The Epicurious Runner

New York City may be over crowded, dirty and filled with millions of cars and even more people, but every once in a while the city gives back to the people and I must say this is one of the coolest things I’ve yet to experience here.

I ran the route, down and back and racked up a total of 11 miles. It was a beautiful day out with perfect weather, I couldn’t have asked for more! I was supposed to meet up with my friends at 8am, but I got out of work really late on Friday night and there was no way I would’ve been able to get up that early. I ended up getting there around 10:15.

I finally feel my speed coming back. Every week my long run pace is coming down significantly.

• Distance: 11 Miles
• Duration: 1:50:11
• Pace: 10:01

Splits:

1. 10:12
2. 9:44
3. 9:29
4. 10:01
5. 9:32
6. 10:35
7. 9:50
8. 9:14
9. 10:42
10. 10:01
11. 10:45

I had to stop a lot on my turnaround trip, there were a few intersections that were still open, so when the light changed they had people standing there with stop and go signs and I managed to hit a lot of stops on the way back. Either way, I am very happy with my run because I felt great the whole time! I feel like this is my first run since being back where I felt like myself. I’m really looking forward to the Bronx Half Marathon next week.

After my run, I had plans to meet up with Derek and Dave at Shake Shack. I was a little late, but they sat and had a beer while they waited at a nearby bar. Shake Shack was amazing of course. I made sure not to eat too much, because I didn’t want to feel overly full the rest of the day. I got a double Shack Burger and a Concrete. My concrete was full of calories, but I didn’t care, it was worth the splurge. It was called: Jelly’s Last Donut and it had donuts, cinnamon, raspberry jam swirls inside of vanilla frozen custard. Mmm, it was so good.

I swear, every summer I go through a phase where all I am craving are fish tacos. They are so good! I haven’t had a lot of different kinds, but the ones from Margaritas stick out to me and are really good, considering they’re fried. I prefer the fish to be grilled or baked. I woke up on Sunday morning and read a few blogs before I stumbled upon this post from Eat, Live, Run. That was it, I couldn’t get them off my mind! I had a pretty chill weekend and didn’t have too many responsibilities so I decided that my one and only goal for Sunday would be to finally make my very own fish tacos.

I have a very specific way fish tacos should be made, so I searched and searched and searched before I found the right recipe. It happened to be Mr. Bobby Flay’s recipe, which made me happy and even more confident that these suckers would come out phenomenal.

I made my list and went to the grocery store to buy every last ingredient that was needed. The recipe is pretty simple, but it takes A LOT of prep time. I was dicing and chopping for over an hour, but in the end it was all worth it.

*Note: I used tilapia, instead of mahi mahi, which is what the recipe called for. You can basically use any type of good white fish. This recipe came from FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients

• 4 (8-ounce) mahi mahi fillets
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Citrus Vinaigrette, recipe follows
• 8 (6-inch) flour tortillas, cut into 2 1/2 to 3-inch circles, and deep fried
• Red Cabbage Slaw, recipe follows
• Tomato and Avocado Salsa, recipe follows

Directions

Citrus Vinaigrette:

• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 heaping tablespoon honey
• 1/2 cup canola oil

Red Cabbage Slaw:

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/4 head red cabbage, finely shredded
• 1 large carrot, cut into fine julienne
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• Salt and pepper

Tomato and Avocado Salsa:

• 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 2 ripe Hass avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 serrano chile, finely diced
• 1 to 2 limes, juiced
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 to 2 teaspoons honey
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For some reason, 10 miles is my favorite distance to run. It’s a pretty long run, but it’s doable, I just love being able to say I ran 10 miles today, what did you do? haha, just kidding. Anyway, I woke up later than I had planned, which is usually what happens because I am not on that early morning schedule anymore. I went to bed around 11:30 last night, but probably didn’t actually fall asleep until closer to 1.

I woke up around 8:30 and decided that I would go to Central Park to do my run, I just wasn’t looking forward to running 10 miles in Astoria, where I would have to stop frequently and would have to wind up and down roads just to get my mileage up.

The weather wasn’t too bad today. It was probably 74 or 75 out, but the sun was shining strong. I was faster this week in my long run because I haven’t been wearing those arch supports that I bought. They made my feet feel like bricks when I wore them last weekend on my 9 mile run.

Though, I wasn’t very fast either.

Unfortunately that is what happens after you don’t run for 5 weeks and it is the middle of the summer. I’m sure time will heal my slowness and until then I will keep on trekking on.

Here are my splits and stats:

• Distance: 10 Miles
• Duration: 1 hr. 42 min. 45 sec.
• Pace: 10:16

1. 10:46
2. 10:02
3. 9:40
4. 10:34
5. 10:07
6. 10:22
7. 10:05
8. 10:07
9. 10:35
10. 10:22

After I got home, I stretched A LOT! Then I ate this delicious egg sandwich with tabasco sauce.

I was very happy to oblige when my brother in-law suggested we go out to a Korean restaurant. I had yet to eat Korean food and I had been dying to try it. Okay so technically i twas Japanese and Korean, but I was excited because my sister, Kerri and her husband, Scott said this place was awesome and they didn’t mind going two weekends in a row.

We arrived at Shira Kiku on a Saturday night a little after 8 o’clock. I believe we had the same waitress as they did the previous weekend. She was extremely outgoing and friendly and made us feel very welcome! It was nice to have such an involved waitress who seemed to actually care that we enjoyed our time there and our meal.

After studying the menu for several minutes, we decided on some sushi for an appetizer and we were finally ready to place our orders for our entrees.

I, of course ordered a drink to go with my meal, since I just spent hours and hours traveling that day. I got a Hawaiian Mai Tai and it was so perfectly made! Mmm, I would go back just for that drink.

Miso Soup came with our meal, which is Japanese and it was the first time I had ever tried it. It was so good and light, I loved it! I drank every last bit.

My sister and I both ordered the same meal;

STONEPOT BIBIMBOP, Bibimbop in hot stone pot. This

was listed under the Korean Specials and it seemed like the perfect thing to get.

This comes with a barely cooked egg on top, you can barely see it underneath there, but apparently when they have time and aren’t busy, they will crack the egg fresh at your table. They then come around and stir your pot up, which allows the egg to cook completely and it becomes mixed in with the rest of the pot.

I can’t remember exactly what Scott ordered, but it was definitely one of the hottest things on the menu. I tried a bite and it was delicious, just like the rest of our food.

I was happy that my pot was filled with lots of vegetables! It also came with a sauce to pour over it and I ended up using the whole thing, it was definitely necessary. The Bibimbop had kind of a light flavor to it, it wasn’t super saucy or overwhelming with any one flavor. It tasted fresh and healthy, but it was also very filling. I feel like I barely made a dent by the time I called it quits. It was so good that I made sure to pack it up and bring the rest of it back to NYC in a cooler with an ice pack. I definitely wanted these leftovers!

I can’t wait to go back to NH so I can bring Derek here, he missed out on this awesome meal. I am also proud to say I ate my whole meal with chopsticks, Ha!

I set out this morning, not only on my first long run for the marathon, but my first long run in over 6 weeks! I knew it was going to be tough, but I certainly didn’t think it would be the slowest run of my life. Okay that sounds dramatic, but it was a really tough run and I ran really slow comparatively. I’m not focusing on speed, at all, endurance is key this time around.

Let’s start from the beginning though. The woman I went to see that fixed my foot suggested I get some shoe inserts to support my arch. She suggested the Spenco brand, so that’s what I ordered. I ordered these last week and they came three days later! I was excited to try them out because they got really good reviews. I also got them for a great price thru Amazon.com

Let’s just call this my official review for these Spenco Orthotic Arch Supports. These are the 3/4 length and as soon as I put them in my shoes, I knew I should’ve ordered the full length. They obviously don’t go to the top of the shoe and if I only have these inserts in there and I take out the insert that comes with my shoe, I can feel the edge of this insert underneath my toes and it drives me crazy! So, what I did was take out my shoe insert, put the Spenco supports in and then put the shoe insert back in over these, so that I would not have to feel that gap. My feet were a lot higher than normal, which didn’t seem so bad, but they were also a lot wider. I have narrow feet, so it was odd to have my sneakers look really wide and to have really short shoe laces.

I tried these out for the first time today on my 9 mile run. Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have used them on such a long run to break them in, but I don’t know how they work. Shouldn’t they automatically be comfortable or do they need to be broken in like shoes? Anyway, they felt all right in the beginning, but as the run went on, my feet felt heavier and heavier. Seriously, the last 2 miles, I might as well have been wearing bricks on my feet, they felt so incredibly heavy and terrible!

I honestly think these played a big part in why I ran so slow today. I didn’t think I was going to run very fast today, but I know myself and my running to know what I can and can’t achieve. I’ve never had a run like this and most importantly, my feet have never felt like that and I did not like it.

• Distance: 9 Miles
• Duration: 96:10
• Pace: 10:42
• Calories Burned: 908

Splits

1. 10:16
2. 9:39
3. 10:20
4. 11:08
5. 10:51
6. 10:53
7. 10:56
8. 10:58
9. 11:07

I’m not embarrassed to run slow, but this just didn’t feel or seem right to me. I’m not convinced I need arch support. I never thought I had high arches, until a few weeks ago. Granted, I haven’t been running 10 years, but I have been running 2 years without any major problems. All I know is that this was a tough run where I had to walk a lot! It was warm out and the sun was shining, but again it wasn’t that HOT comparatively, it was actually kind of nice and breezy. I’m not sure if I’m going to wear these inserts again, they add way too much weight to my shoe and if for some reason I do need arch support, I may as well find a whole new shoe that can support me in that way.

This was kind of a test run for me, but unfortunately I didn’t learn what I wanted from it. I wanted to test my body to know what it can still handle and at one pace. I never doubted myself being able to handle the 9 miles, but I didn’t see this coming. I guess I will have to wait and see what a real run will feel like without any inserts on my 10 miler next weekend. Sure, I will be doing shorter distances during the week, but like I said I need the longer runs to really test myself.

I’ve been getting really antsy about doing some actual wedding planning. But, honestly I’m not sure how we are going to swing it right now. We want to get married September 2011, but I don’t see how we will be able to afford it by then. Who knows, that is still our potential date and I cannot wait to start wedding dress shopping. I’ve been looking all over the internet and I wanted to share some of my favorites. Obviously I have no idea what dress I will be getting, but these are just ones that I really like and keep going back to. I want something simple, but elegant.

I was originally against a strapless dress because I don’t really have ‘much’ to hold it up, but there are so many beautiful strapless dresses out there I don’t want to kick them out of the running until I try some on.

Image Source

Image Source

Image Source

Much to my dismay, I cannot seem to obtain the actual picture of the other two dresses. They won’t let me save it, copy it or anything, so I will just have to simply share the links.

Caleigha – by Maggie Sottero

Hilary – by Maggie Sottero

What do you think?

Greetings, readers! My name is Dave Conte, and I’ve been invited to share the details of a recent dinner by my good friend Steph, resident foodie and marathon runner extraordinaire. I hope you enjoy this entry as much as I enjoyed the dinner I’m writing about.

Monday was my birthday, and it was a big one. The big two-five. A quarter-century. Finally, after all these years I can rent a car at a moderately respectable price. Finally, I can… Well, that’s it, I guess. Only thing left to look forward to is death after a hopefully long and fulfilling life.

It was a pretty lousy day, honestly. I had a raging sore throat all day, which bummed me out because my girlfriend and I had some big plans to celebrate. Dinner, movie, and ice cream. The usual date night for us, but a little more upscale this time.

Well, we skipped the movie, but we did the dinner, because this is a dinner I’ve been looking forward to for years now. If there was ever anything I could check off of a bucket list, it would be this, and I wasn’t going to let a sore throat stand between me and this life-long goal of mine:

Eating a Kobe Steak.

My friends, let me tell you: It was perfect. Not just the steak, but the whole meal was otherworldly. Easily the best meal I’ve ever had, and it was fairly well-priced given the cost of the steak.

Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse on 35th and 9th was the place. When we arrived we were instantly enamored with the decor and beautiful atmosphere. The sophistication of this place was through the roof. The waitstaff was incredibly friendly and informative. It was truly a pleasure to be served by these people.

We started out with a lovely basket of assorted breads. The thin crackers were exceptionally good, along with the bread that was seasoned with a little bit of dill. A divine way to begin the meal.

After about 20 minutes, the steaks finally came along with our wine. They have an ENORMOUS selection of wine, by the way, and I wish I wrote down what we ordered, but alas I forgot. Anyway, the steaks! I got the 16oz Kobe Steak, my girlfriend got a 12oz NY Strip, both cooked medium, and we split a side of garlic mashed and asparagus. Heaven. Pure heaven.
My girlfriend’s steak and the sides:

And here’s the Kobe Steak:

Words can’t describe this thing. All I can say is that it’s perfect. The texture, the flavor, the consistency, everything. Everything you could ever want in a steak is right here. It was utterly spellbinding and nothing, not one thing could have made it better. If you’re like me and you’re a big steak person, having a Kobe steak at some point in your life should be a requirement, not a desire. You will never have anything quite like it. I wish I could be more descriptive but when it comes to perfection, how can you be?

And the sides? Also perfect. The mashed potatoes carried with them a subtle hint of garlic underneath the rich, fluffy texture of the potatoes. Resting atop the mashed potatoes was a single baked potato chip which tied the whole thing together. The asparagus was sauteed to perfection and cooked to the exact right texture.

The meal ended with a complimentary birthday souffle that I unfortunately tore into before snapping a picture of it:

Chocolate souffle with whipped cream, blueberries, a strawberry, and caramel sauce on the side. The waiter shook my hand and congratulated me for making it to 25. It was the perfect end to a perfect night.

*Note: This is a little late, as in 2 1/2 months late, sorry Dave!

Mmm, don’t those look good, these are Spicy Curry Mussels that are my absolute favorite. I have been waiting and dreaming about these mussels since the last time we had them. From the menu: Spicy Curry Style with curry, coconut milk, lemongrass and a touch of spicy chili sauce.

After getting back from the lake last Saturday morning, we headed back to my sister’s condo to chill out for a while before we headed up to the Portsmouth Brewery. Derek and I have been dying to go to the Portsmouth Brewery for some time now, we have not been there since over a year ago. Not only do they have their own delicious beer that they brew in house, but they have amazing food to pair all the beer with.

So, my car is still not fixed! I got it back from the shop in CT and there are now 2 more problems with it. So, last week the boyfriend and I took a bus trip home instead of driving. We left early on Thursday Morning and ended up getting to the lake around 3pm. I wished we had more time there because it was so nice, but I was definitely glad to have a nice little vacation for a couple of days.

We went tubing, I got a tan, and I ate A LOT! But, what else is new right? I also, as previously stated, ran my first pain free run! I also got to run with my sister, which was awesome! I’m so happy my sister is getting into running and she is loving it! She is doing the C25K program and is doing awesome! She is signed up for the Cigna 5K Race in August and I’m sure she is going to kick ass.

This was up until Saturday morning, I will have to recap the rest of the weekend in another post. But, yes I brought Magnolia cupcakes up for everyone and they got devoured fast! Also, check out this ridiculous painting that was hanging in our cottage, haha.

I tried to do as much swimming as I could. I definitely think I got some good exercise in and it was nice to actually swim in a lake and not a pool.

Does your family re-visit vacation spots? Where do you go yearly?