a matter of perspective

A dog thinks:

Hey, those people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me, and take good care of me…..They must be gods!

A cat thinks:

Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me, and take good care of me….. I must be a god.

cat workout

I have spent the last 5 minutes laughing hysterically at this joke which I think cat lovers will love. It gives cat owners a series of steps to follow to give kitty a pill. Another way to look at it is getting an awesome workout.

1. Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat’s mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.
2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.
3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.
4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of 10.
5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from kitchen.
6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, holding front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold cat’s head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat’s throat vigorously.
7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.
8. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with its head just visible from below spouse’s armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force cat’s mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.
9. Check label to make sure pill is not harmful to humans, drink glass of water to take taste away. Apply bandage to spouse’s forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.
10. Retrieve cat from neighbor’s shed. Get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck, to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.
11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Throw T-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.
12. Tie cat’s front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table. Find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed. Force cat’s mouth open with small wrench. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of steak. Hold head vertically and pour pint of water down throat to wash pill down.
13. Get spouse to drive you to emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Stop by furniture shop on way home to order new table.
14. Arrange for vet to make a house call.

autumn dinner

 

From the CrossFit archives comes this Zone friendly menu for a fall night (or day):

• Spicy Albacore Polpettes with Tomato Sauce, Olive & Capers
• Arugula Salad

Mangia!

pumpkin goodness

If you haven’t tried pumpkin butter you don’t know what you are missing. Here’s a great recipe for my favorite fall vegetable:

Ingredients

• 2 pounds peeled, seeded, and diced sugar pie pumpkin (substitute canned if needed)
• 1/4 cup turbinado sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• Pinch of salt

Directions

1. In a stainless steel pot, combine pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar, and salt; bring to a simmer. (If using fresh pumpkin, stir until it’s tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.)
2. Continue simmering until the mixture starts to thicken, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a blender; blend until smooth. Return mixture to pot and heat for 10 minutes on low until it reaches desired thickness. Remove, cool, and serve.

Variations
Apple-Cinnamon: Add 1/2 pound of peeled and diced Granny Smith apples, 3/4 cup apple juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger. Spread this on toast for a sweet treat.

Cardamom-Clove: Add 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/2 teaspoon ground clove, and 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice. This slightly more savory butter goes well with meats such as pork.

marathon training and injuries

Hilarious cartoon that anyone who has been training for a race can appreciate:

Here is the accompanying New York Times article, Coping (or Not) with Injuries in Training for a Marathon. Some interesting ideas on cross training. Swimming anyone? Yes?

japanese recipes

Women’s Health magazine has a few great Japanese recipes that you can actually make at home. I think the one I’m going to try next is this one:

Chicken and Egg Donburi
4 servings – Per serving: 340 cal, 12g fat, 34 g carbs, 5g fiber, 24g protein
Prep:10 min  Cook: 10–12 min

The fast food of Japan, donburi (which means “bowl”) consists of rice topped with seasonal veggies and lean meat. 

This version features good-for-you spinach, which delivers 13 types of flavonoids that fight cancer, vitamin K to build bones, and folate and magnesium to protect against cardiovascular disease.

 

1 1/2    Tbsp canola or vegetable oil, divided
1 6 oz    bag baby spinach leaves
1           medium onion, sliced
1/4 tsp salt, divided
2           tsp minced fresh ginger root
8oz       boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips
3/4  c   reduced-sodium chicken broth
2          Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp  mirin or brown sugar
4          eggs, lightly beaten
2 c       cooked brown rice (regular or instant)

1. Place a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. 

2. Add 1 teaspoon oil plus spinach and cook until spinach wilts and turns dark green, about a minute. Remove spinach to plate. 

3. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to wok. Stir in onion and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in 8 teaspoon salt. Add ginger and cook for 45 seconds.  

4. Sprinkle chicken with remaining 8 teaspoon salt and add to wok with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil. Cook until chicken is opaque, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low.

5. In a small bowl, whisk together broth, soy sauce, and mirin; add to wok. Stir in spinach and cook until mixture begins to bubble gently. Pour eggs over top of chicken-spinach mixture; cover and cook until eggs set, 2 to 3 minutes.

6. To serve, spoon a half cup of rice into each of four deep soup bowls. Top with chicken-egg mixture.

fight gone bad, the aftermath

This past Saturday it was Fight Gone Bad. You’ll recall this is the event for which you all generously donated funds. FGB raises money for prostate cancer research and for the Wounded Soldier Project. Together all CrossFit affiliates and our supporters raised $540, 000! (last year the total raised was $280,000).

How hard can 18 minutes be? As it turns out very hard. The FGB workout consists of five exercises (rowing, wall ball, sumo deadlift high pull, box jumps, push press), performed for one minute each, with one-minute breaks given after all exercises have been completed. This grueling five-station rotation is repeated three times per person. FGB was conceived as a workout to prepare UFC fighters as it mimics the intensity and timing of a fight (3 rounds of 5 minutes of fight followed by 1 minute rest). Suffice to say it drains you completely and you end up on the floor trying to catch your breath and wipe your tears. Seriously.

Afterwards we had a great barbeque and didn’t leave the gym until 4pm (mainly because we couldn’t move…ha ha). After a month of not training at all, I felt it in every single fiber of my body and spent the remainder of the weekend icing various body parts. However, I wouldn’t trade the experience for any other and will be signing up for next year’s FGB.

For pictures of coad Dred and her colleagues cursing the high heavens enjoying the workout go to the Peninsula CrossFit’s web site and look for the 09.27.08 post. 

Thank you everyone who made this possible. You all rock!!!

Here’s the workout and the explanation:

love, hate, and LSD

Here I go again with the Long Slow Distance running. Despite my absolute despising of this running modality (no really, I didn’t watch one single endurance event during the Olympics telecasts, not even the 10K swimming so there you go) I still have a subscription to Runner’s World. Why on earth?

I just figured it out myself. Bear with my convoluted explanation. There are many articles that I do find very interesting and helpful. There are recipes that although a bit high on the unhealthy carbs side are yummy nonetheless…and listen after running bloody marathons I wouldn’t be trying to keep it Zone compliant, pass the ice cream gallon bloody now, so I can’t blame them so much for the “carbo-loading.” There are great reviews on apparel, gear, shoes, and all the rest. For the most part they offer pretty good tips on running technique. But mostly I subscribe for the inspiration. There I said it.

It’s like Suisen says: short distance is physical, long distance is mental. Through the reading of articles about running I think I have gathered that a lot of people get into running long distance, especially as adults, to overcome something (a disease, a bad marriage, a physical disability), to honor someone (a partner, someone who is no longer among the living), or to help others through raising funds or awareness for charity. That to me is pretty inspiring. It also makes me look at LSD runners with less contempt. Ha ha!

Taking a cue from Medals4Mettle I have decided to run the Nike half marathon in honor of someone whose life I appreciate and miss a lot: Smokey. So what if it will be more walking than running because of the myriad medical issues (confirmed today through another doctor, f**k). What matters is that I will remember Smokey with each step I take. After all his struggle on that fateful night was so much worse than any little pain or discomfort I may experience during the half. Running will be my way of saying: here’s what I did to recognize the pain you went through baby boy. The Tiffany necklace awarded at the end of the race will be put next to his ashes and the Buddha figurine that accompanies him in his sleep by candlelight (thanks Ria!). 

Countdown
From Runner’s World here’s an inspirational countdown that a pacer does during her group runs (entire article here). Use for the last six miles or segments of any race for any sport, event, illness, what-have-you:

Mile 6 – This is where we start taking the race one mile at a time. For each mile focus on something. For this one your focus is on the reason you are in this race. Is this a race qualifier, a dare from a friend, a personal best?

Mile 5 – For this next mile, I want you to focus on all the work that you have done to get here, and how it’s all paying off now

Mile 4 -For this mile let’s focus on the personal support system, on our families, friends, children, parents, pets…everyone who has helped you over the past few months. Give them a silent shout of thanks

Mile 3 – Almost there. We all have a personal hero, someone who has been through something so much harder than a marathon. let’s think about what they got through and use that strength

Mile 2 – Jut two miles left. Remember a time in your life when you demonstrated great strength in some other arena. Tap into that strength now. You are about to achieve something special

Mile 1 – Last mile! You are going to do it! Every step at this point is erasing that distance to the finish line. You have worked so hard and you are not going to lose it now!

bean, rice and turkey sausage

6 Servings – Per serving: 470 cal, 11g fat, 68g carbs, 25g protein

5 cups chicken stock
2 cups brown rice
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound smoked turkey sau-sage, cut into 1/2-inch coins
2 15-oz cans kidney beans
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
Ground black pepper to taste
Hot pepper sauce to taste

In a pot, bring stock and rice to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 40 minutes. Saut?eppers, onions, and garlic in oil until softened. Add sausage and saut?ntil brown. Add beans and one cup of bean liquid, diced tomatoes with juice, thyme, and bay leaf. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with pepper and hot sauce. Add rice to bean mixture. Stir to combine. Remove bay leaf. 

things to do

So this space is blank because I forget all the fabulous ideas we come up with during the Peet’s session. So it is your fault, you see? never mine…

Post ideas to the comments or send me an e-mail and I’ll create a nifty separate page.