Steamboat Springs, CO

For "Honeymoon #2" we headed to Steamboat Springs, CO!  This was a trip we had planned before we even got engaged, to visit some good friends of mine from Lewisburg.  It just so happened to be a week after our wedding. I had never been to Colorado before, so it was extra-impressive seeing those huge Colorado mountains for the first time!  So much different than the mountains I am used to.  Photos don't do them justice at all.

Day 1 : 7-15-18

On our first morning in Steamboat, we got to see a hot air balloon festival right outside the house.  Super cool to see the sky filled with hot air balloons!

That evening, we got to ride the gondola up to the top of the mountain in the resort to enjoy the view and watch the sunset.  Coming, back, the moon was so bright you could see the whole round outline, even though it was a crescent moon.

Day 2 : 7-16-18

On our second morning, we went "creeking" in Fish Creek.  This involved walking upstream through the creek, climbing over boulders along the way.  The kids were like mountain goats crawling over the rocks, I had a bit more trouble trying to stay balanced with my backpack on!  We stopped and spent some time at a super cool pool in the middle of the creek, then made our way back down.  

(Don't be fooled by the smiles, the water was so cold it was painful!)

In the evening, we took the kids for a bike ride to downtown (about 4 miles down the bike path) where we got some delicious but very overpriced gelato, then tried to race the sunset back home  (we lost the race...it was definitely full dark by the time we got back...)

Day 3 : 7-17-18

Coby and I went hiking to Fish Creek Falls.   You can see the larger falls from a boardwalk overlook, and you can also hike down towards the creek at the bottom.  After enjoying those views, we took the  2.5 mile hike up 1400 ft to the very top of the falls, at 8600 feet!

Day 4 : 7-18-18 

We were hanging out with the kids all day, so we decided to take them for another bike ride to downtown.  This time we enjoyed a pizza lunch and then found some reasonably priced ice cream.
After eating, we decided to be tourists and buy some really cool t-shirts and sweatshirts in a store called Ohana.

Day 5 : 7-19-18

Our final full day in Steamboat.  Coby and I rode downtown in the evening to sample food & cocktails at 2 different restaurants.  We also got to enjoy a really nice sunset on the way back to the house.

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Of course we also did some running while we were in Steamboat...we only made it out for 2 runs, but they were workouts!  6800 ft of elevation is no joke for the lungs!  Despite all the mountains, there was a surprising amount of flatness to run however.  

Blueberry-Lemon Pie

When my sister made my wedding cake, she left me with a ziploc bag of egg yolks, and told me to make something creative with them.  Time flew by after the wedding and I somehow had no time to make anything until yesterday, almost 4 weeks later.  I wasn't sure if the yolks could possibly still be good after so much time, but Coby and I both agreed that they smelled and looked ok so I decided to chance it.

When I went grocery shopping last week, blueberries were on sale 2 lbs for $5.  They are never anywhere near that cheap, so I bought 4 lbs!  I figured I would make a pie with them.  I also wanted to use the egg yolks to make a lemon pie, so I decided to try combining the two types of pie.  The two pies cook differently, so it took me some time to decide how to go about it.  Luckily, my hunches were right, and the pie came out absolutely perfect and delicious!

With a blueberry pie, you can cook the crust and the blueberries all together, but with a lemon pie, you have to blind-bake the crust.  Also, the lemon pie cooks for 30 minutes at 300, but the blueberry pie cooks for 20 minutes at 425 and then 30-40 more minutes at 350!  So, I decided to blind bake the crust, partially pre-cook the blueberries, and then assemble the pie and bake it at the specifications for the lemon pie.

Blueberry-Lemon Pie

The Crust

Instructions taken from Sally's Baking Addiction

(the crust needs to chill for at least 1 hour, and up to 48 hours.  I made my crust the day before)

(this recipe makes enough for a top and bottom crust, so you will have some leftover, perhaps for some mini blueberry pies)

2 cups all-purpose white flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

scant 1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

8 oz cold unsalted butter

~1/2 cup cold water

Mix together the dry ingredients.  Cut the butter into small pieces, then cut it into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter.  When the mixture is crumbly and the butter pieces are as small as you can get them (I always think "pea sized"), add the cold water, a bit at a time.  Keep mixing until the dough comes together.  Divide the dough into 1/3 and 2/3 portions, wrap each portion in plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator.  

Once sufficiently chilled, roll out the 2/3 portion to fit into a 9 inch pie plate. Crimp the edges, and cut off any extra dough.  Place a piece of parchment paper into the pie crust and fill with dry beans to help the crust hold its shape while baking.  Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, then remove the parchment paper/beans and bake 7 more minutes (until the bottom is just beginning to brown).  

The Lemon Filling

Recipe taken from Crazy for Crust

1 1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cup sugar

5 tbsp corn starch

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp salt

4 large egg yolks

3 tbsp butter

Whisk together all ingredients except for the eggs and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thick and bubbly.  Pour half of the lemon mixture into the egg yolks, whisk quickly to avoid scrambling, then add the lemon-egg mixture back into the rest of the lemon mixture.  Bring to a gentle boil, cook 2 more minutes, then remove from heat and stir in butter until melted.  Pour into the bottom of the pie crust.

Somehow, I ended up with NO scrambled egg in my lemon mixture!  I'm going to credit that to the fact that Coby and I teamed up to mix the hot lemon mixture with the eggs so one of us could stir while the other was pouring, leaving no time for the eggs to sit still in the hot lemon mixture.  

The Blueberry Topping

Ingredient list aken from Simply Recipes and cut in half

3 cups fresh blueberries

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 cup sugar

dash of cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and cook covered until the juice begins to come out of the blueberries.  You will want to stir every minute or so to check on them.  Then pour the blueberries over the lemon mixture.  

Bake the pie at 300 degrees for 30 minutes.  

Cool for 1 hour, then chill for 5 hours before enjoying!

Honeymoon Outdoor Adventures 7/6/18

We went to Asheville, NC for our honeymoon, and intended to do a bunch of hiking while we were there.  Looking Glass Falls in Brevard, NC, was high on my list of places I wanted to go, but it turns out that's not actually a hike...just a flight of stairs down to the falls from the road.  We were going to find a hike to do after Looking Glass Falls, but we drove through a torrential blinding downpour on the way to Looking Glass, and the sky was awfully rumbly and a bit drippy, so we decided not to risk a full hike anywhere.  We did find another waterfall nearby that was just a short walk from its parking are though.  (Daniel Ridge Falls).  And we also got to enjoy the views from the Blue Ridge Parkway as we made our way back from Brevard to Asheville.

Looking Glass Falls

Despite the rain and resulting chill in the air, there were a lot of people here, on the steps, on the rocks, and in the water!  We ended up wading out into the water to try and get some photos without people in them.  The water was pretty chilly which I wouldn't have minded if it was 90 degrees out, but since it was cooler and damp I started shivering immediately.  

Daniel Ridge Falls 

(also known as Jackson Falls)

Blue Ridge Parkway : Cradle of Forestry Overlook

too bright to open my eyes!

where's my sunglasses?!

Foodie Friday

Several times over the last few months, I have considered making some kind of a fruit pie.  And then not done it, because the last time I tried to make a crust it didn't work and I and I had to throw it out.  And making crust is time-consuming and messy and I just haven't had all that much time or patience to make one!  But this week, I decided that I was going to actually make a pie with some nectarines I had.  And since there weren't quite enough nectarines to fill a pie, I decided that I would add blueberries.  And then I wanted to add some kind of herb because I finally have a place to plant herbs in the ground and I love it!  (My rosemary and mint plants are doing fantastically, the basil is struggling...but I managed to pull just enough leaves off of my basil plant to throw in the pie).

I searched around Google for a bit and settled on this recipe/directions from Savory Simple to use as my base.  

The crust

2 cups white flour

1/2 c whole wheat flour

scant 1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

8 oz cold unsalted butter

~1/2 c cold water

The filling

5 nectarines

2 large handfuls of blueberries

~1 tbsp chopped basil leaves 

(I used cinnamon basil because that was the only basil plants Lowes had when I went to buy my garden herbs!)

scant 1/4 c white sugar

scant 1/4 c brown sugar

~2 tsp cinnamon

dash of salt

3 tbsp corn starch

Bake at 425 for 20 minutes then lower to 375 and cook for 35 minutes.  

(My crust came out slightly burned, so 25-30 minutes probably would have been sufficient.)

I used my pastry cutter and a knife to make the pie dough.  I skipped painting the top crust with milk/sugar.  I did make a lattice crust for the first time!  I was in a hurry to get the pie in the oven before friends came over for dinner, so it was slightly sloppy...but I've always said taste is more important than looks!  And the pie was definitely a big hit!  

There was a giant flour explosion all over the counter by the time I was done rolling out the pie dough...but I managed to keep the mess confined to the counter, so clean up wasn't tooooo bad.

May Review

Oof what a month it has been!  Today was the last teacher work day of the year and now I am officially on summer vacation!  As I was falling asleep on the couch around 7:30 PM I suddenly realized that it was the last day of the month.  When I managed to rouse myself, I checked Strava to see how many miles I had run this month.  I learned that I only ran EIGHT times this month.  For a total of 53.5 miles. 

I did take 2 full weeks off after the marathon, on purpose.  Only running 4 times in the past 2 weeks was...less intentional.  But still ok.  There has been an awful lot going on this month and overworking my body by trying to come back too soon post-marathon would probably do a lot more harm than good.  Now that I am on vacation and "mostly" settled into my new house* though, I'm hoping to get back to some kind of running/strength training business-as-usual. 

*Anyone ever tried cramming a 5 day school field trip, a marathon, moving out of an apartment and into a house, wedding planning, and the last month of school before?  I don't recommend it.  But I wouldn't change a thing.   Also, I am in love with our house, and I survived much better on inadequate sleep at the end of the school year than I would have thought possible.  Even with absolutely terrible allergies driving me completely crazy. 

Anyway, I'm taking it one day a time.  I'm gonna spend the next week getting everything in the house into it's proper place.  And hopefully I will run more than twice.

Week 1 : 5/1 - 5/6 : run 35.6 miles
2 flat runs in Georgia in the midst of full days of kayaking in paddle boarding, and then the Pittsburgh Marathon.  My body was so beat by the end of all that!

Week 2 : 5/7 - 5/13 : nada

Week 3 : 5/14 - 5/20 : nada

Week 4 : 5/21 - 5/27 run 9.6 miles
After 2 full weeks off, I thought it was time to run again.  I did a nice easy run with the group on Monday, and planned to do the same on Tuesday.  But the Tuesday group was doing a track workout.  I should have just run by myself, but of course I went with the group instead.  I did their relatively-easy 1600, then did the 800 a bit faster, but not as much faster as them.  Then I knew there was no way I was going to make it through their whole workout (a bunch of 800s and then a bunch of 200s) and a cooldown, so I did a 400 and a 200 and then called it quits on the workout.  And then somehow I didn't manage to run again all week.  I could have run on Sunday with Coby but I took a nap instead while he ran in the rain...

Week 5 : 5/28-5/31 : run 8.3 miles
Week 2 of trying to come back.  On Monday we did our first run from the new house.  Only one questionable dog encounter.  Then I did the smart thing and did not go to run club on Tuesday.  (It was a really smart thing, because apparently the group did a timed 5k on the track.  Ew.)  Easy group run on Wednesday, and now here I am falling asleep on the couch again while Coby runs in the rain.  I think I'll run tomorrow...

Pittsburgh Marathon 2018

Marathon #4 is in the books!  The 2nd that my body was totally unprepared for, and it's hard to say because I've probably blocked the last bad marathon from my memory, but I think this one was worse.  BUT, I did make it to the finish line, I did run the entire race, and I did get my BQ!  A little bit sad that my slowest marathon is the one I plan to use as my Boston Qualifier, but oh well.  All that really matters is I beat the 3:35 cut off time by 5 minutes and change.

The forecast said it would be in the low to mid 50s for the whole race, and there was an 80-90% chance of rain as well.  I debated wearing a shirt since the morning air felt cold to me, but in the end I decided against it, and I was barely a mile into the race before I knew that leaving the shirt behind was the right choice!  I never got too cold or too hot during the race, so that worked out pretty well.  And luckily, it really didn't rain at all.  I think it started sprinkling in the last mile or two, but it wasn't a big deal.

I had a "seeded" start position, which allowed me to be near the front of Corral A, but I ended up not even trying to be that close to the front.  I think I started somewhere near the middle of Corral A.  I settled into a comfortable pace, not wanting to be too slow, but making sure it didn't feel like I was really working either.  I had my camelbak on with about 1.5 liters of water, and 1 stick pack of Tailwind mixed in.  I was carrying my inhaler in my Hydraklick belt.  At some point in the first 5-6 miles, I noticed that the belt pouch felt very cold and wet, and I was feeling occasional cold drips go down my legs.  It seemed way too cold to be my sweat, and also my belt pouch has never gotten that soaked just from sweat.  I reached up and discovered that the back of my camelbak was also dripping wet.  I think by the end of the race, I had drank about half of what went into my camelbak, and the other half leaked down my back.  That's what I get for buying a cheap knock-off bladder to replace the one I filled with mold, I suppose.

The course was not a difficult one at all, especially considering all the hills that could have been included.  There was a long gradual hill or two, but there was nothing even close to steep, and most of the race was flat. Most of the inclines were going on or off of bridges, and they were pretty short.   I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get a strong push up the longer hill around mile 12 because of all the flatness before it, but I didn't have too much trouble.  I'm guessing the lack of steepness helped with that. 

I felt ok until about mile 12, and then I started to feel the stress of the distance. Coby was on his bike riding around to cheer for me at various points on the course, and when I saw him around mile 13.8 it gave me the boost I needed to wake my legs back up and run a few more miles.  By mile 15, I was in the surge-crawl cycle, with the surges gradually getting shorter and the crawls getting longer.  By mile 18 I was hurting quite a bit.  Mile 25 I was completely dead, and then somehow managed to pick it up for the last mile, and give a good, pure adrenaline-filled surge to the finish line.  After I crossed the line, I was barely able to walk, but managed to stagger through the very long finish chute.  I downed a whole bottle of water, and grabbed another one to drink more slowly later.  When I finally came to the crowd of spectators at the end of the finish chute I just walked blindly hoping Coby would find me, and thankfully he did very quickly, as I was on the point of collapse.  My body was so done, I had barely made it through the chute without crying, so of course I lost it once I had a shoulder to lean on.

The walk back to the car was long and painful, and I had nothing but a heat sheet and a towel wrapped around me to keep me warm, but I made it.  And even managed a smile for a post-race photo... but my legs hurt so bad for that walk I don't know how I made it to the car!