midwest winds blowing in.

4 miles -

It's that time of the year again when the winds start picking up around here. I could be positive and look at it as a form of resistance training, somehow aiding me and making me stronger. But I'm not going to because I remember how badly the wind burns, especially when it's cold. Wind nips through your gloves and frost bites your fingers off. I'm serious.

Anyway, today's run was okay. Slow, because of the wind, but I felt alright. It was also dark during the end of my run and I notice that I tend to run slower when it's dark, probably because I can't see where I'm running. Funny thing is that it never seems like I slow down, though it's evident in the time. So yeah, the run was alright, though nothing special. I almost skipped ab stuff because my legs felt a bit sore (the ab routine I do is leg based). I also did another 7 push ups before quitting. (I did 7 push ups on Monday and I felt it on Tuesday.)

I'm hoping to run another 4 miles, or 3 because I'm not sure I'll be able to get any running in later this week. I don't like banking "long" runs so close together at this moment, but 4 isn't anything that will hurt me.

Palm Island Sea Salts Review + Butternut Squash Aioli on Blanched Asparagus

I received an assortment of Palm Island Premium Sea Salts from the company that I've been waiting to review. This is one of my favorite brands of sea salt ever since I first stumbled upon the salts in the grocery store a few months ago. I was excited because the flavors of the salts seemed unique compared to other varieties I know about.

Starting clockwise on the top left, we have Bamboo Jade sea salt. Certified organic bamboo-leaf extract is mixed with the salt and has one of the most unique scents and tastes available. The salt crystals are large in size and have a very pretty light green coloring. The suggested use is to enhance Asian recipes. I've sprinkled this salt on top of oatmeal cookies before being baked. Really lends a unique flavor that takes the cookie from typical to outstanding.

Next is White Silver, which is the base for all the other salts. The salt, which is harvested from the Molokai waters, is allowed to dry under Hawaii Kai's original "Solar Seal", their method of preserving the trace minerals present naturally in salt. The ingredients list goes, "Natural Pacific sea salt, premium Hawaiian sea salt, and Hawaii Kai Ocean Essence". The crystals are sparkly and the taste of this one is a bit saltier, but not tinny like most table salts.

Red Gold Sea Salt includes the White Silver mixed with rel alaea clay. The clay they select is purified and bonded with the White Silver. The texture is slightly clumpy when you pour the salt from the bag, but the taste is great. This is the salt featured in the recipe I used for the review.

Last is Black Lava. Hawaii Kai uses premium activated charcoal, which they say is an antitoxin and digestive aid, mixed with their White Silver. The presentation factor is outstanding with this alt. The flavor is deep and earthy and would be great as a finishing salt on meats. (That's how I've used it.)

Any of these salts can be used however you want as a finishing salt, you just need to match or contrast the flavors.

To feature the salt, I paired the Red Gold sea salt with a butternut squash aioli on top of blanched asparagus. I used the same recipe for aioli that I've used in the past, only I omitted the honey and stevia. I didn't have any lemon juice so I subbed white wine vinegar. Also, I doubled the garlic and added a little horseradish mustard. I seasoned lightly with regular flake kosher salt to bring out the flavors, knowing I'd be sprinkling the Palm Island salt on top later. Don't make it too salty!

To make this dish a bit more fall-centric, I roasted a butternut squash until tender, then scooped and mashed the flesh. I added 1/2 cup squash to the finished aioli. The light orange color is beautiful! The aioli can be prepared days ahead of time and stored, covered, in the fridge for a while. This is a great way to sneak in more vegetables into your diet as well as using what's in season. Just make sure the squash is roasted completely and mashed smoothly so it blends with the aioli. I always prick the squash with a fork, microwave on high for 5 minutes. This makes the squash easy to slice open. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stick in a hot oven (375° is what my oven was on) until the flesh can easily be stuck with a fork and scooped.

I saw these small, tender asparagus stalks at Martin's and knew that I wanted to do something with them. My goal was to keep prep minimal, so instead of roasting I opted to blanch. Blanching is the process of cooking whatever for a brief amount of time in boiling water, just until the color pops, then removing to a bowl of really cold or ice water to halt the cooking process. The result is tender vegetables that look beautiful and have a snap. Difficult to overcook, really. So I trimmed the asparagus, plopped in boiling water, and it was ready in no time. You want to make sure you pat the asparagus dry or else it'll make the aioli watery. All that remained was the finishing touch of the Red Gold Sea Salt, which clearly contrasts nicely against the subtle orange of the aioli.

If you see any of these salts at a grocery store near you, don's hesitate to purchase a bag. They're also available online.

today's run.

I'm going to start this off by saying my intention isn't to blog each run. Sometimes I don't have much to say about it at all and it'd be pointless. I might do a weekly recap sometimes just so you all know what I'm up to. But I figured I'd address a comment left on last week's running post.

First, my post-run drink is a mashed banana mixed with chocolate milk powder, vanilla creamer, and filled with lemon-lime soda. It tastes pretty good.

Oh, and today's run was 4 miles. It wasn't anything pretty, though pacing wasn't too bad. I was considering not running today but after preparing a recipe for a product review (which you'll see tomorrow), I figured I might as well just do it. This is just my third week back so I'm keeping things simple. Hopefully a 9:30 minute per mile pace will quit feeling like crap and go back to being easy like it used to soon.

The question I was asked was, "Do you have any upcoming races?" My primary objective for racing is to become a better racer, to be competitive, and to push myself out of my comfort zone in the hopes of finishing in the top group of runners. The last one is a long-term goal. So when I look for races to run, I'm thinking about all those things, plus how I'll plan my training around them to race to my full potential. Since it costs money to enter races (and many races, as generous as they are with race packs and giveaways, are taking advantage of making money, but that's another topic), I try and carefully pick the races I want to race in as well as things like the course, scenery, etc. I don't always pick easy races because how good can you become if you're always taking the easy route? Literally. It's also the post race food, too.

So that's what I, personally, set out to do with races. If I had unlimited money, I probably would enter some races just for the sake of running them, but only if it wasn't painful. Right now, I'm just out of shape and any race I enter, be it to race competitively or just to have fun, wouldn't end up feeling very good either way. I think everyone has a different reason for entering races and while it's good to hear why other runners race, at the end of the day it's a very personal matter and you gotta do what feels right for yourself.

Now that I've said all that, feel free to tell me why you race or just like to run. =)