Friday, March 25, 2011

BURGERS!

Lately, I've been making all sorts of burgers. Delicious, flavorful burgers.

Oh wait. Not this kind:
burger.jpg

MEATLESS burgers! Veggie burgers! Yes!

Don't run screaming. These taste nothing like beef, and I don't eat them like they should taste like beef. They are not cow-replacements, or those weird frozen veggie things.

This week, I made falafel burgers and ate them in a pita with yogurt sauce (Greek yogurt, scallions, parsley, and salt). I made kidney bean burgers using that recipe a couple of weeks ago (with the beans replacing chick peas, naturally), and they were delicious with veggies, salsa, chips, and cheese. I'm going to experiment with mini black bean burgers (and salsa) as appetizers for a book club meeting next week--I'll post the results (if they are worth sharing).

An old stand-by is lentil burgers, from Women's Running magazine from May/June 2010. It's an easy, delicious recipe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lentil Burgers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1 cup cooked lentils
1 diced onion
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 chopped garlic cloves
1 Tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
salt and pepper to taste

Combine everything in a food processor:
Cooked lentils

Spices and oats

Form into patties. Heat a bit of oil and cook the patties over medium-high heat for three to four minutes per side.

Lightly Fry

Serve on a bun, with some grains, or just some vegetables and greek yogurt.

Veggies like kale chips! Take this:
Kale!

And this:
Important ingredients

And bake it 'til it's crispy:
Finished Kale Chips!

Mmmm.
Mmmm.

I'm going to run again tomorrow, for the first time since the race. It's been a great little break, but I'm ready to MOVE!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

NYC Half Marathon, March 20, 2011

This was an awesome race! My goal was to start conservatively, speed up outside of the park, and run around a 10:30 pace. Mission: ACCOMPLISHED! Out of four half marathons, it's my second-best. :D

First, we had to get to NYC. NJ Transit is normally convenient and reliable for me, but it hated Aud and me this weekend. After 45 minutes sitting on a still train with a system-wide power outage, getting dropped off at another station, ten minutes watching three cops run up and down the train aisles with no explanation, we got moving and arrived in the city only two hours later than planned.

We briskly walked fifteen blocks downtown to the race expo, where we got our bibs, new tech-tees, and swag bag (microwave popcorn, elastic exercise band, and Axe shower gel anyone?). The expo was disappointing; it was small and had no free samples. What?! I know. I did grab a flier for a marathon in Ireland...

Quite hungry by this time, we stopped at the first hole-in-the-wall bagel shop we found. So delicious. Then we subwayed up to Lincoln Center, had coffee and a cookie in a European-style cafe, and saw the 18th or 19th movie adaption of Jane Eyre. It was really good! Jane Eyre isn't my favorite story (Mr. Rochester is no Mr. Darcy), but it was a beautiful rendition.

Continuing uptown on the 2, we arrived at her aunt- and uncle-in-law's Harlem apartment. They sweetly made us a huge batch of spaghetti and gave us the run of their beautiful three-story brownstone. We called it an early night after the first episode of North and South (continuing with British period dramas).

~~~~~~~

Aaah race mornings. They dawn so early. 5:30am is no time to eat a toasted peanut butter sandwich, yet it must be done. We couldn't figure out their coffee contraption, so we drank some black tea. And water.

We alternated briskly walking a block and lightly jogging two blocks in the dark for the 1.5 miles to the race's start at 95th and Central Park's East Drive. The moon was full and bright, hanging low over the buildings across the pond. After dropping off her sweats at the baggage drop and standing in the porta-potty line for ten minutes, we split up. She got to start way up in the 4th corral; I was back in the 10th. There were 14 or 15 total!

I froze. It was about 35 degrees. I did meet a friend from Daily Mile for the first time in person! We exchanged bib numbers online, but were shocked that we actually found each other in the corral. His planned time was faster than mine, though, so we separated as soon as we started.

Finally, at 7:30am, we were off! We inched toward the start line, and actually crossed it around 7:40.

Here are the elites running away:
And the elites are off!

The first eight miles were in Central Park--that's about 1.3 laps. I had heard the hills in Central Park were hard, but seriously, after the Seattle Marathon, those were NOT hills. ;) They were short and gradual enough and we had plenty of downhill to recover. I'm glad we only had eight miles in the Park...I was only just getting tired of it when we left.

Here I am around the 10k mark!
10k! Woo!

We entered the city at 7th Ave. Running through the skyscrapers was incredible. My slowest miles were the two including Times Square--I guess I was too enamored by the sights. ;) This is apparently the only annual event which completely closes Times Square, besides New Year's Eve. The crowds were great too! They had "Broadway stars" leading a sing-along (complete with lyrics on a screen behind them).

Lovin' the Big Apple
Nearin' mile 10

They got FIVE photos of me scrunching my nose:
I had to include one of me scrunching my nose. There were five.

Aren't you glad I shared one of them?

Then, we turned right on 42nd, entered the home stretch and headed south on the West Side Highway. Around mile 10.5, I started to get a bit mentally unsettled, but calmed down by reminding myself that we had less than a 5k left. I can focus for that long. The last three miles were speedy! The Hudson and even Jersey City were pretty in the sunshine. DJs pumped music every half a mile or so, and the sidewalks were filled with supportive cheering squads. I personally liked the "800m to go!", "400m to go!", and "200m to go!" signs, though they drove Audrey nuts. ;)

My last 200m dash was super strong!
Nearing the finish line!!

I finished with an official time of ***2:17:51***.

I FINISHED!!!

Whew!

It was better than both Philly halves (#1 and #3 [I apparently wished to forget it and didn't blog it]), but not Asbury Park (#2). In terms of course, it's by far my favorite.

I received my shiny medal, space blanket, and recovery food bag. I've never gotten a recovery food bag--usually bananas, bagels, fruit cups, etc are on tables for the taking. It was not impressive. The bag contained pretzels, a water bottle, and a smashed, rotten apple. Great. That is my only big complaint about the race.

Audrey was waiting for me by the baggage claim. She PR-ed with a 1:36:42! That qualifies her for the NYC Marathon (outright--no entering the lottery). You know, to go with her Boston Marathon, for which she qualified last year and is running next month. She's my hero. :)

Joining about twenty other space-blanket-clad runners, we bought bananas, juice, and lattes at Starbucks with sweaty bills kept safe in our running gear's mini-pockets. Then, we shivered on the looong subway ride from Battery Park up to Harlem.

After a refreshing shower and lovely chat with her family, we walked up and over to Columbia to meet my friend Sarah for brunch! The walk was hazardous--an uneven sidewalk landed me on my hands and knees. My favorite jeans ripped and I lost a dime-sized patch of skin on my palm. Boo. :( Sarah provided me with neosporin and bandaids. All will be well. A plate of home fries, whole wheat toast, a brie-apple-bacon omelet, and a Bellini hit the spot!

One more subway ride, fifteen minutes of a delayed NJ Transit train (*shakes fist*), and seventy-five minutes of napping later we were back in Princeton. Whew!


Overall? If you can get in, RUN THIS RACE!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Happy Birthday, Faraday, and Welcome, Spring!

Happy 2nd Bday, Faraday!

Yesterday, March 17th, St. Patty's Day, my little kitty turned two. Yes, I know his birthday--or at least the day his adoption papers claim it is! They also claim that he was born on Staten Island, and the rest of his short history is described in this post.

He used to be so little!
IMG_4851.JPG

Are these tasty?

Contortionist.

Kitten has ADD

Now he's kind of big:
My 2-year-old cat!

I, naturally, have an album devoted to Faraday, if you need more cute pictures. (Just IMAGINE how many pictures I'll take of my possible-future-children!)

It's an incredible 80 degrees today in NJ. My windows are wide open, letting in bird chirps from the trees and crew coach yells from the lake. The breeze is cool and smells so FRESH!

Tomorrow: Audrey and I head to Manhattan to attend the race expo, see the new Jane Eyre movie, spend the night with her relatives-in-law, and run the NYC Half Marathon on Sunday. My right leg has been bothering me, and her ankle's bothering her, so here's hoping we race intelligently and finish strong and whole. ;)

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Beautiful Ruins

I found this on my run this morning. Isn't it gorgeous? The sunshine glittered on the flooded forest floor. One week to the NYC Half!
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Wednesday, March 9, 2011

er...here's the picture.

Silly blogger app.
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HR1, CR, Members, and the Hill People

Do you like the picture? While trying to remain professional, I could only snap a quickie as we left the House's side to catch a cab to the Senate's turf. I've been to DC more times than I could list, but my West Coast heart still gets a jolt of tourist-excitement whenever I visit.

Wandering around the Rayburn, Cannon, and Hart buildings was pretty sweet. They are definitely nice office buildings, with normal people running about their daily business, with interns and older staffers, with cafeterias and long lunch lines. But then one notices the nameplates...of House Reps, Senators, and committees which determine to a very large part how our country runs, plans, and spends. One sees Charles Rangel and Ron Paul in the sub basement walkway between House buildings. Whoa.

I've never been particularly political, but most researchers in fusion energy (and other mainly government-funded disciplines) have to take an interest. You know, if we want jobs and futures. Whatevs.

It's more than that, though. It's energy independence, global leadership, and a BETTER AMERICA GOSH DARN IT.

Ahem.

So, today was highly educational. I learned the actual budget situation: the proposal which would devastate US fusion research but probably won't pass, the next proposal which is bare-bones what we need and not progressive. The offices we visited agree with and understand our concerns. Hopefully, they can convince their colleagues that while cutting government spending is important, don't do it here!

Sidenote: I met my advisor's grad school officemate and ate delicious frozen yogurt. Not at the same time.

In closing, SUPPORT ENERGY AND SCIENCE RESEARCH!

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Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Now...why am I leaving on a train??

I love trains. I've taken them from Seattle to Olympia, from NYC to NC, from Trenton to Boston, from Munich to Berlin, from Tangier to Fez. I get to take one in April from Vienna to Prague (and hopefully from Vienna to Bratislava). Today? Trenton to DC, to have a chat with members of Congress (or at least their staffers) about their commitment to a little thing called science.
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