Marathoning

Well, I finished my 5th marathon last Sunday in Maine. The Sugarolaf Marathon is a point-to-point race on a beautiful course. There was a tailwind and a lot of downhill, but I did not PR. I finished it in 4 hours, 18 minutes and 35 seconds, my 2nd best time. My knee, injured a few months ago when I was running and tripped over my dog, Rosie, started hurting in the second mile. I was afraid that would happen. It made the race less than pleasant. For the first half, I wasn't sure I could finish. Once I decided I would, it was hard not to focus on the pain and just enjoy the race. But oh well, I did finish.

Two years ago I ran my best time at the Vermont City Marathon. I've tried to recapture the thrill of that race twice now, to no avail. After that marathon, we drove home from Burlington, stopping at Marty's First Stop in Danville for something to eat. I got a bowl of clam chowder and there was never a more perfect post-marathon recovery snack. Salt, carbs, protein and fat in a styrofoam cup. Yum. (Everyone stops at Marty's when traveling route 2 through the Kingdom and locals know that Marty's has great soup, sandwiches, and anything else you could possibly want.) Then we got home and the party got rolling. I drank wine and danced and smiled and ate some more of whatever my mom cooked for me (crabcakes, I think). In contrast, after this race, I couldn't walk and was sick to my stomach. There was certainly no dancing. After a while I was able to eat some of the chowder my momma made at my request (better than Marty's) and have some wine in a somewhat forced act of celebration. But I didn't feel well for several days. A fellow marathoner pointed out that running injured takes a bigger toll on the body, which might explain my extended GI troubles and general malaise. In any case, it was disappointing race.

Funny, because despite all this, when my step-father asked me, right after the race, if I thought I would run another marathon, my first instinct wasn't "no way!" Which makes me think that the chances are good that I will run another 26.2. I think I'll still want to chase the joy of a successful, feel-good race, the hope of a PR and maybe even the unrealistic dream of a BQ. But tonight I enjoyed a laid-back mountain bike ride with Patrick. And Harper has promised to take me on her favorite trail and give me some lessons at the pump track. But someday, and probably soon, I'll need to run.

Family Vacation

Ah, we've returned from a wonderful vacation in Arizona (though, a quick aside to say "shame on you and your recent racist legislation AZ"...eerie to learn about that disgrace on the radio while actually IN the state...). Anyway, it is difficult to summarize the terrific week we spent there together, but here are some pictures with a few annotations. Tip: Some of these scenery shots look way better if you click on them and make them full screen.

We stayed in Sedona, where the scenery is well represented by this picture:

It just looks like that every which way you turn! And there are so many wonderful trails for running, hiking and biking that you could spend months there and not traverse them all! Sedona is in a beautiful place, but the town itself, well...it is sprawling and full of new agers and gift shops. Not so much my cup of tea as a city or town, but well located to access hundreds of beautiful trails and a great place to be in the midst of so much natural, expansive beauty.

We participated in a home exchange and this was what it looked like from our back deck:
And you could walk through the back yard and less than a quarter mile down the road and come to amazing trails for runs, post-dinner walks, etc! That was wonderful. The house itself was perfect for us with plenty of room and very pretty but comfortable and everything you need to cook, rest and play.

One of the great things about being on vacation all together and without the distractions of home was that Harper and Patrick played together, just like in the old days! Mostly it involved rough-housing and wrestling or Harper convincing Pat to dress up in some ridiculous get-up. It was so nice to see them being good siblings.

We loved visiting the ruins of the Sinagua. Patrick got really into learning about the people and culture and reading all the interpretation. This is not like Pat of years past who would literally race through museums and other sites with the rest of us pleading with him to slow down and wait. Quite a welcome change.
We all got to do things we love to do. Neil rented a road bike and rode over a mountain.

Patrick was totally enthusiastic about everything we did; he loves hiking, visiting museums and exploring back yards. He was particularly pleased that we indulged his dream of dining at the Red Planet Diner. At the end of our meal I really blew his mind by buying him a t-shirt with cool graphics and the words "Earthlings Welcome" on the back!
Grandpa David got to push his physical limits and do some pretty hefty hiking and was (mostly) not rushed in the mornings.


Harper went mountain biking with her dad. Here they are, after their ride, at the awesome bike rental shop, Bike and Bean. The Australian guy with the dreadlocks makes a mean cappuccino and they know what they're doing when it comes to bikes and trail recs, too.

And I got to run on trails right HERE! This is Thunder Rock...

This picture of Patrick cracks me up.
Our day at the Grand Canyon was perfect. My Lonely Planet guidebook told us about Shoshone Point, a short walk down a narrow access road to an area where we had the vistas all to ourselves. Of course, I had warned the children about not getting too close to the edge and not fooling around, etc. Patrick took it too much to heart and for a while we had trouble getting him to come anywhere near the views. Here he is, worrying:
Later on, at the Grand View trail, he scared us by scampering down and up these narrow little paths. Go figure...:

This is me at Shoshone Point. It really felt wonderful and overwhelming (in a good way) to be here. Click on it to see the vastness...

Neil and Harper doing their thing that they do:

And a group shot:

Another hike...

Loads of beautiful wild and cactus flowers...



And one of the best parts of the whole trip....Neil is no longer afraid to fly! How awesome is that?! He just "got over it!" Look, here he is, smiling....ON AN AIRPLANE!!! This thrills me and opens up a whole new world of possibilities!


And look at that smile on my sweet boy, too! Who, by the way, was a wonderful traveler, also in contrast to years past where he was always disconcerted and out of sorts when away from home. What a joyful change!

Finally, what really impressed me about this trip were the ways in which all of us, including the kids, made compromises, gave each other space and support and generally worked together so that everyone could relax, have a good time and enjoy being together. Pretty impressive for 3 generations and 5 personalities. I'm appreciative of that and grateful. I love my family.

How We Love

Today is Patrick's 11th birthday. I have a Beatles song for each of my kids. I sang those songs to them almost every night when they were little. Now I sing it to them when they let me. Tonight Pat let me sing him his. Here it is. It's for Patrick, the boy I might not have mothered; for whom I feel so grateful.

Bag Balm Rules

For reasons I won't go into (but will gladly share with anyone who asks, or even people who don't as Kayla's friend, whom I just barely met, can attest) I experienced some serious chafing about 11 miles into my 20 mile run today. There was blood. I have never chafed to the point of blood before. I carry my cell phone with me on long runs in case of emergencies and this, my friends, was an emergency. I called the captain of my support team, almost in tears, and he drove out and met me with the bag balm. Those of you from Vermont know the amazing properties of this substance made to treat cow udders. It is a miracle cure. By the time I got home (after completing the 20 miles), the spot that had been bleeding was almost completely healed! Thank you bag balm, thank you so much.

In other news, today was the annual Pond Skimming in our town. It was lots of fun to watch and hot and sunny. April 3rd and we have temperatures in the 80s in northern Vermont! Unbelievable. And all of us at the pond skimming now have sun burns! Here are a couple of video clips of Big Bird and the Pope, two of our favorite characters, on their final runs.

Food is Good

As my regular readers know, I am training for a marathon in May. Today I ran 17 miles and it was pretty hard. It was hard because I couldn't eat enough before or during the run. I've been having some GI trouble on my longer runs. Luckily, today, I passed my dad's house at mile seven and was able to make a pit stop and use his facilities. (Dad lives just 2.5 miles away, but I did a five mile loop with Rosie before dropping her off at my house and continuing on, making Dad's Rest Area pop up at mile 7, exactly when I needed it. Phew).

In any case, I made it through my planned 17 miles at a decent pace and after a bath and some stretching, I was ready to eat. And all I could think about was cheesy popovers!* So I made some and ate them with Gram's Blueberry Jam and my friend Jen's homegrown, homemade pickled garlic. Boy was that a perfect lunch!

* I didn't use gruyere, but some leftover french cheese I had bought in Montreal. It had a firm texture and was fairly mild. I can't remember what it was called. It worked beautifully.

Montreal Resto Reviews

In keeping with my "I only post when I'm pretty psyched about something" theme, I will write about my recent dining experiences.

Last Wednesday I went to Au Pied de Cochon, the restaurant of the famous and somewhat wacky Martin Picard, with Neil's childhood friend (and all-around-good-guy) Bill. Bill is a chef and had wanted to go to APDC for some time. I'd been once and wanted to go back. We started with the foie gras cromesquis, aka a foie gras explosion. The waiter instructed us precisely how to eat it and while it did catch Bill a little by surprise, we agreed that it was amazing. I'm hoping he'll figure out how to make it and we'll have it again. Next we had the crispy PDC salad, which sounds kind of gross (it involves pig knuckles and cartilage), but is actually wonderful (trust me) and the Guinea Hen Liver Mousse, served with a of pickled onion and a chutney. Totally delicious, even though I'm pretty sure guinea hen is kind of like a pigeon. For a main course I had the Foie Gras Poutine, which I will dream about until I have it again. It was just out of this world. Bill had the famous Duck in a Can, which included duck meat and foie and was served on a bed of celeriac. I just had one or two bites as I was totally focused on my poutine, but he seemed to be happy with it. Bill chose the wine. It was red and good, but I don't recall what it was. Sadly, we had no room for dessert and were grateful for the walk home.

Here we are at the end of the meal. My restaurant pictures are blurry because I don't like to use the flash.

AU PIED DE COCHON
536 avenue Duluth Est
(514) 281-1114

The next morning Neil and the kids arrived and Thursday night we all went to Tapeo, a tapas place near Little Italy. We tried 13 different plates (including dessert) and wouldn't decline to order any of them again. Our favorites were the Fideo, Octopus Salad and Calmars Frites. The best dessert involved homemade crullers to dip in a chocolate sauce that was so sublime it could be eaten straight up (yes, when the crullers where gone I did this...and my companions were very sweet not to shame or tease me for this indiscretion).

Here is Pat right before he taught Bill about Hazzlers. Hazzlers are the tough spot on a shrimp or scallop and Patrick coined this phrase, which Bill will now be introducing to his foodie friends, making sure they are removed before serving.

TAPEO
511 Rue Villeray
(514) 495-1999

After a long run Friday morning, I wanted some Portugese Chicken! So I limped over to Romados, waited patiently in the line and was rewarded with succulent rotisserie chicken, outstanding fries and a nice big salad, which I brought home and shared with my most appreciative family. This is one of my favorite meals and I've sampled similar menus from several of the Portugese take out places in the neighborhood and I really think this is the best. It is a short walk from the apartment.

ROMADOS
115 Rue Rachel Est
(514) 849-1803

On Saturday night we went, with the Cragins, to Moti Mehal. This was the best Indian (Pakistani/Indian, really) food any of us had ever had. I had the Mutton Balti (was that lemon rind? sweetened? So good!), which I thought was outstanding, though we all shared and it was all outstanding. The Paneer Nan was something dreams are made of. A highlight of the whole experience was when, shortly after we started eating, my 12 year old friend Baxter exclaimed, "This is incredible!" Indeed, it was incredible. It seems as though every spice can be tasted separately but also creates a harmony of flavor. Not only that, but we all feasted, with leftovers and lassis for the kids, for less than $20 per person, including a good tip. The place is halal so they don't serve alcohol, but they allow you to bring your own beer or wine. Here's Harper loving every minute of it (well, not beer or wine, but the food). Don't miss the cucumber salad!

MOTI MEHAL
1024 Jean-Talon W.
(514) 315–8801

Graceful

Last night at the Riverside School Auction (such a fun time!) at least two people commented to me on Harper's skiing ability and used the word "graceful" to describe her. These were people I don't know all that well who have seen Harper at the mountain. I took this video about a month ago on a day we skied together, but the problem is, my skiing ability is quite limited compared to hers so I can only shoot video of her on the easier trails. Maybe I can get her friend Keara to take a clip on one of the black diamonds they ski together. Anyway, I'm pretty proud of my graceful girl.