Running Food

Tired of packing snickers bars and other sugary snacks on long runs, I tried out a recipe from Scott Jurek’s book Eat and Run where I  came across his recipe for making Onigiri (rice balls).   Easy to make and convenient enough to pack on a long run, it’s a type of food that can provide more long term energy than processed chocolate bars.   The recipe is simple and a fun way to spend a relaxing hour in the kitchen on a hot Arizona afternoon.

Scott’s recipe calls for sushi rice, nori seaweed, and miso, but I substituted the miso with Korean soybean paste because it’s a bit spicier.  Anyway, here’s how to do it:

1. Take 2 cups of rice and wash out the starch.   

2. boil 4 cups of water with the rice.

3. After water boils off, leave the rice to cool. 

4. Prepare a small bowl of water to remove sticky rice from hands when forming Onigiri.

5. Prepare nori seaweed by carefully cutting sheets in half.

6. Form ¼ cup triangle shaped rice formations.  Make it flat and make sure rice sticks well together.

7. Put a small dab of miso(or soybean paste) on rice.

8. Cover the triangle of rice and paste with a second triangle half.

9. Take sheet of seaweed and completely cover the rice.

10. Cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge to cool.  Makes 8-10 onigiri.

Things Are Heating up in Phoenix

Coming back to the states is always a special time for me.  It’s a chance for me to see family and friends and an opportunity to reconnect with things I was used to before I moved to Poland.  Interestingly, there is one thing that will never be easy for me to reconnect with; that is the Arizona heat.  Despite liking hot weather, the heat can make it challenging for a runner.  Nevertheless, with enough preparation and determination to drag myself out of bed before the sun starts to really cook, anything is possible.  And for those who do manage to greet the day here before it gets too hot are also rewarded with views of spectacular landscapes. 

After a few short runs around some back trails of Phoenix, I decided to sign up for a short race to see  what it was like to run with a community of  fellow Americans.  Despite being from the states, I have never actually run an organized race in the states.  As it turned out, it was just like running with people in Poland, except it was much hotter than it will ever be in Poland.  Moreover, in order to avoid the worst of the heat, the race started at six-thirty in the morning.   

Normally a five kilometer distance, this particular race was a four mile course  to commemorate the particular day of the run, which was by no coincidence the fourth of July.  Can you think of a better way to begin Independence Day than trudging through a four mile run in the Arizona heat?   It was all organized by Arizona Road Racers, a non-profit group that sets up races around the Phoenix area.  The usual five kilometer races are part of a racing series called Summer Series.  The group organizes several five kilometer races in the summer at various locations at parks in the Phoenix metro area. 

The distance wasn’t intimidating; however, the weather was.  Despite running at a conservative pace (7:05m/mile) throughout the race, I was really pushing myself to finish that last mile.  I could feel the dryness at the back of my mouth from a lack of moisture and was really finding it hard to breathe.  My legs were sluggishly moving forward despite all the effort I felt I was doing to move them.  It was all because of the dry heat of the summertime in Phoenix.  In Poland I wouldn’t have these problems early on.  Nevertheless, I still finished with a respectable time, and I even scored a free cheeseburger at the barbecue at 7am after the race.  If anything, I’m sold for the next race-- especially for the free hamburgers for breakfast.