Friday Picture Wrap-Up

"You walk so effortlessly."

Or so I was told by one of my coworkers while we were walking together from the subway station to the office. I don't know why this was so amusing to me. At least all this marathon training has made me an excellent walker.

Despite being such an elite walker, my gams have been achy all over. And since the golden rule is "treat your body as you would want your body to treat you" or something like that, I have been easing up on the training. I did a couple of four mile runs combined with three miles of walking. And yesterday I saddled up the doggy and took him out on a two mile run around Fort Greene Park, where there are a few dirt paths and a circling Hawk (luckily Oscar is not a snack-sized chihuahua).

During the run he shared a few running tips with me for springtime training:

1) Poop early on in your run, just to get it out of the way.

2) To avoid getting judged on your running form, pace, or outfit, distract a passerby with your howl.

3) If you experience a slump, roll in a patch of grass to freshen up. 

4) Run very close to people picnicking and maybe they will hand you some food.

5) Visit the wine store near the park on your way home because they have dog treats!

I'm going to start incorporating all of these into my regular runs.

This Friday Picture Wrap-Up is dedicated to my four-legged personal trainer.

Enjoying the sunshine on a mountain in NC

A very distracting howl

 Rolling in the grass feels nice.

A cat makes an okay pillow.

'twixt the fennel-field

I have a new obsession with fennel, which I've consumed just about every day so far this month. I never bought it before this time and didn't even notice it in stores. But the crazy thing is that while reading about fennel just now in order to write a post about a delicious fennel salad I just made, I learned that "marathon" is the Greek word for "fennel". I kid you not. Here I thought I was going to write a post that didn't have anything to do with running, to freshen things up a bit, and low and behold, I'm eating a bowl full of marathon. Historians believe that the town of Marathon is named after the fennel fields that are found there. Marathon is also the site of a great battle (cue the battle drum and flute music) that famously led Pheidippides to run very far to Sparta in order to get help, followed by a 25 mile run to Athens to announce Greek victory over Persia (after running a total of about 175 miles during all this drama, it is said that poor Pheidippides collapsed and died). I also read in one place that he ran with a sprig of fennel in his hand, which probably looked really stupid.

From an 1879 Robert Browning poem (found on wikipedia):

So, when Persia was dust, all cried, "To Acropolis!
Run, Pheidippides, one race more! the meed is thy due!
Athens is saved, thank Pan, go shout!" He flung down his shield
Ran like fire once more: and the space 'twixt the fennel-field
And Athens was stubble again, a field which a fire runs through,
Till in he broke: "Rejoice, we conquer!" Like wine through clay,
Joy in his blood bursting his heart, - the bliss!


So obviously, fennel is amazing. It has a lot of vitamin C in it and it's supposed to be good for digestion. The entire plant is edible so nothing gets wasted, and it's not expensive (at least not at Mr. Coco's in Fort Green/Clinton Hill). 


Here is the yummy salad that I prepared after a run home from work. The proportions are up to the eater. I slice the fennel by quartering the bulb and then slicing it thinly.  Tonight I also threw in some chick peas that were already open (in a can) in my fridge.


Fennel and Gorgonzola Salad
Baby Arugula
Fennel Bulb sliced
Fennel Leaves chopped
Crumbled Gorgonzola 
Dried Cranberries 


Placed in a bowl.


Dressing
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar 
A small squirt of Stone Ground Mustard
Sea salt (did you know that all salt is sea salt?)


Placed in a jar and shaken. 

Mix together and serve with a little black pepper. 

I've taken this salad to two potlucks this month, and both times I used the plastic container from the "Organic Girl" brand baby arugula", $3.99 to transport the salad, which made everything ridiculously easy. 

Introducing Oscar

Thirty degree temperatures are my favorite temperatures to run in. This evening it was 38, so I took my dog Oscar out on a quick half hour jaunt around Fort Greene Park. With its hills and Rocky Balboa-style stairs you can still get a pretty good, short run in as you pretend the world is a giant obstacle course (and it is, isn't it?).

Oscar and I have very different running styles. He tends to go out feeling really strong and energetic. His first 10 minutes into a run are solid. He runs with his tail and head up, looking straight ahead like he's a show dog and not an orphaned mutt found on Rebel Dr. in western North Carolina. I, on the other hand, usually take 10 minutes to warm up before my creaky bones feel lubricated and my muscles feel relaxed. I'm not sure what those first 10 minutes look like to the outsider, but I imagine that I start out looking like a character in a zombie apocalypse.

Unfortunately, it was at this stage in my run that Oscar and I passed a cute guy jogging in the opposite direction. "He's a great runner! Good looking dog!" he called out to me as I lurched forward. I tried to answer him, "Thanks, he is a great running part....." but I couldn't finish because he kept going and I realized he wasn't interested in a convo. *Sigh* Oscar is a good looking dog. It's true. He has even kissed my neighbor Rosie Perez on the mouth. On New Years Day an old lady stopped us on the sidewalk and proceeded to kiss Oscar on the lips and said, "Oh thank you. That's the best New Years kiss that I got." (And I didn't doubt it.) And you know what? It's okay if he gives it his all during the first 10 minutes of a run and then tries to stop and smell things and roll in grass and jump on girls the rest of the run, because sometimes picking up my running shoes and seeing his eager face and wagging body is the thing that gets me out the door when I'm otherwise feeling defeated. And I'm pretty sure we make each other look good.

(top photo is of Oscar when he was a puppy, right after he was found in the woods in western North Carolina and bottom photo is him now, modeling my Turkey Trot medal)

Tonight's post run beverage is hot chocolate with nutella in it (because I was out of sugar). It's delicious and perfect for winter time!