Sunday, July 21, 2013

Not quite Two Years Ago...And I am thinking One Year from Now...NYC Triathlon...

It occurs to me that I am out of shape..And that two years ago I was in the best shape of my life. My little band of partners (a.k.a. Paul's Posse) just finished the NYC Tri last weekend and I found myself wishing I had run it!

So this week, I've done some jogging. Today I just rode 8 miles and I SUFFERED through them. To do the NYC Tri, I need to swim about a mile, bike about 24 miles and then run 10k.

Sounds daunting. But Hey. I need a project.

Here's my post about the 2011 NYC Triathlon--and a link to Paul's Posse

Catching up...I did it (two-plus months ago, that is...)
















Poor little Babette Feasts blog. I tell you, I have not been feasting much lately. August and September were an absolute whirlwind of travel, starting with the NYC Triathlon.

That was SO much fun. And exhausting. Here's the thing. The swim? Fine, no big deal (although choppy...I worried about people without experience, then found out my cousin Amy finished faster than I did. And that is my strong event. Her weak one. I guess I really am old....but that's okay, because guess what? I did the NYC Triathlon!)...I did the barefoot run by grabbing the swim shoes I'd stashed under a bench right by the swim exit...then I stopped and used a bench to sit down and get out of my wetsuit...then I toweled off, put on bike shorts and headed out...my transition time for swim to bike was something awesome like 15 minutes.

What? It's not like I was angling for a medal!!

Anyway, then came the bike ride. Now mind you, I had really worked myself up into a state about the bike ride. They were predicting rain and all I could think of was how very bare the tires on the road bike are. Skid city is really what I was thinking. But what really happens is that you get on ...and you RIDE. You don't think you are going to fall, you just RIDE. You avoid people and you RIDE. You are very glad you are wearing the sunglasses, even though it is too dark, because wet roads kick up sprays of water right into your face and you RIDE. Then it starts pouring rain and you still RIDE. You ignore the fact that your sister, after she dropped you off for the event the day before, took note of the turnaround point and thought.."Far." You hit the turnaround point. The rain stops and the headwinds pick up...

Oh, man, I was so tired at the end of that ride. I do hilly-er hills in Charlotte, but these were loooooong, slooooowwww climbs and they took a toll.

But I got into the transition and I changed socks (so smart, to have read that it's a good idea to have some dry socks on hand), said hey to Sam as I exited the transition area (he was waiting for his relay team member to send him on his way) and promptly DIED.

Duh. uh. IED.

You start up a steep hill and I walked. You get to 72nd Street and I walked. I tried to jog and happily, I was actually jogging when I passed my little band of cheerleaders (Pat, Sushil, Simone, Gary, Julien +1, Gabby)...and then I had to walk again. All I could think was I have 6 miles to go. I was my own worst enemy. All the positive reinforcement thoughts went out the window.


I made it to each mile marker by running to the next tree down the way. Then walking. Then running to that lamppost I could see. Then walking...Then running to that big rock. It had been cool (ish) and raining during the bike ride. Now the sun came out and it was like running in a steam room and the temperature just seemed to rocket up to 90.

That is some hilly park, Central Park. Finally, around mile 4.5 Sam caught up with me. I was really feeling all kinds of crap so I said hey and see you at the finish. Sam kept running (again, when he caught up to me, I was, surprisingly, jogging)...then turned around thinking I was right behind him only to see me walking.

He waited. When I caught up to him, Sam made me start jogging and didn't let me quit. He kept me going by saying, "Come on, let's pass these two.." Then he would set his sights on the next runner or two and we'd pass them.

It was hard, but I was so touched. We crossed the finish line together and I cherish that moment.

but I gotta say, I felt awful. I wanted to cry. The volunteer who met me at the finish line asked me how I felt and must not have believed me, because he asked me my name...Truth? I should have told him I felt like crap and taken all the help he had to offer.

Scenes from the day:

Waiting in line for bus to the starting transition zone...where you then had to walk a mile to get to swim start. Yes, I was almost late...

Sam around 4:30 a.m. while waiting for the bus.

I actually stopped on the "run" to take a shot. Stupid to carry the camera at all.


Look, that's me saying hi..and trying to look like I'm having fun.

Me, Sam, Gabby, Gary
Still, I am glad so very glad I did this. The feeling of accomplishment in this cannot be matched by other things I do, mostly because this is so far out of my own comfort zone. To all of you who supported my efforts, you are so appreciated.

You MUST check out Amy's highlights, one of which was Amy, her sister Jill and me riding our way from hotel to transition zone through the streets of NYC. AWESOME. (I didn't make any of the photos because I felt like such ...yuck.)

Friday, July 19, 2013

What are YOU eating?

heat of summer....salad, salad and more salad...Ground lamb kebabs and a big salad just the way I like it: lettuce, onion, almonds, raisins, my homemade dressing and blue cheese.

That's enough...but...NO PHOTO. I totally need an iPhone so I can take photos ALL THE TIME.

What are you eating in this heat???

And this: if it can be grilled? I grill it. No more heat in the house.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Fourth of July: Lemonade


So I love going to fairs--state fairs, county fairs, town fairs, you name it. Not for all that fried food on a stick but for the lemonades...You know the stuff. The squeeze a fresh-cut lemon into a cup, add sugar and water and shake it up then hand it over.

True story. When we moved into our oh-so-lovely house in Louisville, KY oh-so-long ago (wish I'd never left!), one day the boys wanted a lemonade stand. Well, to be honest, I didn't really HAVE lemonade mix. What I DID have was lemons, water, ice and sugar. So I showed the boys how to make lemonade and set them up with a stand to make the real deal.

Well, the little girls next door came over for some lemonade and one of them took her cup back to her dad, saying--It's not even YELLOW. Well, the dad heard that and practically ran out to buy himself a cup of real lemonade, noting he hadn't had real lemonade in...forever. (Okay, years not forever. But you get my drift.)

Nothing compares to real food. Real drink. Real anything. So today, make yourself some real lemonade. Really almost as easy as adding fake powder to water.

Today, I decided my Fourth of July needed REAL lemonade.

1 quart water
2 lemons
Simple syrup: 1/2 cup sugar to 1/2 cup water, heat until sugar melts and let cool...

Roll lemons on counter to soften and make easier to juice. Cut in half. Use fork to extract all juice from each half, straining through fine mesh strainer.
Add lemon juice to water. Add simple syrup to taste. Stir. Pour over ice.

Now drink real lemonade.