"The tragic reality is that very few sustainable systems are designed or applied by those who hold power, and the reason for this is obvious and simple: to let people arrange their own food, energy and shelter is to lose economic and political control over them. We should cease to look to power structures, hierarchical systems, or governments to help us, and devise ways to help ourselves." - Bill Mollison

Friday, January 29, 2010

Breakfast and a Run

We normally only make two types of meals for breakfast. The first is our old standby salad, usually with and egg or occasionally some fried spuds on top...and a very berry smoothie. The other meal, depicted above, is always fun because it is a mishmashed combination of whatever was left over from the previous night's dinner. This morning I had blue jade corn bread, gold nugget squash with ginger pear sauce and young dandelions, a thick kale and potato soup, one egg sitting atop sauerkraut, and of course, a small slaw salad. It sounds like a lot but that is all I will eat until dinner.

My wife and I will be going on an 8 mile run later this afternoon as she is working towards a goal of 13 miles since she will possibly be running in a half marathon in the near future. My job, per her request, is to make sure she can do it. That mostly involves making her a nourishing breakfast and running along side her, sometimes even backwards in front of her, humming inspirational tunes from the movie "Rocky" and giving her annoying words of encouragement. This usually helps as she invariably picks up speed in order to escape me.:) Normally we eat much lighter on the days we will be running, I hope this meal does not slow us down too much

I wrote this post yesterday and we did have a pretty good run. It was very exciting for Mrs. H as she has never ran 8 miles before (8.1 to be exact). Last year she talked herself into running a 12km (7.46 mile) race and now she will be doing that same 12k plus a half marathon this year. I'm just glad that we are having such a great snow free winter and do not have to train on slippery snow covered roads like last year...so far anyway.

43 comments:

Jennifer Jo said...

Go Mrs. H! You can do it!

That is quite the nourishing breakfast. You just may be able to run a WHOLE marathon with food like that in your belly.

Ruth Trowbridge said...

Love to see what you eat, wish I could order it in a restaurant - as if, would be lucky to get any vegetables at all, except potatoes. Thanks for the link for the plantain, more than I knew and what a chock full website. You are lucky to be harvesting, we probably have another month! Congrats on the running! Peace

Ayak said...

Well done to Mrs H on her 8.1 miles. I'm sure that wonderful breakfast helped!

Stefaneener said...

go go go! I'd run away from my spouse singing at me too.

I'm working toward the same goal, although I'm a bit farther behind than you two are. Still, good to know someone else is hitting the road the same.

It's me ...Mavis said...

You can do it Mrs. H... You go girl :)

You Can Call Me Jane said...

Good for you all! My husband is a runner and he would love to get me out running. Maybe one day when our kids can be left home alone. Your breakfasts put our baked oatmeal and fruit to shame!

Mr. H. said...

Jennifer Jo - While that might be an excellent meal for a full marathon we won't be running that far anytime soon...at least I don't think we will.:)

Ruralrose - While a meal like this would might be somewhat unappetizing for many, I knew that you would appreciate it as our tastes are undoubtedly very similar in that we both like everything.:) We actually forced those dandelions in our basement and the kale was frozen from last year.

Ayak - It was a great breakfast and I am so proud of Mrs. H as that was quite a feat for her. I did not even have to sing to her this time.:)

Stefaneener - A singing husband can indeed be an annoying experience.:) That is so great that you are also doing some running. I love to workout but it helps my wife if she has a goal to achieve...hence the races. Once this is over we will probably go back to our 5.5 mile workout runs though as I believe long distance running can wear on a person after a while.

Mavis - Mrs. H says "thanks!" and she will do it one way or another. I will say that your previous marathon has been an inspiration to her and she will go girl.:)

Thy Hand - Don't do it! Once he gets you started down that road he will pester you non stop to go a little farther.:) Oatmeal and fruit sounds like a wonderful breakfast and one that we should have more often. P.S. we are making mini-sandwiches out of your oatmeal rolls again tonight.

granny said...

Thats a huge breakie..I think I would have to waddle off for a snooze if I ate that much in one sitting,lol.
Congrats to Mrs H,At least you're having some cool training weather.

Mr. H. said...

Granny,

Yes I do love a big meal...a bad habit that I need to break especially when it comes to the evening meal.

Mrs. H and I will take cool training weather over hot anytime.:) Especially the kind of hot that you often have in Australia.

kitsapFG said...

That breakfast looks down right yummy.

Hurrah for Mrs. H and an attaboy to you for being her best coach! Brought a smile to my face reading about it.

Anonymous said...

This is a big breakfast! Is it breakfast for one person or two? I don’t think that I could walk after this meal...
Good for you and Mrs. H! I guess that it is more fun running when having some company than on your own.

Diane@Peaceful Acres said...

Oh how exciting!!!! You made my day, with just the wish that I could run again...but that's my former life and I'm just grateful that I can get out of bed everyday and put one foot in front of the other. I made it to 7 miles before my bottom fell out....oh the ecstasy. Go Mrs H!!!!!!! I'll be cheering for you.

Mr. H. said...

kitsapFG,

Thanks, we do have fun.:)

Mr. H. said...

vrtlarcia,

It was a big breakfast and believe it or not that was just for me...yikes.I really should eat more and smaller meals but it just never seems to work out that way.

Yes, I am happy to finally have someone to run with. When we first started out she would bike while I ran so I did have company but it is nice to share the actual run...now we get to suffer together.:)

Mr. H. said...

Diane,

7 miles is pretty darn good and quite an acheivment...good for you. You never know, perhaps someday you will be at it again.:)

Frustrated Farmer Rick said...

Whoa that is one great looking breakfast. You guys are really doing things right over there!

Mr. H. said...

Rick,

We are trying. Time will tell if any of it really matters health-wise but the important thing is we are enjoying every moment.:)

Sylvie said...

With the kind of physical activities you guys have (including marathon training, now!), you can need the calories, proteins, carbs etc provided by such a breakfast! Enjoy!

kelli said...

yay mrs. h! what a lucky lady she is to have you encouraging her along, and the food looks yummy! =)

Mr. H. said...

Sylvie,

It's a vicious circle, we have to run so that we can fully pursue our other hobby...food.:)

Mr. H. said...

Thanks kelli,

Today we will be running a shorter distance and working on speed. Unfortunately, it is starting to snow out this morning so I am not sure how fast we will be. Hopefully it will melt by this afternoon.

Silke Powers said...

Oh, wow!! I am so impressed with Mrs. H. running! I am not a runner at all, so I'm doubly impressed!! And that breakfast looks delicious!! :) Silke

wendy said...

Awesome...food (I so want to try out some of those salad combinations) and running ablity!
Will the puppy be a running partner when he grows up?
I'm listening to a book called Born to Run while I workout...I think you might like it too. Here's another blogger writing about some of the food mentioned in the book...
http://www.nomeatathlete.com/tarahumara-pinole-chia-recipes/
enjoy and good luck!

GetSoiled said...

YAY for your wife! And another YAY for you being so supportive!

I tell you, once she gets the bug she won't stop until she does a full marathon. You heard it here first :-)

And, needless to say, I am still salivating over that scrumptious meal you had for breakfast!

Mr. H. said...

Silke,

Thanks, in looking at your pictures of the ocean I am reminded of a place in Seaside Oregon that we once stayed at. We had such a wonderful workout running along that very long ocean beach.

Mr. H. said...

Wendy,

Yes, one of the dogs duties will be that of a running and hiking partner to us. I had a little race with him in the park yesterday and won, he is getting pretty fast but I can still beat him...not for much longer though.:)

Thanks so much for the link I have been reading some of the blog posts and find his thoughts very interesting. The book also sounds quite fascinating and will be something I look forward to reading in the future. Thanks!

Have you ever heard of Tim VanOrden?

http://www.youtube.com/user/runningraw#p
/c/65D89142113E8F95/2/xmcz1u2vktU

also at

http://www.runningraw.com/

Mr. H. said...

GetSoiled,

The meal was good but I think we do better when running on a salad and smoothie breakfast.

About the full marathon...shh...I have to be careful or I will scare her away from running altogether. Baby steps.:)

Silke Powers said...

Hi Mr. H., thanks for your visit! I love reading cooking magazines as well and I DO often cook from them. Actually, I recently started subscribing to Vegetarian Times and love some of their recipes - of course I always change them just a little... Wishing you and Mrs. H. and Rowdy a great Monday!! :) Silke

wendy said...

Nope, I haven't heard of Tim VanOrden...Thanks for the links!

Anonymous said...

8.1? Wow! It looks like I have some catching up to do with you! Way to go both of you, and Mrs. H., which half will you be entering, CD'A? Jim has also started running but so far we have not been able to run together. I told him that one day we should go out and run the lake together. Baby steps with him also! Paige

Mr. H. said...

Hi Paige,

Micki was going to run in Las Vegas if she went to visit her son and daughter in law in March. If that does not work out we will be looking for a local half marathon...any ideas? I was trying to find some info. on local races in the Spokane/CD'A area but assume non of them will be starting until April or May.

Ayak said...

There's an award for you over at my blog. I know you don't like them...but it's just my way of showing that I love your blog and your comments on mine.

Mr. H. said...

Thanks Ayak:)

WeekendFarmer said...

Cute post ; ).

I should follow your diet. I usually skip breakfast and have lunch on the run and at dinner...eat TOO Much! very bad for the body.

The problem is if I eat breakfast I get hungry by 10:30 : ).

Mr. H. said...

WeekendFarmer,

Meals can be tricky when you are so busy. My biggest issue is with how late we eat dinner, usually just before bed...not a good thing.

Tamar@StarvingofftheLand said...

Well done on the 8.1! Perhaps both of you could come to Cape Cod and go running with me -- although it would take more than inspirational tunes to get me to go 8 miles. Wild horses, maybe.

I guess it's all in the breakfast, eh?

Mr. H. said...

Hi Tamar,

We managed 9 miles yesterday, but it might be a while before we can run all the way to Cape Cod.:) Honestly, it really is in the breakfast. My wife never has a "great" run unless she eats a salad, 1 egg, and a smoothie a few hours before running...me I can eat anything. The above meal was OK but she definitely prefers the salad breakfast.:)

Robbyn said...

So great you're both working as a team....go Mrs. H! OK, that breakfast looks soooo good

Silke Powers said...

Just wanted to wish you all a good Sunday! I hope you are staying warm up there! We are having lots of rain these days, but today it's dry, sunny and cold (for our climate...). :) Silke
P.S. How is Rowdy doing? Is he being a good puppy?

Mr. H. said...

Robbyn,

It's always much more fun when you can suffer together.:)

Wanda..... said...

Just discovered your VERY INTERESTING BLOG! Will be following!

Mr. H. said...

Silke,

Thanks, you are so nice. The puppy is growing like a weed and we have been teaching him how to get along with the chickens of late. Our weather has been very similar to yours this winter...just a little colder. Rain and sun and rain and sun...not bad at all. I hope you had a terrific Sunday as well.:)

Mr. H. said...

Wanda,

Thank you for stopping by for a visit Wanda, I am happy to hear that you found our blog interesting.

Mike

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