Summer. Is. Here.

I know summer doesn't officially start until June 21st.

But as far as I'm concerned, it has arrived.

Cycling Central

My four-day weekend will be full of cycling, and rightly so.

I spent this morning at Lance Armstrong's place (Juan Pelota Ranch) in Dripping Springs, TX (just outside of Austin).



I keep having wonderful moments when I realize that Texas, this new state of mine, is just gorgeous! The Texas hill country's rolling hills are an amazing backdrop for this race, with its rugged and rocky limestone hills, scrubby trees and brush, and huge blue skies.

I've been learning very quickly why people adore Austin; I am beginning to appreciate more and more why these same folks also love the hill country.

Lance is one of those folks -- he's got a huge ranch and it's an amazing venue for the Mellow Classic. Two full days of racing, with two UCI Pro races, a bike expo, local vendors, beer (very important), and good times with Central Texas cyclists.

(No Lance sightings today, by the way. I'm pretty sure he's in France getting ready for TdF. But he's around... my friend got the "cycling nod" from him the other day when he saw him out on a ride.)

I should mention that it was hot today. A scorcher. I visiting the Nuun vendor booth about ten times to refill my bottle (and I wasn't even racing!).

If you look in the slideshow above, you'll see a shot of a bunch of spectators on the big hill, all sitting in the only logical place: the shade.

I skipped the pro men's race to go get cool and get home. I reserved some sweet equipment for Monday's CapTexTri: a wetsuit, Specialized TT helmet, and Zipp 404s. Oh sweet cycling gods... I love those Zipps.


Isn't she gorgeous?

Happy?

I love this infographic for life.

Courtesy of Janet.

Runner's delight

Where did the last month go? Seems like it just flew by...

There's lots going on, but occupying a good chunk of my time is my training. I'm running the Austin (Half) Marathon on February 14th!


My friend from San Francisco, "S", is coming to run the half marathon with me! I'm looking forward to showing off Austin and having some one to join me in the challenge. (She ran a half marathon in the Bay Area today, by the way, and is doing another one next week with me. No sweat. Amazing.)

Which brings me to one of my favorite things about Austin -- the hike & bike trails.

There are quite a few in Austin, but my favorite is the one that circles Town Lake (aka Lady Bird Lake) and borders Zilker Park and downtown. It's beautiful, free, and always full of friendly joggers, families, strollers, and bicycles. (Honestly, with the pedestrian volume, there isn't much room for the bikes, and I wouldn't recommend it as a bike path.)

You can drive to one of several parking lots situated just off the trail (near MoPac, Austin HS, S. Lamar St., S. 1st St.), but from my house, there are endless mileage possibilities. Two, four, ten miles, all a stone's throw from my front door. Glorious.


I came across a list of "runner's commandments," today, and several got a nod and a laugh from this newbie runner. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Don’t be a whiner. Nobody likes a whiner, not even other whiners.
This aligns pretty nicely with my competitive cycling rules, too. Hamstrings sore? Feeling tired? Six miles too far? Path too crowded? Quit yer whinin'.

2. Walking out the door is often the toughest part of a run.
AMEN.

9. Don’t compare yourself to other runners.
By far, one of my biggest challenges. When I see runners who are faster, sleeker, or wearing cooler gear than I am, I tend to get jealous. When I see runners who are slower or wearing cotton (scoff), I get judgy. That's GOTTA stop. I run for ME, not anyone else.

10. All runners are equal, some are just faster than others.
As if I didn't think otherwise! Oh, yeah... see above.

11. Keep in mind that the later in the day it gets, the more likely it is that you won’t run.
All I can do is burst out laughing when I read this. Who has been on the treadmill at the gym at 11pm at night? Guilty.

16. A bad day of running still beats a good day at work.
Well, I don't know about that. A good day at work can be pretty damn amazing. But so can any run after a bad day at work.

19. Don’t always run alone.
Working on it. I swear. Anyone know of a good (slowish) running group in town?

24. Races aren’t just for those who can run fast.
Case in point.

52. Running is simple. Don’t make it complicated.
Indeed, one of my favorite things about this sport.

Wish me luck next week. 13.1 miles feels like an awfully long run...

Icebox

Welcome winter.

When I got up to go to yoga this morning, I checked the weather. 18 degrees. It's not much compared to other parts of the country, but still -- COLD!

I tried to spare my flip-flop clad feet from the air by jogging out to my car as quickly as I could, but I didn't anticipate the amount of time I'd need to scrape my windows -- all covered in ice. (My $1 IKEA squeegee came in handy). It was so surprising, I had to take a few quick shots:


In the car, I could see my breath and the windshield wiper fluid was, of course, frozen. I had to roll down my window to see to the left side of my car. Bizarre.

Later, I was reluctant to leave the warm yoga studio, but I got myself out of there and went to buy some gas. The bucket of window washing fluid was frozen.


While I was pumping gas, I heard a strange noise, looked up, and saw a gas station attendant shoveling giant piles of ice out of the car wash. And there were giant icicles hanging on the entrance sign! Cracked me up.


Stay warm, everyone.

Last Night's Dinner

Crispy Tortilla Eggs with Avocado and Lime

So delicious!

This is the perfect quick dish -- I made it in less than 15 minutes. When it's 25 degrees outside (in Central Texas, no less), there is nothing like some homey, easy-to-make breakfast food to tame your hunger and help you forget about the chilly weather.

A few tips:

The recipe is easily adapted to serve more or less people -- just change the number of eggs. For my single serving, I still fried two tortillas. (Who could resist?)

Stale tortillas are key -- they will crisp better than fresh ones.

I used salsa from a jar, light sour cream, avocado, and jack cheese. Forgot the lime, but it was still delish!

A New Year's Adventures in Cooking

Sorry to neglect the blog. I need to update more often, and hope to do so whenever I have the chance this year -- even if it's just a quick one.

My brother and I pledged to go "meat free" in January. He initially encouraged me to try it for December, but then he planned a trip to Austin and I warned him that vegetarians can't eat at the Salt Lick, Maria's Taco Express, or many other fine establishments in this Texas city. So we postponed til the New Year.

Here's an update on how it's going so far.

January 1, 2010: Day 1
I completely forget about my pledge and eat bacon at New Year's Day brunch (so delicious!). Damn. I pledge to go meat free an extra day, because of my slip-up.

January 4, 2010: Day 3
I forget about my pledge, yet again, and have soup for lunch. Chicken gumbo. Damn.

January 5, 2010: Day 3
Hit the web for recipes and then do a big trip to the grocery store to stock up on meat-free items.

Tool numero uno:The Ultimatest Grocery List.
The vegetarian version is excellent, even if you aren't a vegetarian! Lots of produce and yummy grains.

Tool numero dos: Recipes.
I get a weekly email from American Public Media's Splendid Kitchen and Tori Ritchie's Tuesday Recipe.

Tool numero tres: Patience.
I hate shopping in a grocery store I don't know, but I think I've finally figured out the H-E-B near work.

I attempted to "whip up" a few things last night. Problem is, while I can follow a recipe, it takes me forever. Prep time: 16 minutes. OR SO THEY CLAIM! I need to remember to DOUBLE the amount of time stated on the recipe, because that's how long it will take me.

Let's start with Emeril's Black Bean Cakes!

Sounds delicious right?

First off, the prep is NOT 16 minutes. It's more like 30. When they put "two cans of rinsed black beans," I don't think they are factoring the can-opening and bean-rinsing into the recipe. Silly chefs.

First you saute some onions, then chop some parsley, rinse those dang beans, make an elaborate creole spice mixture, and on and on. The first problem: the bean mixture looks like poop.


Second problem: you have to shape this stuff into patties. Mm. Kinda gross. Then you fry 'em up. I don't know what I did wrong, but the patties looked like they were made of something besides beans, and the patties kind of fell apart in the pan. Whoops. I'm sparing you the pictures, and instead showing you my jar of cumin: mmmm, cumin.

They looked gross, but tasted delicious, especially with salsa and sour cream! Give it a try. Hope you have better luck than me.


Then, I couldn't help myself, and followed up with Chocolate Chip Meringues.

Delicious! Easy! Fast! (Even without a handmixer!) Highly recommended.



That's all for now. Happy 2010!