Gil Can Run!A blog on Running and all the crap that runs through my head while doing it

Dec 1st Meatless Monday Recipe!

I almost forgot, today was so busy. This is actually Tyler Florence’s pizza recipe, not my own, but it’s what I use. It works really well.

Ingredients
1 package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups 00 flour, plus more for dusting

Directions
In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water; stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Turn the mixer on low and add the salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the flour, a little at a time, mixing at the lowest speed until all the flour has been incorporated. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium; stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Get a feel for the dough by squeezing a small amount together: if it’s crumbly, add more water; if it’s sticky, add more flour – 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix until the dough gathers into a ball, this should take about 5 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times; kneading until it’s smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a round and place in a lightly oiled bowl, turn it over to coat. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot (i.e. over a gas pilot light) until doubled in size, about 1 hour. This is a good time to stick a pizza stone in the oven and preheat them to 500 degrees F.

Once the dough is domed and spongy, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter. Roll and stretch the dough into a cylinder and divide into 3 equal pieces. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes so it will be easier to roll out.

Roll or pat out a piece of dough into a 12 inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Dust a pizza paddle with flour and slide it under the pizza dough. Brush the crust with a thin layer of olive oil, and top with your favorite flavors. Slide the pizza onto the hot stone in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the crust is golden and crisp. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Dec 1st Rabbit, it’s the word of the day!

Indeed, December first. Well I only got a mile in, but by my standards it was a fast mile. Kept the streak going on Day 6. That’s what matters here, I’ll pick up miles later this week. Coming out of a nasty head cold is no time to be a hero and tick off 6 miles in the rain in December.
Instead, I tiled my kitchen back splash.

So while I’m doing this, and doing a damned fine job at it, I wondered if maybe instead of just finding a teaching job in Italy, I ask my friends if they need a handyman for a couple months and do that while looking for a job, that could work out. I’m very pleased with how this turned out and can’t wait to grout tomorrow and get this project done.
I like being handy, I like being able to do things that professionals charge people thousands of dollars for. But more than that, it gives you a different sense, a connected feeling to the work, to the place. It makes you value those things more, because you know what went into that, and you left a little piece of yourself in it.
I’m a big fan of gardens for the same reason, it makes the food taste that much better. Simply because you did it, it’s your toil, your energy that went into making that thing, and it makes it more special, more enjoyable, because it’s truly yours. That’s what I did today, I made shit happen.
So have fun, keep running, and remember; If Gil can run (or tile), then so can you!

Nov 30th Garmin, chairs, running, and someone made me feel weird

The new watch is here! So much data! It feels like a crime to use it for only two miles, but that’s one more mile than I was originally planning today, and I was so excited I went out way too fast. You’ll notice I linked to the Garmin website. Because MapMyRun, which I normally use, wants me to pay extra to view the data, I collect on my own, about myself. I think that’s patently ridiculous.
I had the heart rate monitor on a bit too tight, tomorrow that won’t be an issue. You can tell I was excited at the start, as I went out fast and apparently I was bouncing all over the place. This was my last run on my old 940v2s. Tomorrow I start on the new pair. I love new shoes, I’ll sing the New Shoes song tomorrow.
But right now, new watch. It hooked up to the satellites so quickly, it worked great, vibrated on the mile. I may end up shutting that off when I’m running long runs, we’ll see how it goes. The clip is so easy to use. First impressions, wow!

You can see in the unboxed picture, the bar stools I got for the house and assembled today. I accidentally ordered 4, when originally the plan was to get 2, but 4 will end up working better when there is company. So that’s nice, and I like them. Not too difficult to put together.
Now, Brad Takei (George Takei’s husband) posted this thing about people complaining about people who are too fat, or too skinny, and how everyone always seems to have some sort of negative body comment for folks out there. I shared that people used to complain I was too fat, and then when I lost weight people started complaining I was too skinny, most of these people were close family members. A lot of people have been identifying with my comments. I appreciate that. They also got me thinking about how much all the negative body comments have hurt me, and how I never really say anything about that. Because I’m a guy, a straight guy at that, and I’m “not supposed” to be bothered by that stuff. When it’s your family it can be rather bothersome, it makes you feel like you’re doing something wrong and that no matter what you can’t please anyone.
That’s why I try to never make judgmental statements about people. If someone expresses a desire to learn, to change what they’re doing, then I will encourage them. I will be generally encouraging all the time anyway, and try and get people to run along with me, either physically or emotionally, either way. But as I always say, I’m not here to tell you what to think, or say, or do. And your physical appearance is no business of mine. I get that there is a point where it is a health concern for people, but they have to accept that too, and it’s not about how they look, it’s about their health. That’s the biggest complaint, because in my experience, people making the comments, while they may have been concerned for my health, did not express it that way. They said things like “you’re too heavy” or “you’re too skinny” and it was invariably followed with “you don’t look good”. Well nuts to if I am pleasing to your eyes, I care about being healthy, and ostensibly you do too, that’s why you claim you are commenting. So let’s have a conversation about health, and what that means, not about looks, looks don’t matter, and it can really damage people and make the problem worse.
So that was my day, how was yours? Remember to have fun out there, keep running, and remember; If Gil can run, then so can you!

Nov 29th Beat, the word for today is beat

So I took it slow today. I will keep it slow and short until I feel recovered. Tomorrow will be easy, as I’m only doing a mile, and then Tuesday I’ll see how I’m feeling, but probably not more than 5 or 6 miles tops. This has been, by far, the most difficult marathon recovery I’ve had. I’m starting to get a little worried, but the good news is it’s all over in a couple weeks.
As of today I am within 100 miles of my target distance for the year. I only have one more marathon to run, two races left on my schedule for the year, and then I’m taking it easy to start next year, and working on speed and overall fitness. I still can’t think of any real goal for next year besides a sub 20 minute 5 k. That’s it. I think that’s a taller order than anything I’ve asked of myself out of running before, honestly.
So yesterday at my father’s place, my half-brother had his girlfriend (I guess) over? I’ve never met her, I don’t really have much of a relationship with my half-brother, which doesn’t need to be gotten into. But anyway, I didn’t really interact with her or him, I tend to spend my time giving attention to my nieces and nephew, it’s just the way I am. Plus, I generally dislike meeting new people, it makes me feel intensely uncomfortable. Many people that know me, will probably be surprised to learn that, I do a very good job of hiding it when I have to.
But he had to leave for work and she had to leave to go home, and for whatever reason, my half-brother says, “And that’s my brother Chris over there with the receding hairline” because he wasn’t in the room when we were introduced originally. Now, I’ve my hair hasn’t really moved anywhere since I was about 25 or so, and I’m not particularly concerned about it either way. I don’t understand why people have to be like that though. There was no kindness in what he said, no jocularity. There was completely unwarranted jealousy and insecurity though. I’ve always felt like all my siblings are in some sort of contest with me, and I’m simply not competing. I’m sure they would argue this point, but I really never cared. But my point is, there’s no reason to say things like that about people. It only bothers me insofar as he meant for it to diminish me, and to me it was to some stranger. Not cool, not cool at all.
But I doubt he will ever examine the meaning behind, the motives behind, the things he says. I think most people don’t, and I think that’s why we don’t progress. Think about why you say the things you say and think the things you think. Always examine your thoughts and attitudes, and check them against facts and decency. I think that’s the only way to get better as a person, and I think it’s the only way our society can get better, and obviously we require improvement.
Well hey, 4 days done, 33 to go. Have fun, keep running, and remember if Gil can run then so can you!

Nov 28th Oh Saturday

So I ran, watch Manchester United draw with Leicester City in another subpar performance, and got to my father’s house for another Thanksgiving meal.
My legs are very sore still, very tired. The conditions today didn’t help. A very thick, humid atmosphere holding all the vehicle exhaust close to the road. The last couple miles I mostly walked, ran every now and then, even tried a flat-out sprint for 1/4 mile (400 m). It was alright, I got up to a decent pace considering the fatigue I’ve been feeling. I’m considering dropping a few miles tomorrow to try and aide my recovery, but I will see how I’m feeling once I get out there.
Meanwhile, my new Garmin is delayed in delivery for some reason. They sent it to the wrong sorting facility. I’m pretty upset about that, I want to take this thing out of the box and have fun with it. Hopefully, they sort it all out and it arrives Monday. I already wrote an email to ask if there’s any sort of problem. I’m going to guess with the increased volume of the Holidays a mistake was made.
That kind of kills what I wanted to talk about today, so I’ll leave it at that. Have fun, keep running, and remember, if Gil can run, then so can you!

Nov 27th Day 2 of the Streak, 35 days to go

I put in just a mile. Today is usually an off-day for me, so I didn’t want to do any more than the minimum. That’s what I will do on this streak, like I did last year. I’m still a little under the weather, but my legs are recovering slowly but surely.
Other than that I’ve just been trying to find the most economical way to plan my trip to Denmark. I will sort that out and hopefully be able to stop in Manchester to catch a United match at the very least. Travelling on a budget is one of my specialties.
Other than that I’ve just been trying to relax today, not go overboard with things. Made a fine vegetarian gravy to eat with all the yummy side dishes I had leftover from yesterday. Thanksgiving sides are always where it’s at. The whole nonsense about main courses is way over-rated. That’s the truth all over the country. Who doesn’t love the side dishes?
So have fun, keep running (the streak), and remember if Gil can run, then so can you!

Nov 27th Episode 25 is up!

I ran today. The movie I was thinking of and couldn’t name, Point Break. Hopefully next week things will be back to normal with my computer back from the manufacturer. Sorry for the tardiness, been having trouble getting the video into the proper format. It’s seriously been almost 24 hours getting this episode set. Enjoy! Friday’s post will be coming up momentarily!

Nov 25th The butterplanchini is complete

Yep, I did it, a zucchini inside an eggplant inside a butternut squash. I killed and cleaned the beasts myself. The stuffing tastes good, if the rest of it is as good tomorrow, I will share what I did. I left out the mushrooms, as I don’t do funghi.
I also ran today. I ran a little less than anticipated, my legs were on fire still. I’m pretty sure I’m still fatigued from my illness and marathon, but tomorrow I will push some more. My pace wasn’t too bad today though, even though my old stinky watch was on the fritz. Next week, that will be all fixed. Also, I got my next pair of New Balance 940s but I won’t start using them until December 1. My current pair has over 750 miles on them. I get too excited over new shoes.
Ordered some stuff for the house tonight, need to fix the water dispenser on the fridge, and putting a whole house filter in. Have I talked to you about not using bottled water? You shouldn’t. I don’t, and although the fridge has a filter in it, filtering the water for the whole house has advantages. Cleaner clothes, easier to fill pots and pans when you need to boil water for pasta and such. They say that boiling water from a city system can actually concentrate the chemicals they put in it. So filtering it gets rid of most of that. Plus you do feel cleaner when you take a shower.
Other than all that, tomorrow begins the “Holiday Season”. I implore that all of us keep in mind, while we’re stressing over what to get our loved ones, and where we’re going, and what we have to bring and all that mess, please remember those who have little to nothing and need some help and a little love and giving from those of us who don’t need to worry about it. So don’t just take care of the things you feel you have to, make a little time, spend a little money to help out a stranger who is in need. It’s pretty much the real reason for the season. We are all one, appreciate it and do what you can. It’s the season, it commands love.
With that, have fun, keep running, and remember, if Gil can run, then so can you!

Nov 24th Extra day for recovery

I didn’t run today, with this cold, I just haven’t recovered enough. Didn’t do much of anything today, got my car fixed, it needed lots of work, valve cover gasket, catalytic converter, and a tie rod end. Not a pleasant bill, but it had to be done.
Other than that I’ve been daydreaming about what watch to buy at the end of the week. I think I’ll go with the Garmin 620. They’re on sale now that the 630 is about to come out. Luckily, I never need to have the latest and greatest, but I do like to crunch numbers in my spare time, so I’ll get tons of data from the 620 with a heart rate monitor, without spending too much money overall.
The rest of my week will be cooking tomorrow, I’m going with a stuffed squash dish for Thanksgiving, and giving that a try. It’s a big recipe and lots of work, but I want to give it a try. If it turns out well, I will share it with all of you. As always, I will make the recipe my own, there always seems to be an ingredient or two in everything I find that I simply don’t like.
Then there is tons of work to do on the house, from the sump pump still needing to be installed, to fixing horrible plumbing choices, shelving and storage, it feels like it’ll never end, and I need to get it done in the next couple weeks. but tomorrow we get gutters finally! Every day is a step in the right direction at least. Whatever your tomorrow brings, have fun, keep running and remember, if Gil can run, then so can you.

Nov 23rd Meatless Monday recipe!

I almost forgot all about it! With the illness and the travel and everything, it just slipped my mind. Let’s do a buffalo cauliflower pizza, shall we?

Use whatever you want for the base of the pizza. You can do homemade dough, I’ll have to post a separate recipe for that, or you can buy dough at most stores that do breads and pastries. You could use a ready made pizza base, like a focaccia or something. So all we’re going to worry about is making the buffalo cauliflower and assembling the pizza.

Ingredients
1 medium head cauliflower
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot (It works best for making buffalo sauce)
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Microwave butter until melted, whisk in hot sauce and put aside.
Mix 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Add the cauliflower and toss until well coated. Spread the cauliflower on a baking sheet and roast until beginning to brown and just tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Whisk the hot sauce mixture again, drizzle over the cauliflower and toss to coat. Roast the cauliflower 5 to 7 minutes more.
Once pizza crust is stretched out as desired (if using fresh), spread remaining olive oil on crust. Sprinkle remaining salt on crust, along with red pepper, any remaining buffalo wing sauce, garlic powder, mozzarella, and buffalo cauliflower.
Preheat oven to 475° F (245° C), you should use a pizza stone if you have one, if not use a baking sheet. Once oven is up to temp, put in pizza and bake 7-10 minutes until it is nice and golden brown.

If you want, you can put some blue cheese dressing on it too, for a extra bit of yumminess! Enjoy, have fun, keep running, and remember if Gil can run, then so can you!