Scenes from a weekend #14

Tomorrow you’ll get to read all about the fun experience I had at a blogger event at NYC cooking school Cook&Go… this weekend, I tried a couple of the recipes we learned, to see if I could replicate them at home.

Result? Just as easy and delicious as when we had a chef taking us through each step. Here are some chickpea burgers with homemade tahini yogurt sauce we had over the weekend (and yes, I will include the recipe tomorrow):

Friday night was ‘Hockey Night in Brooklyn’! (i.e. Fran and I watched the NY Rangers game when Roman had gone to bed). Roman gets so excited when we tell him it’s hockey night and we let him watch the beginning of the game. “I watch hockey now?” So cute.

We joined the local YMCA with a family membership this winter and I’m so glad we did. It’s really kid-friendly and it’s great to have a space where we can run Roman ragged when it’s so cold out. We found an empty group fitness classroom this weekend and used mats to make a fort, and yoga blocks to make towers. Some other munchkins came in and played, too.

We watched lots of Olympics on Friday and Saturday night – I love the Winter Games, I really get into all the events and it always makes me want to move somewhere with lots of winter sports. I mean, New York has had plenty of snow recently, but not a lot of skiing going on in Prospect Park. There was running, though, I finally, mercifully got outdoors for my long run!

Fran said something interesting to me as I was leaving. He asked how long I was running and when I told him, he asked, “Do you ever get lonely when you’re running alone for that long?” I think his question was probably motivated by me having face timed with my old running buddy, Jenny, on Friday evening. He got home from work just before we exchanged our “Miss you! Love you! Wish we were going for a run together this weekend!” sign-offs.

My answer to him was, “No – do you get lonely sitting here while I’m out there running?” (I do my weekend long run while Roman’s napping, so Fran is housebound while I’m running). But I knew what he meant. He can watch TV, or read to entertain himself. Apart from music, when you’re out running alone, there are no distractions. But that’s part of the appeal.

A long run is time I can spend thinking about anything, everything, or nothing. I make plans, I reflect, I prioritize. Sometimes I get in that zone where you kind of glance around and realize you didn’t even notice the last mile go by. Sometimes I stop and just drink in the beauty of the view. I always have my phone with me in case of emergency, but I only ever use it to take photos that never do justice to whatever loveliness I’m aiming it at.

What did you do this weekend?

Runners, do you ever feel lonely when you’re on a long run by yourself?