Interesting Reads, Cooking Adventures, Etc.

It's been a busy month, thus far. Running, cooking, CrossFit, friends, quick trip to Whistler, getting ready for the JDRF dinner and helping Harvalicious with his "Barbells for Boobs" fundraiser. 

I never get around to reading as much as I would like, but found a few articles over the past 3-4 weeks that have been interesting:

I had NO IDEA that if you declare bankruptcy that pretty much every debt will be forgiven, except for student loan debt. I am not sure which "genius" decided on that, but it has the potential to stifle innovation and risk taking in America. I am all for paying your debts but this is absurd. You try and get a new start, and your student loans will always be with you (but not your credit card debt). Not good.

Fascinating read on the sequence of events that took place after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. Good job, Esquire.

What a cool story about a "sommelier on wheels". Shows that you can always pursue your dream if you really are passionate about it. It would be interesting to understand what was involved in the service portion of the Master Sommelier exam. 

I am convinced that Gianni Agnelli was "The Most Interesting Man In The World" before Dos Equis came up with the moniker for their very hilarious ad campaign.

It's not looking good for the Yanks to make the playoffs. I am pretty much "anyone but Boston" at this stage, but I think it would be pretty cool if the Indians and Pirates made it to the Fall Classic. The Giants are off to a horrific start. No O-Line and a leaky defense. Not sure how Kevin Gilbride still has a job and how much more of a pounding Eli Manning can take.

Running is going well mostly. Some aches and pains, but getting through the workouts and improving efficiency.... hopefully.

Spent the long Labor Day weekend in Whistler, BC. Hung out with a good friend, golfed for the 1st time since getting the broken hand fixed and cooked some lasagne. Good times.

On the home cooking front, Marc picked up for me "Modernist Cuisine At Home" as a gift and I have been busy trying things out like "Sous Vide Pork Belly" for an upcoming dinner party challenge, omelettes, pressure cooked vegetable soup, amongst other things. It's definitely educational and I look forward to seeing how I can "up my game". Other recipes I have worked on include an heirloom tomato salad from "Down Home: Downtown", which was great, and Chocolate Pudding Souffles with Almond Butter Ganache, which was adapted from "Michael Mina: The Cookbook". Yes, you read that right - Jill baked.

We are still fundraising for JDRF (will be through mid-November) and have our big dinner on Saturday. The dinner is sold out, which is awesome. Hovering around $18,000. Thanks to all who have donated to date! Harvalicious (aka Dad) is also fundraising to provide mammograms for those who can't afford them. You can donate here! Harv is going to do a special CrossFit workout with his "box" on October 5th for the cause! More to come on this.

Trying to Keep Pace

Not much to report on the running front. I finally graduated to mile repeats at track, which is progress and I did a trail run with my friends that had some hills over the weekend, so we keep moving forward. Time is ticking and I feel like I need more and more hill work, but I have to trust the plan that Coach 'T' has laid out, which I have followed for the most part. But if you thought that the title of this blog entry had to do with keeping up with my friends on the run, you're wrong. :-)

Last night, we had the pleasure of hosting some close friends over for dinner who also happen to be foodies and love their wine. These dinners tend to have themes and definitely bring out some friendly competition amongst the gang. Most of the people in the group are classically trained chefs or have worked in professional kitchens. The others just merely "like to cook". Marc and I tend to "hope to keep up" with the talent surrounding us, and then try to keep things classic, simple and with a bit of a twist.

In honor of one of our friend's receiving some really positive news, we let her pick out the theme for the evening. Given her roots, she chose 'Italian'. I knew I didn't want to slave over fresh pasta so I quickly claimed a course of 'protein and veg'. And no, you can't do Ronzoni with this crew. Heh. Marc and our Italian friend partnered on dessert, which ended up being mind-blowing. Translation: non-dessert eaters had seconds. Well played, Marc and Danielle.

I went through some of our Italian oriented cookbooks from places like SPQR, Babbo, Union Square Cafe (plenty of Italian inspired dishes), and Tra Vigne. Plus we also have Molto Mario. I had to find something that wasn't too heavy, wasn't too big and would appease the palates of the gang. I settled on a dish from Mario Batali's 'The Babbo Cookbook', which we use quite a bit - most notably for their awesomely easy and fabulous "Dry-Aged Ribeye For Two" recipe.

So on I went with "Duck Braciole with Fava Beans and Pecorino Toscano". This recipe wasn't too complex but it was going to involve me de-boning a bunch of duck legs/thighs, which I have never done before. I allowed a bunch of time to complete the task and did a couple of extra ones so I could test drive the recipe over lunch. The instructions weren't that helpful in the cookbook so I just kind of improvised and hoped I wouldn't cut off a finger. Mission accomplished.

I substituted the stuffing that had bread crumbs with crumbled up almonds. The rest of the stuffing had fresh Italian parsley, chopped garlic and orange zest. That was pretty straightforward to assemble. Then you basically just put the stuffing in the middle of the duck leg and tied it up so it kept its shape while it baked in the oven. While it baked in the oven, one could say that the depiction of a "duck fat jacuzzi" was taking place. BTW when I used that term with Marc after reading Gastoblog's attempt at the recipe, Marc almost spit up his coffee.

After baking in the oven, Marc and I tasted. It wasn't bad but we both thought it was odd that the recipe didn't have me 'scoring the duck', which helps render the fat out. The upside is that you get some nice duck fat to use for something else. So I decided that I would make a change to the recipe. Score the skins and brown the duck legs skin side down. Then remove, add the stuffing, tie up and bake. AND.... I would use the duck fat to saute the fava beans.

Let's talk about those fava beans, which were procured by Marc. When Marc's family was in town, they went to Pike Place Market and I asked him to get enough for 10 people. Well Marc came back with 18 (eighteen) pounds of fava beans for $10. You couldn't make this up if you tried. OK. If you haven't cooked with fresh fava beans, you should know that they are a complete pain in the ***. They have to be shucked and then peeled before you cook them. 

The recipe called for them to be served raw. I opted to blanch them for a minute and then saute them in the aforementioned duck fat once our guests arrived. 

All I can say is that it came off really well. The kitchen twine really did a great job of holding the shape together and the favas were awesome. Before I had a chance to announce the dish (a tradition of the group), a couple of people were wondering what was "in" the fava beans. Well, that's duck fat for you!

The dish, as a whole, really worked, especially once I topped it with some freshly shaved pecorino toscano. I really didn't know how it would come together as sometimes things don't retain their shape throughout the cooking process and also changing some of the recipe. I guess when you are asked for the recipe, you must have done something right.

But as usual, the rest of the crew pulled off some amazing dishes. You can see the rest of the photos here.

Title IX, Microsoft, Yahoo! and JDRF...

It's that time of the year where we shamelessly plug our annual JDRF dinner being held at Chez Beck. It's on Saturday, September 28th. Feel free to drop me an email if you are interested in attending. It's a multi-course dinner paired with wines with ALL proceeds going straight to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. If you cannot attend and are interested in donating, feel free to donate using this link. BTW, we are already halfway full so snag your spot(s)!

For those of you who are interested in Title IX or the advancement of women in the sports field in general, I have been catching up on ESPN's series called "Nine for IX". People like Pat Summitt, Lesley Visser, Mary Decker Slaney, Katarina Witt and Venus Williams are profiled. It's well worth the $10 to download the series off of iTunes and watch the episodes. The different shows have been educational, cringe-worthy (in terms of how much some women put up with) and humorous. Note that one or two of the episodes may be a bit graphic for younger viewers.

It's brought back some great memories, particularly watching the '99ers (1999 US Women's World Cup Soccer Team) due to catching those games with Lisa, my sister, and a good friend, Keri back at Giants Stadium. The final was absolutely riveting and I remember watching with Lisa, and by the time overtime came around, the very packed sports bar switched from watching baseball to the women's final. Absolutely awesome.

As I was catching up on some reading, I stumbled upon this profile of Marissa Mayer in Business Insider. It's a long read, but I found it engaging and well written. It doesn't say Mayer is a savior, but I also find that it doesn't go the typical "well the woman is a b***h because she is forceful with what she wants". That said, the title of the article is more salacious and infers it is some kind of big expose. No, I haven't seen the Vogue spread yet. She's rich, relatively young and very successful. Mayer will be well presented in the magazine.

I found I was more intrigued by Mayer's style and her career outlined in the article than by Sheryl Sandberg's "Lean In" circles advocated in her book. Sandberg's statements did not resonate with me at all as she seemed to say you had to either be a mother of children or completely dedicated to your career to be 100% fulfilled. Plus what did she actually do in her highly influential positions at Google and at Facebook to make those companies more equal in terms of pay for men and women? Or being promoted to higher positions? I don't begrudge her success but she could have led by example which would have been way more powerful. Don't tell me. Show me.

As for the latest with Microsoft and SteveB leaving, I have no idea who will replace him. The recent re-org does present an interesting question for the CEO candidates. Are they going to have to commit to the strategy that he spent over a year working on, or will they be able to create their own strategy? SteveB's departure was long overdue, and clamoring for other unpopular execs (but popular with Steve) to leave has started in earnest. Guess who? :-)

But I do wonder how employees feel given that they were still trying to figure out how things were going to shake out for them in the recently announced re-org, and now will wonder what a new CEO will want to implement? I am sure Kara Swisher of AllThingsD will have her sources working overtime to find out the skinny.

SteveB: Since you made around $800 MILLION yesterday just because MSFT soared due to your retirement news, how about you save the taxpayers of Seattle some money and just pay for the arena for the Sonics yourself? Thanks!

“When I was a little boy, I wanted to be a baseball player and join a circus. With the Yankees I’ve accomplished both."

Who said that? Quick, quick....

Well, it was apt at the time it was said (~35 years ago) and it seems really appropriate now. The quote was made by Graig Nettles, while playing for the Yankees in the late 70s. Sportswriters, followers and players referred to the chaos surrounding the team as the 'Bronx Zoo'.

Now we have what one writer called the 'Bronx Zoo 2.0'. I don't appreciate cheaters, but I dislike NOT following 'due process' even more. The situation with A-Rod has just devolved into such absurdity that no one knows what to believe. But what if the A-Rod situation (replacing Reggie Jackson) was happening with George Steinbrenner and Billy Martin alive, and reprising their roles in the 70s, except with Twitter accounts? Now that would be awesome.

Numerous baseball players have complained that A-Rod gets to play while he appeals an unprecedented suspension. But they seem to forget that THEY voted on the collective bargaining agreement that grants players to RIGHT to play during an appeals process. So if they really want this to stop, they can call upon their union leadership to open up the CBA and change the process. Until then, they are sore losers since, somehow, the Yankees have started hitting again.

Last night's game was beyond awesome after Dumpster decided to be the moral arbiter of MLB and plunk A-Rod. BTW, it only took him 4 tries. Maybe Dumpster (funny how autocorrect was working last night on my phone and iPad) can ask David Ortiz about his failed PED test that he promised to get to the bottom of if he is so outraged. Anyway when A-Rod clubbed a home run to deep center, I was pleased. After Dumpster loaded the bases soon after, got pulled, then received a standing ovation walking off of the mound, I jumped for joy when Brett Gardner knocked in 3 runs on a triple.

BTW those runs got charged to that pitcher who had just received the standing ovation. Nice job, Boston fans. Yanks ended up winning and Dumpster got the loss. Golly, hope that loss doesn't affect playoff placement for the Red Sox. ;-)


We also had some more VIPs visit in the name of Marc's parents along with our nephew and niece from SoCal. They stopped in for a couple of days en route to Alaska, so it was good to see them. Marc got to play tour guide and show the kids the local, fun places. And I got to showcase some healthy cooking ideas for Dee & Bruce in between some meetings. 

In other news, my runs are progressing. I had a solid track workout and will be able to move on to mile repeats tomorrow. Never thought I would be excited about that, but that's what happens when you're injured for a bit. I did some hill work on both Saturday and Sunday with mixed results on my times, but helpful from a mental perspective as I got to work out some frustration from earlier in the week. The workouts have increased in intensity for both Marc and I in swimming (MB), running (JB) and Crossfit (both) over the past few weeks, so by Sunday afternoon at an engagement party for close friends, we were gassed and made an unfortunate early departure.

Good times on many fronts. That said, when I recommended to Marc to take a 'recovery week' like Coach T prescribed for me this week, he jumped at the suggestion and said, "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." So there you have it. An easier week on the workout front for Marc and I this week. Thankfully.

Uh, When Is My Rest Day?

Well the good news is that I am getting to the point in my training where we have enough volume that I am looking forward to my rest days. That means I am making progress on some level as 3 months ago, I couldn't run much without pain a couple of miles in. The good news is that the same pain isn't showing up until mile 8 in my runs. So the stretching and PT must be working.

My former coach, Kim, once told me that 1/3 of your workouts are going to be awesome, 1/3 of your workouts are going to be "so-so", and 1/3 of your workouts are going to be garbage. In my mind, this references more in terms of how you feel you performed in the workout. This week, Kim's advice rang true. I had one of each with respect to my running workouts during the past 7 days.

My track workout was disrupted by a nasty headache that wouldn't go away. Unfortunately it got worse as I started the workout, so I stopped after 2 sets (was supposed to go 5). Needless to say, I wasn't pleased. It wasn't a hard workout relatively speaking and I missed track last week because of our VIPs in town, so I was keen to get this one in. So I took myself out of the workout after chatting with Teresa and walked home. Grrr.

In the meantime, I managed to RX another workout after deciding to see where I was with burpees. I hadn't really attempted a burpee since early February's fall with my hand/wrist. I somehow did 88 burpees in the workout, and it's safe to say that they were probably some of the ugliest ever completed in the history of Crossfit. I was the last one done but I didn't stop and kept at it no matter how slow going it was on the 11 burpees per round. So that was positive.

On Saturday, I finally got to do some hills in my run. I found a hill close to my house that is similar to one of the ones in my upcoming 1/2 marathon. While it wasn't a long workout, I had the chance to see how I was faring fitness wise and I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at my splits later that morning. Is this progress? Perhaps?

Today I did a z2 effort for 90'ish minutes and since I was a bit sore from yesterday, I opted to keep it non-hilly. That was a smart move. I am typing this as I am icing my hip and my knee. But I did get in 10 miles in 90 minutes and I kept it consistently within z2 (easy). That said, it was a bit of a slog at the end and I didn't stay as sharp on my form as I needed to when I started to get fatigued. So that's the "so-so" run of the week. 

I think things will be fine. I just need to be proactive about when to ice and when to apply heat, and to KEEP STRETCHING! I have about 2+ months until my race so I will continue to build, get stronger and try to make smart decisions.

"Life" Getting In The Way of Jill Being An Idiot -- Hooray!

It's been an eventful two weeks here at Chez Beck, with this past week being most notable. 

Our 1st set of VIPs visited from New York and definitely created lots of fun and entertaining moments. Marc and I brought out our "A" games on the cooking and baking fronts (yes, I actually baked). We'll cover the food/beverage insanity in a separate post.

Lisa, Jarrett, Jeffrey and Mollie came in for a trip, and they covered a ton of ground. It also helped that we had some friends who loaned us things that made the trip easier with 2 young kids. They hit the Aquarium, Space Needle, Woodland Park Zoo, Pike Place Market, Leschi (to look at the boats) and Madison Park (to swim at a friend's house). Jeffrey LOVED the donut peaches in season at the market and devoured more fruit than anyone thought was humanly possible during the past week.

Of course, no visit to Seattle would be complete without a visit to CrossFit. Both Lisa and Jarrett were keen to see what exactly was the 'tour de force' behind Harv's very improved fitness level. We took them on separate days as one parent had to watch the kids, and I think they understood why hiring a personal trainer is a bit different than going to Crossfit. Both of them worked hard in their respective workouts and gave their best, which is all that matters.

Back home in NY, Jeffrey has some friends who have attended "Kids Crossfit" with their parents. So when I asked him if he wanted to try it, he JUMPED at the chance. For a youngster like Jeffrey, the WOD (workout of the day) was no small feat. He ended up running a mile, and yes, he ran the 4-400m runs without walking. Then he did a bunch of push presses and lunges with 2 5-lb. dumbbells. He didn't complain and really wanted to finish strong. Coach Jean Anne and some of the other "Kids Crossfit" participants provided great encouragement! Uncle Marc and Aunt Jill couldn't have been more proud of his effort.

I am sure all 3 of them are excited to chat with Harv about how hard it is and how proud they are of the progress he has made. Once Mollie gets old enough, she'll be next to try it out! :-)

As for my training, I hit a couple of milestones last week. I PR'ed my deadlift to 152 lbs., which is a 30 lb. improvement from last year. The right wrist is still a bit stiff for power cleans and related lifts, so I can't do as much weight as I would like. It'll get there. I just need to be patient. I also ran 8 miles for the 1st time in a LONG time at a consistent and easy (z2) pace. I was pleased for sure. The hip was a bit achy at the end, but it would have been manageable if I had to go 10 miles. Progress.

I missed my 1st workout since my resumption of coaching with TN last week. I tried to figure out when I could "double up" on another day to jam it in, but I then decided to just not get it done. The time had passed and doing a double might cause me to get injured. I thought I might get dinged for not doing the workout, but as it turns out, Teresa said: 

"I give you credit for NOT trying to cram it in.....that was the best decision!"

So I guess there is something to be said for backing off and not beating yourself up for "life getting in the way". In this case, "life" was a wonderful time with Marc, our VIPs and some friends who joined in the fun. 

Phil the Thrill.

I wouldn't say I am a huge golf fan, compared to say baseball or football (US), but after taking up the game once I moved to Seattle, I definitely started to appreciate it more. I never was a fan of Tiger Woods. He just always seemed to be arrogant and a poor sport, especially given how much success he had playing golf and how much money he made as a result. The events in late 2009 only cemented my disdain for him. His conduct on the course has finally become a topic for discussion, which was well overdue since it seemed like sportscasters just kissed his rear for fear of angering Tiger. Oooh.

My beloved grandmother, Mollie, was a Phil Mickelson fan. I remember watching the US Open with her in 2002 on Father's Day when it was played just down the road from us at Bethpage Black. I somehow became a Phil fan on that Sunday afternoon even though he lost to Tiger. He just always seemed like he knew that he had it really good and knew his role was to golf and entertain the fans. And he played to win, and not just collect a paycheck.

Phil can be maddeningly frustrating to watch. Winged Foot. Merion. But when he pulls something out of nowhere, you get just as rewarded. His win yesterday at the Open Championship was a shock and thoroughly enjoyable. And he has done something Tiger hasn't - Phil knows how to win majors from behind. 

I have no idea what Phil is like in private, but I know that he realizes his job is to be with the fans and thank them for supporting the game, in addition to golfing. I like that. I LOVE that he doesn't slam his club down when he hits a poor shot, swear incessantly after a mishit, and doesn't treat interviewers like garbage when he has a bad round.  So congrats, Phil, and I know Mollie had a celebratory G&T "upstairs" in your honor.

Of course we have the other side of the spectrum in bad behavior in Ryan Braun, who finally admitted to taking PEDs. I hope the sample collector who Braun demonized and caused to lose his job sues the pants off of him. Braun was so adamant about the collection process being flawed and blaming this person that one can hope that karma comes back to Braun's checkbook. Speaking of reformed cheaters, I always wonder if Lance Armstrong ever apologized to Emma O'Reilly after making her life miserable?  

Moving back to being positive, I had a good week on the running front. I actually hit my assigned paces/HR zones on my runs this past week, so I am incredibly pleased. The work is paying off, but we have so much more work to do to get me where I need to be for my race. My stretching program is helping and more routine, so that is good. I definitely got inspired watching my former coach race and place 2nd in her age group in yesterday's Lake Stevens 70.3 Ironman.

Moving on to food, we were able to hit Crush for dinner -- one of Marc's faves. We chatted with Jason (chef and owner) about his new restaurant, our visit to Quay in Sydney and the awesomeness of the Big Green Egg. Really great restaurant with the food and service, plus we opted to sit at the bar so we saw some of the interesting prep they do in the kitchen.

I signed us up for a Gluten-Free Doughs class (focused on pasta) at the Pantry at Delancey. It wasn't Paleo-oriented but it was good to learn a few more tricks when working with non-traditional flours when making pasta/dumplings from scratch. We only wished that the class started at 5:30pm instead of 6:30pm because we didn't eat until 9:15pm, which is a tad late for us. I don't think we're at the "early bird special" stage yet, but still... we're not in NYC either. That said, I am somewhat inspired to experiment some more on this front with Paleo "doughs". Stay tuned for more in this space after last year's sweet potato gnocchi (success after FIVE attempts!)

I also attempted some other dishes in the kitchen last week. Two of them are Paleo versions of existing recipes from 'Avec Eric' by Eric Ripert and 'Simply Ming One Pot Recipes' by Ming Tsai. A third night consisted of a meal from 'Practical Paleo' by Diane Sanfilippo so obviously no versioning required to make it Paleo.

Let's talk about Chocolate

Jill is taking our Facebook notes we did in Australia and converting them into posts on our blog. I figured why don't I write about something since we got back. CHOCOLATE.

The Bouchon Bakery Cookbook has some interesting stuff in there and the book seems to be well written. I recently made these Fuhgeddaboudits and they were delicious. It's basically a round rice krispie treat covered in a thin layer of caramel on top and then chocolate all over.

What's The Right Sequence, Eh?

View from Jill's run: Mt. Rainier from Lake Washington Blvd.

Just over 2 weeks into being committed to a 1/2 marathon and I am still trying to figure some things out. Since I am doing PT for my hip/knee, plus doing cross-training in addition to running, I am trying to assess the most optimal sequence. And I need to figure in rest days into the equation because they need to happen.

As it turns out, PT takes a lot out of me and leaves some lingering effects for a day after. Mind you, it has been incredibly effective but I need to schedule it the day before a rest day. Then my body can recover from runs, Crossfit and PT on that off day. So that needs to get fixed pronto.

"Barely Cooked" Scallops (Marinated in Ceviche) With Corn and Scallion Relish (adapted from "Michael Mina")

In spite of the sequence not working this week, it was not a bad training week by any stretch. I did do my long run yesterday, which took away my 2nd rest day (lesson learned). The run went fairly well as I pretty much followed instructions to keep my heart rate in zone 2 (easy), so I can't complain too much. The view of Mt. Rainier was pretty special too (see above).

And hey - I even got closer to following Coach T's instructions at track as well. Progress. 

The other modification I have made to training has been at Crossfit. Instead of doing the flat out/back runs we are randomly assigned for 200m and 400m, I am taking a different path which has some incline on it. Just more of incorporating uphills and downhills into my regular routine while my body is pretty fatigued. We will see if it pays dividends as I get into longer runs with real hills thrown in. 

Pan-Roasted Chicken Breast with Spaghetti Squash "Carbonara" (adapted by Jeff Mall of 'Zin')

The other positive news is that my hand and wrist are getting stronger, so I can cook more regularly and give +Marc a break. Marc ate scallops (used a recipe from 'Michael Mina') and went back for seconds... it took me awhile to get myself up off of the floor. So yes, miracles can happen. Then I "Paleo-ized" a dish from 'Down Home Downtown', which is a cookbook from one of the restaurants we frequent when we are in Healdsburg. 

It's a great time of year to cook in the Pacific NW since so many things are coming into season. I can't do heavy amounts of chopping, but I am grateful for what I can do in the kitchen. Since we have VIPs (+Lisa, +Jarrett, Jeffrey & Mollie!!) coming to visit at the end of the month, Marc and I are working furiously on menu options. Expect lots of 'home cooking' pics posted that week!

Re-learning Some Previous "Learnings".

As I mentioned last week, I have resumed training with TN Multisports as of this past Monday. In this short time, I have had the opportunity to chastise myself on more than one occasion about "knowing better" when following a training plan.

One of those things is that "you need to go slower in order to get faster". Let's just talk about that mindset is one of the LEAST enjoyable aspects of training for me, yet it is critical. Given that I haven't been training seriously in awhile, I found that I was reminding myself a number of times that I should be going at the pace Coach "+T" has laid out for me. 

I had a track workout on Tuesday. The "good" was that I was mostly pain-free on the hip/knee front. The "not so good" was that I totally overshot my paces by 45 seconds to a minute. I went too fast. It was not smart considering we are trying to build up the running miles in a smart and measured manner. And I didn't get out of the workout what I needed to. I obviously wasn't happy with the effort because it's about not just doing the physical part of the workout, but it's about executing what you have been told to do. Otherwise why do I have a coach?

Fortunately I didn't cause any damage or have any pain the day after as the run I had planned a few days later was really important. I needed to get some tough hill work in for that race I have coming up in 3+ months and where we were going to be was a great place to get the work done. 

Yesterday I went out and completed 6 miles amongst the hills of SF. The run itself wasn't horrible given I haven't done much on the hills front for a long time. It was a challenge keeping the heart rate where it needed to be (lower) as I was climbing some steeper hills.  That said, I'll need to really work on my "hill fitness" because it is pretty low at this stage. Marc and I are plotting where we can replicate some of the hills in the race back home.

So yes, we were in San Francisco for a quick trip. +Marc and I wanted to connect with our winemaker from Purple Teeth Cellars, "+Z",  who repatriated back to Australia a couple of years ago. Him and his family were in town, so we gorged ourselves at The Slanted Door for lunch and a few chuckles. Also were able to have a fun meal at Perbacco, brunch with the cousins at AQ and dinner with other cousins at Quince. Great times all around but after the chaos of what happened at SFO yesterday, we will be happy to be back home.

Taking A Break From "Running For The Sake of Running"

I haven’t trained from a running perspective with any regularity since about early October. Even then I was limping to the start line of the Portland Half Marathon with an injury that started when I ran Ragnar last year (July, 2012). Now I did get in quite a few runs on the “Australian Walkabout”. My goal was to average about 8-10 miles a week, and I hit about 8.5 miles. Those runs were generally more about the scenery than the pace, although it’s fair to say that about 4 or 5 stand out as me testing myself and my fitness while we were away.

To put things in perspective, it wasn’t as though Marc and I weren’t active on our "Australian Walkabout". On the contrary, Marc swam a bunch, I ran over 120 miles and we hiked/walked 340 miles over the course of 3.5 months. That’s not too shabby. Oh, and we kayaked, biked and visited almost every Crossfit in Australia. Well, almost....

Since we have been back, I have been fortunate to be able to resume my 3-4x/week Crossfit regimen plus I have been running about once a week for about 3-4 miles at a relatively easy pace. This is pretty positive since I had to deal with a pesky broken hand and subsequent surgery when we returned from our trip.  With the hand/wrist precluding me from doing any extended running, I decided to get that injury that I mentioned above fixed. Fortunately it is getting better but we still have a long way to go.

The general fitness work is going to come in handy since I found out on Friday that I was randomly selected to run a very popular ½ (and HILLY!) marathon this fall. It should be a fun time as I will be running with at least one good friend and I know a bunch of other folks participating in it.

So now ‘running for the sake of running’ is going to take a back seat. It was fun for the past 9+ months, but time to get back at it, "get my run on" with my buddies, join my TN Multisports mates for track workouts and be more thoughtful about how Crossfit and running intersect as they are both important to me.

I did a track workout about 10 days ago, which was a start, and then yesterday morning, I doubled-up – 5 mile run and then hit Crossfit after for a workout of 18+ minutes. I definitely felt pretty beat after, but I was pleased that my leg/hip seemed ok during both workouts and post. I see more stretching as part of my future.

BTW someone posted a great article on Twitter about newbies and Crossfit. What I liked about it the most was she talked about doing whatever keeps you going back for more physical activity. If Crossfit isn’t your thing, find something that is, makes you smile when you’re done and are going to be motivated to come back to. 

Per Se. We finally made it.

As a result of surgery for the broken hand, the visit to New York post-Australia had to be postponed about a month. It was unfortunate because we already had a table secured for Per Se, a place that I have been wanting to try for a LONG time. 

When I called the restaurant and explained the situation, they were actually really cool about it and placed me at the top of the wait list for when I was going to be in NY. We recruited Lisa and Jarrett to join in the fun, and we purchased a sports jacket for Marc so he has one (funny, he will be wearing it 3 times in 4 months!). Fortunately they were able to get a babysitter for the occasion, and off we went. And the "purple claw" got to join in the fun!

I posted all of the pictures up on Facebook, but I have to say that I was concerned that it wouldn't live up to the hype - especially for the cost of the meal. While I don't see myself paying that kind of money for a meal in the near future (inflation adjusted obviously), I will say that the food, service and the room were pretty spectacular. We received a tour of the kitchen after the meal, and they accommodated the dietary preferences of the table without any issue.

It was a fantastic meal, but the wine mark-ups are significant, bordering on absurd. I'd probably bring a great bottle or two from my own cellar and pay the corkage. I don't know if that makes me cheap but it is a huge pet peeve of mine to pay 4x-5x the amount that I can get retail.

What Running Means To Me.

[Shifting back to beckOn from Facebook Notes now that the walkabout is over.]

I wasn't always a runner. Heck, 10 years ago I could barely make it around a local park near our house. That loop is 2.8 miles, kids. Yeah, it was that bad. And then sometime in late 2004, Marc had the brilliant idea to get more active. So around the loop I went. A lot. This led to injuries, frustrations, success, half-marathons, and finally marathons.

Running also led to a new way to see places, improved self-confidence, better health and friendships. These are people who used to be 'runners whom I was friendly with' to 'friends whom I also happen to run with'. On these runs, sometimes you have those discussions that are of the "what happens on the run, stays on the run" type. Those runs are generally where the transition from "running buddy" to "friend" takes place. 

It can be a run where you are doing 800m repeats feeling like you're going to vomit. But those same repeats are the only thing that keeps you from crying about something going on in your life... you get to take out your anger on the track. Or sharing really fabulous news about something in your life that you are not ready to make public yet. Or just some idea that you have that you need a second opinion on. You get the idea.

BTW the same could be said about Crossfit for me in terms of what I have gained, but I digress.

While we were on our "Australian Walkabout", I used running to check out places that were better seen on foot than by car. Kangaroos, the Australian Formula 1 track, beaches, and of course, running over the Harbour Bridge and by the Sydney Opera House.

Yesterday something horrible happened to the world, and, in essence, to the running community. I feel sorrow and pain for the families who had their lives changed forever by the acts of cowardice. I hope these people can find peace and a path to move forward.

About marathoners....

Marathoners are resilient people who tend not to give up. They go for 26.2 miles in one race for heaven's sake! And they log so many more miles in training for their race. Same with the people that support them. It's rare that a marathoner can cross the finish line without help along the way.

Most people who know me know that I am pretty much anti-New England, except for 3 things - my friends from the area, Maine lobster and the Boston Marathon. 

The Boston Marathon is sacred to marathoners. They have a charity component that we could easily surpass so I could run Boston, but I'll fundraise and run a different race. I will only run Boston if I qualify with a fast enough time. That is non-negotiable for me. It may mean I never run it, but I will always strive to qualify.

The coward(s) who did their deeds yesterday struck the wrong group of people. I have no doubt that the people of Boston will be rebound to be even better than they were before. I certainly know that runners of all stripes will not be intimidated to run in races, or run at all.

I had minor surgery recently to fix a broken bone. I was given the ok to run at a moderate pace. I wasn't sure when I was going to get out there for my 1st real run. Yesterday changed that. 

I ran this afternoon with a close friend, enjoyed the scenery at that same park where I started running all those years ago and then came home to Marc with a huge grin on my face. 

I ran for those who either will never run again or will have a delayed return to running. I also ran for myself. That's what running means to me.

My Australian Summary

Great time and I'm sure I forgot some things.

* +Jill is now known as "Aussie J". That was her nickname on my temporary phone over there.

Best (no particular order)

  Days

    * Great Ocean Road

    * Great Barrier Reef

    * Wilson's Promontory

    * Cradle Mountain / Dove Lake

    * Flight over SW Tasmania and boat ride while out there (wow!)

    * Whitsunday Islands - 3x snorkeling in single day

  Nights

    * New Years Eve

    * Open That Bottle Night

  Wine Regions

    * Barossa

    * Margaret River

    * McLaren Vale

  Sights/Tours (not already mentioned)

    * Ferry system in Sydney Harbour

    * Pinnacles

  Pools (in order)

    * Andrew Charlton Pool (clean)

    * North Sydney Olympic Pool (view/location)

    * Icebergs - Bondi Beach Pool (stunning but cold)

Worst (no order)

  Days

    * King's Canyon --> Alice Springs via Tour Bus (talk about boring and trapped)

    * Fraser Island --> Mackay via car (too long with last 90 minutes dark and animals lurking)

    * Fraser Island (not that great in general other than Champagne Pools)

    * Mount Kosciuszko (drenching rain & no visibility == miserable)

  Nights

    * Fraser Island (salty starter AND main for dinner. yuk.)

    * Daintree (mosquitos)

  Wine Regions

    * Mornington Peninsula

    * Heathcote (there is good stuff here)

    * Grampians area

    * Tasmania

  Sights/Tours (not already mentioned)

    * MONA in Tasmania

    * Bike tour in Melbourne (too much bike WALKING)

2 Apr.: Sydney (NSW) --> "Back In Time" to what should be DFW (US) and then --> SEA (US).

It's time.

Yes, it is that day that we weren't necessarily looking forward to but has arrived. The day when we go home to Seattle. Of course, we are a little blue for our "Australian Walkabout" to end but we are so lucky that we have memories to last a lifetime. We can't complain.

We have definitely been doing much thinking about things around favorites - hike, run (Jill), swim (+Marc), restaurant, wine, city, wine region, best FB comment (the usual), etc. The list can go on and on. We agree on some and differ on others, which is to be expected. But it's fun having that debate. Anything you want to know a favorite of (keep it PG-13, kids... we have a diverse set of friends on here)?

Today actually got off to a great start for us in different ways. Marc went for a swim at the North Sydney Olympic Pool, where he first swam and got to see the sunrise as he walked over the Sydney Harbour Bridge (save the suspense, yes more Sydney Opera House photos). 

Somehow when we "closed out the rum bar" the other night, +Jamie and I hatched a plan to go for an early morning run today. I mentioned randomly that I wanted to check out a run course mapped by a local magazine going along Sydney Harbour, and Jamie jumped out of his chair (well almost) saying that is his regular run that he does to/from work and would take me this morning. We started at his place in Bondi Beach and went all the way into downtown Sydney going along the water much of the way. The skies were blue and the sun was shining. Fabulous way to bring this to a close.

As we sit on the plane waiting to leave, we want to thank you for tuning in on this adventure. It has been more than we ever could have hoped for and we have gotten so much out of it. A separate thank you post will go out upon our return to the many people who helped us out near and far.

It's time to go home and we're very keen on reconnecting with family and friends. Thanks again for tuning in.

Signing off from 'Down Under',
Marc and Jill

P.S. -- We'll see you on the other side.

1 April : Sydney (Really!)

This is the real April 1st entry. We awoke with the intention of torturing ourselves at crossfit. See - totally believable. So we went and warmed up then did 6 sets of 5 reps of back squats with increasing weight each set. I stopped on my 4th rep on the final set as I could feel my form failing and didn't want any injuries on the final day. After this, we did a nice 500m row, 30 burpees (Jill had a special one handed version - yuck), and 500m more row. Torture achieved.

We walked over to a lunch spot with the intention of hitting a good gelato spot later. I didn't eat all the rice with my dish to save up for the gelato. The gelato was fabulous and as a bonus I got to help +Jill finish her 3 scoops.

The sun was out despite the forecast for a full day of rain. We strolled back to the hotel and sat by the pool for the final time. Eventually we had to go inside and begin the packing process.

Our last dinner was at Aria next to the opera house and site of our wonderful New Year's Eve celebration viewing the fireworks. We got a fabulous table overlooking the opera house and had a really good meal. The staff here is really good especially all of the sommeliers. While dining, there was testing of lighting against the opera house for a yearly show that happens in a few weeks. I caught a few of the test patterns on camera.

A final stroll back to the hotel completed our last evening in Sydney and Australia. Now April 2 will be a really long day but it has been wonderful. Jill is likely going to summarize some things later.

1 April : Sydney

We've been trying to find the perfect time to reveal that we've been playing the Australian Powerball and we actually won the lottery a couple of weeks back. The Australian government has "strongly" encouraged us to stay and spend the money "locally". They have extended our visas for now with the offer of citizenship down the road.

Let it be known that we are not coming back except for visits going forward. We know you will all understand.

Cheers, mates!

Marc & +Jill

31 March: Sydney (NSW).

[Correction: Original post was entitled April 31st, which was an obvious error.... H/T: ACL.]

Finally finished all of the gift shopping for the crew back home. That summarizes the day. Kind of.

Anyway once again +Marc and I got off to a leisurely start where we just walked around The Rocks, where our hotel is, and then went over to the Sydney Aquarium. In having a choice between the Taronga Zoo and the aquarium, we decided we wanted to do the latter. Reason being we saw great animals in the wild plus we had been to a few animal conservatories. Plus we had such a great time snorkeling and sailing in the Great Barrier Reef.

The aquarium entry fee was pretty steep and I'll admit that things got off to a slow start in terms of what they first show you. The lighting wasn't good and the fish weren't "that interesting". Then it got better. We went into a shark tank walkway of sorts. Saw sharks, dugongs, turtles and all sorts of other reef fish. Really cool and brought back plenty of memories from our sailing and snorkeling.

After the aquarium, we headed for a walk around Darling Harbour and the surrounding areas before heading to lunch in Chinatown to a Malaysian place. The food was good and the service was horrible. After picking up the last of our souvenirs, we headed back to the hotel. By the way, at this stage we had walked 7.5 miles and it was only 2:30pm. 

The good news is that the sun was coming out so hello - lay out by the pool time!

Woo woo! We just sat outside and chilled. I went for a quick run around the harbour. It was nice. Debated where to go to dinner..... tough life. Settled on 'The Cut', which was very close to our hotel and recommended by a friend. Pretty good. And then that was that.

I know. Not an exciting day but at least we finally finished shopping for everyone! Hooray!

Thanks again for tuning in. We are very thankful for all of the interactions that we have had with all of you.

30 March : Sydney

Our first order of business was some Skype time with Lisa, +Jarrett and family to show them our fabulous view. The only problem is that the lighting in the morning here is somewhat intense in the direction of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. It's better in the afternoon and at sunset (which is what really matters anyway).

After this, we walked over to the Andrew Charlton Pool which is on Woolloomooloo Bay on the east side of the Royal Botanical Gardens. This pool is the cleanest and best overall of the three 50 meter pools I've been to in Sydney. Obviously, the N Sydney pool overlooks the Harbour Bridge and Opera House but the locker rooms were suspicious (I wore sandals at ALL times). Bondi has the ocean view and the nice waves crashing in, but that water is COLD (and this is summer temperature).

As I swam, Jill went for another run. We then had a leisurely lunch and stroll back to the hotel on a different path (for me) than I had been on before. Guess what that means? New angles of the Opera House and many more photos. I cannot stop.

We hung out at the pool for a while again. +Jill wanted the end of our travel time here to be maximum chill and we have truly done this.

We then walked over to the lookout at the bridge pylon which was included in our bridge climb the other day. I think we would both tell people to just pay the $11 per person to only do that and avoid the climb. Why? Hey, I had my camera with me to freely take any and all photos. Cool. More opera house (among other things). They also had plenty of history in the structure too so the info the guide tells you on the climb is basically in here.

On the way back, we checked out the "farmer's market" that was closing down and we may have found tomorrow's breakfast patisserie. Jill then felt compelled to show +Lisa the view in better lighting.

Dinner was at the Bridge Room. Jill had booked the previous night via Amex months ago and they had accepted the reservation despite the establishment being closed for Good Friday. They spent weeks trying to contact the Amex person who booked it to let us know but that person no longer works there. Many places were closed. Last minute notification. Jill was not pleased.

The result of her displeasure was a meal on the house tonight. I ended up with the signature dish for a starter which is a Comte cheese souffle wrapped in prosciutto with figs and pomegranate seeds and some other nice stuff. Delicious. In the end, Jill had them charge us a dollar so we could leave a generous tip because the place was fabulous.

29 Mar: Sydney (NSW).

Well it was time. Time to return to our friends at Crossfit Ignite Sydney, who "took such great care of us" at the beginning of our walkabout. And +Marc and I were in much better 'Crossfit shape' at that point. We walked in and the coaches remembered us and said, "wow, it's been 3 or so months already!". We sighed.

They took note of our modifications (Marc has some tendonitis and I have the gimpy wrist) and made us pay anyway. They wanted to leave us "with something to remember" from our visits there. Marc did a scaled down version (weight wise) of Crossfit Open 13.4 and I did way too many box jumps and air squats with some rowing thrown in. Oy! That said, Marc did a great job on the WOD and had enough energy to cheer me on during mine.

After the WOD, we walked up to Surry Hills where we caught brunch at "Four Ate Five" again, and +Lisa and I got into a marathon GChat session on all sorts of topics. Very entertaining as we waited for a table and for our food. And really after that, it was a nice, ho-hum kind of day....

View from Jill's run: Wedding festivities under the Sydney Harbour Bridge at the Park Hyatt

The sun came out. We laid by the pool. Wrote out some postcards. Walked over to the Harbour Bridge to catch the sunset. Lovely. Just what we wanted. Oh - and I did squeeze in a quick run around The Rocks, the section of town we are staying in.

We then went back to Rockpool Bar & Grill (this one wins the most visited restaurant - 3rd time over our numerous stays in Sydney). +Erik, one of our friends and is celebrating his birthday today (HOLLA!), connected us with one of the sommeliers there, Michael. Michael has been there all 3 times we have went and has taken great care of us with his selection. He outdid himself last night because we wanted to try something we hadn't had yet and not break the bank. And in case you haven't heard, we have tasted A LOT of wine on this trip from Australia.

The food and wine were great. Incredibly stuffed and thankful for a walk back to the hotel, even if it wasn't that long.

I will be repetitive and continue to thank everyone for the comments, private messages and likes on all of the things that we are posting. We do our best to acknowledge all of them, we promise.