Runway Run

Imagine this...

CAFB Photos

It's a Saturday morning, hot and humid outside at 7:00 am, and you're getting ready to run 10 kilometers, most of which will be in a straight line. You were told it was going to be a "fun run" but can't seem to place where the fun is going to occur.

The race starts and you take off, only everyone around you actually takes off much faster and within 5 minutes you've already been passed by two ladies carrying on a conversation while seeming to sprint and a couple pushing a stroller. You double check to make sure you're not actually walking. Nope, definitely running.

You glance ahead and spot the first mile-marker in the distance. Gosh, it seemed like it took a long time to get here! Looking at your watch you see it's been almost 10 minutes since the race started. Ten minutes! I could have sworn I was going faster than that! Then as you get closer you see it's not a mile-marker at all, it's just an arrow pointing for you to keep running. So you do. And about 20 minutes later you accept the realization that there are not going to be any mile-makers on this course.

In the meantime, there is a quick-footed Asian runner that overtakes you at a pace you swear you were surpassing. He runs over to the side of the course, well ahead of you, whips out his iPhone, snaps a few shots of the morning surroundings, and gingerly joins back into the run. Huh, so that's how people take pictures while running. Still, I'd rather not carry my iPhone while running.

Finally you take it upon yourself to just speed up as much as you can to get this thing over with. That is the reason you started, right? To just get it over with. You round one last corner and the finish line is finally in sight. This is it. The only goal is to catch up to the guy who sprinted past you in his own desperate attempt to finish the damn thing while trying not to let the girl behind you pass you while she's trying to do the same thing.

Then you cross the finish line and finally it's over. Hooray! Except your legs and lungs are not saying "hooray." They are saying, "Why the hell do you torture us this way, you cruel sadistic person? Now we're going to make you feel like you are dying and look like you are are drunk and disabled."

Okay, so that may be a bit of a cynical rendition of my Saturday morning. Although many of those thoughts were going through my head during the run, it was a good start to an overall great day that was otherwise filled with tailgating, football viewing, and my teams winning. Go Georgia Bulldogs and Mississippi State Bulldogs!

My husband told me about this Runway 10k on Wednesday, and the race was to take place on Saturday. A little short notice, sure, but we're already pretty well-conditioned runners so I was not worried about the distance at all. Plus I've never done a 10k before, just some 5k's and half-marathons a few years ago. Even better, this one was free and it was going to be held on the newly re-paved runway at the base where we're currently stationed.

Now most any runner can tell you how mentally taxing it is to run a straight line for an extended period of time. So most runners probably wouldn't jump at the thought of running along 12,000 feet of concrete with no turns, trees, shade, or any change in elevation whatsoever. For me, it was a one-time this-is-cool sort of deal. For a civilian to go out on the runway at an Air Force base, that's just about the quickest way to get arrested. Just, let's not even think about doing that. But for a race where they open it up for people to run on? Well, I though that was pretty cool because it's probably just about the only chance I'll ever get to go on an Air Force runway by foot.

Now, it was told to us runners that this would be a 10k run. That's 6.2 miles for us American peoples. However when I glanced at my watch crossing the finish line and it told me, "You just finished this in 47 minutes," I was beyond belief. I had loosely set the goal for myself to finish the race in about 50 minutes, so when I crossed the finish line I thought, "This cannot be so."

And it wasn't. I later found out that the race was not actually 6.2 miles, but rather, it was closer to 5.8. Okay, not bad, that's still an 8:10 pace.

Looking back on races, like many runners, I always think, why couldn't I have gone just a little bit faster? Would it really have been so hard to get an 8:05 pace?

Well, at least I know now about how well I would have done if this had been a real 10k. It gives me something to work with. And it made me feel like I'd really done a lot with my day before 10:00 am. And I got to go on the runway!

Now can someone please tell me where my pet bull went? I need him to run up to this cool little towel I got for participating in the Runway Run!

Chicken, Bacon, Asparagus and Ricotta Pizza

Last time I made a "white pizza" it was good but not a fan favorite. Let me reassure you, this one was.

If I can remember correctly, I believe the spouse told me, "That was so good, I couldn't even talk," after he'd had just the first slice. 

For me, as much as I love a white pizza, I also have a deep love for tomato sauce. To solve that little dilemma here, all I did was serve the red sauce on the side. Excellent choice, if I may say so myself. 

Now I must also say, this pizza was work. Set aside about 2 hours from start to finish to make it...but don't be discouraged by that amount of time. It is so worth it. I guess you could go a little bit faster if you really tried. After all, I cleaned up as I went along and also unloaded the dishwasher and watched a Netflix documentary during the making of this pizza. You know if you want to watch a documentary, Netflix is the place to go.

So first, let us start with the crust. I didn't do my regular white/wheat crust because I wanted this one to be thinner and crispier. Although my usual crust is chewy and delicious, I was just in the mood to change it up. So I consulted a nearby cookbook called "Delicious Pizza." I thought, I can't go wrong with a title like that! 

I did a brief search for the book on Amazon, but I was not able to find it. Bummer. I guess all the delicious pizza secrets are not for sale! But the recipe for the crust was very basic...flour, water, yeast, sugar, salt and oil. I rolled it out thin, heated up the pizza stone, and then baked the crust for about 4 minutes on its own. That's right...the crust on the pizza stone - no toppings - and bake it for 4 minutes. You want crispiness, this is how you get it. 

Now get your toppings ready, hold your pants on, and prepare for some pizza making madness. 

Gather your ingredients:

• 1 15-oz container of ricotta cheese
• 1 clove fresh garlic
• 1 tbsp rosemary
• 5 strips of bacon
• 1 chicken breast
• Handful of asparagus spears (I used a package of frozen)
• 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

To make it all so tasty and good:

• Pour the ricotta into a small mixing bow. Chop up the garlic into the tiniest pieces you can manage and add it to the ricotta. Add the rosemary into there as well and mix it all about. Let it sit while you do the rest so those flavors can mingle for a bit.
• Prep all the toppings. Heat the oven to 350. Arrange the bacon on one baking sheet and the asparagus on another. I added a little olive oil to my asparagus sheet to make it tastier and keep it from sticking. Pop those into the oven for about 20-30 minutes. I didn't set a timer, but just keep an eye on it until it's cooked the way you like it. I prefer my bacon and asparagus pretty crispy, so they were both in there for a while - the asparagus took a little longer than the bacon. 
• When they're done, chop the bacon into tiny bits, and cut the asparagus spears into thirds. 
• Heat a pan on the stove with a little olive oil, dice the chicken breast, and fry it up until it's cooked through.
• When the bacon and asparagus are done and the oven is empty, place the pizza stone inside and crank the temperature to 500. Now it's just a waiting game for the oven to get that hot. Go relax. Or do what I did and throw together a little Caesar salad to have on the side. You can also use this time to start heating up some red sauce...whatever kind is your favorite. I used some leftover homemade sauce I had on hand. 
• When your pizza stone is hot, take it out of the oven, and do what I told you to do before with the crust. Bake it, alone, for about 4 minutes. No toppings on it yet. Just a lonesome crust. This may cause some sections of the crust to bubble and rise. That's okay. Pop those bubbles and even out the surface again. You'll be able to do this because you're not cooking it all the way through yet.
• After those 4 minutes, take the pizza stone with the crust on it out of the oven and place it on your work surface. Spread the ricotta mixture onto it. You may not use all of it, depending on the size of your za. 
• Place the asparagus spears on top of that, followed by the chicken and then the bacon bits. Finish it off with just a touch of mozzarella and place that beauty into the oven for another 5 minutes or so. With the thin and now slightly crisped up crust, this will cook up in no time. It only took 5 minutes in my oven, but keep an eye on on it until it's cooked to your liking. 
• Serve with sauce of your choice on the side. 

You're going to want to dive into this ocean of pizza bliss long before it's done cooking. Actually, you may even be thinking of doing so during the bacon cooking phase. It's okay to munch on a little bacon, just don't eat all of it before za time.

If you're not a sauce lover like I am, feel free to omit it. Also if you want it a bit spicier, a bit of black pepper or red pepper flakes may suit your tastes.

I know, that looks like ketchup on the side. Now I do love ketchup, but as the old adage goes, there is a time and a place for everything. Mark my words - pizza time is no time for ketchup. That is tasty homemade pizza sauce.

Have a lovely time stuffing your face with this pizza excellence. I know I sure did!

To The Lake, the Beach!

Do you see the lake in the picture? All the way at the top left corner of the image?

Yeah, that was my destination for my run last night.

I actually split this run into 2 parts. I ran out the lake, stopped there where there are some picnic tables under a pavilion so I could do some core work, and then I ran back home. I guess you could say that's 3 parts, but the "core work" part was really minimal, so I basically considered this to be 2 small runs. 

And let me say right now, this was a workout that I was not looking forward to. I'd had a long day; really, a long week overall, and several recent events had left me in a bad mood. Now I know just as well as the net exercise monkey that "exercise helps a bad mood," "exercise gives you endorphins," blah, blah, blah. If someone had told me that at the time I probably would have slapped them. And then I would have curled up on the couch with a jar of Nutella and slothed the evening away. 

Good thing no one told me those things. I put on workout clothes and somehow willed myself to get outdoors. I just had to keep reminding myself that this was a good thing, and it wouldn't even take that long. And also, my husband and I will be squeezing the last little bit of summer out of this year on a nice little resort-style vacation on a sunny Florida beach next week. No time for Nutella and couches and slothing...gotta get into beach bod mode!

Let's get to the workout breakdown:

Run 1:

2.2 miles, 18 minutes and 10 seconds for an overall 8:15 pace.

Not bad, and I wasn't totally exhausted. Excellent time for some crunches!

Core work:

10 push-ups

12 oblique v-crunches

30 second speed skater drill

10 push-ups

12 center v-crunches

30 second speed skater drill

10 push-ups 

12 oblique v-crunches

All that "core work" probably took about 5 minutes. Yes, I did consider doing one more round of speed skater drills, but I wanted to try my hardest to get a negative split on the run back home, so I decided not to do another round of glute-shredding exercises.

Run 2:

2.2 miles, 18 minutes and 34 seconds for an overall 8:26 pace.

Darn it. Those splits were very positive. But this was one of those times when I decided it would be better to not beat myself up over it. I ran hard, it was hot, and I came back sweaty and dirty. I always love a workout where I feel like I have truly earned my shower, and this was one of them. When it was all said and done, I was really very glad that I did this whole workout. My mood was better, I was more relaxed, I felt more excited about the upcoming vacation, and I even slept better than I had all week. Now someone get this girl to a beach!!  

Chicken, Artichoke, Feta, and Tomato Pizza with a Beer Crust

Let me guess, the "beer crust" got your attention? No doubt you've seen recipes for a crust made of cauliflower, zucchini, cheese, ground meats, egg whites, twigs, dirt, and other low-carb edibles. But beer? How is that even possible?

Well friends, thanks to the interwebs, I have found one recipe for a beer-infused pizza crust. And thanks to the current beer graveyard that is our vegetable crisper, this pizza was made possible. First and foremost regarding the flavors of this za, I must say, you must try this crust. I'm not one to divert from my go-to pizza crust recipe all that often, but this was well worth it. And also, it was super easy to make. I didn't use any rosemary because I didn't have any on hand, but I did use garlic powder and Blue Moon Agave Nectar Ale. Off da chain delish. Like, whoa. Click up on that recipe link and see for yourself.

For the pizza you will need:

• 1-2 cups pizza sauce
• 6 oz. jar of artichoke hearts, chopped (I like Progresso because they're already marinated)
• 1/2 onion, chopped and sautéed
• 1 chicken breast, chopped, seasoned and cooked
• 1/2 cup chopped grape tomatoes
• 3 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• Ground black pepper, to taste (optional)

Directions:

• Prep all toppings. Heat a skillet on the stovetop with a little olive oil. Chop the onions and sauté them until they're soft and slightly golden. Place them on a plate when done and then you can add your chopped artichoke hearts to that same plate. Chop your chicken, season it and cook however you like. My chicken was actually leftover from a Mexican meal earlier in the week. I had baked it in the oven with some garlic powder and ancho chile powder. The bit of warm spiciness went perfectly with this pizza though. 
• Slice up the grape tomatoes and crumble the feta cheese if you have not bought the pre-crumbled cheese. (I never buy the crumbled kind unless there's some great sale on it...more bang for your buck to buy a larger block and cut it yourself!)
• Place a pizza stone in the oven and heat that baby to 500 degrees. When it's all hot, take it out, place it on your work surface, and carefully place your prepared dough for the crust on top of that. 
• Spread as much sauce as you'd like on top of the crust, working it all the way out to the edges. 
• Topping time. Onions, artichokes, and chicken go on next. I topped mine with mozzarella at this point, then saved the feta and tomatoes for last. And then a sprinkle of pepper after that.
• Place that all back into the oven and keep an eye on it for about 10 minutes, making sure the cheese on top turns a little bit golden but doesn't burn. For me this cooked up in about 12. 

Re-purposing my leftovers

Now that is fresh. Phresh.

Not only was this pizza the highlight to our weekend eating events, but also, our friend Matt joined us for it with some professional-grade pizza supplies in hand.

Casting my once-adored Kitchen Aid pizza cutter aside, Matt swooped in with his recent haul from a Kitchen Collection outlet shopping spree: a wooden pizza paddle and a fancy pizza cutter similar to this one from Williams-Sonoma. Like a boss. That pizza was sliced and plated effortlessly in mere seconds. I'm thinking these fancy pizza supplies are worth the investment.

I hesitate to say that this has been my favorite homemade pizza so far. But then again, that's probably how parents feel when telling you which child is their favorite. So I'll go ahead and say it - this za was top-notch. Definitely in the top 3 of my pizza children, and of course it made the honor roll. The crust - usually not so noticeable compared to the toppings - was outstanding. The feta always adds just the right amount of saltiness and the marinated artichokes were the perfect compliment. I don't like the idea of being a pizza-repeater, but for a za like this I just have a feeling it's going to happen.