Sports

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Matzohball 5k Run

Something I haven’t mentioned in the blog previously is that at the end of November, I had started running again.  I had considered running for a while before, because I knew I needed to do some kind of cardio, but nothing really stuck with me.  While on the elliptical in the gym, I’d be jealous of the people running on the treadmill, so I thought I might consider running again, something I haven’t done in 20 years since high school.

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Hiking and Cooking

What better way to start off a blog than with two of my hobbies.

I was mostly off work today, and so went to REI for a hiking bag I saw I sale. I just recently bought an overnight hiking backpack, but I saw this one on sale. What distinguishes it is it’s smaller so I can take it out for just a day, which also means it’s lighter. But, mostly, it has a 3 liter (100 fl.oz.) water bladder inside and a hose for drinking. I find myself perpetually dehydrated, and so having a conveniently handy would be nice. I figured I wouldn’t have to use the bag for just hiking, but also for bicycling (once I get my tires fixed so they hold air) and for just going on errands or doing touristy stuff like walking around a city. Further, the bladder is removable, so I can transfer it to my bigger bag, which also has the capability to hold a bladder but didn’t come with one, so it’d come in handy for overnight trips too. It was on sale for 30% off, and the bladder alone is usually half the price this bag was, so I figured it was a good deal.

After getting home, it was time to start making dinner for Shabbat. We had company over last week and so this week I wanted to make it rather low-key. I also had the advantage of being home most of the day, but not wanting to cook much. So I decided this would be a good week to make spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner. But, not just any meat sauce. See, I like to make my own sauce using a can of tomato puree from the store, just like nature intended (I tried using real tomatoes once; it was a disaster, coming out more like watery tomato soup with some chunks in it. I wouldn’t recommend it). Several months ago, we were at BJs and I hit the motherload: a 106 ounce can of tomato puree! Naturally, I got quite excited and had to have it. Today, I decided to make sauce with it. The last time I made spaghetti sauce, I wrote down my recipe, using a 28 ounce can of puree. So this time, I quadrupled the ingredients: 4 pounds of ground beef, a half cup of oregano, that kind of thing. It’s been simmering in the crockpot for almost seven hours now, so it should be ready to go soon. I was worried it would overflow, but it just barely didn’t. The fluid level is at the top of the 5 quart crockpot, just managing to stay inside.

Time to run off and get ready for Shabbat now. Bye!