Training Log Archive: barb

through Boston to the ocean, and back.

PR for a 5k race. (The only other one I ran was with Izzy & Rachael last year, and we clocked around 42 minutes.)
Mile splits: 9:02, 8:37, 8:37, then :42.
Got to the start/finish 18 minutes late, as the first runners were finishing, because Isabel couldn't find her soccer cleats as I was trying to get out the door. I eventually caught up with the walkers, and weaved through them, which was a lot more fun than just running.
My right knee hurt later in the day. So it's clear that running aggravates the knee, in contrast to biking - in the past week, I have biked 3 hours in a day without a problem. But when I went biking later in the day after running this race, it got to where I felt the knee twinge even when I wasn't using it to power the bike, just moving it along with the pedal.

Turning protein folding into a game.

C • Foldit 2

C • 5k... 2

to work, then to school to make sure that Renato and Geoff found each other in the packed Willy Wonka audience, then home past the grocery store where I picked up some cucumbers (for yogurt-cucumber soup), and salmon (but with hesitation as I know that buying some or all salmon is ecologically incorrect but never remember the rules), and a Cook's Illustrated (with a yummy poached salmon recipe that turned out really well).

Boston, Cambridge

Watched Primer. Brain hurts. Dave found a great timeline graphic for the movie.

Wednesday afternoon club: gardener Daniel worked with the girls to make paper with seeds embedded in it for Mother's Day. He also talked with them about transplanting the seedlings we started 3 weeks ago.

Last week he taught us how to make yogurt, which he likes to make from raw milk:

1. Put about 2Tbs starter into each clean quart jar
(starter is any plain yogurt with live cultures; for store-bought, I like Hawthorne Valley, but theoretically you only have to buy once, after that you just use a couple scoops of your previous batch of yogurt)
2. Heat up milk to boiling
(the hotter, and longer you heat it, the thicker the resulting yogurt in general--though if you want it as thick as store-bought yogurt, you need to add some dry milk powder or gelatin at the same time you throw in the starter).
3. Let milk cool to ~110F
(I don't measure, I just stick my finger in... if I can keep my finger in for 5-10 seconds without being burned, it is cool enough)
4. Pour milk into clean jar with starter, tighten lid and shake once or twice to mix
5. Incubate yogurt without disturbing for 6-10 hours
(the longer it sets, the sourer it gets; the temperature should ideally be 90-100F, sitting in an oven with the pilot light is perfect; the yogurt will be really runny, like 'drinking yogurt' if it gets disturbed much during setting, I think the protein structure that develops is really fragile)
6. Put in fridge to halt fermentation, you can add any flavoring if you like at this point.

He also makes his own biodegradable laundry detergent:

1 oz glycerin soap, grated
0.5 cup borax
0.25 cup washing soda
2 gal water

heat soap in some water (~4 cups) until it melts without boiling.
fill bucket with hot water from tap, mix in soapy water well.
stir in washing soda until dissolved.
add borax and stir until dissolved.
optional: add a few drops (~5-10) of essential oil or a 2-3 Tbs Dr. Bronners liquid soap for a flavor sensation.
let sit. use about 0.25-0.5 cups per load...

C • yogurt 5

Early morning ride through Somerville, Medford, Melrose, and Stoneham to Wakefield and back. Perfect day - 45F when I started and sunny and lovely for the return trip. People were friendly.

DNFed on a sprint.
Bit of a low point, really.
Later, had to deal with an emotional phone call about kid visitation. May end up needing to pull out of the one pre-Estonia rogaine I'd arranged to do. That's OK - rogaines are hard.
Feeling quite fat and generally lame.

Watched the movie "The Squid and the Whale" which I was afraid would be hard to take but wasn't, and was particularly a propos after the evening's conversation.

Looking into camping for the Team Trials; found that one convenient campground is clothing optional. The kids will *not* be into that.

C • Hickory Run 4

Blue course. Took it very slowly. No ankle twists. Drank lots of water and so had about half a dozen pit stops. Very much enjoyed this course. Tried to go fairly straight for the most part, since I was going so slowly.

Isabel was very reluctant to run a course because she feels very out of practice. But she did white F12 on day 2 and did fine - came in 2nd in her age group I think although for some reason her result is not listed on the website. I found it amusing when we were discussing her big error that she was so disappointed about, and it cost her all of 2 minutes.