lacing up my running shoes & breaking out the whisk

After my race in August, I took a sabbatical from everything running and cooking related; my motivation for the former was waning and the latter began to feel like more of a chore than a pleasure. There isn't much to talk about here otherwise, so I put blogging on the back burner until I was ready to begin anew. Fortunately, my dry spell only lasted a month. (It could have been worse, right?)

During the last week of August, I finally had the desire to lace up my running shoes. My iPod wasn't charged and I didn't have my Garmin, but neither of those were necessary. I simply ran for fun, paying attention to just my breathing and the scenery. It got a little rough under the blazing sun, though for the first time in a while I didn't mentally quit. Since I wasn't able to see my distance and pace, I avoided subconsciously racing myself, which happens more than I care to admit. Not only did I feel proud of myself, I started feeling hungry. Not long after, I found my way back into the kitchen.

If you subscribe to Bon Appetit, you'll have noticed an incredible chocolate layer cake in August's issue. Something grand, something chocolate would have made an excellent choice!! But it was too much work - the cake layers, the crumb coat, the final coat, the hazelnut crunch. I needed something simpler. Homemade red velvet cookies sounded promising until I remembered that I was out of red dye. Eventually, I decided to bake madeleines, the simple little French cakes that look impressive without even trying.

Madeleines are made from genoise batter, which is a buttery sponge cake leavened by air (some recipes call for baking powder in addition). These cakes require a scallop-shaped tin or else they can't really be called madeleines. I looked up a David Lebovitz recipe I knew I could trust and set to work, preparing the tins to chill in the freezer and the batter to rest in the fridge. According to everything I've ever read about madeleines that Lebovitz' recipe confirms, lengthy chilling of both tins and batter aids in majestically humpy cakes, so make sure you plan ahead. Good things come to those who wait, though, and after a quick nine minutes of baking you will be rewarded with perfection.

Unlike cupcakes, which showboat under a mountain of fluffy frosting studded with sprinkles, madeleines tempt you with their delicate scalloped edges defined by a dusting of confectioners' sugar or a light glaze, quietly stealing the show with their elegance. They're small enough that you can eat three at once without inducing a toothache, because believe me, you're not going to eat just one - I speak from experience, people. Unfortunately, there are only a dozen left (I shared them, okay? I haven't been running that much), so I will have to make something else soon.

Hopefully this trend will continue. The cooler temperature will make for more pleasant running conditions, and I'm looking forward to fall baking. I even have a few ideas up my sleeve.

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Lemon-Glazed Madeleines from David Lebovitz

Logan's Run 10k Race Report

So today was race day! I keep typing "race" out as "rage" or "rest". Anyway, it went much better than I expected. Although I had no goal in mind because I had no way to determine what I could do, playing some tennis on Thursday actually helped to calm myself down and made me realize that no matter what I think of myself, I can do more than I know.

Well, that was sappy, but sometimes sappy moments happen.

TL;DR version: 49:34!

Friday:
I went to the Logan's Center to pick up my race bib and ended up eating their pre-race pasta meal. The meat sauce was pretty good and tasted like fennel.

Then I went home and sort of gathered my race gear together -

I say "sort of" because after taking this picture, I dumped everything on the floor.

Pre-Race Meal:
Yeah, I already ate pasta. Who cares, so what? My mom cooked up some liver and onions and I ate some anyway. You're probably gagging, but I'm blaming my good race on the surplus of iron.

I went to bed around midnight and woke up at 7:20 AM. I left the house at 7:50. The race starts at 8:30 and it takes around 25 minutes to get from where I live to Notre Dame. I overslept, though I didn't really care. I quickly put on my clothes, fixed my d-tag to my shoe, ate some oatmeal and a banana and drank half an energy shot.

We (my mom and I) rolled into the parking lot at 8:15. I started eating the G-Chews I brought, then stopped because the gummy chews was putting me off. Early morning weirdness. I did eat three, so that was alright.

I didn't warm up. A man sang a great National Anthem, and then I lined up close to the front. Right then, I decided on my strategy: Bank time, then hold on until the finish.

Mile 1: 7:24.17
So this was faster than I expected. I wasn't dying, so I slowed myself down a little and then focused on my breathing and stride.

Mile 2: 7:52.29
I had no plan for this mile other than to keep it under eight. Success!

Mile 3: 7:40.86
I was beginning to feel taxed, but I wasn't dead. I figured the great slowdown would occur after this mile.

Mile 4: 8:04.31
This mile went around one of the ponds. I don't know if I appreciated the change in terrain, or if I felt that the dirt path wasn't doing it for me. In any case, I just wanted to keep breathing fully. A few people were passing me and I contemplated whether or not to slow down and recover, or try to hold on. I told myself that I would finish the fourth mile before deciding.

Mile 5: 8:41.61
I'd say I struggled with this mile the most, but mentally I was keeping focused, which is rather rare for me these days. At this point, the course looped around the second pond and back onto the campus. I saw my mom at this point, who said something about being the eleventh female. One of the volunteer girls whistled at me, and even though it was a joke I really appreciated it. Thanks, girl! I was passed by two chicks who I later found out were in my age group, but I would have had to run a little bit faster to catch up, which was impossible at that point.

Mile 6: 8:28.40
This was the only point in the race with a slight incline. I was tired, for sure, but I didn't slow down as much as I expected, and I even sped up. Those walking lunges and squats I've been doing sure paid off, is all I have to say about that.


Point 2: 1:22.50 @ 7:04
The last .2 is a real pain. I told myself I could die once I finished.

Finish: 49:34.14, average pace of 8:00

And it was over. I finished fourth in my age group and ran my second-fastest 10k. The splits weren't as consistent as my PR earlier this year (which was set at another Notre Dame race), but this race made me proud of myself. I don't think I've ever felt that way after a race before so it was a good feeling.

Then I got a massage for my calf that made me feel wonderful. (I apologize, lady who massaged my calf, for having to touch my sweaty leg.)

I still won't be training for anything anytime soon as I prefer to just enjoy running for the time being, but I can't say I won't enter a race here and there. Just short races. Preferably with complimentary massages.

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Those are not random scraps of fabric from a sewing project, they're the bra inserts from my running shirt that I cut out. Why? They're useless. Even though I'm not a very big person, running solely in these shirts felt like once bounce away from needing surgery when I hit 30. When I wore a sports bra underneath, I felt like I couldn't breathe because the double layer was very tight. I meant to do this a long time ago...

So, I think running two days in a row might have been too much. I had some shin pain after Sunday's run that has since almost disappeared, though I'm going to be a little more cautious for the time being. I was expecting a bad run yesterday because of the shin pain but was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't very bothersome. What bothered me more is my breathing -- I just can't seem to breathe at all when it's hot. I'm working on pushing through it and seeing how far I get.

Remember the race I'm running on Saturday? Yeah... Earlier weather forecasts showed highs of 87 and lows of 67, clear skies, not too bad. I shouldn't have a problem running around 70-80°, though. The humidity might make it rough. We'll see.

What I'm looking forward to the most is the post race massage! No matter how well I self-massage my calf, it never feels as good as when someone else does it. I cannot wait.

Also, I'm going to attempt to run in the morning tomorrow. I've been saying this for a while now and it never happens.