Weekend recap – running, hiking, and grilling, oh my!

Hi there!

I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend! (if you got one – I know not everyone had 3 blissful days off)  Are you back at work today?

Our weekend was pretty good!

We kicked off the 4th with parts of Hurricane Arthur blowing through and dumping some rain on us but we didn’t really get too much. I hope wherever you were was safe!

Then, Friday turned out to be a pretty decent day! We still kept our celebrating low-key because I had a long run Saturday morning and I wanted to be ready.

I totally broke all the rules of running on Saturday and wore new shoes, new inserts, and new gear. For 14.25 miles.

I just got this Nathan Intensity Hydration Vest from Road Runner Sports and I was super excited to try it out! 🙂

It holds 2 liters of water (which is A LOT!) and has all sorts of room for nutritionals, ID cards, and my phone.

I seriously don’t know what took me so long to get it. I LOVED it. I thought it would bounce – it didn’t. I thought it would chafe – it didn’t. I thought it would be uncomfortable – it wasn’t.

It had two pockets on the straps that were super easy access for my gels and gummies and my phone. Finally, no fumbling around trying to find what I want in my waist pouch (that may or may not be sitting in the small of my back) while still trying to run. No bouncing belts around my hips, continuously sliding up to my waist forcing me to fidget with it all the time. Easy access to the drink nozzle – SO EASY to use! It’s love. I may wear it all the time.

Saw this at a house in my neighborhood. I hope they’re going through a bathroom remodel…..

it’s like an outhouse but just the “out”

I love running around my town. There’s not much about it I don’t like. 🙂

After my run, my sailor and I had to run some errands. We grabbed some lunch while we were out. We stopped at the Freemason Abbey Restaurant in Norfolk because it sounded interesting and we’d never been there before. The restaurant used to be a church! It was beautiful, both inside and out.

Crab cake with fresh veggies and wild rice. Om Nom Nom!

Later, we grilled up some steaks, peppers, and pineapple for dinner. So good!

 

On Sunday, we decided to go on a little hike. And by little, I mean almost 9 1/2 miles.

We went out to the Great Dismal Swamp and hiked out to Lake Drummond, one of only two natural lakes in Virginia. We saw lots of flora and fauna. Thankfully, no bears.  Or bobcats. 🙂

Dragonflies and damselflies were definitely plentiful! As well as big ole horseflies, biting flies, bees, and other things that are a little annoying.

This Great Blue Heron played hide and seek with us for about a mile and a half. It was fun to try and get into good picture taking range without scaring him off.

When we finally made it to Lake Drummond, we learned that it was discovered in either 1665 or 1755 by the first colonial Governer of North Carolina, William Drummond. Yes, those two years are VERY different. After further investigation, he discovered it in 1665 – this became apparent when we learned that he died in 1677. Anyway, the lake has 9 miles of shore line, averages 3-4 feet in depth, and at its deepest is 6-7 feet. The water was seriously calm. Didn’t see any birds or anything. 😦

Just cheezin’ out at the lake.

These trees were right by the observation point. So beautiful!

 

 

This little guy thought he was being sneaky. 😉

Not too bad for our hike. I paused my watch while we were hanging out at the lake but kept it going even if we were stopping to take pictures.

When we got home, I started making dinner and my sailor made me an Old Fashioned. Yummy!

I grilled us a couple of pizzas – one with tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil, and bacon and the other with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, basil,olive oil, garlic, and a little bit of bacon.  *gobble gobble gobble*

Talk to me: What did you grill this weekend? Have you ever grilled a pizza? Do you like hiking? What would you do if you saw a bear?

– jennifer

Holiday Monday stuff & the Hotshots 19 Memorial WOD

Hello!

Happy Tuesday after a long weekend!

Saturday and Sunday were so busy that I really looked forward to Monday as a rest day.  Thank goodness we didn’t have to work!

I spent yesterday doing laundry, cleaned the house up some, and hung out on the couch catching up on some Dexter (yes, I’m VERY behind – anyone have Seasons 5, 6, and 7 on DVD that I can borrow?) and some kitty snuggle time.

We also made some pizza for dinner in my ginormous cast iron skillet.  Yep, right there on top of the stove!  It was delish!

There’s no such thing as too much cheese!

So, I know everyone remembers the wild fires in Arizona that claimed the lives of 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots firefighters back on June 30.  Well, unfortunately, many of those firefighters were “seasonal” and their families are not eligible for life-time death benefits.

New York Daily News article

Well, the CrossFit community has stepped up and is working hard to fill that gap and help out the families that were left behind.  Because, the CrossFit community is cool like that.

CrossFit steps up

On Saturday, August 31st, Captain CrossFit in Prescott, Arizona held a workout event in honor of the fallen firefighters and encouraged others who couldn’t make it there to hold their own event and help raise money.

Even if you don’t CrossFit, if you want to help, you certainly can and it would be appreciated.

Support the Hotshots

The CrossFit Memorial WOD “Hotshots 19” looks like this:

“Hotshots 19”

Six rounds for time of:

30 squats

135# power cleans, 19 reps

7 strict pull ups

Run 400 meters

My box, Alpha Omega, did/is doing the WOD today.

Well, 1/2 the WOD.  Because our classes are only 60 minutes and include warm-up and skillset practice.  6 rounds of the above WOD will take some time.

The Rx weight for women on the power cleans was 95# and that’s not quite my 1-rep max but it’s close so I scaled down to 85#.

Which wasn’t an easy weight for me.

But, it’s not supposed to be easy so I stuck with it.

I was doing it for the firefighters who gave all and the families who lost all.

THAT’S much harder than power cleaning 85# 47 times.

I finished in 21:50.

I’d do it again, too.

Questions:

1. If you CrossFit, did you do the Hotshots 19 WOD this weekend?

2. Have you ever made pizza on the TOP of the stove before?

– jennifer

13.2. I love grilling! Summer Grilled Vegetable Pizza

So, I’m sitting here contemplating Crossfit tonight. I must admit – I’m a little really nervous. Our warm-up includes a 400m run which I can’t do. My first appointment with the physical therapist is tomorrow and while my leg is feeling better, that doesn’t mean I’m ready to run. Okay, well, I’m always ready to run but I have to lay low when my body revolts. Then, the WOD is a rehashing of 13.2.

Box jumps. Can I do it? Will my leg cooperate? On May 23rd, I could barely go up and down the stairs. I’ll give it a shot. I may NEED a shot just to help shut down the nervous voices in my head!

Um, maybe not so much.

Anyway, I’ll let you know how it goes. 🙂

I Love Grilling

I really do.  We grill year round.  Yes, we live in Florida and we can do that but when we lived in Maryland and it snowed (who remembers the Snowpacalypse of 2010? I sure do. I think I gained 5 pounds stuck in inside baking and nesting away!), I always dug out the grill because when a girl wants a steak, a girl’s gotta have a steak!  And besides, we always grill our turkeys or hams for the holidays and that is definitely going to continue to happen whether there’s 4 feet of snow on the ground or not! 🙂

After the luau on Saturday night, I was totally in the mood for grilling and, in fact, most of my planned meals this week are grilled.  It’s my hurricane training plan when, if a big one comes and the power goes out, grilling will be the only way we have to cook.  Oh, we have two grills – one gas with a side burner and a charcoal.  We are totally set!  So long as they don’t blow away!  I won’t grill inside – that would just be stupid – but I will bring the grill inside for safekeeping if I have to!  Oh, and btw, my fingers are totally crossed for zero hurricanes this summer.  I’m not really a natural disaster kind of girl. So, cross your fingers too, please. I need all the help I can get!

In addition to most being grilled, all of my recipes this week come from one Cooking Light magazine!  The June 2012 issue is just packed with yummy recipes that just beg to be made.  If you are normal (not like me) and don’t just happen to have the June 2012 issue of Cooking Light magazine laying around your house, you can find the recipes online. 🙂

Who wants pizza?  Me, me, me!  I made this whole recipe on the grill.  The recipe calls for using an oven to bake the crust but, I can never find refrigerated pizza dough down here so I just buy Boboli pizza crusts and those are most definitely grillable.  All you have to do is brush the top (where you’ll put the toppings) with olive oil and chopped garlic and a little salt and pepper and throw it, top side down, on the grill for a 2-4 minutes.  Watch it to make sure it doesn’t burn!  That would not be delicious.  Then, take it off, flip it over, top it with your toppings, and put it back on the grill (lid closed) for 8-10 minutes until the cheese is all melty, gooey and the crust is nice and toasty brown.  Now, remember that you’re cooking on a grill and when cheese melts, it drips, so…..make sure you don’t get the cheese too close to the edge of the crust.  You don’t want your pizza to catch fire.  Not good.  Anyway, grilled summer veggies, a flavorful sauce, and yummy cheese and light to boot?  Win!  Om nom nom!

Do you love grilling as much as I do?

What’s your favorite meal to grill?

Summer Grilled Vegetable Pizza

1 pound refrigerated fresh pizza dough
1 red bell pepper, seeded and quartered
1 zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch thick diagonal slices
1 yellow squash, cut into 1/4-inch thick diagonal slices
1 small red onion, cut into 12 wedges
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1/2 cup lower sodium marinara sauce
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced and torn into pieces (if you have shredded, use it!)

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

2. Remove dough from refrigerator. Let stand at room temperature, covered, for 30 minutes.

3.  Place a pizza stone or heavy baking sheet in oven. Preheat oven to 500° (keep pizza stone or baking sheet in oven as it preheats).

4.  Flatten bell pepper pieces with hand. Arrange all the vegetables in a single layer on a large cutting board or baking sheet; brush both sides with 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. Arrange onion wedges on skewers, if desired. Arrange vegetables on grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill for 3 minutes on each side or until crisp-tender and grill marks appear. Remove from grill. Coarsely chop bell pepper.

5.  Roll dough into a 14-inch circle on a lightly floured surface, and pierce entire surface liberally with a fork. Carefully remove pizza stone from oven. Sprinkle cornmeal over pizza stone; place dough on pizza stone. Bake at 500° for 5 minutes. Remove the partially baked crust from oven. Spread sauce over crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Arrange the vegetables over dough, and sprinkle evenly with salt and crushed red pepper. Top evenly with cheese. Carefully return pizza to pizza stone. Bake at 500° for an additional 12 minutes or until the crust and cheese are browned. Brush edge of dough with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Cut into 6 large slices.

6. FOR GRILLED PIZZA: Alternatively, brush Boboli crust with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 minced garlic clove.  Grill, oil side down, for 2-4 minutes, or until golden.  Flip and remove to cutting board. Top with sauce, grilled vegetables and cheese.  Return to grill and grill, lid closed for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.  Remove to cutting board and cut into slices.

– jennifer