Gummy Bears & Gnocchi di patate

Gnocchi di patate

Gnocchi di patate is an Italian classic. Before moving to Italy, I thought Italian cuisine was all Lasagne, Pizza and Pasta. Starting from two years ago I discovered the whole new world of dishes and flavors! One of my favorite is Gnocchi di patate. All you need is potatoes, an egg, some flour and a pinch of salt. You can find a recipe here. Despite being so simply to prepare and so “poor” in ingredients, they taste divinely.

It was Sunday and it should have been my special Italian lunch. I was so enthusiastic about it! I chose to serve my Gnocchi with Funghi & Brie sauce. I heated the oil, added an onion (sorry, I’m Serb) and after a while, I added chopped mushrooms. I spiced everything and left it to cool. When it was cold enough I chopped Brie on it (Is the crust edible? I always throw it away). I put my boiled Gnocchi into the sauce, mixed everything on light fire for a few minutes and my dish was ready to be served.

As simple as it sounds, but the result wasn’t as I expected. My Gnocchi were heavy and gummy. The sauce was perfect, the result wasn’t bad, but that’s just not what I wanted.

Gummy bears

When I think about gummy bears, I think about Mateja Markovic (coach of TKP Pozarevac).

It was Sunday. Not the Gnocchi Sunday, but the previous one. A great friend of mine and I went running 15K. At some point, after the 10^th kilometer, I felt really bad. I felt cold, a shiver down my spine and I started feeling dizzy. My friend took my hand and was surprised how cold I was. In just a second I was covered by cold sweat. I didn’t know what was happening. We walked for 10min and when I felt fine again, we ran the last 5K.

I was afraid. I have never felt that bad before, but that’s not the problem. The problem is that I don’t know what caused that awful feeling! Maybe I was dehydrated, maybe I was too tired, I don’t know. Besides, I realized I was low on energy those days, I was always hungry and I put on 3kg(?!). I decided to cut on trainings (and ice creams). The first week I trained less and the second one (the one that we have just left behind) I made a four-day-pause. I didn’t give up, nor I was thinking about giving up. But I felt the need for some rest.

I restarted today. My training was 15K running and I felt good. I even lost 3kg that I had put on (What? How? Dunno). I feel fine now and I am ready for new adventures!

It’s all about Gnocchi

I had Dejan on my side, his professional help and his training plans. I was eating (more or less) healthy, I was sleeping enough, I wasn’t stressed. Generally speaking, my sauce was just fine. I think that the problem is that before starting this program, I wasn’t very active. I didn’t run for more than a month because my foot hurt me and I ran just 2-3 times per week before that because I had to think about my Master thesis. From the moment it was all over, I just started being hyperactive, spending all my spare time in the movement. From a coach-potato, I wanted to become a great Gnocchi. But I turned to be a gummy bear made of potato starch. I have nothing against gummy bears, but it’s not what I wanted to make! For great Gnocchi dough, you need the best and very special kind of potato, a genuine raw material. I decided to build my basis slowly, from the scratch. I will listen to my body and have a rest when I need it. As for Gnocchi, I will search for the right potato and once I find it, I will make a great Gnocchi blindfolded.

Bon appetite!

What I talk about when I talk about running

Déformation professionnelle

“What I talk about when I talk about running” or “Hashiru Koto ni Tsuite Kataru Toki ni Boku no Kataru Koto”, translated in Italian as “The art of running” is a memoir by Haruki Murakami. Wikipedia says it’s about long-distance running. The book’s title was inspired by Raymond Carver’s “What we talk about when we talk about love”. Why the Italian translator chose to entitle it differently, I don’t know.

I like the style: simple and smart. Short sentences, but clear, so that even a kid could understand what Haruki wanted to say. The reading is fast, with a constant short rhythm that describes Murakami’s heart beat and short breath while running. I was attracted by the Italian title, “The art of running” and I liked the reviews I found on the Internet, too. I liked the book because it made me think, it evoke emotions and inspired me. On the other hand, there are a few things I didn’t like. First of all, the book is not about running, neither about the Art of Running. It’s the autobiography of the author who was preparing himself for his big race. He talks about himself, about his daily routine, about the music he listens while running, about him being a writer, about his habits and philosophy, about his trip to Greece and about him running the original classic course. He gives us just a glimpse of his training, and then gets back to himself. He tells us which race he ran with what pace, if he suffered or not and then gets back to his thoughts. There are no further explanations. It’s more like a diary. I would call it “A diary of a runner”, or “A writer who goes running” or something. When I first saw this book, Andre Agassi’s “Open” came to my mind. I expected to find the same description of his trainings, tournaments, joy and suffering, hate, passion and devotion with a glance at his private life, explaining how he managed to organize his time, putting together his career with his spare time, love life, friends and family. Instead, we have a Japanese writer who is a runner. A writing runner. Simple, clear, essential.

Solitude

At the very beginning, Haruki explains why he loves running: he enjoys spending quality time with himself, introspecting his life, thoughts and decisions. Sincerely, I found myself in these lines, but then he continues on insisting on how he likes being alone, and how he doesn’t feel comfortable when in a group. At this point, I realize it’s not my case (or I got scared because these lines could be referring to me, too?). His solitude turns into loneliness, into Saudade. But running is not about loneliness. It’s not a sad activity, a sport of poor souls, puzzle pieces that just do not fit. On the contrary!

I have been thinking a lot about psychology of runners. When I say “I am a runner”, what does it tell about me? A runner (as I know it) is motivated, passionate, devoted, goal-oriented, disciplined, constant, persistent, ambitious, determined, adventurous, spunky, organized, self-critical. He/she is also often a strict, rigid, stubborn, arrogant, self-oriented narcissist. Feel free to add good and bad adjectives.

Running in a group is great. Every time I would move from one city to another, change school, job, or just a group of friends, I would seek for runners, trying to organize a new running group. When running alone, with no plan, you can lose your motivation and see no progress. Group running, on the other hand, allows you to change your rhythm, go further and faster, compete, learn and teach, exchange opinions and ideas, chat, have fun, get to know someone better. I would like to thank all my running buddies for sharing their kilometers with me!

Runners like seeing other runners on the street. #YouKnowYouAreARunnerWhen you are in a car/bus, going to work/school, see a runner from the window and wish to join him/her. Even if it’s more common to say hi when cycling, sailing, or hiking, there are gentle runners who say hi, encourage you, or smile at you when see you running. I have to notice there are more gentle runners in the morning, although you would expect them to be more grumpy and rude at 6AM. Please, if you have nothing to say, or don’t want to spare your energy to move your thumb up, give a smile. It costs you nothing, but will boost another runner’s energy. Keep in mind Dale Carnegie’s words: “A smile costs nothing, but creates much. It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give. It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever”.

Music

At one point Murakami talks about his running playlist. Do you listen to music while running? What’s your playlist like? I ran for years listening to Break Beat Era and similar. I ran my first half marathon listening to Radiohead. A friend of mine listens to podcasts. There was a long period of time that I wouldn’t run if my player wasn’t charged. If battery died during my running, I would stop the training. I was music addicted. When running in a group I didn’t always need music. Now I can run both with and without it. Let’s say that now I listen to the playlists from 8tracks , MTV UK top 100 chart, or similar. I rarely listen to the radio. Whereas I saw cyclists listening to the music on road, I prefer paying attention to the traffic and never listen to music while cycling outdoor. When cycling in the gym, I bring my kindle with me.

Trainings

Murakami runs every day. He likes talking about kilometers he ran during a week or month. He makes no pause and remembers very well a few days of his life that he wasn’t able to run. It’s true that if you want to run better, you have to go out and run; if you want to learn how to paint, you have to take a brush in your hand and if you want to learn how to cook, you have to put your hands into the dough and start kneading. At the beginning it’s important to go out and run, make a habit, find pleasure in your routine. As soon as you become a runner (Q: “When do I become a runner?”; A: “When you feel like one”), you have to do different types of trainings. You have to do tempo run, hills, long slow run, recovery run, intervals, or you won’t see any progress. I remember the time I was living at the Doorms in Belgrade and I was running 45minutes 3-4 times per week. Same time, same place and it became a habit. It was nice, but at some point I wasn’t getting any better. As soon as I started doing different trainings, I noticed the improvement. If you don’t know what to change and how to improve, try downloading a running plan from the internet. There are a lot of sites with great plans, explaining every single training. From time to time I buy “Runner’s world”, where you could fine nice tips for improving your running, admirable motivating stories and the calendar of races!

Motivation

Murakami was asking himself if he is the only one who, from time to time, doesn’t want to train. He interviewed one famous Japanese runner asking him the same question and the response he got was rather obvious: he neither feels like running every day. As I wrote once in my tweet, I like running when lazy, upset, angry, disappointed or exhausted from school/work. It just purifies me, charges me with new energy and allows me to go beyond my limits. I ran my fastest 5K and 21K when I was feeling upset.

Running is a drug, but the nice one. It’s legal and you need no prescription for it. As #Asics campaign says “It’s a big world. Go run it”.

The Awesome 21 Day Rule

It wasn’t once I heard that if you want to change something, to make a nice habit, or to extinguish a bad one, you need to follow a 21-day-rule: you should repeat your new (non) habit for 21 days and voila, it becomes your new (non) habit, you become a better person! As simply as that! If you don’t believe me, just google it, but don’t read Forbes, known for writing things you don’t want to believe in ;)  Read this instead! 

I have just concluded my 21-day cycle! It’s been three weeks since I have started training with Dejan and I feel great! I am an athlete, I am a triathlete wannabe, I am a Bananaman!

My trainings

I notice I am getting better at running! I can’t wait to run my next half marathon and see what pasta I am made of! I spiced my trainings with hills, I did one great interval training Dejan told me to do, today’s running training was awesome and it’s incredible how fast I am getting better. I am getting better at cycling, too. It would be horrible if I wasn’t because I have just started, so it’s normal to watch yourself progress. My problem is that I don’t know how to “train” cycling. Maybe I should spice it with some hills, too. It’s that my normal and my recovery training are same to me! None of them seems more difficult or more easy, they are all same! As for swimming, I’ve always liked swimming, but I think it’s my weakest point at the moment. I have watched speedo’s videos on youtube and I realized my technique sucks. Since swimming pools are open now, I could do my trainings very well there, but, as I told Dejan, I don’t understand his swimming abbreviations, so I have no idea how my swimming training should be like! On one hand, I am happy about how I am doing and I really notice the great progress; on the other hand, I feel a bit confused.

 

My fears

I was afraid I wouldn’t succeed. I thought I would feel exhausted after 7-10 days of every-single-day-a-training-or-two program, but I have never felt better! Before that, I was wondering if it was a silly idea to spend a great amount of money for a bicycle and equipment, since I was never fond of cycling, but now I realize that my dear Pedro is worth every penny I spent for getting him! It’s relatively easy to get addicted to running, but it’s far more easier to get addicted to cycling! I was also afraid of going social and sharing my ideas and thoughts, but that fear was totally unfounded! I got great feedback from my family and friends, but also from people I didn’t know! So, guys, thank you for reading me and thank you for writing me back! I really appreciate it! I hope I will be able to keep your attention while trying to reach my goal!

My life

You won’t believe it, but I still have family and friends! While it’s true that I train a lot, I still have time for some social life. My first though was that my life would become all work and trainings, but it’s not (at least not yet) like that. Amy Klipin verbalized my thoughts about the (half) Ironman race (September 2016 Pola!) in one interview for The Guardian: “So, I signed up. Deep breaths. It’s  only a year of intense training,a funeral for my social life and a potential fatality on race day, no big deal. I got a coach, subscribed to the I’m-a-boring-triathlete-with-no-social-life-and-a-one-dimensional-conversation-pattern-revolving-entirely-around-training club, and dug deep. Very deep”.

I was told that I exaggerate with sports, that I should be more girlish and that there is no femininity in what I am doing. I was told that a guy who liked me at first lost his interest in me because I was too competitive with him. I realize that I am a sport companion for the guys, but I enjoy the feeling! I have a lot of friends to do sports with and I like not being considered a weak girl, but one of them, tough guys.

Habits

I started getting up earlier and going to bed earlier. I don’t need to sleep as I used to and my body recovers really fast. The more I train, the more I want to train, it’s amazing! I don’t  get that logic. It must be magic, there is no other explanation. I noticed that I’m awake and full of energy all the day, that I’m more concentrated at work and more vivid. I was talking with some friends of mine about the full-activity days and lazy days and we came to the conclusion that more things one does, more things he/she wants to do, making his/her day last longer than just 24h. On the other hand, if one does nothing, he/she ends up not being able to do anything. He/she becomes lazy and then just lazier and so on… What’s your opinion on it?

 

Special powers

I am Bananaman! I think most of athletes are. Bananas are great. I eat them every time before running and I often opt for a banana for a snack during the day (here the answer to your question: “what can I eat before my training?”). I am still that delish creamy white chocolate ice cream, too. What are you?  

I asked Dejan what does he think, what is my ideal weight, but I have never got a response. Until that day, I will tell you that your ideal weight is the one you feel comfortable with. It’s not expressed in numbers, nor in centimeters of fat around your belly. Your goal should be to feel great in your body. Your body is your temple, so take care of it!

I cannot tell you a secret of 6 packs because I don’t have them, but, as Bananaman, I can share one of my favorite cake recipes, although you probably know it already. Anyway, repetitio mater studiorum est, so:

You need: ladyfingers (God blessed them! They are the best solution for all lazy housewives in the world!), whipped cream, orange/apricot/ananas juice, bananas, jam and chocolate. Make the base of your cake with ladyfingers. Put some juice on them (not to much, just a few drops on every piece), spread some jam on it, put banana slices and cover it with a whipped cream. Put another base of ladyfingers, put a few drops of juice on every piece, spread some more jam, put slices of bananas, and whipped cream. Decorate your cake with chocolate. Put it in the fridge and after a few hours, you have a delicious banana cake! Of course, you can use other fruit (strawberries, ananas, apricot,..), or make different creams by adding some fruit jam in it. Explore, play, add, mix,… it’s difficult (almost impossible) to make it bad. Keep it simple and September 2016 Pula, that'all.