Philly Half

Somehow running the Philadelphia Half Marathon in September has become a yearly tradition in our family.  It has dwindled a bit each year, and I think this may be the last year that we do it, mainly because of the cost.  The first year William, John, Anna, Dad, Rachel, and I all ran.  The second year Anna, John Aunt Beth, Dad, and I ran.  The next year Anna, Dad, and Aunt Beth ran.  This year, Anna, Tim, and I ran.  Cheerleader, Mom, and Organizer/Motivator, Anna, have been the only constants at every race.  As you see, we are slowly putting this torturous, and yet somehow fun, tradition to rest.  Although, I'm sure Anna will see to it that it lives on.

The race is always on a Sunday and the day before is the expo were you pick up your race number and timer.  It is quite an event with tons of vendors.  Tim and I had our feet, ankle, knee alignments measured with the help of a laser.  Of course we both "needed" the expensive inserts the company was selling ... maybe another time.  We were in line to run on a treadmill and have our video-taped foot-strike analyzed, but out parking meter was about to expire.  We did get a few free samples, but mainly the expo gets you excited for the run the next day.

The actual race is a lot of fun.  I'm always glad that I did it, as much as I grumble about it during the months of training beforehand.  It's unbelievable to me that tens of thousands of people sign up for this race.  We started in corral 16 and it took about 25 minutes for us to reach the starting line after the gun went off!  The course is beautiful.  The run begins through old city, continues up Kelly Drive, and then finishes down MLK with the finish line in front of the art museum. 

While this was not my best time ever, I was thrilled to finish as strongly as I did, considering my lack of consistent training.  Something crazy happens to me at the end of each race.  I suddenly believe that I love running.  I think, "How could I have ever not wanted to go on a training run?"  The result is, then, at my sister's encouraging, I sign up for another race.  A much longer race.  A marathon.  I decided to run my first marathon right after my first half marathon.  Now, for some reason, I agreed to run another marathon.  I'm not sure this one will actually happen, though.  I haven't quite fully forgotten the pure torture of running miles 20 through 26, and I'm less well trained than last time I agreed to do it.  I haven't officially signed up yet, so, we'll see.

Update:  From the time of initial writing to publication, I have decided against running the full marathon.  I need a much better training base than what I had.   I'll run another one some time, it just wasn't to be this time.

Governors Island

Governors Island used to be a residential community for the Coast Guard as well as a base of operations from the mid-1960s through 1995.  The buildings are still there, empty and in most cases locked up.  So, it is a sort-of a ghost town that doubles as a park.  The high-ranking officer's houses are beautiful to walk through.  Some are used to display artwork.

View of Manhattan from the Ferry

You can only access it by taking the Governors Island Ferry.  The ferry is free and the building is beautiful, a sharp contrast to the Staten Island Ferry building that sits next to it. 

Breanne, William, Tim, and I headed there for the Brews, Blues, BBQs event that is held there on Saturdays during the summer.  After enjoying a few hours of craft beer and BBQ explored some more of the island. 

In addition to the vacant buildings, some of which host art exhibits, there is are beautiful walkways along the river and through the island. 

 

 

crazy bubble playground feature

We happened upon a fairly unconventional playground.  Kayaks in a merry-go-roundesque setup, steel drums, tables with building blocks, "bells" made out of recycled plastic bottle caps, along with other oddities.  There was something creepy, yet enchanting, about the playground.  It felt like something straight out of Alice and Wonderland ... I would have loved this place as a child!. 


I'm looking forward to visiting Governors Island again.  Next summer I want to take advantage of the free bicycle rentals on Fridays. 

Ratatouille

Going to the local farm stand and picking out a bag full of fresh produce is one of my favorite things about this time of year.  Zucchini + tomatoes + onions + eggplants + peppers + fresh herbs = time to make some ratatouille.

I've tried a few recipes, some use the stove while others use the oven.  This time I decided to try Julia Child's recipe.  It is definitely more time consuming than some recipes, but absolutely delicious.


Ingredients
1 large eggplant
3-4 medium zucchini
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 peppers, sliced
2 cloves garlic, mashed
1 lb tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and juiced (see instructions below)
thyme 
salt
pepper

Prepare Tomatoes

1.  Drop the tomato in boiling water for about 10 seconds


2.  Remove the tomatoes, cut out the stem and peal off the skin starting from the stem hole.

3.  Cut the peeled tomatoes in half crosswise (not through the stem) and squeeze each half gently to extract the seeds and juices from the center


Directions

1.  Peel the eggplant and cut it into slices, lengthwise.  Each slice should be around 1/4 inch thick, 3 inches long and 1 inch wide.

2.  Slice the zucchini the same way and size as the eggplant.

3.  Place the vegetables in a bowl and toss with 1 T of salt.  Let the vegetables stand for 30 minutes, drain, and dry the slices on a towel.

4.  Saute the eggplant and zucchini one layer at a time in hot olive oil until each side is lightly brown.  Remove to a side dish.

5.  In the same skillet, cook the onions and peppers slowly in olive oil for about 10 minutes, or until tender.

6.  Stir in the garlic and season to taste.

7.  Slice the tomatoes into 1/4 inch strips and lay them over the onions and peppers then season with salt and pepper.  (I found some beautiful orange and purple peppers to use.)

8.  Cover the skillet and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes or until the tomatoes have begun to render their juices.

9.  Uncover and baste the tomatoes with the juices, raise the heat and boil for several minutes, until the juice has almost evaporated.

10.  Place a third of the tomato mixture in the bottom of a large pot. Sprinkle some fresh thyme over the tomato mixture.

• Julia recommends a 2 1/2 quart fireproof casserole, but I did not have one that could be used on a stovetop, so I just used a large wok-type pan that I had (although, I'm sure any large pan would be fine)

11.  Arrange half of the eggplant and zucchini on top, then half the remaining tomatoes and thyme, finishing it off with the rest of the eggplant and zucchini topped with the remaining tomatoes and thyme.

12.  Cover the casserole and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

13.  Uncover, correct seasoning if necessary, raise the heat slightly and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes or until the juices have evaporated leaving a few spoonfuls of liquid behind.