thenextmile

A majority of the food I make has a Mexican flare.  Including tonight’s meal - Grilled Steak tacos with fresh, homemade salsa.

For the steak:

1 lbs Hanger, skirt or flank steak, juice of one lime, cilantro, honey.Mix altogether and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  Then put the steak on a hot grill.

As for the salsa,  I use a chopped onion, 3-4 chopped green onions, a couple cloves of minced garlic, a couple jalapenos (I use the seeds and membranes because I like it hot), cilantro, fresh tomatoes that have been seeded and chopped, 8oz. tomato sauce, and hot chili powder to taste.  I never used tomato sauce in my salsa until recently when my friend Delon came to visit and made us her version which uses tomato sauce.  Now I use it quite a bit, it makes a big difference.

Steak Tacos:

So, I skipped a bit ahead in marathon training.  My long run for this week is 10 miles, which I figured out this morning that I really need to do tomorrow to make sure I get it in with this hectic week.  So tomorrow, I’ll be up at 5am, running by 6, and then have to come home, shower and get ready for work.  While I was out this morning on a long walk, I am 99% sure that I saw some sort of cat, and I don’t mean a housecat.  Something sprinted across the road about 25 yards in front of me.  It was brownish - black, long and lean, and had a long thin tail.  At first I thought it was a fox, but a fox would most likely have a bushy tail.  It wasn’t a coyote.  It wasn’t a racoon.  And it was in a full out sprint, and it was fast.  I’m most certain it was a cougar.  There have been sightings up here, and I think that’s what I saw one night in our backyard last summer.  Yikes.

The word “Hella” makes me cringe.  So when I use it in a sentence, like, “I’ve been hella busy,” I don’t even like hearing myself talk.

My work = crazy.  Colin’s work = even more crazy.  So crazy in fact that just over a week ago, I put in my notice at work.  I’ll be leaving my fulltime job in September to do freelance writing and help Colin out fulltime.  Scary?  Sure.  Excited about it?  Oh hell yes.  The freelance writing thing has taken off faster than I expected, and I’m happy to announce that this past week I found out that I am going to have an editorial featured in the St. Louis Beacon!  Ok, so it’s still no New York Times or anything, but it’s the first publication that purchased my work that I’ve actually heard of.  The editorial is about InBev’s recent attempt to buy out Anheuser-Busch and how that would effect my beer drinking.  Honestly, it wouldn’t really make or break what kind of beer I drink, but I had some other colorful comments about the whole situation.  I’ll be sure to put up a link when the time comes.

Hella busy means no real cooking.  When was the last time I cooked anything?  Last Wednesday I think?  BLTs on Thursday don’t count.  And with Colin gone on a shoot tonight, no cooking for me either.  And no cooking = no new recipes or pictures.  1,2,3, ok everyone pout. 

I’ve entered a new world of crazy.  I printed out the same marathon training program I followed last year for the Grand Rapids Marathon and plan on sticking to the plan pretty much this summer.  I don’t have a fall marathon lined up, and I might not run one at all, but I do know that I did really enjoy the marathon training last summer, and figure it will give me new goals.  Colin thinks I should run what he likes to call an “Imagiathon,” kind of like my own imaginary marathon this fall.  26.2 miles on a Saturday anyone?  My official Imagiathon training starts this week, with my Imagiathon in theory will be run on November 2nd.  The GR Marathon is on October 19th, so that is still an option.  I’d love to be last year’s time of 4:54 -  We’ll see what happens.

Since I have no new pictures of recipes, I will leave you with some of my favorite from the last few years:

 From May 2008:

Mozzy and Liesl

An Oldie, but a Goodie - Camping.

Grand Rapids Marathon

This past week has been extremely busy with work and everything else.  No recipe or pictures for last night, since I figure you all know how to make a BLT sandwich.

As for training, I’ve officially dropped out of the Triathlon for August.  I just don’t enjoy the biking, I’d rather be running, and I didn’t want to spend my summer dreading the bike portion of the race.  Instead, I think I’ll pretty much follow a marathon training program, run at least a half marathon, and if I feel like it, I might just run a marathon in the fall.  Of course, it will be a last minute decision.  I was very close to signing up for the Grand Rapids Marathon, but figure I’ll wait it out a couple more weeks.

So, um, summer is officially here and it’s hot, muggy and miserable in Northern  Michigan.  Both yesterday and  today I ran in 85+ degree temperatures in the middle of the afternoon (yes, I wore sunscreen).  Not fun, I’m a morning runner for a reason.

Tonight is a late night at work, followed by another late night tomorrow.  Then a very busy 4th of July week.  Woah, it’s July already?

I need to pick out a marathon training schedule for “fun.”

 Tonight, I’ll leave you with a great picture.  Because you know, sometimes it’s more comfortable to sleep half in your bed, half on the floor.

What’s to say on a day like today?  It’s Friday, I’m running on about 3 hours of interrupted sleep thanks to a massive thunderstorm that ripped over
Michigan last night, and I’m at work.  Yippee.  I will have you know that I did bring my running clothes and shoes just in case I felt up to doing a short 3 miler after work.  Getting it out of the way this afternoon would be nice, that way I can sleep in a little longer tomorrow.  However, in case I don’t update this blog ever again, it’s because I’ve been attacked and killed by a killer bear.  Yes, there have been bear sightings along a 1.5 mile stretch of my regular running route:

“Police in Harbor Springs say there have been 3 reports of black bear sightings in the last 3 days.One of the reports came from a city in Emmet County. One spotter told 9 and 10 News that the bear broke off a chain to get into a can of sun flower seeds.  Another night, the bear bent a pole to the ground to get into the bird feeder.  The D-N-R says the bears are fresh out hybernation and searching for some food.  They recommend that people on the west side of Harbor Springs remove all bird feeders, grills, and dog food so the bear returns to its natural habitat”.So, um, yeah….  Actually, that’s probably the most action Harbor Springs Police have seen in years.
   

Today for food, well, it’s not that exciting so far at least.

Breakfast – egg, toast with jam, huge bowl of fruit and coffee.  Noticing a trend here?

Lunch is a big Greek salad, and some yogurt

Snack will be watermelon and some toast with peanut butter and jam.

Notice how I said “not exciting yet.”  Yet will be dinner at Legs Inn, one of my favorite places.  It’s so out of the way that we don’t get there all too often, but the food is amazing.  Who knew I’d end up liking Polish food?

And the views from Legs Inn, well, they can’t be beat.

Ok, so that bike ride yesterday was rough.  Not rough on a level that it was hard, but rough on a level that today my  butt hurts in places I haven’t hurt in years.  My triathlon shorts I wore yesterday are supposed to have padding.  Heh, padding, yeah right.

After 10 hours of sleep last night, I woke up and went for a 4 mile run with a 1 mile walk at the end.  I’m actually quite surprised  that my quads aren’t sore today.  I guess I’ll chalk that up as a good thing.  My pace wasn’t as fast as usual during this 4 mile route, maybe 10 seconds per mile slower, but I can deal with that.  It was also windy.  I thought the wind was coming out of the east, so it would be in my face for only the first mile and a quarter or so.  Nope, the wind seemed to come at me no matter what direction I was running.  Very funny mother nature.

Breakfast was the same thing as yesterday, do you really need a picture?

I just finished lunch, pretty much a repeat of dinner last night, except instead of garlic bread I had some tortialla chips and guacamole, and some cottage cheese.

I think my snack today will be a couple apricots, maybe some yogurt.  And for dinner?  Who knows.  I’m working late, and it will be a busy night at work so I might just have to have *gasp* a Lean Cuisine and some carrots.

We go through produce in this house like nobody’s business.  I went grocery shopping on Monday, and just now had to go back to get some other stuff to tide us through till the next big grocery trip.  Believe it or not, this picture is the produce I brought home on Monday, all of which is pretty much gone or will be gone by tomorrow night.

Two people ate all that in less than 3 days.  Crazy huh?  I really need to plant a garden.

Each year, thousands of people in this country run a marathon.  Many of those runners are not only running for themselves, but they’re raising money for a good cause.   Team In Training offers runners and walkers the opportunity to take on the challenge of a marathon or half-marathon and make a difference in the lives of 785,829 Americans living with blood cancers.  When I run my next marathon, I will most likely be running for them.  If you’re thinking of running a marathon this year and want to make a difference, here are some races you might want to check out.
Team In Training (TNT) is currently recruiting walkers and runners for the following events.

Bank of America Chicago Marathon Chicago, IL - October 12, 2008
This is the 31st  year of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and it is one of the best-organized marathons in the United States.  It features a great Expo, over a million spectators, bands along the route and a fast course that tours ethnic neighborhoods that visitors to Chicago rarely see.  This course has a strict 6-hour maximum time limit and is NOT A WALKER FRIENDLY EVENT.

Nike Women’s Marathon   San Francisco, CA - October 19, 2008
A spectacular race course for both the full and half marathons; a tour of some of the most breathtaking sites in San Francisco.  The race kicks off in downtown Union Square, winding through the financial district past the Transamerica Building, then along the San Francisco Bay past Fisherman’s Warf, Ghirardelli Square, Aquatic Park, Fort Mason, the Marina Green’s Harbor, and more, while exposing breathtaking views of Alcatraz and The Golden Gate Bridge.  It then proceeds through the Presidio, along the shoreline, out the Richmond District to the “Great Highway”.  The race will then continue down the Great Highway, through Golden Gate Park and then south for a circle around Lake Merced and back to the “Great Highway” where it will finish overlooking the incredible Pacific Ocean.

Marine Corps Marathon  Washington, DC - October 26, 2008
This well organized event is called the “Marathon of the Monuments” since runners pass many of the nation’s most prominent sites, including the Pentagon, Kennedy Center, the Washington Monument, the US Capital, the Smithsonian and the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials.  The race is not walker friendly and has a strict 7-hour course limit. 

For more information about Team in Training and how you can get involved, please visit their website at www.teamintraining.org

Many people ask me why I run.  Why I get up so early to sneak in miles before work.  While I could easily say that it’s for my health, I’d be keeping the real reason why I really prefer morning running.  But if I told you the truth, you probably wouldn’t understand.  Non-runners often times don’t get it and it’s no fault of their own.  But any runner will tell you that logging some miles in the early morning hours is a feeling like no other. 

In the summer, most Saturday or Sunday mornings you can find me out running by 5:45 a.m.  I set my alarm for 4:45, get dressed, eat a small bowl of Captain Crunch, drive to the next town over, park my car, turn my ipod and Garmin on, and off I go.  All before the sun even shows up.   

No, it’s not easy.  Yes, most mornings I’d rather sleep in.  But there’s something to be said for watching the sun come up, after you’ve already put in a good 3-4 miles.  There’s something about watching the calmness of
Lake Michigan before boats come out to tear it up.  There’s nothing like the quietness that surrounds a weekend morning.   

By the time I’m done, I have usually logged somewhere between 9-18 miles and have burned well over 1000 calories.  All this before most people have even opened their eyes.  So then I come home, relax, have some breakfast and begin the second phase of my day.  All knowing that I enjoyed a morning that most people didn’t have a chance to see.