Today's Run

I've wanted to post about a run for a while. Sometimes this Running Blog is about anything but running. I went out this morning with Suzanne, my awesome running partner. She has been suffering from plantar faciitis, and I got over a bad bronchitis this past week, so running has taken a back seat to healing. We took a short run on Wednesday and decided on a faster 5 miles today. The plan is to run long tomorrow and run medium this coming week in preparation for the ARR South Mountain Classic 20K a week from tomorrow. We started off walking and also walked a bit at the 2.5 mile turnaround. Sometime around mile 3.5 she let me go ahead and I turned it on for a strong finish. I was sub 9:00 for a while and finished the mile at 9:15, and had a nice short kick at the end sub 9:00. Felt good to get the lungs open and at full capacity.

You can see the walks and the traffic stops crossing Camelback road. The weather right now in Phoenix is perfect for morning runs and my body feels good again.

Norman the spastic Choc Lab puppy was not in the equation today --he got neutered yesterday and is wearing a surgical collar which is actually nice because he can't dig holes deeper than 2 feet now. We think we'll leave it on and use him as a biological roto-tiller.

Sore nuts?? No nuts!!

We also got the garden in this week and have a nice little plot started. Lots of pepper and tomato varieties, along with all the herbs we usually grow. Mmmmmmmmm, tomato sandwiches!

That back row is for medical purposes only.

Melon Patch-icide

Had to pull up the watermelon and cantaloupe plants. They were spreading like wildfire and choking out the other plants, including the precious tomatoes. Can't have that.

Dead watermelon vine.










The vines creep out and wrap little tendrils around the other plants to secure the plant. We thought it would make nice ground cover and give us free food, but we will need to grow a separate patch somewhere else in the yard next spring.

We started this little project back in the March and have had good reaps for the past two months in zucchini, bell peppers, and tomato (4 different varieties). The eggplants are producing fruit but they have not really been edible. They are Japanese and we haven't been able to tell when to pick them.

(the botanical definition of fruit is a ripened seed bearing ovary).

This is a photo of a ripened seed bearing ovary.

Actually, it is Adam the Boring Runner, who is one of the funniest and entertaining bloggers out there -and a hell of a good runner. I urge you to check out his blog. There is a current contest giveaway for compression socks that is worth entering.

And don't forget that Jamoosh's special big boy b-day is this Saturday. He like Transformers, Legos, small-batch 'chewy' beer, and disturbing tattoo/piercing photos.

The $64 Tomato Book Review

For a second or two, I had a Dan Quayle moment with the spelling of Tomato (potatoe).

This book was written by William Alexander and published by Algonquin books in 2006. It's a big hit and there are numerous websites devoted to reviews and expounding his ideas of home gardening.

Here is a link to the author's website and you can wander from there.

As the title suggests, this guy built and established a garden in his yard out East (moved out of Yonkers and went somewhere North up the Hudson where I want to move today honey), and after all of the digging, fertilizing, planting, supporting, protecting, reaping, etc., he calculated the cost of his tomatoes at $64 each --which is not the point. The point is that this man launched his family into home gardening and house resurrection. And not just a side of the yard garden with a few veggies and a flower pot. He grows fruit trees, ROWS of veggies: underground, terraced, hamocked, caged, etc.

He had to re-grade the plot (about 75 feet long), plan the planting map and cycle chronology, and learn how to grow organically and pesticide free -which helped him learn why veggies in the store look so beautiful. THEY AREN'T REAL! BURN IT BURN IT KILL IT WITH ACID!!!! Tree-huggers scream at farmers for using pesticides and hormones, but the consumers scream for perfect fruits and veggies, which are impossible to produce in quantity without using chemicals. This happens at all levels beyond the backyard family farmer, so the next time you go to a farmers market, believe me when I say the 'cover shot' fruits and veggies were grown in the Matrix. Pesticide-free fruits and veggies have blemishes.

Alexander is a terrific writer, he.....

Hey!! Little sideline: We watch a crapload of Curious George in our house (HJG watches while mom and dad bring him popsicles and beg him to take a nap), and The Man with the Yellow Hat just finished a marathon. Yellow shorts and sleeveless (cotton!!) shirt, I'm almost certain Chuck Taylors (minimalist!! I knew it!!) and his YELLOW HAT!! He came in 17th overall and received an Apollo trophy--not bad bling though I doubt the same trophy was given for the blogger who came in 11,703/14,112. And I heard they ran out of ice cream sandwiches-- Of course! My wife said that he has participated in other races in other episodes. I will research this further and get back to you.

Alexander write smoothly and is funny. If you are at all interested in following a family that moves into a destroyed house and spends lots of money and time and effort building the house back up and building a formidable garden, then you will enjoy this book. I will be reading his book about bread making called 52 Loaves and will review here.


"Enter to Win @Spibelt Giveaway over at ericarunning.com http://bit.ly/a8eEEs #giveaways @erica_h

Random Saturday Stuff

Worked in the garden yesterday. Actually, I worked on the perimeter of the garden, Phoenix-proofing. The sun takes a heavy toll, so shade structures are a must for most plants.

This fabric will block out UV, but the birds and bugs need a more NATO type approach. Trying to avoid chemicals, but probably some netting and or natural/organic prevention. We have harvested tomatoes, zucchini, and the eggplants may be ready but they seem small. Not sure about that. Overall, the garden is doing well and we have plans for improving for next year and also for our fall planting.

Getting some burn spots on the peppers, hopefully, the shade will solve that.

Has spicy shrimp for fathers day. Mmmmm, one of my favorites. Thaw 1.5 pounds of shrimp, leave peels, legs, (and heads if possible) on the shrimp. Tons of flavor in these, through you of course throw them away at the dinner table. In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbls. olive oil and a whack of butter, add in some red chile flakes (to taste) and the shrimp. When they look pink on one side, add the juice of 1/2 lemon and also just throw the squeezed lemon half in the skillet too--wtf. Turn the shrimp and get ready, they are seconds away from being done. Hold the phone!! Add about 1 Tbsp. of Old Bay seasoning (more or less depending on your taste. and you won't need salt or pepper). Stir well and serve over rice, noodles, or just with some sourdough bread. Mmmmm.

And lastly, because I couldn't resist, a return to the garden.

Sometimes, they just grow that way. Have a great weekend, and enjoy your races if you are racing!

Back to Random Unreality

Why did vacation have to end?? "Because you need to go back to work" say the Power ball lottery officials.
That was nice --one more photo of 55 degree bliss (I'm wearing a jacket and still shivering):

We went to some park in Paso Robles and I clonked my head on an overhead beam in a kids play house. Here is me smiling ear to ear with an "I'm concussed!" smile. Harrison thought it was the funniest thing ever. I have a giant scab across my scalp.

We went to We Olive, which is the Walmart of Olive Oils in Central Cali. We drank way too much olive oil and aged balsamic. What a wild time it was!! My fav was the blood orange olive oil and the 15 year balsamic. They drink it like wine over there!! It does taste pretty darn good.

Thought my toes were improving but there has been a delayed onset of blackening and peeling. I shot this out of focus because I was repulsed. The other foot isn't much better. Maybe time to research shoes with a bigger toebox? Lauren?

And lastly, our garden is taking off nicely. We have mucho tomatoes and more zucchini than we know what to do with. Eggplant is coming in nicely too. Peppers are burning or something else is wrong. Need to consult the experts.

That' Harrison's sunflower in the foreground which is growing about 6 inches per day (take it Adam, it's all yours)

Cherry, yellow pear, and Green Zebra, and cinnamon basil. Chill. Cut each into bite size pieces. Sprinkle with large grain sea salt and a tiny bit of black pepper, chop and mix in basil, drizzle with nice olive oil and a bit of balsamic. Serve with crusty bread. Yummy.

This weekend marks my official return to hot weather running. I'd like feedback on salt, electrolyte, mineral replacements. What do you do to replace? What brands do you prefer.

I'm reading Murakami's What I Think About When I Think About Running, and will review sometime early next week. Have a splendid weekend!!

Gardening Through Phoenix (Cross Training)

Just finished Pollan's In Defense of Food. Nothing really new, but good reinforcement. Each year, we try to plant a garden, but our plot has been woefully small. So this year we decided to sacrifice some yard space and plant a farm! (Just this one post and then I'll start a new blog). I ran to The Big Orange Home Despot (hey, a running reference!!) and spent about $50 on bricks and shitty (literally) dirt.

Maria and I spent about ten minutes with shovels, realized that we would finish in time for the next Superbowl, so it was off to A to Z rentals for a gas powered roto-tiller ("Of course I know how to work it", the slow runner said to the A to Z man) Got it home and spent 1/2 hour trying to figure it out.

Engines on and up came the grass, dirt, some Indian burial stuff.... the usual.

Mixed in some cow poop, got it leveled and decided to roto-tiller some other areas of the lawn while Mrs. G was not looking. My three hours were almost up so I returned it and got busy with the bricks.

We have canal irrigation so we need to block the floods that come every two weeks or our little patch will get washed away to Casa Grande.

Tomorrow is the bird screen and overhead sunscreen, and if all goes well, the first planting of TOMATOES!!

Tomorrow is also a 14 mile run. Plenty of gu and a Stick from Runner's Den, and a hope and a prayer. My itb on the left side gave me a really hard time on Tuesday's 7 miler. Hmmmmm. Marathon?