Weekly Workout Totals 12/22/2008-12/28/2008, Miscellaneous Reflections and Recipe for Margarita Pie

It was a good week! We had crazy weather--snow, sleet, rain and ice for precipitation--and the temperatures ranged from the 60's down to about -15. Throw Christmas, a sprint and a 1/2 Ironman in there, and the entire week became something so unique that I will remember it for a long time! It is interesting to note that this is my second Christmas without my parents, and while I can fondly remember many with them, I am sure they'd be happy to know how much I enjoyed this one.

I received many special gifts this year, that I suppose, signify that I have friends and family that know who I really am:

• A fur zebra stripes on one side and black velvet on the other, blanket. I've already been cuddled up under it several times to read or just relax.
• The book Walden Two by B.F. Skinner. I will begin reading it in the new year to reconnect with my intellectual self.
• The book Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh. This is a great addition to my small collection of books that remind me of my mission. Just reading the first paragraph has set the stage for my day: Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand-new hours to live. What a precious gift! We have the capacity to live in a way that these twenty-four hours will bring peace, joy, and happiness to ourselves and others. That is what I intend to do today.
  
• Beautiful leaded-crystal candelsticks. In lighting candles on them, I'm reminded of my inner fire and the beautiful glow that it can cast on others.
• A sparkly, pink, leopard-print camisole. How my niece found animal print that is also sparkly and pink, I'll never know--but she does know me well!
• A plush monkey that went through an "infusion of love" session with my healing friends who live in Pahrump, Nevada.

I feel like I am surrounded by love and joy and can say that I am at peace with myself. What a way to end this year! I figure this is a good time to note that for 2008, I did the most triathlons ever in a calendar year--5 sprints, 7 Olympics, 4 Half Ironmans and 2 Ironmans! That's a whole lot of athletic fun, and I treasure the ones I did solo and also the ones I did in the company of friends.

I've been reading posts in some forums written by people who did an Ironman this past year who, in looking back, feel like they sacrificed too much to get to that starting line. While I don't have kids, I think I manage to squeeze in a lot of living with the time I have, and I think that if that is how someone feels about Ironman, I certainly honor it--but on another level, I am thinking if that's how you feel then you are doing it wrong! Some of their feelings may be driven by the fact that it's their first Ironman--similar, I suppose, to having a first child feeling overwhelming but the second and subsequent seem easier. For most people, the first time you train for an Ironman, it beats the absolute shit out of your body, and if that's all you remember, then sure, you might not want to do it again. But if you look at your life and figure out all the ways you can simplify it so that you can pursue that passion, if it in fact is a passion for you, then the act of training becomes an expression of pure joy. I know it is for me! Long distance endurance training and racing is not for everyone, for sure, and we all need to make the right choices for our life situations. While there are certainly times when I'm training that it feels like work, 95% of the time I just feel happy that I am able to do it, and know that the mental focus required to keep doing it carries over into everything else I do in life. But I also tend to laugh my ass off at myself, triathlon in general, and how serious I sometimes I think I am. But hey, in the final analysis, all I care about is that I don't totally suck! And my personal expression of the complete and utter joy I get from training and racing is by doing NothingMans! If all the organized races were to be cancelled, I would still be out there training and doing my own thing, occasionally roping in some other athlete who "gets" me and gets this stuff.

I am scheming, in fact, to "organize" an event for 2010 that will be a 4-day stage NothingMan, with a sprint on day 1, an Olympic on day 2, a Half Ironman on day 3, and an Ironman on Day 4. That seems like it would be an accomplishment, no? I'm thinking of doing it in June, to allow for another extreme event in August or September. While there is no shortage of organized endurance events, I kinda like the idea of inventing one on my own. We shall see...

Oh yeah, I was supposed to post totals and a recipe. So here they are!

Weekly Workout Totals	12/22/2008-12/28/2008 This week's totals are sponsored by freakish winter weather in Chicago. We had it all--rain, sleet, snow, ice!
Swim:	8200 yards (4.65 miles) in 2.78 hours; 21% of weekly workout time; approx. 975 calories burned Canadian: 7498.08 meters
Bike:	Approx. 94.79 miles in 4.88 hours; 38% of weekly workout time; approx. 2417 calories burned; Total TSS=256 Canadian: 152.55 kilometers
Run:	Approx. 25.26 miles in 3.83 hours; 30% of weekly workout time; approx. 1744 calories burned Canadian: 40.65 kilometers
Strength:	1.45 hours; 11% of weekly workout time; approx. 363 calories burned
All Sports:	Approx. 124.7 miles in 12.94 hours; approx. 5499 calories burned Canadian: 0 kilometers
Sleep:	7.39 hours avg./night
Stretching:	2.12 hours. Massage: 0 hours

Margarita Pie

From The Manhattan Chili Co. Southwest American Cookbook

Serves 8 (more like 10-12, if you ask me)

This makes a very tart, lemon-meringue type pie, but does not get baked. You’ll have a lot of egg whites left over which you can use in an egg white omelet or make some meringue cookies.

Do not serve this to children—there is a kick from the alcohol, and some adults (wimps) may not even like it!

Crust

1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs

¼ cup granulated sugar

4 TBSP. unsalted butter, melted

In a small bowl toss together the crumbs, sugar and butter until evenly combined. Pat evenly and firmly into a 10-inch pie pan and refrigerate.

Note: If I remember correctly the last time I made this in a single pie plate, there was a lot of extra filling. So I would suggest you use a deep-dish pie plate.

Or, you can be lazy like me and just buy a pre-made graham cracker pie crust, or even better, get those baby individual ones. The filling is enough for 15 individual pies.

Or, you can skip the crust altogether and just pour the cooked filling into unbuttered cups or bowls—perhaps margarita glasses would look nice with a slice of lime before serving!

Filling

7 large eggs

8 large egg yolks

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

1 1/3 cups fresh lime juice (about 9 limes)

Note: Do NOT use bottled lime juice. It will ruin this!

Finely grated zest of 1 lime

8 TBSP. butter (salted is fine), cut into small pieces

½ cup tequila (use something good, and a gold tequila is best)

1/3 cup Cointreau (I used Grand Marnier and really liked it)

Since you will be making a fast-setting custard, it’s best to have all your ingredients ready to go at room temperature before you begin, as it’s important to combine things at just the right time, otherwise you can end up with runny custard!

In a heavy-bottomed, noncorrosive saucepan, whisk together the eggs and egg yolks. Gradually whisk in the sugar, lime juice and zest.

Set over low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to heavily coat the back of a spoon. This happens rather suddenly, after about 9 minutes of cooking. Do like I do—set a timer for 11 minutes, and keep stirring and watching the timer. Depending on atmospheric conditions, it may set up after 9, 10 or 11 minutes and the amount of heat you are applying.

Remove from the heat immediately and stir in the butter all at once. Whisk until the butter is incorporated. Whisk in the tequila and Cointreau (or Grand Marnier) and pour immediately into the prepared crust. If you have more than enough to fill your crusts, simply pour the extra into bowls or cups or whatever. They don’t need to be buttered first, as this is good as a thick pudding!

Chill until set before covering loosely with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight before cutting.

Serve with whipped cream—sweetened or not. Raspberries would be good on top, too.