A faster time, sausage, ragu, and pasta

Running

This week is my "rest week," where I dial down my miles by at least 80%.  I've also decided to limit myself to one interval run which of course is greatly disappointing to me, myself and I.  So to replace today's 3.2 mile interval training session I decided to go out for my comfortable 5k+ stretch through the neighborhood.  It's 5k+ because it is 3.28 miles and not 3.1 miles.

However, instead of taking a nice easy "rest week" pace, I tried to go all out.  I finished in 30 minutes and 21 seconds, which puts me at a little under 9 minutes and 16 seconds pace.  That is faster than my previous record and so I will take it.  Still, a little part of me is disappointed that I haven't broken the 9 minute barrier.  Perhaps the 40+ mile weeks and interval training is paying off, but I really need to give it more time and be patient.  Breaking into the 8's is a 5 year plan after all.

At the end of the run I came home to this on my window:

A quick search on Google turns up its species name as ...Stagmomantis californica. Who doesn't think Praying Mantises are awesome?

Culinary

I took out a package labeled "Trimmings" from the remaining packages of the Gloucester Old Spot a couple of days ago.  Today I seasoned with salt, pepper, oregano, garlic and a little bay leaf.  The plan is to run it through the grinder on Saturday and cook it to form the basis for a ragu.  I will match this up with some fresh pasta.

When I first made fresh pasta I did all by hand, rolling, cutting, no machines.  My wife seeing my enthusiasm bought me a "pasta machine."  It was an extruder type pasta maker and I made several batches always trying to perfect my pasta.  The machine always gave our pasta a "feathered" surface and I didn't care for it all that much.  One day in the need for more cabinet space in my old house, it took a walk.

The current pasta machine, given to me by my wife (I think she likes my pasta) is a Marcato and looks like this:

However, the cutter is a bit finicky and I often have to separate the noodles by hand.  I've been looking for a good pasta rolling pin and thanks to a youtube video found this:

Pefecto!  Here is the youtube video, awesome technique and sooo easy!

I should have guessed it was Ruhlman.  If you want to know about curing meat, he has two great books out:

And ...

The rolling pin will have to wait as I will be using the machine the roll the dough out, but I will be cutting by hand using the Ruhlman technique.

An easy 13.8 miles and Pizza

Running

Yesterday I decided to go easy on the elliptical machine.  My left 1st metatarsal on the distal end was giving me issues.  I did 4.2 miles which was 1.2 more miles than I originally intended, but they were easy aerobic miles and I felt great when I was finished.  I was taking it easy because I knew today was the long run of 13+ miles.

Part of the running training that I haven't talked about is my strength training.  I've been lifting weights since I was 15.  One day I looked down and saw this belly roll and thought to myself - "I need to exercise."  I knew running was not the answer, because running made me feel like vomiting.  Seriously, I went to try-outs for the soccer team at high school and that lasted all of one day because the first day I almost puked from the running.  So I turned to weight training.

I started with a lot of sit-ups, then put on a pair of old ski boots (weights) and started leg lifts.  Somewhere along the line I convinced my parents to buy me a weight set.  That was my first and only weight set as I gave them away when I finished graduate school.  I have done all my weight lifting since then at gyms.

When I started this running business last year I didn't have to worry about mixing in strength training.  The only issue I had at first were with my knees.  All my life I have had good knees.  I've done a lot of squats, have great flexibility and I haven't lost much of this flexibility even at my advanced age.  Trying to run 6 miles as my long run several months ago changed all of that.  I thought to myself - "What have I done to my knees?'  So I stopped running anything over 4 miles for awhile.

Then I ran my first 5k race.  It really took it out of me.  I had no endurance and so I went to the oracle (google) and started looking for ways to improve my endurance.  Everything I read agreed on three major points:

1. Run more miles per week.
2. Run intervals, fartleks, or tempo runs.
3. Include a long run in your weekly training schedule.

So I tried doing intervals during a 6 mile run, smart right?  Actually it was.  I breezed through the 6 miles.  My knees didn't bother me.  I didn't feel like I was going to die after finishing.  I recovered rather quickly and didn't find my entire day ruined for productivity.  All of these were features of the first efforts at 6+ miles mentioned above.  Somehow during the "break" where I didn't run more than 4 miles, my knees got stronger again, and were no longer an issue.

So I started ramping up my weekly miles, and increasing the length of my long run.  Perhaps, 13 miles is the new 6 miles.  Fortunately my knees still don't bother me.  Increasing the weekly miles has caused other issues, like the metatarsal I mention above and before I went on vacation, there was the "calf" issue.  This is why I built in a rest week for my training schedule upon returning from vacation.  Before I went on my jaunt today I reminded myself of the upcoming rest week to motivate me to go out the door this morning.

I told myself - "We are just going to have an easy aerobic run, no intervals, no pace training, whatever is fun."  I wasn't feeling it.  I mean, the first 10 miles weren't a big deal, but the last 3.8 made me want to die.  It was almost as bad as the 14.4 mile run.  In some ways it was worse, because I really feel liked I "bonked" at mile 12.5.  I almost stopped running.  I pushed through, although at one point I'm sure someone power-walking could probably have past me.

13.8 miles in 2hours and 39 minutes.  Pace was a 11.5 minute mile.

I'm so glad I'm not running tomorrow and that next week is a rest week where I reduce my weekly miles.  I may rethink the long run.  Perhaps I should only do half-marathon distance every other week?

Culinary

Wood-fired pizza

The primo ready to rumble.  Actually, I still had to close it up, open the vents and wait for the temperature to get above 400 F

Pizza before cooking.  I haven't used the refrigerator for aging pizza in awhile.  I thought I might have put it into the fridge too early.  I took it out at 1pm, formed the dough balls and put them back into their plastic bowls to incubate on top of the fish tank.  Internal house temperature was 82 F.  At 5:30 they didn't look like thy had risen enough, but upon dumping onto a floured surface it became apparent that they were very ready.  They were actually aggressively fermenting.  Bubbles kept forming in the dough as I formed the pie.  You can even see an unpopped one on the left of the picture.  You can also see the light green sweet Italian peppers that my wife grew for us littering the surface.

 Pizza after 2 minutes and 30 seconds in the Primo.  When I went out to the Primo it was at 550 F, youch!  I've cooked pizza at 700 F without burning it.  It was very Neapolitan with leopard spotting.  It took 90 seconds to cook!  In order to get that to work, I had to devise a rather complex protocol and set-up for the Primo.  I'm too lazy for doing that all the time, so now I mostly shoot for a temperature of 450 F, and the pizza that comes out at that temperature is just fine for me.  I'm more picky about how the dough is prepared.  So with a 550 F temperature, I used my trusty spray water bottle to cool the pizza stone and everything came out fine.

Tonight is not my turn to make dinner.  My wife is going to be making tomato-basil soup, yum!  However, I will be slow smoking some salmon I prepared last week.  It's was equilibrium cured in a 2% salt, 2% sugar and a splash of tumeric mix.  I've been allowing it to dry age in the fridge for the last three days.  It is now ready for the smoker.

Slow running, cured pork, and wood-fired pizza

A short run post, but I want to keep records of run times so that when I start running 6 minute miles (will never happen) I will feel a sense of real accomplishment.

Running

Friday I went for my 9.84 mile run and finished in 110 minutes which equals 11.18 minute miles.  That's slower than my half marathon run!? So somewhere between 7 miles and 13.3 miles I lose a lot of steam.  Or, maybe my twice a week interval training is knocking me down speed-wise.  This article definitely says you can overdo high intensity interval training.  It definitely feels like high intensity when I'm doing it.  Did I mention I hate interval training?

Culinary

I have a great culture of Penicillium nalgiovense growing on my curing meat:

I will weigh it in a couple of weeks.  Maybe it will be ready in time for my 50th birthday party?

Pizza

Tonight I'm making Pizza in the Primo ceramic cooker.  I have a bunch of almond wood that I use for creating a wood-fired type pizza.  Here is my recipe for my 70% hydration dough:

1.      600 Grams of flour

2.      12 grams of salt

3.      6 grams of sugar

4.      Water 400 grams

1 gram of active yeast 

I use "Redmill" bread flour for the dough.  I had to substitute with 200 grams of all purpose flour for this batch as I ran out of "Redmill."  I heat the water, salt, and sugar for about 45 seconds in the Microwave before mixing in the yeast.  I then add this mixture slowly to the flour in my Kitchenaid mixer and beat at medium for 5 minutes.  I then do the "slap and fold" on my counter top with this sticky mess for 10 minutes before dividing into two pizzas.

I think here dough is at a higher hydration level than mine, but the principal is the same.  The dough was made yesterday and put in the fridge.  Normally I would use the wine cooler, but it is currently occupied with the pork.  So I guess I could think of my pizza as "New York" style since they typically put the dough at refrigerator temperatures for overnight or longer.  If you don't have time to let pizza dough sit at least overnight in a refrigerator or wine cooler, then make something else.

For toppings I will be making a sauce from tomatoes and basil from the garden.   All the smoked pork is gone and the cured pork not ready, so I will just use garden peppers, commercial salami and olives.  Pizza for me is sort of like a cooking palette that has a few rules but allows for a lot of creativity .  I'll try and remember to take some pictures of the pizzas and Primo set-up for pizza making.

Training and Shakes

Running

Today 7 miles at a 10.17 minute pace.  Better than my half-marathon pace, but still not going to allow for any sub 2 hour times.

My current training schedule:

Day	Activity	Miles
Monday	Rest	0
Tuesday	Intervals	3.2
Wednesday	Pace	7.08
Thursday	Intervals	3.2
Friday	Recovery	9.84
Saturday	Cross Train	3
Sunday	Long Run	13.34
	Total	39.66

Every fourth week it will look like this:

Recovery Week
Day	Activity	Miles
Monday	Rest	0
Tuesday	Intervals	3.2
Wednesday	Pace	4.8
Thursday	Intervals	3.2
Friday	Recovery	7.08
Saturday	Cross Train	3
Sunday	Long Run	10.5
		31.78

According to this article I should be set for training for any of the race distances I am interested in.

A couple of days ago during the long run I was left in the dust (no surprise there) by a couple of runners shorter than me and with stride length comparable to mine.  I was in mile 12 and had nothing left to give in terms of trying to keep up, still it was a good lesson in the importance of stride frequency.

With a 28ish inseam I don't have stride length, never will, but I can work on frequency.  Wednesdays are going to be focused on this aspect of running, while my interval training will work on my stride length.  I hate interval training.

Culinary

I don't have much to report here.  Tonight I will be using the smoked pork to make potato au gratin.

Concerning the protein shake:  I recently found Chia seeds in my local grocery store.  And having read "Born to Run" I decided to give them a try in my protein shake.

My protein shake recipe:
3/4cup fruit juice (usually Orange Juice - Simply Juice)
1/2 cup of non fat plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon chia seeds
2 teaspoons sugar
23 grams of whey powder
200 grams for frozen fruit
2 baby carrots
4 ice cubes
All of this is blended in my Vitamix mixer.

I'm not really sure the Chia seeds added much, but now that I bought them I feel obligated to use them.

13 miles after Beer

Running

On Sunday I ran 13.34 miles according to http://www.runningmap.com/

I finished in 2 hours and 29 minutes putting me at a very slow 11 minute and 17 second mile. 

So you see I'm slow.  I just started this running about a year ago, just shy of my 49th birthday.  So guess which birthday is just around the corner?  That doesn't make me late to the party, particularly if you compare me to Joy Johnson.  I really have no intentions of running a marathon, but I could do a half marathon, if I can get my time down to less than 2 hours.

Perhaps I should have called my blog slow runner?

Culinary

Beer Day!

I made beer on Saturday!  Ten gallons of what I am sure will be an amazing Belgian Ale.  Here are some recipe notes:
12 pounds of Western Pale Ale Malt
9 pounds of Munich Malt
1 pound of 10L Crystal Malt
1 pound of torrified wheat
1 pound of Abbey malt (aromatic malt)
1.5 pounds Moreno Raw sugar
2 ounces of Santiam Hop pellets at 60 minute boil (8.2% Alpha Acids)
0.75 ounce Tettnanger Hop pellets at 15 minute boil (6.1% Alpha Acids)
0.8 ounces of fresh Chinook Hop flowers from garden
Zest from Meyer Lemons from garden
0.1 ounce of Mace
Two 1.6 Liter starters of Belgian Golden Ale Yeast WLP 570
Conversion efficiency was low for me at 75%.

Some Pictures - My rig

The Mash with sparge ring.

The Wort, clear and sweet.

Curing Pork

So I went ahead and cured the rest of the ham (See here).
Here are the photos - me stuffing the meet into a 100mm casing and wrapping with twine.

 

All wrapped up and weighed out to track drying.  The goal is 70% of this weight.  I will also be using a mold culture to coat the outside in hopes of fending off the not so friendly molds I have had trouble with in the past.

 

 

 

 

 

Earbuds and Pasta

I have large ears.  They aren't particularly large for my head, or look all that out of proportion, but internally the external auditory meatus is pretty big.  When I buy earbuds I always have to put the largest adapter on them. 

I've discovered while this is fine for most exercise, it isn't enough for running.  At first they will hang in there, but over time they start to fall out, or I have to keep pressing them into place.  This is a major distraction during the run.  I even started to forgo music while running because of the nuisance.  This is okay for up to about 10 kilometers, but the long run is particularly boring without some tunes.

So I began searching for earbuds that would stay in my ears.  I found some pretty horrendous looking devices that I just couldn't wear.  Sort of like these:

Then I found Jaybird Bluetooth earbuds:

Wireless! I could even be reached by phone while running!  However, the only way these would stay in is if I gave my ears and the buds an isopropanol wash each time and I was concerned about what this would do to my ears (isopropanol is a weak neurotoxin). 

Then I found these:

Mine are purple.  They are do it yourself custom molded adapters for you earbuds.  All you do is microwave them in some water.  Let them cool a little (this is important if you don't want burnt ears) and press them into the earbud and your ear, molding them while they are soft.

It's hard to take a picture of one's ear.  They don't fall out, but the sound quality isn't as good as the original adaptors.  Still, I'm going to stick with them.

Culinary

Last night I made pasta.  I am forever grateful to Michael Ruhlman for many reasons, not least was an actual weight ratio of eggs to flour for pasta.  The old recipe of 5 eggs to one pound of flour was to imprecise for me.  Me and my wife don't really need more than 4 eggs worth of pasta.  Interestingly, the eggs we get at Savemart are fairly consistent at 50 grams inside content.

I didn't use the pasta machine for this batch.  I rolled the dough out by hand using a rolling pin and cut using a knife.  It really didn't take longer than the machine, it just required a little more muscle from me.  I made a ragu using our tomatoes and the pork I smoked (as detailed previously).  My ragu is a little heretical as I throw all type of non-traditional stuff in like garlic, oregano, and basil.

Beer

I just received my Belgian yeast from MoreBeer.  I am, as I write this, allowing the wort to cool for the starters and I will be brewing this Saturday.  I am so excited.  Making beer is one of my favorite activities.  I usually wait until I have enough empty carboys for 3 batches in a row and use the same yeast for all three batches.  I tend to ramp up the specific gravity (think alcohol) of the wort for each batch.  So the first one will be a basic Belgian ale, then a dubbel, and finally a tripel. 

I have to say I love a good tripel.  At most I make them once a year because I always bottle them as opposed to kegging, so that they can age.  I hate bottling, but it is worth it for any of my big beers, like a tripel.  I also bottle my Imperial Stouts.

For this first batch I will be using an unusual finishing hop - Chinook.  It's an American hop which is out of style for a Belgian beer, but I have some growing in my backyard.  It's fresh, it's organic, and I'm going to use my hops!  As you can tell from my non-traditional ragu, I'm not very traditional when I don't want to be.  However, the Tripel will be very traditional.

Running off the pork

The Long Run

Anybody who maintains a running blog and includes a long run in their training needs to write about the "Long Run."  I think it is in a code book somewhere.  And since today I ran my longest run to date of 14.4 miles I figured it was a good time to blog about it.

Mile 1:  "Nice day!  A bit cool at 6:20am which is good for what will probably be a 2+ hour run.  I wonder if I will run 10.8 or 14.4 miles?  I will just have to see how I feel at 10.8 miles."  I currently run a 3.6 section of our local canal and runs length is typically determined by the number of times I run this route.

Mile 2: "Hmm, I'm sweating and breathing hard, typical."

Mile 3:  "Running is never easy, even when I'm just knocking out a 3.6 mile run."

Mile 3.6: "One round down, at least two more to go."

Mile 5: "Don't give into tempo running, just run the distance."  I actually like running different tempos during my run because it relieves the monotony.

Mile 6: "Not feeling 14.4 miles today."

Mile 7.2: "Two laps down, now things get interesting."  I've only run over 10 miles 3 times, and all of these during a 3 week period just before my vacation.  I find 10.5 miles challenging, but not debilitating.  The one time I ran half-marathon distance (one of the 3 mentioned), I ran in minimalist shoes and had very serious leg cramping at the end of the run.

Mile 9:  "Why do I run?  I hate running!"

Mile 10.8:  "Three laps down, I will just start this final lap and see how it goes."

Mile 11.5: My long dead cousin Steve visits me and says,  "Why are you running?  You are a scientist."  I miss Steve, but now is not the time for these mental hallucinations.

Mile 12: "Oh, look I'm covered in sweat."  Seriously every inch of my clothing, except my amazing drymax socks.  I literally have a stream of sweat coming off of my baseball cap.  You could collect a glassful of sweat complete with urea in a couple of minutes.  Did you know urea was in your sweat?  It is actually responsible for your eyes stinging when sweat gets in them.  Now I hear my Grandma (also deceased) saying, "We don't perspire, we SWEAT!"

Mile 13: "I think I'm dying."

Mile 14: "Ugh, I'm still alive.  Please, stop the agony!  No, no, almost there, can't quit now, new distance record."

Post run report

So I finish.  I stretch, I sweat, I stretch, I sweat, I drink down the rest of my Gatorade.  I took my fuel belt and had both Gatorade and water for this run to deal with the sweat, including loss of electrolytes.  I figured this played a role in my post run cramps at the end of the aforementioned half-marathon.

I fell into my car (no, I climbed in).  I wondered if an officer of the law pulled me over if I would register positive on a breath analyzer machine for fatigue toxins?  Would I be arrested?  None of this happened and I managed to drive home.

I pulled into the garage (without hitting the garage door or beer fridge) and very gingerly drew my body out of the car.  I went to the beer fridge (because beer cures everything) and got another two bottles of Gatorade.  I sat at my table and pulled off my sweat soaked hat and shirt.  My feet were in great shape thanks to the Gel Cumulus shoes and Drymax socks!

Suddenly, I didn't feel so good, like emetic reflex not good.  I made it to the restroom only to have this first reflex be followed by a defecation reflex, a "Shut Up + Run" type experience.  "Hey! I bet I lost some weight!"  - talk about purging.

Feeling somewhat better I remembered reading about ice baths to help with the leg muscles post long run.  No way I was taking one of these, but I do have a pool, and it is cool in the morning.  So I climbed into the pool, sweat soaked run shorts still on.  I begged my wife, who was watering her plants in the backyard (including the tomatoes), to get me a towel please.   The pool actually felt wonderful.  I did have a moment of violent shivering as I super cooled, but eventually found equilibrium.  Finally, I felt well enough to go inside, shower, and start my day.

Culinary

Time to smoke some pork!

 

 First I needed to clean up the grill.  The shop vac is very handy for this.

 Some of the charcoal remaining from my last wood-fired pizzas.  After the pizza cooks, I cut off all oxygen flow and the wood carbonizes to become charcoal which I then make use of to start the next session with my Primo.

 My foot, no ulcerations from the run!

 

All cleaned up!

 

 

Above is the set-up.  The pork on the right, tray with water below the pork for moisture and drippings, and a stainless steel vent filled with layers of charcoal and applewood chips.  The smoke went well, never getting above 225 degrees Farenheit.  I wrapped both pieces of pork at about 150-160 degrees farenheit to help them hit 190.

Here is the small piece all done and sliced.  It was excellent!

 

Tomatoes

I mentioned that my wife grows a lot of tomatoes for me.



 



 







Tomato bush to the right, basil bush to the left (we make a lot of pesto), geraniums struggling for light in the back.  Our basil is completely voluntary from previous years.  We never have to plant any, it just keeps coming back every summer.  You can't see them, but there are a gazillion tomatoes in that bush of four plants.  There is a fifth volunteer Roma tomato plant behind these.

 





 

More volunteer tomatoes along the side yard along with some Nasturtiums.  My wife calls these "dog bottom tomatoes" because all of my family loves tomatoes.  The dogs eat them when they can, do their business on the side here and voila!

The Kimchee ready to eat! 

"Dad, you are such a girl"

I got this comment from my son when I came home from vacation and decided to buy this:

This is one of a pair of Asic's Gel Cumulus 15s which got great reviews on Runner's world - http://www.runnersworld.com/shoe/asics-gel-cumulus-15-mens
My son is a bit sexist and he doesn't get it from me.  His comment comes from a perceived bias that women like to own more shoes then men.  I'm not sure that is the case, but I do remember Imelda Marcos, and here impressive array of shoes. 

Okay, okay, in the past year of running, my first year of running, I may have managed to acquire a few additional shoes.  When I first started running with my dogs, I just wore my New Balance generic sneakers.  Here are my dogs - Wally, then Poppy.

 

Cameras make Wally nervous, actually lots of things make Wally nervous.  He really blends into the wall and floor - great camouflage for a nervous dog.

Don't they look like they are ready for a run?  Yeah, for about 3 miles, and that is about it.

I decided I needed real running shoes to protect my poor feet from injury and bought a pair of Saucony's at the local Big 5 store and actually put several hundred miles on them:

They were a bit too narrow (10D) but otherwise comfortable.

 Then I decided I was an overpronator/undersupinator or something and bought these:

 They have become great walking shoes, and the cushion is amazing, but running in them hurts my gastrocnemius, soleus and peroneus muscles (calves).  I decided I wasn't an overpronator and these stability shoes with their amazing cushion and rollbar (or some sort of bar) were likely to lead me down injury lane.

I drank some Koolaid and read:

 

 

So suddenly I wanted to run Ultramarathons barefooted in some remote place, well, no.  It is a great read and goes into some depth on the shoe industry, injuries, motion control and stability shoes.  It advocated for at least a minimal shoe.  Still, with my 50th birthday just around the corner I though I should have some shoes with a little arch support and bought these:  

 

Nice shoes, very light, not enough comfort for me on the long run and they only had them in a size 10D.  It was fun going to the outlet stores and looking at a lot of shoes though. I have wide feet and prefer a 10EE.  At least I resisted ordering the five toe shoes:

 

I just couldn't take myself seriously running in them, and the lack of cushioning...ugh. 

 

Don't ask me about the sandals, I still had a sugar high on the Koolaid when I ordered them online.  Still, they were good travel sandals on the RV vacation.

Still feeling the Koolaid, I ordered the below minimal shoes for trail work on my vacation. 

I was so enamored with them I wore them on my first half-marathon, big mistake, but I recovered.  Too minimal on the cushion for running, but great trail shoes for short hikes.  The zero heel to toe drop was also an interesting feature.

Finally, while on vacation, at spots where we had WiFi, I started researching neutral, cushioned shoes and settled on the Gel Cumulus in a 10EE.  I just ran in them today and you can see the dirt in the above picture. they were awesome, like walking on...clouds...  I didn't go for the Nimbus because:

1. They were more expensive - I got a great deal online for the Cumulus
2. They struck me as being for a bigger runner - I lost weight over vacation and now hover around 143 pounds.

Did I mention that I've started looking at running shorts, shirts, pants, gloves, etcetera?

Culinary

I finally thawed the ham from the Gloucester Old Spot we bought in February.  It was supposed to have the skin still on it:

 Above you can see it has no skin and it is square.  I like that fact that I am now getting free-range pork, not so happy with the butcher that we have to work with.  They don't even know what a Capicola cut is, sheesh!

I decide to debone the ham since prosciutto is out of the question:

 You can see the femur above.  Did I mention that I am an Anatomist?

Below the femur and what remained of the Os coxae is removed. 

I salted the smaller piece on the right, the larger piece on the left I was able to reduce to two pieces along natural fascia, or muscle divisions.  The largest I will smoke on the Primo and the smaller will be salt cured for drying in the wine fridge.  For the dry cure I went with a 3% salt cure, the other two pieces destined for the smoker had a 2% salt cure.  I used 0.25% pink salt on all three pieces to give them a ham flavor.

My principal training is in Microbiology, so I have a handle on all the safety issues of dealing with raw pork.  When I set up the dry cure I will post again, but the real expert on this process who keeps a regular blog is here.

Anybody want to guess what I'm going to do with the bone?