There’s nothing like darkness in the woods to make you have a PR training run.
I had an 8-miler scheduled today but was loathe to do it all in the gym. So I hustled off to the parkway to do the 3-mile loop outside before having to retreat to gym for final five. Things were good till the last hill. It’s shrouded in trees, so dark I could barely see the path. The squealing and shrieking of the nighttime creatures, bugs and bats – one brushed up alongside me. eww! – made me charge up the hill with an intensity usually reserved for only the shortest of races.
I’ve found the secret to the best pre-training food for long runs: Dominican food. No really, I had Dominican for lunch and during the run I felt so strong. Like I could run forever.
I’m doing a story on the growing number of Dominicans in the area, so I had plans to speak to the Dominican owner of a Dominican restaurant. I invited along a colleague.
This colleague reviews a restaurant a week and since he’s never had Dominican food, asked the girls working the counter to give us a little taste of, well, pretty much everything.
Goat? Sure. Chicken stew? Yep. Bananas? Please. Mashed bananas? Sounds good. Fried plantains? Umm-hmm. Rice, yellow or white? Yellow, thanks. Beans? A staple.
“Oh, and one of those,” he says, pointing to an empanada looking thing that is filled with beef, we’re told.
We chat. The first two plates come out. They are really big. I mean, big enough that those two dishes could be our lunch.
The waitress returns with the second round. Hmm, our table is getting a little crowded. A plate of two bananas (bananas verdes) and an unnecessarily large serving of mashed bananas is placed in front of us.
The third, and we think, final trip brings us the empanada-looking thing and a side of beans. “Your plantains are coming up,” she tells us.
When all is said and done, our entire table for two is covered with plates and sides. We barely have room for our serving plates.
When the time comes to pack up to go, our two large to-go boxes are completely full – and quite heavy.
But man what a good run. And for post-run nourishment, the goat and rice and bananas were most tasty.
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5 comments:
mmmmmm...good stuff.
When I lived in Miami (2000-2003), I was exposed to Dominican food for the first time and really enjoyed it. Every item you mentioned was a treat.
made you run like a goat? heh. fried platanas - delish!
How tasty! They should make you a special to-go order for your next race.
I am also wondering if it is in the food that makes some of the African runners so good. I mean the long-distance runners from Ethiopia, etc. It seems that they are so dominant in long distant races particularly marathons.
Consider this your weekly fan mail, asking for updates....
How did the camping trip go?
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