by Sam Tackeff | Oct 16, 2012 | Challenge, Races, Running
(Via SI)
Doug Flutie is a bit of a celebrity around here.
Aside from that legendary Hail Mary pass, a Heisman trophy and a spectacular career in the NFL, one of Doug Flutie’s most important legacies has been his work through the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation, focused on raising money and awareness for autism. For my third race this season/ever, I decided to run in the 13th Annual Eastern Bank Flutie 5K to benefit the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism. Here’s my recap:
* * *
Race Day
When I woke up Sunday morning, it was raining, cold, and I felt miserable. My arm and elbow hurt from an hour of handstand practice on Saturday, I had the sniffles, and my thumb was tingling because I had jammed it. I was planning on heading to the race alone, but my lack of planning had made me an anxious wreck. I nearly had a meltdown because I was too tired to make coffee and we were out of bananas.
And this is when a very kind Devon came to my rescue and drove me to the race. I wouldn’t have made it without him.
When we got there I found a banana, and things began to turn around!
{In the background, check out the modernist architecture of the Leonard Morse Hospital. Wet concrete makes this former architecture major giddy! Designed by Marcus, Nocka, and Payette in the late ’60s, this was actually at the cutting edge of high-tech hospital planning when it was designed. It was particularly progressive in its huge windows, generous daylight, and lush wooded environment. Also, carpeting. Not so sure about that one.}
We were early enough to tour around the little expo tents. Wegmans was a lead sponsor, which I was excited about. I was less excited when their main booth was giving out Doritos and Sunchips, and the “lunch provided post race” ended up being roll-up wraps. They did have a little gluten free section set up though, and had provided me with my savior banana, so I was much appreciative!
While I ate my banana, I went over to stare at the free Dunkin Donuts. They were giving out both donuts, including my second favorite chocolate glazed (my favorite being butternut), and pumpkin mocha spice lattes. I wish that they had brought regular coffee, but I can appreciate that most folks quite enjoy their seasonal offerings. Alas, staring was all that I did.
Another vendor I was happy to see was Crescent Ridge, a dairy in Sharon, MA, serving up some cold chocolate milk, along with some literature about chocolate milk as a post workout drink. For folks who can consume dairy, and don’t mind the sugar hit, this stuff is delicious. I seriously contemplated taking a sample. And then remembered that a) I haven’t consumed dairy in over a month, and b) I was about to run a race. Plus, while their chocolate milk is delicious, it isn’t as good as the crack that is their seasonal egg nog. I backed off wistfully and wisely.
5-Hour Energy also had a booth, and people were downing these like dope at the Tour de France. (Too soon?) Now, I’m not one to judge, but… these drinks are not for me. After the race Devon had mentioned that a very small child had run up to the table and grabbed one of these cute pink bottles before being loudly reprimanded by her father: “Don’t you ever put that stuff in your body!!!” Teach ’em young.
Perhaps a better option was the Vita Coco – although I may be one of the only people in the world who doesn’t like coconut water.
Before heading over to the starting line, we watched the STRIVERS Running Club for Girls go through their warm-up. Clearly this worked, because a bunch of these speedy demons surged past me during the race. Seeing these girls thrilled to participate was one of the highlights of this race.
Finally, I headed over to the line-up. Having lined up too far back during my last race, and being nearly run over by jogging strollers, I decided to seed myself more wisely this time, and shuffled closer to the front.
There were still plenty of people in front of me at the starting line, including Joe, from the gym, who came in at a speedy 19:47!
As we waited in the cold, my friend Bets lined up next to me! It was so good to see a familiar face!
Although not so good when she mentioned that the “rolling course” I had briefly glanced at when I signed up was actually full particularly unpleasant hills… It was at that point that my goal went from “maybe I can do better than last time” to… “Oh dear lord, I hope I can do this without dying.”
After a false start which was a ploy to take a photograph, the crowd started moving and off we went!
Here’s my race on Runkeeper:
Mile 1. 10:14/pace: Almost as soon as we started, the rain started coming down. I ran near Bets for the first 3/4 of a mile past rolling green fields and farms, until we hit the first big hill coming around a corner. I had been running at a good clip – between 9:00 and 9:30, but hitting the big hill I literally had to slow down to an unplanned walk.
Mile 2. 9:55/pace: Hoping to make up time in the second mile, I skipped the water break, and ran a little faster, taking a single walk break to get myself up another little hill.
Mile 3. 10:38/pace: By mile three I was sick of the rain, and ready to be done with this already. I had assumed, at this point, that I wasn’t going to make my goal. And then I saw kids passing out oranges – I grabbed one and it was like a little miracle! And then I saw more kids, hands outstretched, and decided to run over to give them all high fives. For my slowest mile of the race, this ended up being the most enjoyable.
The last .1: Like my previous 5k, this race ended on a not so gentle ascent. As I turned the corner into the last .1 mile, I decided to gun it with what I had in me. The second the clock came into view, I saw that I could make it if I ran fast. In a split second, the race went from kind of sucky, to wait, I can do this! I’m doing this! Yes, yes! I’m doing this!
I set my eyes on the clock, knowing that if I beat 32:14, I’d PR.
And boy was it close. Sprinting up the hill, I glanced at the clock and I saw 32:03.
And then I was through, they handed me a water, and I gave a high five to folks from my gym…
Before walking off to avoid puking 🙂
The Result: 31:58 – 529th place, 43/89 in my age group (F 20-29).
Yep, beat my time 16 seconds on a much harder race course!
Never have I been more excited to be middle of the pack!
After I finished, I found my friends to watch more of the race, saw Doug Flutie run to the finish line with his wife (after running a respectable 25:25 himself), and nearly lost my voice cheering for all of the kids running to the finish line.
Here I am, after the race:
Can’t wait for the next one!
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 15, 2012 | Meat
Sorry for that title. Really. The puns and bad jokes are getting worse and worse around here. I’ll let the management know.
Saturday
On Saturday morning, I woke up and picked up my race packet for Sunday’s 5k. I was having a bad morning, worried that my car was dying, and then running late to Jeremy’s gymnastics clinic. I normally only go to the gym twice a week, but the focus was on handstands, and bar practice (toes to bar, kipping, and pull-ups), all of which are skills that I desperately want to improve on. Mostly for the street-cred, really.
When I finally made it (with about a minute to spare), I was psyched to see that the class was really small: D-Paine and Melody, Alexann, Mary and myself, which meant that we each got a lot of hands on attention. By the end of class, we were all working on being able to kick up into freestanding handstands, and my kipping on the bar may be getting somewhere.
When I got home, I made myself brunch: fried eggs and mini lamb merguez sausages from the butcher. I always forget how much I enjoy merguez. It’s a rich and spicy sausage common to North African (and French) cuisine, and is so completely satisfying.
In the afternoon, I took a pomegranate break, and spent a good 40 minutes or so picking out the jewel-red seeds one by one, popping them like popcorn.
For dinner, I had garlic-thyme sausages from the butcher, and these perfect little lamb kidneys to play with. I debated what to do with them – as the bulk of my rognons-eating occurred in France nearly 15 years ago, I was unsure what I wanted to do. So first I set about cleaning them.
I then butterflied the kidney, to assess how much I’d have to clean from it. Most of the recipes I consulted were for whole kidneys with minimal cleaning, so after breathing in the smell of the kidney to make sure it wasn’t ahem… uric smelling, I opted to do as little to it as possible. I trimmed off most of the attached fat, and saved it to render later.
Kidneys are a lusciously textured, strongly flavored (a little bit like a barnyard, in the best way) cut of meat, and stand up well to assertive spices. I debated Chichi Wang’s version of Fuchsia Dunlop’s deep-fried, huo bao slices of kidney in Serious Eats, and Nigel Slater’s classic devilled kidney recipe. Ultimately, I decided on a riff on these grilled lamb’s kidneys with rosemary anchovy butter from Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal by Jennifer McLagan.
To prep the kidneys, I drizzled them with olive oil, seasoned them in salt and pepper, and stuck some rosemary in the middle. I then set about making my dressing. Because I’m not cooking with butter (for now), I made a dressing with anchovies, olive oil, salt and pepper.
I cooked my kidneys for two minutes on each side, so they were just cooked through but still pink in the middle. They were served on a bed of baby spinach, with my garlic-thyme sausage on the side, and the anchovy dressing poured over. Delicious.
For dessert, because I was craving something a little sweet, I made a small chocolate mug cake. I’m still trying to tweak the formula – they tend to come out a little bit dry.
I went to bed early to get some sleep before Sunday’s race.
* * *
Sunday
I’ll be posting my race recap separately, but the race went well! Despite the cold, rainy weather, and a near meltdown when I woke up in the morning, no coffee, and a single banana 20 minutes before the starting line, I made it through the race, and P.R.’d!
When I got home, I set about making lunch.
I sauteed brussels sprouts with a little bit of bacon.
And served the bacon-y brussels sprouts topped with sardines and lemon juice, and a side of guacamole. This is one of those meals that you eat alone and don’t tell anyone about, but I swear it was good.
In the afternoon, I realized that I hadn’t had a cup of coffee yet, so I remedied that quickly.
Because our house was freezing, I put my oven to good use, and roasted some romanesco and cauliflower, and this ambercup squash with some salt and pepper.
For dinner, I had another off-cut from the butcher to use – lamb neck. I was first introduced to lamb neck in 2009, thanks to (top chef winner!) Chris Cosentino – during this spectacular meal at Incanto.
I wanted to prepare it as simply as possible, so I adapted this Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe.
I rubbed the neck in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and browned it on all sides in a small pot in a few more tablespoons of olive oil. I then added the juice of two small lemons and a cup of water to the pot, added about a teaspoon of dried thyme, a teaspoon of oregano, and a sprig of rosemary on top. I brought it to a boil, turned it down to a simmer, and covered the pot. I then cooked it for an hour, turning it every 15 minutes in the braising liquid. (My neck was about a pound, but if you had a larger one, you’d just cook a little longer, until tender.)
While the meat was cooking, I microwaved cauliflower for about 15 minutes until super tender, and added salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and pureed with my immersion blender. Voila! Mashed cauliflower!
I then took the lamb out of the pot, and shredded the meat – all 4 ounces of it… this was a very small lamb.
Devon got his shredded on a bed of mashed cauliflower, with a side of cheesy toast. I got mine in a bowl with the neck to gnaw on, and the rest of the braising liquid poured on top. While I would have liked a little bit more meat, the flavors were outstanding, and I’ll be making something similar soon.
Dinner was served in front of the television – for good reason (brace yourself) – it was my first time watching The Shawshank Redemption. I should clarify, first time, aside from the 50 + times I’ve seen various 20 or so minutes of it on TV*.
(Via)
I’m not sure what I was expecting. Actually – I was expecting to be let down. There’s no way that the movie (#1 rated on IMDB of movies of all time) was going to be that good. But it was. Thank you Stephen King, Frank Darabont, Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, and everyone else involved in this motion picture for being awesome.
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 13, 2012 | Challenge, Meat
My morning started with no coffee because I was running late, but this gorgeous Spencer apple which I grabbed on the way to the gym for an early workout. To warm up, we did several rounds of medicine ball torture – burps, squats, ball tosses and lateral tosses with a partner, more squats. By the end of the warm-up, I was dying. We then set to work on the strength: back squats. I like back squats! I’m still trying to get used to squatting deeply – my left leg isn’t as strong as my right, but I’m working on it.
Strength: Back Squat – 6 sets of 2 @ 80% of max., rest 2:00 between sets (I used 80#, and knocked these out no problem.)
Workout of the Day: “Snatch Balls” (Snicker…)
AMRAP 7 (As many rounds as possible in 7 minutes):
7 Power Snatch 95/65 (I used 45. I could go heavier by weight, but my form…is lacking.)
10 Wall Ball 20/14 (I used a 10 pound ball.)
Now, these two moves happen to be some of my least successful ones, so this workout did not go well. I ended up finishing only two rounds, the 7 lifts, and 5 wall balls. I wish it had gone better, but not every day in the gym is a personal best, so I’ll accept it as valuable practice.
After out workout, several of us hung around to watch Coach Steve perform 20 rounds of “Cindy” (5 Pullups, 10 Pushups, 15 Squats) with a 20 pound weighted vest, to raise money for Barbells for Boobs, an awesome non-profit raising money for breast cancer prevention.
* * *
For lunch, I had the leftover eggplant from my braised lamb shanks two nights ago. Because there wasn’t really much lamb, I topped it with two eggs and called it a meal.
After a busy afternoon, I didn’t manage to get to the butcher (M.F. Dulock) until well past six, and I was worried that they’d be out of everything. I shouldn’t have been worried! Here are some shots of the gorgeous cases this week.
I ended up going home with some ground beef, garlic-thyme sausages, bone in pork chops, lamb neck, baby merguez sausages, and lamb kidney. Unsure of what to do with the kidneys (no soaking in milk!), they lent me a copy of Jennifer McLagan’s Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal to play with. I adore her books – excellent monographs on meat (Fat, and Bones) – truly inspired histories and recipes on the subject.
For dinner, despite having purchased a week’s worth of meat, we ended up going out to Strip-T’s, one of our hands down favorite restaurants. Hidden away in Watertown, the place has been open for three decades, but recently went through a renaissance when the owner’s son came back from New York, working in David Chang’s empire.
I wish I could tell you that it was a welcome relief, but it was kind of a bust. The wait was longer than usual, service was spotty, and the kitchen was having a serious off day.
For an appetizer I had the roasted brussels sprouts and sardines (minus the romesco, which contained bread). This was a good combination. The sardines were fresh, but cured slightly like pickled herring.
For my entree, I opted for my usual flank steak, but had to modify it for my challenge. Unfortunately, this meant that most of the delicious accoutrements were missing, so I got a medium rare flank steak over a big bed of braised greens. This would have been fine, save for the fact that someone may have dumped three tablespoons of salt accidentally into my greens. At this point, almost two hours since we had arrived, I was starving, so I asked for some lemon to see if the acid would cut it enough. It did not.
They were kind enough to make me a fresh batch of greens, but the experience left me feeling like I had done something wrong.
After dinner, because I can’t have my favorite mocha sheet cake of theirs, I had a double espresso. (Which was delicious.)
To say that we were disappointed would be an understatement, but the dozens of stellar meals we’ve had there make up for this fluke.
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 13, 2012 | Seafood, Writing
For years I’ve wanted to make, and share, a daily practice of writing, but I was too anxious to start. The act of writing really wasn’t the problem; I was afraid of not being good enough, profound enough, or not being the best. So I just didn’t write. While I’m certainly not shy or quiet, there have been many occasions in life where I’ve missed out because of this fear.
A funny thing happens when you commit to something and stick with it. Your life starts changing, fast. Seemingly impossible things completely unrelated to your original goal start becoming possible. When I started writing here regularly again, I had to consciously put aside my anxiety about being the best, and remind myself why I was here: to cultivate a daily practice of writing and photography, to support myself during the challenge, and to be part of a community who shares my values and inspires me daily. I still have to remind myself, I think we all do sometimes – you are worth it, don’t let fear hold you back.
My day started out uncharacteristically. I was supposed to have a meeting mid-morning over coffee, but it was re-scheduled, so I worked most of the morning before I realized that I had neither eaten anything nor had my caffeine. Around noon, I grabbed this Spencer apple and headed out the door to pick up some George Howell coffee at Formaggio.
It was brisk, but sunny, so I took the opportunity to take a half hour walk around Cambridge before heading back home. I had planned on running in the evening, but was feeling a little bit under the weather, so the walk seemed like a good compromise.
In the late afternoon, I put together a salmon dish that I was working on for a secret project. Not being able to keep a secret, I went ahead and shared a photo of it on Instagram, so there’s no hiding it here. (I’ll post the recipe next week.)
Lately, I’ve been working on practicing better self-care. As a coach, I was trained on the value of self-care for optimal health and wellness, but practicing what I preach in this area has always been difficult. When I was living in San Francisco, practicing mindfulness/meditation based stress reduction, getting regular massages and chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture, and practicing regular yoga were all part of my routine and provided tangible benefits, but in the past year I’ve regressed.
So I took my own advice, and went for a manicure and shoulder/neck massage at MiniLuxe. The color is OPI, I think either Sweet Heart or Hopelessly in Love, but honestly I didn’t check. For hands that have suffered mercilessly in the kitchen and the gym, I thought they turned out remarkably nice.
For dinner, I cooked flounder filets in olive oil, seasoned with Turkish fish seasoning. For light flaky fish like flounder, I usually cook them on one side for a few minutes, and baste the top with hot olive oil, which cooks it through without needing to flip it.
I baked a sheet tray of parnsip fries with rosemary, and served myself up this not quite as indulgent version of fish and chips.
For dessert, I baked a few pumpkin walnut cakes from this recipe. They didn’t quite turn out as successfully as I’d like, but when I tweak the recipe to perfection, I’ll post it.
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 12, 2012 | Braises, Meat
There are two Nigel Slater recipes for lamb shanks that I use often. The first is his lamb shanks with anchovy (you can watch the video of him making it), and the second, his Moroccan spiced lamb shanks with aubergine from Real Cooking. Left with what is likely my last eggplant of summer (there’s supposed to be a frost tonight!), and an abundance of good anchovies from Eataly, I decided to combine the two. I love throwing anchovies in braises because they lend a salty-umami taste without screaming out “there’s a fish in here!”
To make this dish, you’ll want two lamb shanks. These were actually quite small, but you could easily get larger ones if you are feeding more people.
I drizzled them with a little bit of olive oil, seasoned them in salt and pepper, and seared them off in my deep skillet in a little bit of tallow (rendered beef fat, a gift from the awesome folks at M.F. Dulock). A dutch oven would work well for this, but my dearly beloved Le Creuset 7 1/4 Qt. is currently injured, and I haven’t been able to send it back to get a replacement. While doing this, I turned the oven to 300 F to preheat.
After browning the shanks, I added the chopped onions and a few cloves of garlic to the pan. I sprinkled on some rosemary and added a few Turkish bay leaves my mom smuggled back from a tree in Istanbul.
I then chopped the anchovies, added them to the pot, added tomato paste, an eggplant chopped into large cubes, and some water to come halfway up the shanks. You could easily use some red wine and stock here if you had some. The anchovies are quite salty, but I tasted the broth and gave it a final seasoning.
I brought it all to a simmer, put on the lid, popped it in the oven, let it cook for an hour, turned the shanks, and braised for an hour more. The result:
I served Devon’s off the bone over some pasta with parmigiano, and my bowl with a double portion of eggplant, and a grating of lemon zest and sprinkle of parsley.
Braised Lamb Shanks with Tomato, Eggplant, and Anchovies
2 lamb shanks
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 whole cloves garlic
2 sprigs rosemary (or about 1/2 Tbs. dried)
2 bay leaves
4 anchovy fillets, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 medium eggplant, chopped into large cubes
1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz.)
about a cup of water
lemon zest + parsley to serve
Preheat the oven to 300 F. Season the shanks with salt an pepper, and brown them in a dutch over or deep skillet in some olive oil or good fat (I used tallow). When the shanks have browned, add the onions and garlic. Nestle in the rosemary and bay leaves. Chop the anchovy fillets and add them to the pan, then add the tomato paste and gentle stir. Add the chopped eggplant, pour over the diced tomatoes and the water to reach about half way up the shanks. Bring to a simmer. Once simmering, put the lid on, and bake in the oven for two hours, turning the shanks half way through.
Serve topped with lemon zest and parsley. Or, remove the meat from the bone, and serve over pasta with a grating of parmigiano. Leftovers taste particularly good on day two with a few poached eggs.
