Christmas 2010

I am deeply entrenched in a do-nothing vacation mindset, and cannot muster the energy to write about how nice our Christmas was. It was nice. So I'll just post some pics with brief explanations.

Andrew's office holiday party had a James Bond theme. Here was the "Goldfinger" room, which featured endless sushi:





And in another room was a bar sculpted out of ice:



On Christmas at the Ledbetters' last year we did a gingerbread BP station (hey, this was pre-oil spill!), and this year we did a gingerbread circus car being pulled by a clown:





Our pretty-much-annual cousins game of Tornado Rex:





My mom with her grand-nephew Adam:



Zuzu pet (Skootles I think?):

Marathon #11

Last weekend I ran the Northern Central Trail Marathon in Sparks, MD - my 2nd time doing this race. My PR of 3:57 was 55 minutes faster than last year's "flu marathon", though it wasn't quite as fast as I hoped. I just felt a bit off for some reason, even in the first few miles. It was pretty windy, and it seemed like we were running into the wind both directions on the out-and-back course. I thought we would be relatively sheltered along the mostly wooded course, but no such luck. Anyway, I should quit whining, because the windy, cold conditions felt much more tolerable to me than they probably did to my dear friend Kate and my mom who came out to cheer me on! It was so nice to hear cowbells and cheers and see familiar faces along the sparsely-spectated course! Thanks, guys!

Also, many thanks to Andrew who slept in but then found me at mile 23 and ran the last three miles with me! It definitely helped me keep up the pace (well, mile 25 was all uphill) and I lost count of how many guys I chicked. While wearing a skirt, no less :) Sorry, that sounds really cocky...but I'm usually the one getting passed at the end of a marathon, so it felt good to be the one doing the passing!

Here are my mile splits. Yes, the miles were accurately marked (they assured us before the race), and yes, mile 23 was my fastest (I'm totally sold on Roctane Gu! All 5 of my gels should have been this):

Mile 1 - 8:37 (very downhill)
Mile 2 - 9:01
Mile 3 - 9:06
Mile 4 - 8:51
Mile 5 - 8:46
Mile 6 - 9:03
Mile 7 - 8:47
Mile 8 - 8:59
Mile 9 - 8:56
Mile 10 - 8:58
Mile 11 - 9:17 (slight uphill)
Mile 12 - 9:13 (here too)
Mile 13 - 9:04
Mile 14 - 9:07
Mile 15 - 8:51
Mile 16 - 9:04
Mile 17 - 8:56
Mile 18 - 9:00
Mile 19 - 9:07
Mile 20 - 9:02
Mile 21 - 9:33
Mile 22 - 9:35
Mile 23 - 8:33 (thank you, Roctane Gu)
Mile 24 - 9:11
Mile 25 - 9:42 (very uphill)
Mile 26 - 9:02
Mile 0.2 - 1:51

So it was a good race, but I already have my eye on Marathon #12 - I'm thinking maybe Virginia Beach. I want to conquer this distance, dammit!

Steamed crabs!

Have I mentioned how much Andrew and I love Walking Fish?

Triple Lakes Trail Marathon Race Report!

On Saturday I ran my 10th marathon, the Triple Lakes Trail marathon just north of Greensboro, NC. The course was mostly single track trail over gently rolling hills through woods circling a couple of fake lakes. The scenery and terrain reminded me of Land Between the Lakes, a trail marathon in Kentucky that I did a few years ago, except instead of 6 inches of snow and starting time temps in the teens we had sunny skies with highs in the low 80s by the end of the race. I didn't really mind the warm weather, as this was a "just-for-fun", practice marathon for me. My target race is the North Central Trail Marathon, which is not a technical trail race like this one - North Central is a flat, fast, PR-worthy course. Actually, I set a PR here last year (personal WORST of 4:52) and I hope to PR at the OTHER end of the spectrum this November.

Anyway, back to Triple Lakes - here are the 10 best - or maybe I should say "Most Notable" - things about this race:

10. I was running the marathon and NOT the concurrent 40 mile event.

9. Powerade at all the aid stations was just the right strength. Also, jelly beans at mile 20 totally hit the spot.

8. It was frickin cold at the 8 am start, which actually ended up being an 8:08 start. It took me a good 5 miles to warm up, hands to toes. I knew I'd be hot before long, so I tried to enjoy my shivering and goosebumps.

7. I am not sore at all. At all! As I type this it's been about 34 hours since I finished the race. Of all the marathons I've run, this is the quickest recovery I've ever had. It's taken me longer to recover from some of my training runs! This is good, because I'm supposed to run 22 miles in less than 2 weeks, ideally at 9 min/mile pace.

6. Maybe part of the reason I'm not sore is that the race was DEFINITELY not a full, honest 26.2 miles. I ran most of the race with Robert (more about that below), and around the mid-teen miles we were chatting about how the miles seemed to be passing quickly (they weren't really - our pace was steady, about 10:30 min/mile). I commented that usually it's mile 24 when I think those remaining 2.2 miles - which in any other situation are nothing at all - seem so daunting and painful. Robert reminded me of this comment when we passed the mile 24 marker, though we were both feeling good and not pushing hard, so 2.2 miles sounded fine. So imagine our surprise when less than 10 minutes later...it's the finish line! We heard cheering as we came out of the woods, and I thought it was one of those cruel tricks where they make you run near the finish line when you actually still have >1 mile left. But no. We emerged from the woods, ran around this little pond next to an open field, then followed flags up through the field where the spectator-lined finish line was right there, about 50 ft in front of us. People were cheering, the clock was ticking around 4:35 (my watch was around 4:28 at mile 24), and Robert and I were totally confused. So we STOPPED, right in front of the finish line and asked each other "did we miss a turn"? Robert was wearing his GPS, which said we only ran a bit over 24, and he wanted to go back to see if we accidentally cut the course. If I had been by myself, I probably would've just finished, but I agreed, and we turned around and cut back over to the part of the course before the pond loop. The spectators stopped cheering and were probably wondering "what the hell?!" But we saw all these other runners that we had passed earlier running the same way we had. We checked the arrow signs, tried to find race volunteers, but we just came across more spectators who told us we were going the right way - out of the woods and around the pond. So, we ran that portion of the course again and finished ~4:42. After the finish we asked race volunteers and other runners about the shortened course, and everyone just kind of shrugged their shoulders. No one else had seen mile 25 or 26, but no one else really cared. So the one marathon when I'm feeling strong and ready to take on those final 2.2...they're not there! Oh well. Okay, enough of #6. On to...

5. Beautiful lake-side scenery! This is only mid-way down the list because you had to spend more time looking at the ground to avoid tripping. Which brings me to...

4. I didn't fall or bleed! Though I guess I wouldn't have minded the latter because it's considered a badge of honor among trail runners. I saw plenty of other runners who did both, including one guy who scared a bunch of us when we came across him lying on the ground with blood all over his face. But it was near an aid station, and help showed up quickly (and he assured us he was fine).

3. There was a Krispy Creme shop only 5 miles from the race, right on the way back home! Boy, did a post-run glazed donut and bottle of milk hit the spot.



2. The AWESOMEST race shirt EVER! The finishers medal had the same design:



And the best thing about this race...

1. Running miles ~11-finish with fellow Godivan Robert Moody - thanks for the company, Robert! It totally made the miles fly by. Robert was also using this race as a practice marathon. His target event - Richmond marathon - is coming up even sooner than mine (his is Nov. 13, mine is Nov. 27). I think we'll both be ready!

All in all, this was a good race and I would run it again, especially given its proximity to Durham. I'm still a little dissatisfied about the shorten course, but at least I wasn't one of the two guys who I overheard at the beginning of the race telling each other that it was their first marathon!

Alien kitteh!

You'll never guess what happened this afternoon! I was in the kitchen making lunch when all of a sudden my roof just opened up and there was this blinding light. I shielded my eyes and squinted and then was able to make out a cheezburger-shaped spaceship. Before I could do anything, this alien LOLcat was beamed down from the ship into my kitchen! I managed to capture this photo just as the roof was about to close up:

Shrimp

Andrew and I bought a half-share in Walking Fish again, and our first shipment last week was jumbo shrimp. Yum! There was a lot of it, too. The organizers said that the price increase this year was due to more seafood in the half shares, and they weren't kidding. We had half of our half share in an anchovy-garlic-butter sauce with linguine on Friday. Today I made spring rolls with edamame, jalapenos, bean sprouts, mint, and basil in a soy-peanut-ginger dipping sauce.

Bird boarder

I have a little nighttime boarder that sleeps in the same corner of my front porch awning pretty often - probably about half the time I think to check, he's there. For a while, I didn't know what was staying there - I just noticed that something would fly away when I came home at night. I assumed it was a bat or something. But then one night when I came home I was quiet enough to not scare it away and discovered it was this bird. Any expert birders out there know what it is and why it prefers my porch awning at night? I got a good look at its face one time when it turned around and looked at me before flying away. It had a longish (maybe ~3/4 inch) thin beak. I'm not much of a bird person, but it sure is cute! I took these pictures last night, and I just checked now - sure enough, there it is, all settled in for the night!

California

Sorry I haven't blogged in a long time! I know I have at least THREE friends who actually follow my rantings and nothingness pretty regularly. It's been a busy summer. But I did squeeze in a week-long trip to California for my cousin Mark's wedding and some coastal sightseeing up to Monterey. Here are some pics:

Shrimp

Pepperonita shrimp made with shrimp from Walking Fish CSF. Yum!

Pocono Lakes

For some reason as I was preparing for sampling Falls Lake tomorrow I realized that it was NINE years ago this month that I first sampled Lake Lacawac and Lake Giles, two beautiful ecosystems in the Poconos of northeast PA. Wow, time sure flies. My Ph.D. was built on those lakes, as well as many friendships and memories. I actually miss midnight sampling runs, rowing against strong winds, bracing myself against April snow, and getting terribly sunburn as I study how zooplankton are affected by UV :)

Falls Lake is nice, but - dare I say it - the fieldwork is almost too easy with a motorized boat, milder climate, and less intensive research (which is of course my fault, despite my time constraints). Anyway, here are some photos I dug up of Lake Giles (first 4) and Lake Lacawac (last 2):

Flowering palm

Look at my beautiful flowering palm shrub! This is the first time it has grown stalks and flowered since I moved in. I wonder if all the rain triggered it or it's one of those exotics with a weird flowering schedule.







As I was snapping these pictures, look who dropped by to hang out for about 12 seconds:

Madeline's famous!

If you know me or have been reading my blog for a while you know my unhealthy love for icanhascheezburger.com. I just about fell out of my chair when I clicked in for my daily dose and saw my own kitty cat!



How awesome is that! I didn't think it was a very good picture because I took it through the glass door and you can't see Madeline's features very well. This network of websites gets 10,000 photo and video submissions a day and millions of unique visitors. Madeline was not enthused when I initially told her the good news, although she cheered a little when I broke out the cat treats to celebrate!

Lounging next to or even under the grill (see below) is one of Madeline's new favorite spots. I guess it's better than some of her other outdoor hangouts, like in between the garbage cans!

Stupid laws

I knew the splotchy patchwork of marriage laws in the U.S. was stupid, but I didn't realize how stupid. Read this article. When oh when are we going to do things efficiently, sensibly, and - most importantly - justly?

Salmon cakes with mango-lime salsa

Whenever a recipe turns out this well, I wish I had been hosting a dinner party instead of cooking just for me! Of course, I am not confident enough in my culinary skills to use dinner party guests (even close friends) as guinea pigs, but this recipe would have been a winner for salmon lovers. Here is the recipe (I used 1.5 limes instead of 1 and herb stuffing mix instead of bread crumbs), and here are my photos:





Wow, was this yummy! I ate two of them. We'll see how this keeps as leftovers - I made the whole 4 serving recipe (actually made 5 little cakes). But of course even after two dinner servings and chips & salsa appetizers I still had room for dessert. I MADE room for dessert because while I was shopping for dinner stuff at Kings Red & White (this cute little family-owned grocery just a 10 min walk away from my house) I was THRILLED to see Jell-O Pudding Pops in the ice cream section!!!!!! Does anyone else remember these? These were my favorite summertime treat as a kid. It was hard to decide whether vanilla, chocolate, or swirl was my favorite. These Jell-O pudding pops I found today were in a bright yellow Popsicles box, and I did not recall them being manufactured by Popsicles. I decided to do some careful Google research, and this is what I found. Indeed, it's true - these are most definitely NOT the same treats as yesteryear. I had a swirl one and it wasn't even swirled at all! It was chocolate in the center, vanilla on the outside. There was no frozen outer shell, and they are shaped like fudgesicles, not the old-time Jell-O pudding pops. It was tasty, but not the same. Oh well.

Another find from Kings was ice cream from Maple View Farms. You know it's a local product when there's no nutrition info label on it (and when it comes to ice cream, ignorance is bliss)! This dairy farm is right next door in Orange County. They had a range of flavors available at Kings, and I decided to try Carolina Crunch (yes, I had two desserts. I'm glad I like running). It is delicious!

But what was the sweetest part of my meal this evening? Listening to 47-year-old Jamie Moyer pitch an absolutely amazing shutout for the Phillies against the Braves! Oldest pitcher in the MLB to pitch a shutout!!!!!!!!!!!

Soft-shelled crabs

This week's share from Walking Fish was soft-shell crabs and clams. Yum! I watched way too many youtube videos on how to prepare and cook soft-shell crabs, and then I decided to partially document my own experience!




I prepared the three smaller crabs first and then did the larger one, which was more lively.







I breaded them with seasoned flour and cornmeal and sauteed them in butter:







Lastly, I slapped it on a whole wheat kaiser roll with lettuce, tomato, and mayo:



It was a little crunchier and juicer than I expected (I don't think I cleaned them as well as I should have) but yum! I cooked and ate two of them and froze two of them. On the Walking Fish website it said it was okay to freeze them, but we'll see how the frozen ones do.

Science Catfight

A scientist from the Union of Concerned Scientists was on the Colbert Report recently. It's a long clip but worth watching:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Science Catfight - Joe Bastardi vs. Brenda Ekwurzel
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

Updates

A couple weeks ago I blogged about the Lake Baikal issue - how moves are being made to re-open the Pulp and Paper Mill on the lakeshore. The petition signed by concerned scientists (including me!) to express disapproval of the mill reopening has been sent to the president of the Russian Federation, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

On a completely unrelated note, it's April 28 - time to ask myself how I'm doing with my New Year's Resolutions (you totally thought I forgot, didn't you).

These were my three primary resolutions:

1. Run hill repeats at least once every two weeks.
2. Do strength training for at least 30 minutes a week (and my weekly ballet class doesn't count toward this).
3. Floss way more often.

So I kept up #1 until the marathon taper and I've only done one hill repeat workout since the race. But that workout hardly counts because it was on the short, gradual hill near my house and I only did 6 repeats. #2 I've been pretty good about - only missed this a couple weeks this year. However, I think my strength training has now plateaued, so I need to change up my routine and up the intensity. And #3 I've utterly failed at. Why can't I get myself to floss??

These were my secondary resolutions:

1. Run at least 30 miles a week to exceed 1500 miles for 2010.
2. No computer or TV after 10 pm.
3. Bedtime by 11 pm at the latest.
4. Bike to work more often.
5. Read more, watch TV and web surf less.

#4 I've achieved, #1 I sometimes accomplish, and don't ask about 2,3, and 5!

Happy Earth Day!

Dear Earth,

Thank you for the countless resources and irreplaceable beauty you provide us. We apologize for overusing, exploiting, remaining ignorant of, and failing to recognize the limits of so many of these provisions. We hope we can learn to do better.

Love,
Sandra