A simple blog about food, cooking, family, friends and the fun of ultra running. From the eyes of Chef Bill Bailey.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

BLOG BLOG BLOG

I'm still training, I'm still cooking, I'm still PIC (Parent In Charge)!!!
I've been very busy. I haven't have any time to blog...as you can see. I wanted to take a few minutes to say I ran the buckeye half today 1:54:46. My PR is 1:52. Not a good day. It was rainy, I was tired...I could go on and on with other excesses but I'll stop there.

I've been working on a project some of you know about; I've been testing an energy bar calling PŪR Fuel. They were featured at the Buckeye 1/2 today and were a big hit. I got a lot of feedback and great commits. If you missed them today or want to buy more, you can purchase them at Vertical Runner. I'll post more about them later. I'm still working on some of the details and fine tuning. I can tell you they are delicious!!!

I'm still training for Akron...I am going to try to run just under 4 hours.
I'm also going to post more recipes for you on this blog and on my website www.playingwithknivesandfire.com.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Chef Bill Bailey's Recipe

Chicken Stir-Fry with Noodles
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground Szechwan pepper
Wide rice-stick noodles
1 teaspoon sesame oil 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced gingerroot
1/4 cup sliced thinly green onions
3/4 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoon sherry
3 tablespoons soy sauce, or more to taste
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped yellow onions
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small zucchini, cut in
1/2 lengthwise then into 1-inch pieces
1 stalk celery, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 bunch baby bok choy, bottoms trimmed, rinsed well, and cut on the diagonal
3 ounces shiitake or button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 cup mung bean sprouts
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
In a bowl, toss the chicken with the sugar, red pepper flakes, and Szechwan pepper. Let sit.
To make the rice noodles, place 1/4 pound of rice stick noodles in a bowl, cover with boiling water and let stand until softened. Drain, cover, and set aside until ready to serve.
To make the seasoning blend, in a blender or small food processor, combine the sesame oil, garlic cloves, ginger, and 2 tablespoons of the green onions, and puree on high speed.
To make the cooking sauce, in a small bowl, combine the chicken stock, soy and hoisin sauces. In another small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the sherry. Set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the peanut oil to smoking in a wok or very large skillet over high heat. Add the pureed seasoning blend and cook for 15 seconds. Add chicken and stir-fry until mostly opaque, but not cooked through all the way, about 2 minutes. Remove to a plate. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, then the onions, carrots, bell pepper, zucchini, and celery, and cook, stir-frying for 30 seconds. Add the bok choy and mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Add the reserved cooking sauce and return the chicken to the wok. Stir and toss until the sauce glazes the food and the chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to the heat and return to a boil. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minute.
Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of green onions, and cilantro. Adjust seasoning to taste, with additional soy sauce, if desired.
Serve immediately over blanched rice noodles.

To the Bridge And Back

First I want to clarify sometime from Monday's blog before I get tons of negative emails. Savannah Georgia Hogs are very lean hogs, but the are very sweaty.
OK that's out of the way...Up at 4am to run solo. Today I was armed with a 201 Garmin. I'm trying to see if I can improve my pace if I use the Garmin. Today's "to the bridge & back" was 9.28 miles and my avg. pace was 10 min. miles. I don't think the Garmin help very much today. I did pick up the pace on a few spots but then the hilly section were a little slow. I'll have to test it on some other runs to see if I can increase my pace.

No Night Crawlers tonight (my wife has a meeting) I'm PIC "Parent In Charge"
I would like to run Thursday Aug. 23, 2007 at 9pm at Happy Days Anyone who wants to run with me email me at chefbill@playingwithknivesandfire.com

Monday, August 20, 2007

Monday AM 8 mile Loop

Rain Rain Rain...
We got to sleep in today, we met at 5:30am instead of 5am.
I thought it would be one of those rainy runs. I checked Dick's Doppler before leaving the house. It showed a little bit of a break in rain showers, but once I got to Canal Park Stadium we had a nice steady drizzle. Nick & Brett wore their Seattle style rain parkas, I was going to wear my Long Sleeve Vertical Runner Tech-T, but I opted for my short sleeve tech. 3 miles in I had 2 sweaty Savannah Georgia hogs squealing about how hot it was in Akron Ohio. After shedding the layers my two southern friends were comfortable enough to run at a decent pace. Nick just ran the Perfect 10 Miler on Sunday so this was his recovery run. Brett just got back from vacation on Sunday.
We ran the same 8 mile loop as last Monday. In the Marathon it's mile 3 through 11ish. We got to run through the beautiful Firestone Park Neighborhood. ( Hey anyone know why there's a scuba diving store in the middle of the city? It's on Brown St. & Stanton Ave. No where near any water.) We also ran through part of the wonderful University Of Akron Campus. Once we got to main st. I kicked it into high gear. I told Nick there are two spots on the Akron Course I want to beat. 1. I'm going to fly down Market Street Hill. This is Mile 24 in Highland Square. 2. I'm going to continue the pace down Main St into the stadium. On Main street I will still have to run about 1/2 mile before I get to the stadium. Last year I had to run these two sections really easy. Not this year. This is a section I will pick up lost time.

Akron Road Runner Marathon Training

Sat. Aug. 18, 2007
Today I ran with Melissa & her dad. We planned an Akron Marathon training run on the 18 mile loop. We met at 9am downtown Akron at Canal Park. I revised the map from last week. Route Permalink: http://www.runningmap.com?id=21382
If you run into Stan Hywet(not on the map) around the driveway it's close to 18 miles. We stopped for water along the way (Sand Run). I didn't stash any water. We could have used some at Firestone High School.
We finished 3:06 hours. We ran a slower pace, Melissa's dad had some physical training on his knee a few months again and his last long run was only 12 miles. He planned only to run 15 miles and walk the remaining 3 miles, but we in courage him to move on and run the rest of the way in. Melissa left us in the dust on Market street she took off to show us how fast she wants to run in the marathon. I in with Melissa's dad. Great run not to hot temp was around 70's.

Dawn Crawling Run

Friday Aug. 17, 2007
I know I don't have to ask the question but I will any way...Have you ever have a morning, you plan an early run, your alarm is screaming at your eye lids to get up. Your thinking... "Do I really need to run today? "I could run longer tomorrow...wait I'm already planning a 18 mile run...that won't work." Maybe I'll feel like running when I get my shoes on..."After I run another mile I'll feel better". My Morning was Crap!!! I planned to run 8 miles, my pace was 9-10 min./miles. I was tired. After running about 3 miles I know I wouldn't feel any different if I kept going. Instead I ran my 5 mile neighborhood loop. I crawled back to the house and flopped on the couch. I do have to give myself a little credit; I did get out of bed, I did put my shoes on and I did run.

Night Crawlers

Wed. Aug. 15, 2007
We're at it again Wednesday Night Night Crawlers....
If you've been following my blog you know the story, if your new to reading my blog here's the scoop...it started with Nick, Brett, Melissa and myself. We all have busy family lives and were trying to come up with a creative way to run & enjoy our time with our families without the nagging running commits from the spouse. We started a late night trail run that meets at 9:00pm (after the kids are put to bed). We usually meet at Lock 29 and run for about 1 1/2 hours.
Tonight's Night Crawlers were Chef Bill (ME), Melissa & Beth. Nick is in road running mode...He is training for the Akron Marathon and is focused on road running, no trails until after the marathon. Brett is sweating his butt off in South Carolina...On Vacation. Our evening started with a dome light problem in Beth's truck. After closing the door the dome light stayed on. I had to jimmy the switch to turn off the light. When Melissa arrived she was cursing her father for cleaning out her car and misplacing her headlamp. 3 runners two headlamps, no problem we've accomplished this before (RIGHT NICK!! Nick forgot his lamp on a previous night run.)
We ran our familiar 8 mile Pine Lane Loop. No watch, no GPS, just the moon and some freaking thing moving in the woods that scared the crap out of me. I couldn't see what is was but it sounded big and flappy, it must of had wings. This is something I'll never get use too. Things moving in the night. I've had bats fly into my lamp, deer peering at me with their illuminating eyes. I'm still waiting for the guy with an axe & a six pack of Bud Light. Now that I've planted the seed; I'll be looking for a guy or girl with an axe, maybe one beer or better yet, a New Balance water bottle, wearing a pair of Montrails and a Vertical Runner Tech-T.
Beth's training for her first 50 miler in Michigan. Her goal tonight was to blaze up all the hills we encountered. Melissa is training for the Akron Marathon.
My guess is we ran our 1 1/2 hours and we covered our 8 miles. Look for more up coming Night Crawler Trail Runs if you want to join us e-mail me chefbill@playingwithknivesandfire.com

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Follow The Bule Line II

Monday Aug. 13, 2007
It's 4am again...I'm getting up to run "THE BLUE LINE II".

I met Coach Nick at Canal Park to run our 8 mile Akron Marathon Loop. This section take you South on Broadway St. into South Akron and Firestone Park then back up to Akron U to finish of the loop. Nick had this great idea to use this route for a tempo run. I agreed, but wasn't sure if I could run a tempo this morning. Armed with his trusty Garmin we headed out at a good pace. I told Nick I will run this pace until my body tells me to slow down. Nick wore his reflector vest, good thing the Akron drives this morning were ruthless. We had to run some sidewalks. We kept checking our pace & time with the Garmin. I felt great. When I felt like I slowed down I check our pace with the Garmin then pickup my pace to kept on track. I had the same feeling when running the BUCKEYE 50K. I need to get one of these GPS gadgets. I defiantly think my solo runs would get better and not to mention I would understand my track outs.
We ran 1:11 avg. 8.38 min. mile pace. Now if I can do this in the marathon I'll be set for my sub 4 hour Marathon!!!!
This is a great mid-week training run, if you can get yourself up and your shoes on you've defeated the hardest part of an early morning run.
We well plan to run this loop again next week, if you would like to join us email me chefbill@playingwithknivesandfire.com

Follow The Bule Line

Sat. Aug. 11,2007
I had one of those chaotic days where I had to be at several places through out the day. I had to run with the group in the morning, buy a van, set up & teach a cooking class and have a fun filled evening at Stan Hywet for a Shakespeare play with my wife and some friends.

The VR Training Group had a 16 mile run on the Akron Marathon course. We met at Canal Park, the finish line for the Marathon. I arrived early to place water throughout the course and to checkout the parking lot. We had great parking, right across from the stadium. About 30 runners(maybe more) turnout. Most of the VR Training Group, and some runners joined us to familiarize themselves with the Akron Course.
I was responsible for mapping out the course. I used www.runningmap.com . Because of mapping and operator errors I made the course 1.5 miles longer. oops!!!! Everyone made it back OK. No punches were swung at me. Next time I'll have the map edited before we post it. I was on a schedule to get to the bank to buy my new catering van, so I had to run real fast. Well that was my plan. I made the opening announcements to the group (where we were running, where I place the water, bathrooms, etc.). Our course covered miles 1 and 2, over the Y-Bridge and 11 through 26.2. I wanted everyone to see the starting line, which was fading (they will re-paint the line before the race) and the finishing leg, running down Main Street to the stadium. The course has a blue line running throughout the route, so once we got started it was easy to have everyone follow the course without getting lost.
I started to run with the Gazelles, they were avg. a 8.0 min./mile. Once we hit the towpath (Mustill Store) I lost them, or I should say, they lost me. I ran the towpath alone, then once I got to Sand Run I started to run with the second pack, Marta, Nick, Mark, Steve. Sand Run is a great place to train for this marathon. This is mile 16 and it can get ugly if you don't know the course. this section is a gradual incline. Once you think your up the hill, there's another hill.
I mainly ran with Marta. She's training for Akron, The Marine Corp. and New York Marathons.
Because of the added mileage, we didn't run Stan Hywet. It's just a little u-turn up the driveway to the mansion then back to Portage Path. Highland Square is mile 24 in the marathon. It's a nice down hill run that you can make up a lot of time, but be careful, from the corner of Market & Main Street it's still 1/2 mile to the stadium. Don't forget to run into the stadium to the finish line.
My time was 2:56 for the 17.5 mile. I would like to see if I could run the marathon in 4 hours(or less). I will be training on this section again. I have the course mapped out correctly next time. They will be 14-16 miles and maybe one 20 mile. I'll post the time & dates soon.


Friday, August 10, 2007

Follow The Bule Line

Akron Marathon Course Familiarization Run

This Saturday, August 11th we will be running 16-17 miles on the Akron Marathon Course
We will meet at Canal Park and the group run will begin at 6:30am
Water will be available along the course, but with the recent humidity and heat we have had it is suggested that you still carry your own nutrition and hydration needs
For more information on this group run visit the Vertical Runner Message Board: http://verticalrunner.com/

Thurs. AM Run With Nick

Rolled out of bed at 4am to get set for my AM run with Nick. We are running portions of the Akron Marathon. This week starting at Merriman Rd. & Portage Path (15 mile marker) heading south on the towpath. The Marathon Course will travel north on this portion of the towpath.
Nick wasn't comfortable running in the lighting, he headed into PR fitness to run on the treadmill. I headed out onto the towpath. It was dark, rainy and I didn't bring a lamp. My eye soon adjusted to darkness and the sun was on it's way up.
Well this was boring...it's dark, I'm on the towpath, no music, no killer maniacs to run from, no one to talk or make fun of. the only excitement was the lighting in the distance. my plan was to run to Mustill Store and turn back, this would have been 8 miles. I got to Memorial Parkway (3 miles out) then turn around. I thought I'd just do 6 miles. Heading back I noticed a bouncing light; familiar to the ones that were floating down Front Street towards the BR100 Finish Line. At first I thought it must be a BR100 racer on his 144th hour. It was Nick he changed his mind, well PR fitness wanted $15.95 to run a treadmill. I headed back out with Nick so head could get in his 8 miles. The rain stopped the lighting show ended, now I have someone to made fun of...Thanks Nick.

Wed. Evening Trail Run

Wed. Aug. 8, 2007
I ended Monday's blog with "Dog Tired" I stayed dog tired until Wed. morning. I couldn't moved Tuesday. My weekend finally could up to me. Tuesday was a much needed recovery day.
Wed. I met Vince & Beth at Boston Store for a Beth's trail training run. I wanted to see how my older trail shoes felt with my new inserts. They were OK for a short run, but I don't think I should use them on a long trail run. I'll need to get new shoes soon. (Shhh...Don't let Jen know.)Beth is training for a 50 mile race in Michigan some time in Oct. 2007.

Here is Beth(Right) racing Melissa to the finish line at the Buckeye 50K

Another muggy day, We headed from the Boston Store north on the buckeye trail towards Jade Trail. Vince also took us on an adventure to see a large waterfall and some trails that connect to the Buckeye Trail. We were soaking wet from sweat not the waterfalls. We ran for a 1:25 about 8.5 miles.

What am I doing????

Monday Aug. 6, 2007
Who knew when I wrote "No Rest For The Wicked" it was addressed to me. I didn't plan on staying up for 34 hours. My plan was to watch the start of the race, nap a little, prep a little, nap some more. I just got caught up in all the race excitement.
I agreed to help sweep the course, pull up the steaks, ribbons, markers, and pickup any trash left behind from the weary runners. I also took it upon myself to volunteer Vince to help me, after all we still need to get in our miles for the day, he's not going to mind.
Vince & I meet at Bolanz and swept the Covered bridge loop and the road that takes you to O'Neil woods. It was muggy, I was moving slow. A muggy day like today would have change the out come of the race. We carried backpacks to carry the steaks, markers & trash. We were out for a few hours (don't remember how long). I was dog tired when I got home.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Burning River 100

Aug. 3-5 2007
Friday, Saturday, Sunday
What a weekend!!!! History was made this weekend in Northeastern Ohio. A) Was it because Tiger won the Bridgestone Invitationals? B) Legendary Cleveland Browns lineman, Gene Hickerson, finally was inducted into the Football Hall Of Fame? C) 1,800 Twins flocked to the city of Twinsburg? D) None of the above. The answer is D.
Friday night as 1,500+ party-goers packed Cuyahoga Falls River Square for a Queen Tribute Band concert, inside the River Square Pavilion 200+ people(runners, family, friends and Volunteers) gathered for a pre-race dinner for the first Burning River 100 Endurance Race.
I was able to bring two of my favorite passions together. My love for food & running. I was honored to have my company Playing With Knives & Fire provided the catering services for the event. We all fueled our bodies on a carb loading wheat pasta, salad and 400 cookies.
Rob Buckeye Powell with me (Chef Bill Bailey)
"Rob thanks for the picture"
After cleaning up and unpacking my catering gear, I hit the hay so I could get up early to drive to Squires Castle. I wanted to see the start of the race, mingle with the racers, and wish good luck to my friends.
Saturday 3:30am my alarm alerted me to get up!!! It was very loud...I managed to get up, and head out the door on-time. I wasn't sure where I was going, I know the area but never been to the castle.
After the race started Vince, Tim the rep. from Teva and myself went for a 1:55 run. We didn't run with the racers, we didn't want to get in there way. Vince was familiar to the area so he lead us on a 10-11 mile trek to "Trailsville". I had no clue where we were going.
We talked Tim into going with us. He had the usually question we all have when your running with someone new. "Where are we going?" "How fast are you going to run?" "How many mile?" We answered his questions as any runner, we lied to him... "We are just going to loop this little flat trail, no hills..." "Don't worry Vince doesn't run fast." "We will only run about 3 miles." After our run I headed back home to prep for Sunday's Post-race Breakfast. I chopped up some fruit, shopped for last minute ingredients, staged and packed the equipment. I headed to the finish line (Falls River Square Plaza), at 5 pm.
Burning River 100 2007 Finish Line Volunteers
I staged all the equipment that I needed for the breakfast. At one point during the day I looked at the temp. 93 degrees!!!! I was thinking to myself "I hope every one's drinking plenty of fluids." I also helped Vince, Mel & Todd setup the finish line. I called Jen (My Wife) at 6pm to ask what her plans were. She wanted to go home and get some rest before breakfast. I told her I was staying at the finish line to watch the racers run through. She's done with calling me crazy, She knows by now that I come up with some off-the-wall ideas and this is just one of them.
We had cell phone communications at the last two aid stations. We were updated on who was running to the finish line. To see Mark Godale run through the finish line at 16:07:10 was awesome. I am glad to have been there for that moment. Then to see Michael Hayden, the seventeen year old, race through at 19:13:12 was equally impressive. More impressive he hung out at the finish line like he just finished a 5K. You can see all the results at www.burningriver100.org. I can't remember what time I made coffee but that's the fuel that keep the volunteers from falling a sleep.
I started to setup for breakfast at 3:30pm(my 24 hour mark) to keep myself awake. After setting up all the equipment, I left to pickup the food. I started to cook the eggs & pancakes at 6:00am. Everything was going smooth. Jen & Sara kept the food and beverages stocked I cooked the eggs & pancakes. It started to rain, just a sprinkle at first then at the end a nice little down pour. The plan was to have the award ceremony in the amphitheatre, but because of the rain we moved inside the pavilion. After 34 hours my body finally told me to take a nap.
I am so glad I was a part of this event, I'm looking forward to next year.

Training for a 100 mile run takes months of hard work. The race committee did a great planning a course that all runners in NE Ohio can be proud of. As I mentioned before, this race should be challenging to run. We shouldn't have Ultra runners saying "Lets run BR100 it's an easy course to run." It should be hot, hilly, muddy, muggy, and tough for all who dares to race it.
Please take time to view other blogs listed below.
Mike Keller http://www.fitfromfat.blogspot.com/ Mike made it 65 miles, great job Mike.
http://joshdontherun.blogspot.com/ Josh 28:24:44 and he planned to drive back home to Cincinnati after the race. I thought I was nuts!!
http://runningpains.blogspot.com/ Rob made it 65 miles, great job Rob.
http://runwithelizabeth.blogspot.com/ E-Speed spent hours ringing cow bells at an aid station.
http://ultranewby.blogspot.com/ Kim's plans were to pace Mike Keller & work an aid station.
http://rootsrunner.blogspot.com/ Lloyd spend hours manning an aid station.
http://imreallyarunner.blogspot.com/ Brett was my communication line from the second to the last aid station to the finish line.













Sunday, August 5, 2007

NO 5 AM RUN MONDAY AUG. 6 2006

Great job to all the BR 100 Ultra Runners.
Do to my sleep deprived body I will be postponing the Monday 5 AM Aug. 6, 2006
Akron Marathon 8 mile training loop. I've been up for 34 continues hours.
Will be post a BR100 blog soon.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

NO REST FOR THE WICKED
SATURDAY AUG. 4, 2007 STARTING TIME 5 AM
SQUIRES CASTLE WILLOUGHBY HILLS OHIO
FINISH LINE RIVER FRONT SQUARE CUYAHOGA FALLS OHIO
GOOD LUCK TO ALL RUNNERS
SEE YOU AT BREAKFAST

Thusday 5 AM Run with Nick

Coach Nick & I are training on the Akron Marathon Course today. I mapped out a "There & Back" course. We started at Sand Run Parkway and ran to Market Street and back. This section has a slight incline all the way to Market. Nick's going to set a new PR for his marathon time 3:30. I'm going to try to break 4:00 mark. Last year my time was 4:17.
We cover 8 miles in 1:19 (Including Nick's bathroom break). Map of the route we ran.

Our next Akron Marathon Training run will be Monday Aug. 7, 2007 at 5:00 AM. We will meet at the Akron Art Museum, then run south. We will run an 8 mile loop that covers Firestone Park & Akron U. Anyone can join in on the fun. Call me or email me to let me know.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Wed AM North Hill Run

I got up at 5am to get my run in before Jen headed to work. I ran what I'm calling my North Hill Run. I wasn't real sore from the track workout, but I was more tired then anything. The dogs kept waking me up to "go out". I manage to run at a good pace. I tried to stay on the road as much as I could. I was told the marathon is ran on the roads not the sidewalks.
I was tempted to run the Glen trail but I didn't have my headlamp with me. The North Hill Loop is 7 miles I ran for 1:07. Just in time for Jen to get ready for work. I'm going to work in more 5am runs for my Akron Marathon Training.
I had to get in an early run today I have been working on getting the Burning River 100 Catering together this week. Good Luck to all!!! See you at the Pre-Race Dinner and don't forget there is a Post-Race Breakfast.

Tuesday Night Track Workout

A very hot day today. I made it to the store today. Vince wasn't there to run, so we were on our own tonight. Once we got the the track Vince was there, but he wasn't running. I'm still working on what I'm suppose to do during track workouts. It's not always about running really fast all at once.
Today's workout
800m @ 5K (3:15:83)
1200m @ 10K (5:33:74)
1600m @ 1/2 Marathon (7:51:57)
1200m @ 10k (5:27:73)
800m @ 5k (3:22:13)
with 400m recoveries
Since Vince didn't run he acted as our coach. "Bill move your arms." "Didn't stiffen your shoulders."
Then the last lap he gave the slower runner a head start (I was in this group) , then he told the faster if they didn't catch us we all had to run another 800m.
We had a 16 year old kid that caught us.
Our cool down was only a lap are so, then we headed back to the store.
about 7 miles.

Sat. AM Group Run

Sat. July 28, 2007
Another big group this morning. Most of us are all gearing up for the Akron Marathon. The scheduled run was 14 miles, we have a lady running with a GPS, she said we ran 15.5 miles today. I stuck with Coach Nick today. We ran towards the back of the pack. LSD...No it's not ACID. LSD "Long Slow Distance". Our group broke into two groups again, Vince had the Gazelle running at a good clip. Coach Nick & I made sure the other runners know which way to go. We ran the towpath, roads, the Bike & Hike trail, the carriage Trail, then back to the towpath.
Nick & I are making plans to run portions of the Akron Marathon during the week. This will be Nick's first Akron Marathon. Our first run will be Thurs. Aug. 2 at 5 AM.