Reading and Eating
I have some fun eats to share! But let’s start with the reading. My goal for January was to read six books. Just like the rest of my January goals, I didn’t quite achieve that. But I did read five books: And I’ve started two more. A word or two about Sally McRae’s book. Sally is a professional runner. She’s not a writer, but she wrote this book all on her own, without an assistant or ghost writer. Keeping in mind that she’s not a writer, I thought she did an amazing job. And in case anyone is wondering how someone can run these crazy distances (she’s won Badwater 135 and competed in multiple 200 mile races) a glimpse into her childhood is instructive. Boy, did she have it hard. It’s a sad story, but the book overall is inspiring. Let’s move on to the food! Sunday was my husband’s birthday, so I made a brunch. This was my husband’s plate, with a Just Egg omelette (recipe from Nora Cooks), air fryer potatoes, and coffee cake, once again from Nora.. My plate was a little less exciting, because I didn’t have the cake. This brunch was YUMMY! But the fun didn’t stop there. In honor of the Lions-49ers game, I made a Detroit-style pizza. Actually, my sister and I had a pizza throwdown. She made her own Detroit-style pizza and we compared and contrasted. I used this recipe for my pizza, and subbed vegan cheese and left off the pepperoni. This type of pizza is traditionally baked in a special “Detroit pizza pan”, but who has one of those? As it turns out, my sister does! I knew I would be fighting an uphill battle in this throwdown. Here’s my pizza (baked in a regular 9×13 metal pan); The sauce in three rows is traditional, but I wasn’t really a fan of that. You either got a bite with a big glob of sauce, or a bite with no sauce. I sauteed broccoli with garlic and red pepper flakes, but put this “topping’ under my cheese, to keep it authentic-looking. Here’s my sister’s pizza: I was ready to declare her the winner, but she generously said we could call it a tie, and the important thing was that our pizzas were obviously giving the Lions good luck! It was a win-win! Until it wasn’t… sigh. So I guess we all lost. However, the leftovers were even better the next day. The edges of the pizza got nice and crispy. I don’t think it would fool anyone from Detroit, but we enjoyed our pizzas! Moving on- what to make for the Super Bowl? My sister suggested Rice-A-Roni (that San Francisco treat.) No, I don’t think so! (What in the world is Rice-A-Roni, anyway?) I’m rooting for Kansas City, which probably means barbecue (somehow this seems familiar.) If anyone has any better ideas for Super Bowl Sunday, please let me know! What are you reading now? Are you going to watch the Super Bowl? Who are you rooting for?
Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse
This adventure was inspired by our friend Elisabeth!. She has written about visits to lighthouses near her home in Nova Scotia. I started thinking… “I live on the coast- I wonder if there are any lighthouses near me?” A quick google search revealed that there is a notable lighthouse in Jupiter, Florida, which is about an hour away from me. In case you’re wondering where the heck Jupiter, Florida is, here you go: Last week my daughter had an all-day rehearsal in Jupiter, and rather than drive there and back twice, I opted to spend the day in Jupiter- I knew exactly what I wanted to do! The Jupiter lighthouse is located at the juxtaposition of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian River, and Loxahatchee River. For $12, you can climb to the top of the lighthouse and visit the lighthouse museum. First, the climb to the top- they warned that it’s 105 steps. No problemo! I’ve been working out. What I didn’t anticipate was climbing that narrow spiral staircase was kind of… scary. I never thought I was scared of heights before, but there was something about it that made me anxious- maybe that the steps were a metal grid, so if you looked down (eep) you could see all the way to the bottom… anyway, I made it to the top and was rewarded with this view: I was definitely glad I went up, but the climb down was even more scary. I made it though, and made my way to the lighthouse museum. This was a small exhibit on the history of the lighthouse, which I loved. It was built in the 1860s, and one of the displays showed a timeline of the history of the lighthouse along with what was going on in the U.S. at the time. I like this little tidbit: It was fascinating, reading about the lives of the lighthouse keepers and their families. This was a rugged and isolated area in the late 1800s, and their lives were hard. Every once in a while there was a shipwreck, and it was their job to rescue what they could of the crew and cargo. In addition to the museum, the “Tindall Pioneer Homestead.” is located on this property. Built in 1892, it’s one of the oldest houses in Palm Beach County, and it was relocated to this area so that visitors to the lighthouse can tour the house on the same visit. The Tindalls raised TEN KIDS in this tiny house! I loved hearing stories of their life. They cooked their meals over an open fire. The “noon meal” was the cooked meal- dinner- and anything left over was eaten for supper. There was no refrigeration, of course, so they only cooked what they could eat each day. There was also information about the Native Americans of this area: I loved reading about it, but I can’t imagine living in South Florida without air conditioning! These people were tough. Near the lighthouse is a protected natural area: I followed the path to a little beach. I sat here for a while watching the boats go past. It was so peaceful! Visiting this area was so out of my normal routine, it was just what I needed to jolt me out of my post-holiday funk. A few days later, my husband was working up in Jupiter and sent me this photo of the lighthouse at night: Now I want to visit more lighthouses in Florida. Some of them are too far away, and some are accessible only by boat (ooooh…). Future adventures await! Have you ever visited a lighthouse? Would you climb to the top? Are there any lighthouses near you?
Weekly Rundown- I’m TRYING To Rest…
Oh, hello! Thanks for stopping by the Weekly Rundown, hosted as always by Kim and Deborah. My big workout this week was a long run on Sunday, and then my focus for the rest of the week was rest and recover. I made a serious effort to get at least seven hours of sleep a night, which was more successful some nights than others. Let’s just see how it all went down. Sunday This was my last long long run before my race- there will be one more short long run coming up. For this run, I ventured off the trails onto the roads, and ran from my house to the beach… …and then turned around and ran back home. I had to throw in some extra miles in the neighborhood, and the end result was a 26 mile run. Honestly… it sounded like a fun idea, but dealing with the traffic, train tracks, and drawbridges made this run a little stressful. I’ll stick to my trails from now on! Monday Oof. I’m tired. I mean… did I not know running 26 miles would be hard??? I didn’t expect to be this sore. I took my tired legs to the gym and did what is known in certain circles as the “Cool Bloggers Workout.” 3/12/30- 3 miles per hour, 12% incline, for 30 minutes. It actually felt pretty good, and when I was done I used a couple of the abs machines. On days like this I like using the machines at the gym for core, because they isolate the abs and don’t stress out my sore hip flexors. Tuesday Time to run again! I walked for a mile and then ran 3. Followed by dead bugs and plank. Wednesday Strength day at home. I wasn’t up to much- I did Runners Touch, the Knees Over Toes exercises, and dead bugs. Then I spent the day in Jupiter! My daughter was playing in the All-County band, and they had rehearsal from 8-4. Jupiter is an hour away, so rather than spend four hours in the car driving two round-trips, I opted to stay up there and had a mini-adventure. Details coming up next week! Thursday I’m starting to feel back to normal- I walked a mile and ran 4, followed once again by core. At night we had to drive to Jupiter for my daughter’s concert. The concert was fun, but we didn’t get home until almost 11 pm, which messed up my efforts to get more sleep. Oh well (but I’m wondering- couldn’t they have this concert on a FRIDAY next year? Just a thought.) Friday Hmmm. It seems like if I were doing things correctly, I would spring out of bed in the morning, cheerily exclaiming “Top of the morning!” to my husband. Instead, the alarm went off and I muttered “Egads!” before getting up and literally staggering across the room. My feet are always sore in the morning- it helps if I can stretch them out in bed first, but this morning the cats were meowing hungrily and I had to get my daughter up and moving. Arg. Instead of a gym day, I did strength at home again. It actually turned out to be a pretty good workout- I did squats, Bulgarian split squats, overhead shoulder press, all with dumbbells. I also did dead bugs and the Knees Over Toes exercises. I’m making some progress with those! My right knee is less achy while doing them, which I count as a win. Saturday Top of the morning! Just kidding. I grumbled a little again as I got out of bed, but then it was out the door for a 5 mile run before work. No core after this run because I simply forgot. Sunday Ahhhhh. On tap for today- OFF. Sleeping in, a little cooking (it’s my husband’s birthday so we’re making a brunch) and then reading, relaxing, and football. I’m making a Detroit style pizza for the Lions game tonight! How was your week? Did you get enough sleep? Have you ever made (or eaten) a Detroit style pizza? – I haven’t, but I’m up for the challenge!
January Runfessions
Here we are at the last Friday of the month! Unlike October-December, when I want time to slow down, I’m always happy to see January end. Let’s move right along to February and get the year officially started off right. But first, I’m joining Marcia for runfessions. Yep, I have a few! On Sunday I had my last long long run of this training cycle (there will be another “short” long run before the official taper.) I ran 26 miles, and I runfess that I was so glad to be done, it didn’t even occur to me to run the extra .2. However, I give myself credit for a marathon, because at one point I stopped my watch to cross a busy street, and ran for a few minutes before I remembered to start it again. When I say I “give myself credit,” I mean I mentioned it to my husband about a dozen times: “Oh, could you bring me my tea? I ran a marathon today, you know.” (YES. I KNOW.) I’ll also runfess that I’m ready for this taper. My feet have been especially achy lately. I thought the issue might be fixed with new shoes, so I went to REI to get another pair of the Altra FWD’s. They carry the men’s version in black, but the women’s only in white. When I asked if there were any other color choices, the woman said “Yes, online there’s a light gray and purple option. We could order it for you, if you’d like.” YES, I would like! I would like that very much! Those are my colors. But it was the night before my long run and I really wanted new shoes right away, so I opted to buy the ones they had in the store. The last thing I’ll runfess is that on my long run, I re-listened to two old episodes of the Florida Trail Runners podcast that recap the race I’m doing (Forgotten Florida) from previous years, and I succeeded in scaring myself thoroughly. There was a lot about water, knee-deep mud, and people getting lost. ACK! Well… I wanted a trail adventure! It sounds like I’m going to get one. White/peach or light gray/purple- which would you choose? Are you ready for January to end? Header photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash