Day 209: Swimming--in Daylight!

I rode with the wind this morning, traveling further with each revolution than I would have expected. 22 miles per hour, with little effort--until I got to the Back Bay trail. I pushed into the wind until I turned onto the PCH.

At Mesa, a woman entered the trail on her roadie. She was tallish, blondish, and about my age. I passed her just after she got on the trail. Her pedal was making a strange brushing noise, so I sped up to gain some distance. She was on me like butter on toast. No way was I going to let her pass again. I stood in the saddle and pedaled like mad to gain the hill at Back Bay Drive. She ate my dust as I discoed down the 13% grade.

I will say this for myself: I am not a jerk rider who swerves and maneuvers to gain the lead. I just pump hard.

Just as I was starting to slow a bit to enjoy the bird life on the Back Bay, I heard that crazy little swish of that woman's pedal. I picked up my cadence and added a smaller gear. She was pushing hard, but I was riding harder. If she had wanted it, she could have had it; but I remained in the lead until she turned back at the Nature Center.

I was breathing hard, my legs a bit wobbly, and my smile was huge as I continued through the neighborhoods and back through the park.

At 10 sharp, I bonked and stopped for some Jelly Bellies and nuts. I finished my ride with 34 miles at my back.

When I got home, the cat wanted food and so did I. Confession: Sunday night, JE and I made a huge thing of spareribs. This is what we have been eating for dinner all week long--and what I ate today, ravenously, after my ride.

A quick nap and I went swimming. What a beautiful day, and what lovely weather. The pool closest to my condo is unheated. Today was the first time since last summer that I braved the cold and went swimming there. It was lovely. When I first arrived there were only a few sunbathers. On my last set of laps, several families showed up with tons of kids. One woman came dressed in a thong back string bikini. She stood rubbing oil all over her body, bending down to reach her ankles--for a full 5 minutes. A mom of a couple young boys was kept busy trying to distract them by applying sunscreen to their backs--turned from the bikini. Such an odd thing to watch as I finished up my laps. It was definitely the slowest of my sets.

For dinner tonight, I made Monday's menu--Chicken Parma with polenta. Except I changed it to a sort of Chicken piccata with polenta. Start with the polenta:

Polenta
Preheat oven to 350F and butter a 2 quart casserole.
Saute 1/2 diced onion in olive oil over medium low heat. When translucent add 2 cloves garlic, minced. Stir until fragrant.
Add 2 cups milk, 2 cups chicken broth and bring to a boil. Turn off heat.
Slowly slowly slowly pour in 1 cup corn grits or polenta. Let sit until it begins to thicken over the residual heat. Pour into buttered casserole and top with a cup of grated cheese--cheddar works fine in a pinch. place in oven for 20-30 minutes while you make the piccata.

Piccata
Saute 1/2 onion sliced lengthwise, 1 red pepper sliced, about a cup of zucchini chopped in olive oil over medium low heat. Continue to stir until the vegetables are very fragrant and the onions translucent. Add 4 cloves sliced garlic and stir for about a minute. Remove veg from pan and turn the heat to medium high.

Cut two chicken breasts in half horizontally--to make thinner fillets. Season with salt and pepper. Heat about 1 tbl of grape seed oil in the now hot pan and add the chicken. Brown quickly on both sides, add one 14 oz can tomatoes along with 1/2 cup water (or wine). Add 2 tbl capers-chopped, 8 green olives-sliced and 2 tbl olive tapenade (or more olives and capers if that's what you've got), and a tsp of anchovy paste if you want. Cover and cook until chicken is ready, about 10 minutes. Serve with the polenta and grated Romano cheese.