree that this pizza was very much in the spirit of the dinner blog. I also think what I really need is for you all to start suggesting things for me to try cooking. Oh well.

Anyway, for this week I went with a pizza, partly because about three months ago I finally acquired a circular pizza pan... until that time I had been making a veritable legion of rectangular pizzas using a broiler pan, and in fact have continued to do so this summer. And you know what? That had to stop, and it stopped this weekend.

So, for the dough proof 2 teaspoons of yeast in just less than 1 cup of warm water. Add a splash (a heavy splash...maybe 1 T) olive oil, 2 t salt, a clove of minced garlic, and 2 T dried rosemary. Start stirring and then kneading in about 2.5 cups of flour. Let the dough rise for an hour (a good hour).

But even before making the dough, start preparing the tomato sauce. Saute 1 large chopped onion and 1 clove minced garlic in 2 T olive oil, and when the onion is translucent add 1/2 a cup of red wine and 2 T tomato paste. Add a few dashes of salt, grind in some black pepper, and sprinkle in some oregano. Stir, and let it simmer until some of the liquidity of the wine/paste mixture has bubbled away. Having forgotten to get tomatoes at the farmer's market this Saturday, I reached into my emergency stash of canned tomatoes: crush by hand the contents of one of those 28 oz can whole plum peeled tomatoes, and add the tomatoes/juice to the sauce. Set it simmering.

Okay, now's the fun part! Take the dough, punch it down, and flatten into a circle. When you got it to a rough 7" diameter or so, start throwing it!

Totally awesome flying pizza... there were definitely no collisions of the dough with the cabinets, as depicted. Also, in my apartment there are only two cabinets above and below that counter, but "two" is apparently a hard number of cabinets to draw.

Okay, now that you've had your fun, take the blobs of fallen-apart dough, recombine them, and just use a rolling pin. Le sigh. Put a little olive oil on the pizza pan, put the dough on top, and evenly coat with sauce. Shred about, say, 1/2 a cup each mozzarella and asiago (the supermarket was out of Parmesan...how is that even possible?), and sprinkle on top. Saute half of a cut up green pepper briefly, add as a topping. Preheat your nice wood-fire oven to 800 degrees (or, failing that, your gas oven to "as high as it'll go without setting off the fire alarm") and put the pizza in the oven. Bake for 12 minutes, and then remove and let cool.
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Another week of not really having much to update you all on... work is busy, but good. I have an upcoming conference in Cleveland (in October), and one of my friends was good enough to send along this tourism video (language)...which was pretty fantastic. It really helped get me excited about visiting the city for the first time. More news next week. Maybe.

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Some people can draw a perfect circle freehand... I throw a perfectly circular pizza.

Verdict:
Pizza Is Always Awesome.

Bulgarian Pepper and Cheese, a la Moosewood

2011-09-11T08:58:00.001-05:00

So, just a heads-up before I get started: I did in fact take pictures along the way, but my phone is dying and apparently decided not to save any of the photos I took. That's okay, though: I've set about drawing some re-creations of them. Quite frankly, between my poor photographic skills and my almost other-worldly talent for drawing with computer programs I kind of don't you'll be able to tell the difference.

Okay, with that out of the way, let's talk about dinner! I picked this recipe because the last time I was home I stole (with permission?) Mom's copy of the Moosewood Cookbook, and since then I've been honestly intending to cook something out of it "sometime next week" or "as soon as I remember to get the necessary groceries." Obviously that strategy failed for many consecutive months, so this first new blog post seemed like an ideal way to get on track.

First things first: chop/semi-mince 2 medium-large onions and 3 green peppers and saute in about 2 T butter... the recipe calls for 1.5 c chopped mushrooms as well, but (a) I forgot to buy them, (b) wasn't all that sad about that fact, and (c) decided not to let (a) stop me. Anyway, remove from heat when the peppers are becoming tender but are still a bit crunchy (moral/aesthetic consideration: crunchy vegetables are always Better. Discuss.) To the sauteed veggies add the following mixture: 1.5 T soy sauce, 1.5 T cheap cooking sherry, 1 t marjoram, 0.75 t salt, and some indeterminate amount of ground black pepper. To really get the full "Dinner Blog" experience, try to break your pepper grinder during this step. This has the bonus off adding in some unknown/unknownable number of whole peppercorns; they will be a treat to discover while eating the finished dish later on.

Sweet, with that done it's time to start assembling the dish. Soak 1 c raw bulgar (I used grind #2, as it was all my supermarket carried) in some water for 15ish minutes, after which it'll be a bit less crunchy. Spread it out in an even layer in a buttered 9x13 baking pan (which I didn't have, so I substituted a maybe 8x11 glass baking dish), and then pour the veggie/sauce mix and spread out into an even layer on top of that. For layer #3 combined 12 oz cottage cheese with 1 c crumbled feta. Finally, pour 3 lightly beaten eggs on top of everything, and dust with feta. I don't know about you, but there's something I find oddly fun about making layered dinners like this. Anyway, here's the result:

Remember: this is not a photo, just a photorealistic drawing

Turn the oven up to 11 (in this case, "11" = 350 degrees) and bake for 40 minutes. Let it rest for 10 minutes after taking it out and then serve/enjoy!
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Well, this week has felt kind of ridiculous. The first few days (from the start of the long weekend, essentially) I came down with some kind of cold, and just when I was starting to feel like I was on the upswing I managed to sneeze violently enough that I missed the stair I was aiming for and turn my ankle as badly as anything that's happened to me since my soccer days. Fortunately I'm up and walking again (although I think I'll take a few more days off from running), but that meant during the second half of the week I worked from home instead of walking to work.

It turns out that I really don't like working from home, although maybe that's a reflection of the work I had to do... I'm, of course, quite excited that I can see the end of grad school off on the horizon, but getting together application materials for postdoctoral positions and fellowships turns out to be much, much less fun than doing research. Oh well, has to be done I guess (must. not. stay in grad school. forever.)
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Figure 1. Cross-sectional view of dinner

Verdict:
Pretty good, I think; probably it'll be added to the semi-regular-but-not-super-often rotation, so all in all I'll call it a success for the Dinner Blog's first attempt. The one problem, though, was that with using the smaller-than-suggested baking dish the layer of bulgar ended up being too thick (see Fig. 1) -- in the future I think I'll either use less or see what happens if I try multiple layers, bulgar-veggie-bulgar-veggie-cheese or something.

Next week:
I don't know...

The Dinner Blog begins: The rules of the game

2011-09-03T10:29:00.006-05:00

Well, by popular request I am once again resurrecting this blog... But since I've already written as much about bread and running as I care to, I've decided to switch to a new topic. In the past I've used the writing of this blog as a prompt to get me to do things I ostensibly wanted to do anyway (the whole "I've told other people I'd write about this each week... I guess that means I have to stop procrastinating and do it" incentive), so I spent the last few weeks thinking about something I wanted to do better that would also make a convenient blog topic. This is what I came up with.

You see, the first two years out here in Illinois I'd say I did a (relatively) good job learning to be a better cook, trying new meals, etc. etc. As grad school has worn on, though, I feel like I've fallen into a rut of always making the same handful of dishes on some vaguely rotating schedule. So, it's time to step back up to the plate (ugh...worst. pun. ever.) and get back to trying new foods.

So, the rules of the game will be simple:

(1) Sometime during each week I will make myself cook one new thing, and then write about it.

(2) If the week is particularly rough and I don't have time to do a real grocery trip I'll allow myself to make an something old, but in which case I will not be permitted to look at a recipe.

That's it. For consistency I'll try to stick to writing things up on Sunday, starting a week from tomorrow (when I told some of you the first post would be Sept. 3 I thought that would be a Sunday... whoops). Here's where you all come in: I have a handful of cookbooks from which to select new dishes, but those will only last me so long. Have any particular favorites you think I should try? Send 'em along, and they'll get added to the list!

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Next week: "Bulgarian pepper and cheese delight"

The Marathon

2010-05-02T09:00:00.006-05:00

As this will (once again) be the final post of this blog, I thought I'd change up the format a bit and just focus on the big day itself...

Pre-race: I don't remember being keyed-up enough for a sports event to lose sleep the night before since... well, probably my high-school soccer days, but I definitely didn't get much sleep on Friday night. Still, I had gotten plenty of rest the night before, had been eating well, and felt really good Saturday morning before the race. So, armed with a somewhat foolish racing strategy (start out with the pace group -- finishing the marathon in 3:10 -- that would let me qualify for Boston, try to keep up with them for 13 miles to satisfy my pride, and then drop back to a more reasonable pace), some of my favorite racing foods (Chocolate Outrage GU and cran-razz Clif shot blocks), and one of a pair of what must be the finest custom-designed team racing shirts the world has ever seen (you know you're winning at life when you're designing a t-shirt in an image analysis program developed by the NIH) I lined up with the the other ~10,000 people running either the full or half marathon.

Miles 1 and 2: Thanks to the crowd of racers at the beginning we started off running a bit slower than our projected pace (so that people weren't tripping over each other), which both felt good and was great for my confidence. Also, I had not been expecting the crowd of spectators lining the first mile... I'm pretty sure I was grinning like a fool for the first chunk of this race! Anyway, by the second mile we had established our pace and had separated enough for me to see that there were about 40-45 people running in the pace group with me -- more crowed than I was used to, but fun! Surreal musical moment: right around mile 2 was a man singing a cover of "Tangled up in Blue." I mean... a great song, but not exactly a pump-you-up, get-the-blood flowing athletic anthem.

Miles 3 - 6: We definitely settled in the pace in this little stretch (which, being on the outskirts of town, included some pretty windy stretches), and I was feeling pretty good. I had been worried that the pace group I was running with was going at a pace a good 1:45 faster than I had done my long runs at, but I guess the mid-week faster miles and the taper really do combine to get you ready to run both longer and faster than you have before. Also, around this time everybody in the pace group started naturally falling into roughly the same stride pattern, and it was just really neat to feel all simultaneously locked in like that.

Miles 7 - 10: Started out with another great musical moment... a chunk of this section was through a large park, and in a gazebo was a four man band -- one drummer and three electric guitars -- just wailing repeatedly on the opening chords to "Eye of the Tiger." Very appropriate. Also, this stretch included my first sighting of friends cheering me on while dressed in funny hats. While all of the spectators lining the race were great and so kind in cheering everybody on, this was particularly heartening.

Miles 11 - 16: In this chunk I was still (surprisingly!) feeling pretty good, like I was running smoothly and as easily as could be expected. The sun came out around this time (I think the temperature by the end of the race got to be in the upper seventies or so), and I was starting to feel that, but at 13 I decided "Well, why not? I guess I'll try to stick with this pace group for as long as I can." It was also around this time that I finally got the hang of drinking water out of the cups they had at the aid stations while running... but where by "got the hang of" I mean I managed to get the "water in mouth" to "water splashed on face and shirt" ratio from 2:8 to more like 6:4. Also, right around mile 16 was my favorite sign of the race... something like "Kanye says 'Yo runners, I'm really happy for you, Imma let you finish...'"

Miles 17 - 22: So, after focusing on just breathing, trying to maintain form, running smoothly, etc. for the last 10 or so miles, mile 17 began with a sharp curve that made me look around and notice that our pace group had somewhere along the way dwindled from ~40 people to 7. Not to be mean, but this made me feel pretty good about myself... it was a tough, warm day, and just lasting for that long felt like a positive. Still, I could tell that I myself was starting to get tired -- fading a bit -- and so I started playing the "okay, just stick with these guys until mile 18," and then "alright, just hang tough until mile 19" game. By mile marker 22 there was just the pace leader, two other guys, and I still running together.

Mile marker 23: So, you'd think with a name like "hitting the wall" you wouldn't be surprised at finding it a very sudden, precipitous kind of phenomenon, but man! Even over the last few hundred yards of mile 22 I was still feeling fine. I mean, tired of course, but still relatively fine. And then, while passing the "Mile 23" sign on the course it was like something inside of me just broke down... as if some deranged alchemist suddenly discovered how to transmute muscle into lead. Needless to say, after a brief internal conversation with my legs (that went something like Me:"Please keep moving, won't you? I'd be ever so grateful! And it's not so very much farther!" My legs: "Well... No, I don't wanna!") I lost touch with that pace group. I'm still trying to decide how much of that was actually physical and how much was just psychological: the sudden, overpowering manifestation of all of the totally rational reasons to not keep running after slogging through 20+ miles. But still, quite the experience either way.

Miles 24 - 26: Really, some of the most unpleasant, painful miles of my life. Featuring about three episodes of my legs twitching -> cramping -> deciding to make me kneel on the ground for a few seconds, and a much more frequently recurring need to pause and try to stretch. I really have to thank the spectators along this stretch, though... everyone was just so encouraging, cheering me on, and practically willing me to get back up, to start running again (okay, well, maybe that last one was a bit of a stretch, but that's how I chose to feel at the time!)

Miles 26 - 26.2: This was obscenely difficult. At this point there was just no part of me that had any desire to move. At all. My legs were just pleading with me, shamelessly begging me to stop. The curb looked so tempting, the grass was so green...I just wanted to sit. But, well...I don't think of pride as a virtue, but for better or for worse it sure is a powerful motivator, especially in athletics (for me, at least). This final stretch -- the last two turns of the street and the football stadium (the race ending on the 50 yard line) -- was lined with people, and I just couldn't stand the thought of having to stop in front of everybody, so painfully close to the end. So, one stride at a time I somehow managed to keep myself going, stumbling across that finish line with a relief I'm sure you can imagine me feeling!

Post-race thoughts: Well, crossing the line I still couldn't really believe that I had actually finished -- both in the sense of having completed a marathon and in the sense that I was allowed to stop running. Then, after having someone hand me a finishers medal and a bottle of water I caught up to the pace leader I had just spent large chunk of time running with and listening to, said thanks and chatted until I was reasonably certain I could sit down without my legs cramping up on me. And then I proceeded to sit down on the field, then lie down, and then, before I mustered the energy to go look for my family and friends, spent the next 15 minutes trying to figure out how to go from lying down to an even more reclined position.

So, I have to admit that it hurt a little bit to come so very close -- three minutes! -- to my ultimate goal and then fall short just in the last miles. But, you know, "Mais on ne se bat pas dans l'esport du succès," and all that... And, ultimately, I did far better than I realistically expected myself to, and I'm pretty proud myself, both for training so hard and for how well I ran on race day.

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Marathon/training, by the numbers:

517 - Total miles run
(*** censored ***) - Dollars spent on running gear... really, a bit more than I'd like to admit!
??? - Some large but indeterminate number of accumulated generic aches and pains
48 - Current resting heart rate (well, "current" as of a week ago... right now just lying down feels like exercise)
4 - Months of training
3 - Blisters (although, remarkably, all before I bought actual running socks...I hate to admit it, but technical gear really does make a difference)
2 - Pairs of running shoes
1 - Awesome day of running

Official time: 3:13:26

Week 17 - In which I fail to respect the run...

2010-04-25T14:58:00.002-05:00

Well, I guess I've been feeling a little too good about myself with respect to running - even with all the niggling little aches and injuries I've gathered to myself. You'll recall that last week's long run got pushed to this Monday... Well, it was a 13 mile run, so on Saturday -- planning out how I was going to distribute the work I had to do over the next few days -- I thought to myself, "Okay, that time we did the 20 mile run on Monday I was more or less useless at work for the rest of the day, but this is only 13 miles," upon thinking which I promptly proceeded to make a schedule that involved being my usual productive self on Monday afternoon.

Let's just say that that was a mistake. And that I spent a lot of time that afternoon staring blankly past whatever paper I was thinking I might read.

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Monday: 13 miles... see above for commentary

Tuesday: 4 miles, nice and easy

Wednesday: 5 miles

Thursday: 4 miles again

As usual, another day off on Friday...
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Less than one week left! A fact which seems less and less real the more I think about it... come to think of it, this whole marathon has been seeming less real the closer it's gotten for several weeks now (more or less since the first time we ran 20 miles). I think when I started this plan, looking for a medium-term goal to work towards, in the back of my mind I was thinking of it just like any other long-term plan... and the last four months have kind of flown by.

Anyway, I guess that also means just one more of these blog posts... I'm not sure whether I'll be mobile enough to make it to the office the day after the Marathon, but check back maybe on May 3rd or 4th and I'll probably have put up the final post.

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Saturday: 3 (!) miles... there comes a point where the time it takes to walk back and forth to the gym (it was rainy today), take a shower, grab lunch, and walk back to the office so far exceeds the time you spend running that it all feels a little silly. And I can now report that 3 miles is basically that point.

Sunday: 8 miles today. It's funny to think that my long run this week would have been just another usual mid-week run a month and a half ago. In related news, I love tapering.
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Week 16 - The taper begins...

2010-04-18T15:58:00.003-05:00

So, last week's 21 miler was the last long run of the training program, and from here on out the name of the game is cutting back on the mileage, recovering from all of the little aches and pains I've accumulated, and just generally letting my body rest up. Honestly, I think I would feel better about the upcoming race if it were a few weeks farther off than it is. I mean, at this point barring injury I'm sure I'll be able to make it across the finish line -- it's the conditional I'll be in as I do that that I'm worried about!

I have to admit, though, that it's kind of nice to have the daily running time starting to shorten up a bit. First: with the semester winding down things are starting to get pretty busy for me, so having running taking a smaller bite out of my schedule is much appreciated. But perhaps a more gratifying second: it feels pretty awesome to run these 4 to 6 milers and realize you could easily do the same run again.

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Monday: After yesterday's grueling 21 mile effort, I invoked my executive privilege to take this day off.

Tuesday: 5 miles, outside, in absolutely perfect Spring weather.

Wednesday: 6 miles, same conditions as on Tuesday.

Thursday: 5 fast miles

As usual, another day off on Friday...
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Not much else to say, update wise... research is keeping me busy, and then end-of-semester stuff for that one class I'm taking is keeping me up late at night. Oh well. How about this though...
Ways In Which My Toaster Is Already Making My Life Better:
(1) Bagels for breakfast!!! (Really, I should just stop the list here, this being the only important item on it... Incidentally, does anybody know a good place to get bagels in Champaign-Urbana?)
(2) Re-heated slices of homemade pizza!! (I like them cold, too, but not having to microwave them to heat them back up = awesome)
(3) Um...it occupies space! (Anything that makes my apartment look less spartan gets at least a few points just for that, I think...)

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Saturday: 4 miles...back on the treadmill, though

Sunday: 4 miles at pace... once again this weekend's schedule got a little shifted around, so we're doing the long run tomorrow instead of today.
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Week 15 - Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!

2010-04-11T09:39:00.005-05:00

Yeah, so, I have to admit... after today's run (which was, to be honest, difficult and really rather painful) I feel legitimately a bit proud of what I've been able to build myself up to in these last few months. Anyway, for some reason I was thinking about the above-referenced poem earlier this week...let's see how well the analogy holds up:

Pride at fleeting accomplishments: Check (see above)

Two vast and trunkless legs of stone: At first, you'd think this one a bit of a stretch... But after the run I more or less collapsed on the couch with my legs still on the floor, having decided that it would be too much effort to raise them the foot and a half it would have required to be more comfortable lying down. So, to any ant that wandered into my apartment just then, check on the trunkless legs. And I guess they were immobile enough to count as stone.

Shatter'd visage: Hard to say for sure...but seeing as I thought walking across the room to a mirror would have been too herculean an effort, I'm going to guess yes. Check.

Frown and wrinkled lip: Same comment as above...check.

Sneer of cold command: Um...okay, I rather suspect otherwise on this one (or, at least, I sure hope I shouldn't be putting "Check" next to this one...

Yeah, at this point I think I've exhausted any similarities between me and a giant, broken, fictional statue of Ramesses... But of course, do let me know if you come up with anything else!

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Monday: My foot, which I complained about last week, is still bothering me... hopefully that clears up soon. Anyway, I took today off.

Tuesday: Another day off...

Wednesday: Well, my foot wasn't really feeling any better after two days of rest, so I went for a 6 mile run today (How's that for some questionable logic!)

Thursday: So, two days of rest saw no improvement, and running yesterday didn't seem to make things any worse... Kind of confusing, if you ask me. Another day of rest today.

For Friday, more rest!
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On a completely unrelated note, I am to be congratulated for a minor life accomplishment: as of Wednesday I now am finally the proud owner of my very own toaster!

Now, I can already hear you saying, "well, that's not all that impressive, really." And you're right... it isn't. But you have to understand: "toaster" has been item #1 on my "Kitchen appliances I need to buy list" for almost three years now, so the fact that I've finally crossed that off feels like quite the achievement. To be honest, I'm not really sure why it took me so incredibly long to just go out and buy a toaster... I mean, they aren't particularly big and bulky to carry by yourself, they aren't particularly expensive. I think more than anything it was just a combination of inertia, a relative deficit of motivation to go buy stuff for myself, and a love of breakfast cereals that kept me satisfied sans toaster for so long.

But, now that's all over, and I can make myself a bagel in the morning without resorting to broiling a single bagel in the oven. So, the next time you see me, be sure to congratulate me and share in my recent success in this!

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Saturday: Foot still not 100% (a little worried about tomorrow, now)... 3 miles of running and 15 minutes on the stationary bike.

Sunday: 21 eighty-degree, knee-grinding, quad-destroying, foot-throbbing miles. I feel awesome.
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Week 14 - In which I haven't all that much time to write this

2010-04-04T14:25:00.004-05:00

This week was another scheduled "rest" week, and I assure you it has been much appreciated. I think between the long run on Monday and the temporarily altered diet this week my body has just been struggling to recover fully. I mean, don't get me wrong...matzah can be delicious (well...rather, you can put enough delicious toppings on it to make it acceptable), but I've decided that there's just no humanly possible way to consume enough of it to get the quantity of carbs running seems to demand. I kind of long for a grapefruit (um...where of course by grapefruit I mean bread. And pasta. And also bread.)

Otherwise, this past week was pretty uneventful...mostly just catching up on research and trying to stay on top of class. And, actually, between a meeting with my advisor tomorrow, homework and minor term paper items due for class this week, and a 20 minute talk I'm supposed to be preparing, today is still pretty busy for me. So, unfortunately, I'm going to have to keep this week's post short.

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Tuesday: 20 minutes on the stationary bike and 15 on the elliptical.

Wednesday: 5 miles, over which my legs were unusually whiny.

Thursday: 5 miles. This was the day that, between the wear and the lack of carbs, I was really feeling it. A much more difficult run than I was expecting.

Friday: The usual day off...

Saturday: My foot was bothering me a lot (which was strange... it felt fine on Thursday, and Friday obviously I didn't do anything to aggravate anything), so I substituted some time on the stationary bike for my usual running.

Sunday: 12 miles in 65 degree sunny weather. Truly, a great day to be out running, and a shame that I have to spend the rest of it inside!

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Just finished: "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men" Not really my favorite of DFW's works, but I really liked at least a few of the short stories. Also, I'm starting to realize that in the last year I've read most of his stuff. Just a few books left, now.

Week 13 - In which I obtain irrefutable proof...

2010-03-29T15:18:00.005-05:00

... that running has finally made me lose my mind. Since I've started running these distances I've been mildly surprised at the changes in the kinds of foods I find myself craving. Mostly, the surprise has been kept so modest because my thoughts have tended to be along the lines of, "Mmmm... pasta!" It hardly seems surprising that while running a lot my body would start demanding just straight up carbs. A little bit more surprising has been my relative desire for red meat seems to have gone down, but I think that might just be the direct result of a sort of "crowding out" effect from my increased pasta/bread/pizza consumption.

But last week delivered a total shock. Thursday the students/post-docs in my research group have a mini-tradition of going out together and getting lunch, and last week we went to a mixed Asian restaurant (Cravings). Anyway, the person across the table from me got a tofu dish, and I couldn't help but think to myself, "Hmm...that looks... strangely appetizing." I even went so far as to ask for a little taste, and found that it was, frankly, not that bad.

So, I ask, what is happening to me? Clearly something is going wrong...

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Monday: A beautiful day, so another out-of-the-gym "cross-training" session... a 3 mile jog and 5 sets of the Krannert steps.

Tuesday: An easy 5 mile run.

Wednesday: 7 miles, nothing too interesting.

Thursday: 5 fairly relaxed miles

And Friday, of course, was my day off...
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A few weeks ago I started talking about how I was really starting to feel the wear on my legs from running so much, and as I'm writing this (the day after my 20-miler) I have to say that I still feel much the same way. I think I'm starting to suspect that these very long distances (which I am considering everything since that 17 miler) aren't really about building up cardiovascular fitness for the marathon so much as just training the body to stand up to the grinding wear and tear of running for just hours on end. Well, I guess I'm finally getting my wish in terms of adding some small amounts of pain into the exercise routine, right?

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Saturday: 5 miles at pace

Sunday: A rather horrible day, weather wise: cold, rainy, and with high winds. So, my weekend running buddy and I decided to put off the long run until tomorrow. Instead, just a 5 mile run on the treadmill

Monday: 20 miles! Or, as I like to think of it, the double double-digit run. I was one hurting dude after this (and I've mostly been loafing off since finishing the run, not very successfully mustering the energy to focus on work... I think now I understand why doing a long run on a weekday, even if you wake up early to get most of it in before the work day starts, is not the best idea), but I still feel pretty good about myself for finishing the run. Also, "Chocolate Outrage" GU energy gel is maybe one of the best things on the planet.
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Current estimate of my odds of completing a marathon on May 1st: Well, after successfully getting through the 20 miler today, I think I'm ready to bump this up to 95%, which is as high as it was ever going to get (I mean, you can never predict injuries and other such surprises, right?). So, unless something disastrous happens and I need to make a massive downward revision of these odds before the race, I think this will be the last appearance of the "odds estimator" section of the weekly write-up.

Week 12 - West Coast Edition

2010-03-23T12:58:00.003-05:00

This week the running got pushed to the back burner a little bit while I was at that conference in Oregon (which, by the way, was fantastic). Unfortunately, the only time I could really find to run was early in the morning, and since I had to catch a 7:10 bus to get to get to the conference on time, that meant waking up at 5:00 on mornings I decided to run so I could get the exercise in, shower, eat breakfast, and still make it on time. You might not be surprised to hear, then, that I'm very excited about catching up on sleep this week!

Still, running turns out to be a great way to get to see and familiarize yourself with a new city, and Portland sure is a pretty one. I think I had just about perfect weather all week -- 50 to 60 and sunny just about every day -- and Spring was just coming around so the cherry blossom trees were just starting to bloom.

And, as I said above, the conference itself was pretty excellent. It was a bit of a mental drain to sit through these rapid-fire 12 to 36 minute talks all day (8:00 - 5:45, with an hour break for lunch), but most of the talks were really quite interesting and at least a few of them gave me some ideas for references to look up now that I'm back in Illinois.

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Monday: Today's cross-training was (drum roll...) walking back from the convention center (about 2 miles) while carrying an overstuffed laptop bag. Not too impressive, I know.

Tuesday: 5 pre-dawn miles along the East and West banks of the downtown section of the Willamette river.

Wednesday: Another 5 pre-dawn miles, this time with more homeless people along the route.

Thursday: Yet another 5 pre-dawn miles... fewer homeless people, more early-morning bicycle commuters.

And Friday, of course, was my day off...
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So, a short comment here (since I really need to get back to work), but the Pacific Northwest is a beautiful, beautiful area. Or at least the small sliver that I saw, anyway. Also, call me crazy, but as I was flying over it, Montana sure made a convincing case as a place to visit and hike around in. Never thought I would have said that...

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Saturday: A beautiful ~5 mile hike in the Columbia River Gorge, and then a 6 mile run along the river downtown (a definite improvement from running the route before it was light out!)

Sunday: I woke up too sore from hiking to do a morning run before my flight (worth it, though -- I definitely miss having mountains around!), so an extra day off today
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One-word trip summary: Awesome

Current estimate of my odds of completing a marathon on May 1st: 90% At this point I think I'm just mechanically inching that number higher each week, without really thinking about it

Week 11 - In which I feel a little ground down

2010-03-12T19:47:00.003-06:00

Well, I'm heading off to that conference in Portland, OR early Sunday, so not only will next week's running (and blog-posting) schedule be a little bit up in the air, but this week had to be shuffled around just a touch as well...Next week was supposed to be a light, rest-and-recovery week anyway, but this week's scheduled 18-miler doesn't seem like something I should skip, and since Sunday morning isn't really an option (I have no desire, particularly, to start running at 3:00 in the morning), I've pushed it back to Saturday and juggled the rest of the week a bit.

I have to say, though, that between the 17-miler last Sunday, the extra-enthusiastic stair-running on Monday (see below), and the rest of the exercises this week, this was really the first time that I feel like my body is just barely recovering in time for the next long run. My muscles are still feeling just a little tired, my knees and ankles are feeling just a tiny bit fussy, and all of that sort of thing. I'm still sure I'll be able to finish the 18 miles tomorrow, but I think I'm going to be grateful for the week of relative rest after that...

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Monday: It was a beautiful day outside on Monday, and I couldn't bear to do my cross-training at the gym. Unfortunately, since my bike was stolen (some time ago -- last Labor Day) the only outdoor cross-training I could think of was to run stairs. So, (10 x the Krannert steps) was what ended up happening. Something of a painful decision, I might add...

Tuesday: 5 x 1200 meters. Rough

Wednesday: 8 fast miles miles.

A shuffled-schedule day of rest on Thursday
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Of course, in addition to the week of relative rest that I'll be looking forward to, I'm also very excited about going to this conference. I think my talk still needs a bit of polishing, but since I'm not actually giving the talk until next Friday I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to make little refinements during the week. So, now the only thing left is for me to finish this infernal problem set I've been working on for the last few days... Unfortunately, it was scheduled to be due while I'll be away, so I have to finish it up tonight or early tomorrow and hand it in before I head out. Well, only one problem left on it, so hopefully it won't take too too much longer.

Alright, I'm not sure what the blog-updating plan is going to be over the next week. Regular posting will resume on the 28th. Until then...

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Friday: 7 miles - 6 on the treadmill and 1 mile of an extra-loopy run from the gym to my apartment.

Saturday: 18 miles tomorrow is the plan. In the rain. Is it strange that, even a bit sore and tired as I am, and with the threat of relatively nasty weather, I'm still kind of looking forward to the run?
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Part of the country soon to be checked off on my "to visit" list: Pacific Northwest.

Current estimate of my odds of completing a marathon on May 1st: 88%... that number is starting to creep pretty high, isn't it?

Week 10 - In which...wait a second, I'm over halfway throught this training program?!

2010-03-07T16:11:00.004-06:00

Right, so, towards the end of this week I emailed a list of the remaining Sunday "long run" mileages to my running partner, and in staring at that list I realized that between now and May 1st there really aren't all that many weeks left. On the one hand, I do feel like I've increased my endurance tremendously -- I'm actually a bit proud of how much more in shape I feel compared to a few months ago. But then I consider that the 17-miler today just about wiped me out, and I still have to increase that distance by over 50%?! In just 8 weeks (two of which are just the taper weeks leading up to the race)? Kind of a terrifying thought.

In other news, this week I once again let down the Coach, although not quite as badly as over the last few weeks. Thursday I came down with a cold. On its own that wouldn't have been that bad, but between that and an especially busy time at work for me lately I haven't been getting nearly enough sleep lately. So, on Saturday (the first really beautiful day we've had in a while - sunny and over 50!) I started out planning to run 8 miles, but after just 3-3.5 miles I felt terrible, turned around, and just headed home. Not so proud of that one, but objectively I think it was the right choice.

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Monday: 30 minute on the stationary bike, followed by 20 minute son the elliptical. Kind of boring.

Tuesday: 5 x 1000 meters. Compared to Monday, quite fun.

Wednesday: 8 miles.

Thursday: 4 quick miles, bracketed by a mile to warm up and a mile to cool down

And a restful (albeit work-filled) Friday
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So, you know what I had forgotten how much I dislike doing? Making PowerPoint presentations. I mean, it takes all of ten seconds to sketch out on a piece of paper what you want to put on a given slide, but then between formatting everything, inputting the equations, fussing with converting graphics between one program and another, getting all of the plots and figures in order, etc. suddenly it's an hour and a half later and the slide still isn't finished. Definitely a major contributor to the general lack of fun in my life this week.

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Saturday: Just 4 miles, which I felt a bit bad about...but at least the weather was nice enough to run outside

Sunday: 17 miles, partly in the rain. I felt kind of hard-core.
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Current estimate of my odds of completing a marathon on May 1st: Another off day in the mix, but overall improvement, so.... 87%

Week 9 - In which I repeat myself

2010-02-28T09:51:00.005-06:00

So, this week's running rumination is basically just a variation on a theme from a few weeks ago. There's apparently some part of my mind that still has not really come to terms with my ability to sustain a given pace over a length of time, even as my body adapts to running longer and longer distances. Case in point: this week was a scheduled easy "recovery" week, and today I ran 11 miles. I mean, seriously. Two months ago 6 or 7 miles might have been possible, but 11 miles seemed like a more or less impossible distance. Or just one month ago I was pleased as punch to have run 11 miles for the first time. Now, though? Eleven miles is apparently what I do on my week off. And I'm sorry - I really don't mean to keep going on and on about running farther than ever before every week or so - but while my lungs and legs have gotten used to the distance, my mental image of myself still hasn't quite incorporated that fact yet.

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Monday: 20 minutes on the stationary bike, then 10 on the erg.

Tuesday: 5 x 1000 fast, but with a full three minutes of recovery in between each interval.

Wednesday: A light 5 mile run.

Thursday: An even lighter 4 mile run... Coach wasn't kidding about this being a recovery week!

And a restful (albeit work-filled) Friday
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A' shall answer it. Some pigeons, Davy, a couple/of short-legged hens, a joint of mutton, and any/pretty little tiny kickshaws, tell William cook

This is probably not going to be the most appetizing thing I've ever posted on this blog, but today I took an occasional phenomenon far enough that, seeing as I don't have anything else in particular to talk about, I thought I'd mention it here. So, I usually do the long Sunday runs a little bit before noon, which means that by the time I've finished the run, cooled down a bit, gotten back to the apartment, and showered it is well past lunch time. Coupled with the fact that I usually eat breakfast early and, oh, wait, I just ran some silly distance, well... By the time I've transitioned out of running mode I just about always find myself ravenously hungry. Usually this leads to nothing terribly interesting: I make a sandwich, followed by a second sandwich. And, if the bread wasn't terribly large or was too airy, sometimes a third sandwich.

Then there are days like today, which I've affectionately taken to calling "Many Wonders" days ("many wonders" being code for "leftovers" in the Incandenza househould). You see, sometimes I haven't done my weekly grocery shopping before the run, and sometimes I've already just about run out of bread (or real leftovers from one of the week's dinners, for that matter)... but at such times my stomach cares not for such excuses, and merely shouts "SUSTENANCE! CALORIES! FOOD!" over and over and over. Well, clearly there's nothing for me to do but scour the cupboards for anything and everything that is vaguely edible without long cooking times. This week, though, I think I hit a new low in terms of hoovering up anything within reach - at least in terms of variety, if not in total amount - as I went through a granola bar, 5 fairly unpleasant whey protein balls, a pear, the last lonely slice of bread (with peanut butter), a few bits of herring, and a single serving Thai Kitchen "just add water and microwave!" noodle dish from my emergency meals stash.

I might be going out on a limb here, but I think that's probably the most surreal assortment of food I've ever eaten in the span of a single meal. Well, what can I say? Everything is delicious when you're hungry!

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Saturday: 7 quick miles... a workout, but not so tough after a light week and yesterday's day off.
Sunday: 11 miles. Happily, off of the treadmill this time!
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Recently watched: Mulholland Dr. You know what? David Lynch sure makes some strange films...

Current estimate of my odds of completing a marathon on May 1st: Another slight, no-particular-reason uptick... 86%

Week 8 - In which I get back on track

2010-02-21T08:45:00.004-06:00

I'm happy to report that I'm now feeling much, much better than I was last week. Illness-wise I think I'm just about 100% better, and my foot has healed up enough that outside of doing sprints it doesn't bother me in the slightest.

However, feeling better has also meant that this last week I've just been playing a vicious game of catch-up on some homework that was due and all of the work I put off last week. So, outside of exercise and work, I really haven't done too awfully much to write home about. Next week will be more eventful, I'm sure...

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Monday: Hurting a little bit after the previous day's long run, so I took the day relatively off with 20 minutes of light, low impact strength training/conditioning exercises.

Tuesday: 4 x 1200, at a pace rapid enough to find out that my foot still hurts if I push too hard.

Wednesday: 7 fairly uninteresting miles .

Thursday: 1 warm-up mile, followed by 4 progressively faster miles, with 1 cool-down mile tacked on at the end.

Friday = rest
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Well, the weather wasn't so great today, and my usual running partner is off at a conference, so I decided to take Sunday's long run inside to the treadmill. In addition to finding out that it's really mind-numbingly boring to log 15 miles on a treadmill (particularly over the last half-hour, when my ears started hurting from my headphones and I had to run without music), this afforded me the opportunity to see a James Bond film I hadn't seen before, albeit on the tiny treadmill TV and without sound.

Still, it's kind of incredible just how little gets lost watching a Bond film without the sound. For example, here's my interpretation of one of the scenes:
JB - "The name is Bond. James Bond. I shall now say something particularly suave, despite having been, moments ago, in a life-threatening fist-, gun- , and knife fight."
Bad guy - "I know who you are, Mr. Bond. But now, ha ha ha, you have fallen into my trap!"
JB - "Au contraire, obviously European bad guy. I have a gadget!"

And that pretty much sums it up, no? Still, fun to watch for a while.

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Saturday: 7 miles, marginally faster than the ones on Wednesday.

Sunday: 15 miles! A crazy distance both in (a) being such a nice, round number and (b) being the same as my estimate of what my total weekly running distance was before I started this whole endeavor. So, on the one hand, that felt awesome! On the other hand, fifteen miles on a treadmill? Booooorrrring!
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Currently reading: enough papers on continuous time random walks to sink a ship... or, perhaps more accurately, kill a tree.

Current estimate of my odds of completing a marathon on May 1st: Now that I've (hopefully) gotten injury and sickness out of the way, the last remaining roadblock is the threat of spending a week off-schedule when I go to a conference in mid-March. So, I'm bumping this estimate up to a lofty 85%