It's been quite a while since this blog's been active, but it seems like the whole year's been about letting go(s) and revivals. In any case, with the transition from predominantly restaurant to gym work came a realization that I wouldn't spend the majority of my waking hours in some sort of work capacity, and that I needed outlets to at least *feel* like I was productive. Thus, returns this blog as a brain dump for anything that everything that pops up into my head, but predominantly relevant to the three words that make up the banner....
July 1, 2012
Initially set out planning on doing interval sprints - 1 min all out with 5-6 minutes of rest, shooting for 7 sets unless there's a severe power drop. Took a quick look on a map and realized that where I'm living now happens to be about 4 blocks from a mountain (Mt. Tabor, to be specific), and couldn't resist taking the chance to explore.
Ditched the interval plan bad basically stuck to a Fartlek run - didn't really have any sense of where I was on the mountain, but was just trying to go to the top. Whenever the path split I chose the one that went uphill....jogged the flats, sprinted the hills, and walked around a bit exploring the vegetation. I eventually found the top of the mountain and was treated to some spectacular views of Portland and the surrounding countryside. As well, the final stretch before the top happened to be a steep uphill with a sharp uptick about halfway up (a la Games 2009). Ran up it, but my legs definitely weren't happy about it; couldn't imagine trying that with a sandbag as well, though I'll definitely be coming back to that little hill. Total run time was about an hour, final elevation was around 636 feet. Overall a Z1 effort with a few Z3/4 elements strewn in.
Still getting acquainted with the vegetation here in the Northwest...tremendous amounts of wild carrots, wild chamomile (pineapple weed), fennel, chickweed, mustards all over the mountain....funny that some of the things I really wish I could find more easily in VA are prolific here. Was kind of surprised that I barely saw any wood sorrel here (just one tiny patch on my way down), but I suspect that because the entire mountain is heavily shaded mostly by pine trees there isn't enough sun (I think oxalis does like at least some sun). As well, the pine likely makes the soil too acidic for the wood sorrel to grow - other areas where I've seen sorrel, and HUGE sorrel at that, have been fairly rich and open. The many varieties of pine here definitely are part of the natural "presence" of the northwest, in a similar vein as the gum trees (eucalyptus) in Australia. I'd been told there are over a 100 varieties of gum in OZ, I wonder if its a similar situation here in OR? To consume nature here is to be surrounded in pine?
Baked off first bread in the new apartment - basic levain. Water here seems different - starter's been a lot spongier since I've been up here, and dough was a bit looser than I expected (even though it was hydrated at 75%, rather than 80% as I was used to doing in VA). Perhaps mineral content of the water is to blame? As well this is probably the worst home oven I've ever tried baking in; the loaf looked like a damn jersey cow with the amount of black spots it had all over it. Oh well, that's going to be as good as I get for the next few months. As well roasted off a pork shoulder for the week and started a kimchi - as near as I can figure I need to keep weekly food expenses to around $50, which isn't going to be terribly easy given how much I usually eat. Found a Mexican grocery pretty close to the apartment which should help; its mostly going to be fighting the urge to eat out that's going to make a difference.
As well took another shot at Kouign Ammans - almost there! Found a Pierre Herme recipe which was actually a lot simpler than the Dave Leibowitz one I started with. Also switched to European and did something much closer to a true laminated dough, no syrupy mess this time (likely from the sugar drawing water from the wetter, American-style butter). Got a bit lazy on the laminations because I was more interested in seeing if the sugar would hold, so layers weren't the best (specifically on the edges; will trim them next time). I also got a bit impatient on the proofing and probably put them in the oven about 30 minutes too soon...in any case, they looked much closer this time! Had the right caramel crust on the outside, though the inner layers needed improvement...tasted like the leaked butter carried out a fair amount of sugar as well, but in any case there was plenty of progress. Hopefully I'll have these buggers worked out by the time I leave Portland.
What I'm wearing: Adidas Adizeros for the run - Pretty old pair of shoes, back when a sole less than 1" meant you were "barefoot." Felt kind of heavy, but gave the kind of traction I needed for the mountain.
What I'm reading: Just finished La Patisserie de Pierre Herme, starting on Au Pied du Cochon Sugar Shack by Martin Picard. Really excited to read this one, and enjoying it even more after seeing the full page spread of the (female) pastry chef in a bath tub full of maple syrup. Those damn French-Canadians...I gotta get up to Montreal someday.
July 2, 2012
Legs feeling pretty worn today, not a great sign considering my plan was to get some CP work done. Went to CF Portland in the afternoon (these guys have been really nice to us about allowing us to work out in their space). Worked up to a 1RM Hang snatch off the blocks - 90kg. Not fantastic, but fair to say that its an all time PR for that lift. Looking forward to getting all these gears in order again. Followed up with 3, 2, 1, 3, 2, 1 Back squats, working up to 145kg on legs that felt pretty beat up. Hopefully once I get used to all the biking volume I won't feel it so much during the workouts. In any case finished up with 3x3 Push press (80kg) and called it a day.
What I'm wearing: Adidas Ironworks 2 - the old school silver and red weightlifting shoes. As far as I'm concerned these were the best ones they ever released and I'm continually happy that I have them and don't have to use any of the newer ones (why do they all look like plastic toys?)
What I'm reading: http://zenhabits.net/barbell/ Great article
This looks delicious to me (from A Life Worth Eating)
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