Camping after a 30 year hiatus, Katahdin Stream Campground, September 2018

When I was a kid, my sister and parents and I would go camping frequently.

Not like, glamping, with a cabin, or a Winnebago, but real old fashioned camping in a tent with meals cooked over the fire.
I have very fond memories of these times (especially sneakily feeding the squirrels and gray jays at Cobscook Bay) BUT THAT ALL CHANGED, ON ONE FATEFUL TRIP.

What happened? Well, it snowed. And not just a little but like a foot. It was cold. We were little kids. I basically hated it so much that I quit camping for my whole life (my Mom did too, she was done after that nonsense) (oh, and Lee remembers it somewhat differently than we do. "it snowed a little" he claims "and it was kind of cold. what's wrong with that??" DEATH, Lee. DEATH is what is wrong!)
Well, now I might be able to suck it up but at 8 years old it felt like quite the disaster (and it was god damned ridiculously cold.)

Lee still goes camping all the time. #mental
And so does Eric.
And so do my cousins.
They always come home stinky like a fire, full of fun stories, and bursting with glee.
(this has done very little to change my standpoint. to me, camping is staying in a sketchy hotel.)

For a moment, we should reflect upon the fact that 10 years ago I really hated running, and could not imagine a worse way to spend my time.
Things change.
So I know to keep an open mind.

So all of a sudden, after our Presidential Traverse trip with Evan last month, we began to talk camping.
The motivation (for me, anyway) was to be able to experience Katahdin, and Baxter State Park. I had never been there, and I was definitely interested in seeing that part of Maine. And walking up hill, as one does.

We talked about possibly getting a posh cabin (but they were booked for the rest of my life) so Lee suggested a lean to. Since he has ample photos of every camping trip he has ever been on, he was able to provide photo evidence of said lean to. Which looked quite cozy.

Cozy Lean To

Knowing how long sites last in Baxter (NOT long) we booked a couple sites at Katahdin Stream Campground. Conveniently located at the Hunt Tail head, the exact place where we intended to begin our hike. This was a bit of a risk, because none of us had any idea if we could actually manage to get time off from work (clearly we did. a bit of a miracle, to be honest.)

The trip was nuts.
Evan worked an overnight until 8AM on Wednesday and then drove straight to Maine.
I had to work until 1:30 on Wednesday.
Somehow, Eric managed to get the day off, but was definitely taking calls the whole drive up.
BUT WE PULLED IT OFF!! (departing on Wednesday, at 1:30 PM)
(and I had to be back by 1:00 on Friday to work, and Evan had to drive straight home for another night shift. But we decided to worry about that later...)

Off we went! It's just over 4 hours to Baxter, and we beat the rain by enough to be able to unload, and get dinner cooking.
(and yes, it rained. but it did not snow! and it was like, 75 so NOT cold.)

We made it!

We split a 5 person lean to between 3 of us, which meant we had enough room to spread out a bit. (Lee got his own space because he is a party animal. or so that we didn't need to be sardines. you choose)

Getting cozy

We were able to make a fire, cook 99% of dinner (which was amazing) and have all our things set up before the real storm began.

Just before the storm....

After we ate, under cover of the lean to, pinned down the Guido Tent due to WIND! and RAIN!(which is like a tent that covers a picnic table that has a funny name in our family because #reasons) , we cashed it in and went to bed. It was late anyway, and had been a long day!
I had a super thick sleeping pad, and with the sound of the rain, the thunder, and the roaring stream in the background, I slept quite well!! (no rain the second night, but still nice stream noise)

There is the stream. 

The next morning, we got up and ate and hiked!! (but this story has been told)

When we got back from hiking I tried to start a fire.
And failed. I blame the fact that everything was damp (so I got a lighter, and lit that shit up.)

I am NOT the firestarter

We sat around my successfully lit (and often stoked) fire, eating sardines and huge blocks of cheese, and guacamole, and bacon and pancakes, and apple crisp (no shit. we ate like kings) I REALLY enjoyed tossing everything into the fire. Hay rope. Plates. Sardines. Cork. Nothing was safe. The fire was my favorite.

Proof. It's lit. 

We watched squirrels steal our belongings.
One spent a night in Lee's truck, and wreaked havoc on our snacks. Little fucker.

He found this cork... And ate it. OK. And then I burned it (cork, not wildlife. relax)

We had some very amusing conversation about trail names. I was not aware that trail names were a thing until a couple years ago. Now I am quite interested and amused by them.

The winners of the day:
-BushBaby (we need details, did you have a baby in a bush?)
-Box Turtle (why?)
-Terminator (awesome)
-SwampAss (well, we aren't sure if that is his name.... the others are real though!)

On the drive out, we saw the view that should have greeted us had the weather not been so ornery.

Impressive

It is safe to say that my first foray into camping after a lengthy hiatus was a success.
Several things contributed:

-Mostly excellent weather, no bugs
-Suitable accommodations (very pleasant)
-EXCELLENT food, which was a bit of work, but all worth it
-GREAT COMPANY!! Probably the most key factor in all of this.

Tips for wimps:
-Get comfy things to sleep on. Be posh. Don't suffer. Bring your pillow. Your jammies. The usual.
-Bring lots of lighting, I had a little lamp, a headlamp and a flashlight.
-Obviously bring a ton of amazing food. Don't eat sad ramen.
-Pack extra warm clothing. Even if you don't need it, it's nice to know that you won't freeze!
-Take your friends.

I'm not quite ready to buy a tent, and head into the back country (ummm. no) But I had a terrific time, and can't wait to try out my camping courage again next year.

Boston training week five. The one where nothing exciting happens.

As my title has already led you to believe, nothing exciting happened this week.

That's not to say that nothing happened. I had a perfectly good week, my workouts went as planned and the weather was good enough to allow me three outside runs. Amazing! So fun!

My foot, after getting hacked up last week seems to be on the mend. Probably, if I took a week off like they suggested I never would have noticed it. I said to my DR "A week???" And he said "For you, no. Maybe a day." So, knowing that there was nothing that could be done to harm things, off I went with no issues other than a teeny little pain that one might expect. And now I am fine.

I had three pretty serious workouts this week.
I did 6x800's on the treadmill with 5 done in 3:32. Sadly, I have zero sweaty basement selfies to share. (how did this happen? who knows..) But I did them and I was a bit like "woof" because speed work at that pace, apparently, is a challenge for me.

I took my hill work outdoors. For me, this is key. My treadmill only goes up and when one is preparing for Boston one desperately needs downhills too. So I did that and it was good.

Running up a hill, on a dry road in February. WHAT?

I then had a progression run, also outdoors which I felt good about. My goal was to bring the pace from just under 9's to absolutely not one step faster than marathon goal pace. As usual this was all a bunch of guesswork but ended up right on target. Also, over rolling hills.

At the top of a rolling hill....

I had expected to take to the treadmill for my long run and was pleasantly surprised when the previous nights snow had melted in the nick of time. I thought it was a decent 17, not amazing, not terrible. Just getting the miles in on slightly tired legs but no drama.
Well, other than the weather. The temp was great, shockingly good actually coming in at 45 when I headed out. As I ran thru my town not only did the temp wildly fluctuate but it went from brilliant sun, to clouds, to temporary gale force winds, to rain. Fairly crazy.

45 degree long run. Pretty fabulous.

Somewhere in there was a boring basic 6 miler on the treadmill and that was it. I finished watching Dance Moms season 5 and have no idea what crap show I will turn to next.

44 miles for the week which is exactly where I need to be right now.

I was asked (by throngs of readers. or one person) what I do for cross training. Honestly, very little. I attribute this to my very active, basically cross training job. I also do have some time limitations and yoga, weights, and TRX just don't fit into the plan. I'm also not that motivated to fit more hours of athletics into my life and since I'm not shooting for an Olympic berth I can get away with this laziness.

I do a few basic exercises to work on my trouble areas (weak hips, glutes) and I have a very boring basic routine that I do for core, more so I don't jaggle around like a bag of mayo on a horse than for anything running related. So yeah, don't look to me for cross training inspiration at this point!
(or do? keep it simple? not a bad plan now that I think about it.)

Resistance band sideways walking thing. Does wonders for the hips.

I got a birdfeeder which is totally unrelated to anything else I have said today. Currently I seem to be attracting squirrels, two slightly slower than average sparrows, a pair of tufted titmouse (mice? I said tit haahahaha) and one delightful woodpecker. In my spare time I am basically a closet birder. I do wish the squirrels would bugger off though....

My little friend!!!!

Oh, and since the weather was all summery and what not I busted out some post run IPA's. From this weeks collection emerged a favorite for the week. They make another of my favorites, Boom Sauce which is quality.
While I might not have a good cross training plan I always have a good plan for beers. This is key.

Drink this, it's totally decent.

So that's all from week 5 of training. I'm hoping that the weather report for next week improves or it's back to the treadmill for me, and with no more Dance Moms I'm going to be awfully bored....

The weekly wrap up
Miles: 44 which is good
Favorite TV: Dance Moms.... Such junk!!!
Favorite beer: Lord Hobo Steal This Can
Low temp: -14 (on Monday AM)
High temp- 46! On Saturday
Favorite food: This amazing creme brulee with an almond cookie from The Oxford House. OMG.
 

Episode 9: Cooking my way through the Runner's World cookbook

I believe from here on out I will use "episode" instead of "week" to mark my installments since this has gone to chaos. While I have been cooking right along I just have not had time to update on the internet- I'll chip away at it!

And yes, there was the week this summer that I/we ate pizza for a week straight. Quite a few different kinds of pizza which was good, and pizza really never gets old to me! (and sometimes, all you have time and/or ingredients for is pizza so you say screw it and go for it, with beer and chocolate as a side dish!)

Anyway.

Mint Potato Salad

Even for me this is a bad pic. Thank heavens I am not an actual real life food blogger because this is atrocious!
Right.... So Potato salad is one of my favorite foods and I appreciate how most are laden with eggs, mayo and ill health. That's my jam. (I am not lying.)
I went into the taste testing of this salad with a positive attitude knowing that it would probably be different and that different can be good.
In the end I was still "MEH" on this one. I'm not sure if it was the overall pungency of the mustard and lemon laden dressing paired with the equally salty/bitter capers or what. Perhaps it just wasn't really my thing? I also used some pretty flavorful fancy olive oil so omitting that for some very basic EVOO might do the trick.
I gave this a 5.5 and Eric (the non potato salad fan) gave it a 6.25 and ate all the leftovers. Evidently a win in the Eric department!

Awesome granola

Yes. This is actually called awesome granola and I have been meaning to make it for months.
HOLY CRAP this stuff is so good. SO GOOD!!!! Solid 8.5 from both Eric and me- we ate it dry, in milk, dry again and then it was gone, boooooo.
My only advice.
Make a double batch!!

Grilled vegetable polenta casserole

We had a good run of recipes that we really enjoyed and knew it was bound to end at some point.
And it did, with this atrocity.
I knew it would be time consuming (and it was- 2 hours start to finish. I made the polenta from "scratch" and had to grill the veggies in several batches.) Two hours is for fucking ever. I only have time like that if the food is so amazing that I cry tears of joy.
See my face? ^^^ That is not a happy face. Not joyful tears.
The polenta was nasty- I always try to like polenta and remember (upon re-trying it) that I do not.
The veggies, which were great immediately after grilling had taken on a slimy consistency. I do not like my food to be slimy, definitely not my favorite consistency.
And two hours.... UGH!
Eric gave it a 7 upon first bite and then a 5.5 when he was done because, honestly, it was crap.
I gave it a 4 which I still think was generous.
Skip this and make some damn eggplant rollatini or something...

Mediterranean pizza with (zero) ham

None of us like ham so I left it off. Otherwise I followed the recipe and this was a hit.
As previously mentioned, you can't really go wrong with pizza around here!
This was another fantastic way to use the kale pesto (I ended up freezing a big batch and I drag it out and defrost it for a variety of things- really tasty stuff!) Next time I make this I will drizzle some (or lots) of olive oil on either the crust, the spinach or both. It needed a little improvement and I am pretty sure that would fix it! This would also be great with some onion, some sun dried tomatoes, maybe a few pine nuts?
That is the fun thing about pizza- you can add or subtract to make it something completely different each time.
The crust wasn't terrific- it was a Portland Pie premade crust and was just "meh".
I gave this a 7, Eric an 8 and Kate a 6 because she really did not care for the crust.

Swiss chard with roasted quinoa and tomato

With both swiss chard and tomatoes coming out my ears thanks to my Dad's garden this was an easy choice for a side dish.
I only managed to take one picture because I was hungry and stopped caring.
This was good- all of the flavors were very complimentary to one another and the very sweet tomato balances out the pungency of the quinoa and the slight bitterness of the chard nicely. 
I am not always a quinoa fan (proving, once again my shortcomings as a health blogger as well as a food one!) However, this was a nice way to use it and we both enjoyed it and both gave it a solid 7.

OK, so I have managed to catch up a bit.
Hopefully episode 10 will be up soon since I am way behind!

Master chef-ing, with Runners World recipes!

In which... my blog turns into a cooking blog!!
I kid, I kid! But eating is extremely important when you run a lot and when you decide to cook up a recipe found in Runners World it is completely valid content for a running blog.

A picture of the delicious end result. I am the Martha Stewart of my generation, obviously.

My sister comes by for dinner on a weekly basis if our schedules allow. This gives me a reason to be a slightly less lazy cook- while I can cook, and do cook, I'm not fond of overcomplicated or horribly challenging recipes.

And you guys- if I see one more running blog filled with salad after endless salad I am going to cry! There are so many good things to eat, and while salad can be one, enough already. Time for something hearty and delicious and maybe a little healthy too! (I would typically fall back on some steak but I was looking to branch out.)

There were some interesting recipes in Runners World recently for rice bowls. Quite a few of them looked good and I am a fan of dinner in a big warm bowl of goodness that I can bury my face in.

"Spring Wild Rice Bowl With Asparagus" was the winner. I took a bit of liberty with some of the ingredients and will make notes of that.

We started with a Maple Manhattan. My specialty!

As a responsible adult it is wise to have a cocktail to ease the pain of potential culinary failure. Just kidding, I make a very excellent Manhattan and it is smart to enjoy a nice grown up beverage once and a while. While sipping away (slowly, they pack a punch) I assembled my ingredients like the amazing chef that I am. Much organization. So skilled.

Ingredients.

What do we have there??
-3 cups cooked wild rice (I used a blend rice- white, brown, wild and red. so rebellious!)
Yes. The rice in the pic is uncooked. Use imagination!

Sautee-
1 bunch of Asparagus
1/2 lb Cremini mushrooms, sliced (I used baby portabellas- and slightly over a 1/2 lb)
To the sauteed veggies I went slightly off recipe and added a finely diced shallot and a large clove of minced garlic. A couple glugs of olive oil, a tablespoon of butter, and a sprinkle of salt topped things off nicely.

The dressing called for:
3 T evoo
Juice of half a lemon (I suggest using slightly less- it was tart!)
2 T minced dill
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt (I used less since I salted the veg)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (I omitted these)

1 poached egg per serving

OK, so I chopped up the veggies as prescribed and threw them in a pan to sautee.

Obligatory "veggies cooking!" photo

I am not 100% confident poaching eggs which is silly since I am a grown ass woman. My sister and I decided that we could use teamwork to simplify the process. We boiled some water, salted it, added a tablespoon or so of vinegar and chucked the little buggers in for about 4 minutes. It was slightly too much time but we would rather have a somewhat firm egg than a runny googily one. The cooking process was just as easy as it sounds- I no longer fear poaching.

Cooking some eggs. I think everyone but me knows how to do this well. But if not use this picture tutorial.

After the eggs were done swirling creepily around poaching, I threw the rice and veggies into some fancy china bowls, popped the eggs on top of everything and topped the whole thing with dressing and some shaved parm. Tah Dah! Culinary masterpiece!

Eric opted out of the non-googily egg option.

And how did this turn out?
Really damn good. Like, impressively tasty.
This recipe met all of my requirements, it had a short ingredient list, did not require cooking skills that I do not have (well, poaching wasn't my strong point) it was filled with things I enjoy eating and was hearty, full of flavor and probably healthy enough.

The recipe indicated that it would serve 4 and it would not, unless you eat like birds or eat quite a bit of cheese and crackers beforehand. So, serves 3 happily or 4 with salad and appetizers. 

I hope that everyone is looking forward to my next installment of middleaged cooking which will be something astonishingly complex like english muffin pizzas, hahaha ugh!
Until then, have fun eating things. It is my favorite passtime after all....