A Summer Girls' Weekend

Guess who made an appearance in Charlotte this weekend . . . Mom and Bailey!  A couple weeks ago we determined that a girls' weekend was in order, so in no time we had plans for a perfect summer weekend.  Mom and Bailey arrived around dinner time after a four-hour drive, so I prepared vegetable bowls for us to enjoy on the deck as the sun set.  Sweet potatoes, broccoli, beats, and lima beans were topped with a lemon tahini sauce.

Sunflour Baking Company has been on my list of places to visit for quite some time.  Rumor has it that they have some of the best pastries and the most creamy soy lattes in town.  We enjoyed a wonderful lazy breakfast of an almond croissant and latte (for me) and an egg/provolone/spinach/roasted tomato sandwich on rosemary bread and dirty chai latte (for Mom).  Based on the number of pastries that made my mouth water, I'll definitely be back during my last year in Charlotte.  Afterwards, we wandered through the Elizabeth neighborhood with Bailey.

I was quite indecisive when choosing a restaurant for dinner that evening, but eventually we settled on Carpe Diem.  I've been here once before during restaurant week and the service left much to be desired, but fortunately, this visit was far better.  A glass of Riesling for each of us provided a sweet start to the evening.

We started by sharing the Grilled Grape Salad - romaine, arugula, grilled grapes, Bermuda onion, toasted pistachios, white balsamic reduction, and blue cheese vinaigrette.  

Our next course was the Grilled Octopus - spring onions, asparagus, smoked eggplant, romesco.  The octopus was perfectly tender and then smokiness of the eggplant was a unique twist.

For my entree, I chose the pistachio crusted North Carolina trout with a pineapple beurre blanc, Carolina Gold middlins rice, and a kohlrabi-turnip-apple salad.  The salad was a crisp accompaniment to the warm fish and rice and the sauce left me dreaming of a bit more for dipping each bite.

Mom's entree was the Vegetarian Anson Mills Rice Grits with oyster mushrooms, sea island red peas, swiss chard, cippolini onions, roasted garlic, aromatic white wine broth, and aged gouda.  A perfect comfort meal!

The next morning we went for a 4.5 mile walk along the greenway, planted a few new flowering plants on my deck, wandered through some stores in South End, and then satisfied our hungry stomachs with lunch at Luna's Living Kitchen.  If you're looking for a unique raw vegetarian meal, look no further than this gem at Atherton Mill.  I promise, you won't be disappointed!  Since we were both considered the same dishes, we split the Rawco Taco Salad and Pad Thai.

Rawco Taco Salad - slices of avocado, pico de gallo, meaty walnut-almond crumbles, and cashew sour cream atop a bed of organic lettuce, served with hot sauce and raw crackers

Pad Thai - crisp zucchini and sweet potato noodles, bean sprouts, purple cabbage, and bell peppers served with our house almond-butter pad thai sauce - garnished with fresh cilantro and a dash of our spicy samba sauce.

We returned bearing a new squeaking ball for Bailey, and she wasted no time being as loud and obnoxious as possible while playing fetch.

It was an ideal summer evening with temperatures in the mid 80s and low humidity, so we decided that we'd begin the evening at Foxcroft Wine Bar sampling a handful of red wines.  We started with two different Cabernet's, followed that with a red blend, and concluded with an Italian blend.  And since drinking wine requires a savory snack, we munched on truffle fries.  Yum!

Sisters or Daughter and Mother?  

Eventually we made our way to Stagioni for our 8pm dinner reservations.  This is yet another restaurant that has received wonderful reviews for their modern Italian cuisine featuring farm-to-table ingredients.  Appetizers went unpictured, but included a fig tart and an arugula salad, both of which we enjoyed.  I've had a craving for spaghetti bolognese, so spaghetti + meatballs was a easy decision. The thick house made pasta was cooked to a perfect al dente and the meatball and red sauce had great flavor.

The daily fish special featured pan seared grouper with an heirloom tomato panzanella salad, basil oil, and pickled zephyr squash.  Mom loved the fresh summer flavors that paired with the well executed sear on the fish.

And because no Italian meal is complete without dessert, we savored each and every bite of a cannoli stuffed with an orange scented ricotta-mascarpone and a chocolate semifreddo.

My "Perfect Charlotte Saturday" took a slight twist from usual.  Bailey and I started the day with a 5 mile run (still pain-free!) on a relatively cool summer morning.  Then, Mom and I made the short drive up to Davidson to wander through the farmer's market and downtown shops.  Highlights from the morning included a bacon and blistered tomato buttermilk biscuit, an almond pastry, lattes from Summit Coffee, breads from Millstone Bakehouse and Provisions.  sweet corn from Barbee Farms, and a bag full of okra.

After driving through neighborhoods filled with gorgeous lakefront homes, we set out on a hike at Jetton Park.  The 1.5 mile paved trail winds along the banks of Lake Norman with an abundance of shade that made the summer day feel nearly like fall.

We even found a bench in the shade to enjoy a picnic lunch while watching boaters and stand-up paddle boarders soak up the sun.

Saturday evening we opted for a casual 1.5 mile stroll to dinner at Mellow Mushroom.  Bailey was very happy to join her "people" for dinner and was on her best behavior while sitting on the patio surrounded by other diners.

After a couple indulgent nights, we gladly opted for a simple pizza and salad dinner.  The mega veggie pizza is a vegetarian's delight - saucy, filled to the brim with toppings, and surrounded by a chewy Parmesan crust.

And because it appears that our Girls' Weekend was all about food, it's only appropriate that I leave you with one last picture of the pear pastry from Millstone Bakehouse that we shared for breakfast before Mom and Bailey made the drive back to Atlanta.  The cinnamon poached pear was stuffed with dark chocolate and wrapped in a caramelized pastry dough.  Yes, it was just as decadent and delicious as it sounds!

And that concludes our summer Charlotte girls' weekend.  I always treasure weekends and vacations that I spend with my family, and this was no different.  Thanks for coming to visit, Mom, and for bringing my favorite puppy with you!  T-minus 10 months until I move back to Atlanta!

Ironman Training with an Injury

On Sunday I ran 4 miles.  At 9 minute pace.  Pain free.

With just 10 weeks until Ironman Louisville, you'd probably laugh if I told you my Sunday long run was 4 miles.  I, however, couldn't be more thankful.

Exactly 6 weeks ago, months of consistent training came to a rather sudden stop.  My Sunday long runs had been progressing nicely and I finished a 2 hour run satisfied with my pacing and nutrition.  Monday I noticed some soreness in my right hip that felt muscular.  I flew to Providence for a conference that night and on Tuesday morning hit the treadmill for my weekly 10k pace tempo intervals.  My hip was still a bit sore, but after a mile warmup, it felt normal.  Things changed on Wednesday when I woke up with an achy sore hip that was particularly painful each time it extended when walking.  Still thinking it was muscular, I attempted to run an easy 5 miles with a friend that night.  Again, it was sore, but seemed to improve the further I ran.  Little did I know, that would be the last time I ran for 6 weeks.  Later that night the benign ache became a pain in the front of my hip each time I took a step.  It was an eerily familiar pain that ironically dates back 8 years ago when I first began training for triathlons.

2008 Ironman Florida 70.3
My debut race in the swim-bike-run world

The summer before I started medical school I defined myself as an athlete as a runner.  5k and 10k were my preferred distances to race, but more than anything, I loved escaping a busy day to run along the banks of the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta.  Without any signs of an impending injury, my 6 mile run one afternoon ended with a rather acute onset of pain along the front of my hip.  Over the next week I tried running several more times until I had sharp pain with each step and was left with no choice to not run.  X-rays and an MRI followed and soon enough I had a diagnosis - FEMORAL NECK STRESS FRACTURE.

The dreaded black line in a location that isn't so benign.

Without boring you with details, I spent the next 6+ weeks on crutches, including a trip to Hawaii and the start of medical school.  Since I couldn't run, I started swimming and biking, both activities I had never done before.  Out of that injury spurred my interest in triathlons, and less than a year later I crossed my first triathlon finish line at Ironman Florida 70.3.

Flash-forward now to 6 weeks ago, and that exact pain of past injury was fresh in my mind.  Each step I took hurt, pushing off the wall in the pool hurt, and if I tried to stand on the bike and climb it hurt.  Running was a definite no go.  At that point, x-rays and an MRI were the next logical step, but I couldn't fathom spending $1500+ (not even doctors have good insurance!) for a confirmation of a diagnosis that I already felt confident about.  So, I did as I knew I had to with a presumed femoral neck stress fracture - I stopped running.  For a very long 6 weeks.

At that point, Ironman Louisville was 4+ months away, but even still I hated to think about the potential that I'd never make it to the starting line.  Training had been going so well and I had  high hopes for my second-go at the Ironman distance.  After a week of rest, I was back in the pool and on the bike, determined to use the opportunity to strengthen those disciplines.  Training remained consistent, averaging 15 hours per week, and two back-to-back weekends with 100+ mile bikes boosted my confidence in the sport I consider my weakness.  Sunday long-runs were replaced with a second long bike each weekend, and I tried not to dwell on the fact that I couldn't enjoy the pain of a post-bike run with my friends and training partners.  I was diligent about strength training and recovery to rehab this injury and prevent another.  And most importantly, I tried to ignore the voices in my head questioning my ability to finish an Ironman after missing 6 weeks of running.

Conquering a very hot 100 mile ride

This past week marked 5 weeks of no running, and my hip had been pain free with all activities for almost 2 weeks.  In my mind, it was time to start running again.  On Monday I ran a slow 2 miles, and loved every minute of it.  Thursday brought yet another successful run of 2 miles.  Finally, on Sunday I decided to push the distance a bit while maintaining a very conservative pace.  With each step I was paranoid that the pain would return with the next stride, potentially sidelining my running yet again.  But, I finished 4 pain-free miles at 9 minute pace smiling ear to ear, so thankful to be lacing up my running shoes and hitting the pavement yet again.

So race day is a mere 10 weeks from yesterday and there's a bit of a difference between running 4 miles and running a marathon.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about how the rest of my training will go.  For now, though, I'm focused on one week at a time.  Small increases in mileage and careful attention to recovery will hopefully get me to the starting line in Louisville with a pain-free hip that's ready to tackle 140.6 miles and cross the finish line to hear - "Crystal Perkins, you're an Ironman!"

24 Hours of Booty

There are so many Charlotte events that I look forward to each year, but 24 Hours of  Booty is definitely one of the highlights of my summer.  This 24 hour cycling event in the heart of Myers Park is a staple of the Charlotte community and draws together a mix of cancer survivors, families affected by cancer, members of the medical community, elite cyclists, and volunteers for one common cause - beating cancer.  

Friday evening, 1200 cyclists gathered to kick off the big event.  For the second year in a row, I rode with the Levine Cancer Institute team.  Our fearless leader - Dr. Kneisl - leads our team, and together with Dr. Vanderhave, we represented the CMC orthopaedic department.

The build up to the 7pm start is filled with heart-wrenching stories of patients and their families who are currently battling or have lost loved ones in the battle against cancer.  After the national anthem and raising our hands to the common cause of "beating cancer," the ride began.  The first couple laps (each 2.84 miles) were slow moving with tightly packed group of cyclists, but eventually the riders became more spread out and I knocked out 40 miles before returning to Bootyville for dinner and then riding a couple miles back to the house to sleep for several hours.

I was up bright at early to begin my ride at 5am.  Last year someone had recommended riding in the early morning darkness, and it is without a doubt my favorite time to ride.  The course is quiet, roads are lit only by some spotlights and blinking bike lights, and the summer air is relatively cool.  

By sunrise, I was 28 miles into my ride and took a short break for breakfast.  Between scrambled eggs and fruit, pecan swirl bread with peanut butter from Great Harvest, half of a glazed chocolate donut, and iced coffee from Dunkin' Donuts, I was energized for more riding.

I rode another 42 miles before making a very quick stop for a bathroom and to refill my water bottles.  Bootyville is filled with tents of participants who camp overnight on the football field at Myers Park Traditional school.  The benefit of living nearby = no need to sleep on an air mattress.

The final 42 miles grew increasingly busy on the course and required extra effort to maintain speed while remaining safe in the crowds.  Sadly, I witness a car pull out and hit one cyclist on the course, and although she appeared not to be too severely injured, I was more cautious the last few miles.  With 20 miles to go I was really starting to overheat and grabbed a few sips of ice cold coke hoping for a boost.  Just after 6 hours, my odometer hit 115 miles for the day and 155 miles for the event , and that meant my 50+ laps around the Booty Loop had come to a close.

The heat took a toll and I felt a little woozy getting off the bike, but after several minutes in the shade with cold gatorade, I was ready for lunch.  The taco bar catered from Moe's satisfied many hungry athletes bellies.

Compared to last year's Saturday long-ride, this year's 115 miles felt dramatically easier.  I spent far more time in aero, averaged more than 0.5mph faster pace, and was comfortable on my bike the entire time.  Last year I rode 87 miles before my base bar split, causing me to crash, and recall those last 20 miles were pretty painful.  Hopefully my improved bike fit and fitness will translate to a faster bike split in Louisville in October!

24 Hours of Booty concluded on Saturday evening and a total of $1.34 million was raising by the event to donate directly to local cancer beneficiaries (Levine Cancer Institute) as well as national cancer outreach programs.  Congrats to the 1200+ riders for dedicating their weekend to a phenomenal cause!  If you'd still like to donate, here's the link to my fundraising page.

Stumpy Creek Aquabike + Recent Eats

MOORESVILLE, NC

JULY 11, 2015

1500M SWIM

45K BIKE

Results

Swim - 26:31 (1:46/100m)

T1 - 1:00

Bike - 1:20:57 (20.7mph)

Finish Time - 1:48:26

2nd Female Aquabike

Pre-Race

Six weeks ago when I signed up for this international distance triathlon, training was going great, I was recovering well from the building volume, and I had absolutely no clue that an injury would pop up when I least expected it.  Fast forward a few weeks and suddenly I can't run at all due to pain in my hip.  I'm now 3 weeks into "no running" and the hip has started to improve significantly.  As much as I wanted to do a triathlon and not an aquabike, I also know that this race is only a blip on the radar as I focus on Ironman Louisville in October.  Since I had already paid my race fee, I had decided that I'd make the most of the situation and get in a quality swim+bike brick in a race environment.  In the back of my head, I kept wavering with the potential of trying to run, but ultimately on race morning I left my running shoes in the car so that it wouldn't even be a temptation. Breakfast was a PB&J Bonk Breaker and half a banana.

Swim

Water temperature was announced as a balmy 85 degrees.  I opted not to wear my swim skin, doubting how much extra speed it conveys at that distance and figuring that the last thing I wanted was extra warmth.  I was in the open swim wave with about 15 other athletes and we were the first wave to start.  Despite the few number of us, I couldn't get out of traffic and settle into a rhythm for at least 500 meters.  I kept trying to hang with the feet ahead of me, but constantly found myself slightly faster and needing to pass.  Finally I found some clean water, but still struggled to find my usual comfort in the water. The Stumpy swim course is a rectangle that incorporates the international distance athletes as well as the sprint racers, who swim a shorter rectangle.  This means that for the last few hundred meters I was suddenly in the middle of a pack of slower swimmers and once again fighting for clean water.  I exited the water and my Garmin read 26 minutes, which is 1:35/100 yards, a pace that is about 10 seconds/100 yards slower than what I'm swimming in the pool for that distance.  However, it was also more than 2 minutes faster than the same swim 3 years ago.  4th fastest female swim split out of 77.

T1

It's a short run into transition and since I had opted to skip my swim skin, I was in and out very quickly.  3rd fastest female T1 out of 77.

Bike

I did this race three years ago, and remember hating the bike course.  It had been described as fast with rolling hills, and I remember cursing each and every one of the hills.  Looking back at my previous race report, I had also crashed coming out of transition, so perhaps that contributed my negative view of the bike course.  This year, however, I loved the course.  With the exception of some terrible stretches of uneven pavement (in some of the fastest areas), it truly is a challenging, yet fast rolling course.  Since I wasn't running, I told myself that I had to hammer the bike and put out my best possible effort.  I was back and forth in the first 10 miles with the girl who would eventually take 3rd overall female in the triathlon, before passing her and staying ahead for the remainder of the race.  I was passed by a couple guys, but otherwise rode without sight of anyone else for the majority of the 45k course.  Nutrition included approximately 24 ounces of Skratch pineapple.  NP 236 with an average HR 168 highlighted that this was the hardest effort I've put forth on the bike in a race.  And the end result was a time 5 minutes faster than 2012 and 4th fastest female bike out of 77.

Post-Race

I can't even begin to describe how tough it is to enter T2 and just stop, especially since I was 3rd overall at that time with a several minute buffer on my next closest competitor.  There is no official finish line, no announcement of your name, and no one removing your timing chip.  Instead, I packed up my gear and rolled my bike back to the car before wandering over to the finish line to claim my medal and some food and drink.  Although I wanted nothing more than to run (especially since that's my strength), I'm happy with my decision not to ruin the past three weeks of recovery and restart the clock on six weeks of no running.

Since I was already in the Lake Norman area for the race, I took advantage of the sunny Saturday morning and wandered through the Davidson Farmer's Market and shops, picked up coffee at The Fresh Market (sea salt caramel - so good!), and some cleaning supplies from Publix.  You can imagine my excitement when I walked into Publix and they were scooping bowls of their new organic ice creams!

Back at home I spent some much needed time degreasing and cleaning my bike.  It's a tedious task and one that I neglect, but worth the effort.

After an afternoon at NoDa Brewery with a large group from work, I arrived home starving and quickly whipped together this meal.  The plate included a veggie burger on Mom's home-baked hamburger buns, kale chips, and a cold corn salad with avocado and fresh basil.  It's was a perfect summer meal enjoyed on the deck.

Since my regular schedule means a 4am alarm on an almost daily basis, it's a wonderful feeling to curl into bed at night and not set an alarm.  Despite needing to bike for three hours, I had decided that Sunday morning was going to be a lazy one.  After enjoying a latte in bed, I made french toast with a cranberry walnut bread from the farmer's market.  Next time you make french toast, try adding almond extract rather than vanilla extract into the egg mixture!

Tonight's dinner was straight from the farmer's market with a great selection of local summer produce.  The coconut crusted mahi was the highlight of the plate and paired well with sweet chili sauce.  The okra was tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasted at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  The other plated component was braised radishes.  I started by sautéing sweet onion in Earth Balance before adding the diced radishes to begin to cook.  Then I added a braising liquid of 1/4 cup vegetable stock, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, and 1 tsp sugar and simmered uncovered for 10 minutes.  For the final few minutes, I added the chopped radish greens and a tablespoon of chopped rosemary from my garden.  I've never cooked radishes this way in the past, but will definitely make it again!

Peachtree Road Race

July marks the official end to my 4th year of residency, and start of my 5th (AND LAST!!!) year as an orthopaedic resident.  After clinic on Thursday, I hit the road bound for Atlanta.  Traffic was horrendous, but ultimately I arrived 5.5 hours later.  Friday involved an early morning swim - 4000 wonderful long course meters.  Then, Mom and I wandered through the Peachtree Road Race expo and picked up our race bibs for the 4th of July 10k.  Our pre-race meal was a carb-fest of spaghetti with vegetable marinara, salad, and garlic bread.  The Italian feast is one of my favorite meals!

Royce and Erin joined us for dinner and brought the newest addition to their family.  Kona is an 11 week old chocolate lab puppy and is absolutely adorable.  She's quite a spitfire when she's awake and full of energy, but then crashes hard when she naps.  Evidently a single Kong was not sufficient and she had to keep both hers and Bailey's close while she slept.

Saturday morning we were all up bright and early for a 5:30am departure toward downtown Atlanta.  After 10+ years doing this race, we have a well laid out plan to park near the finish, ride Marta to the start, and then walk back to our car.  We learned the tough way that riding Marta from the finish back toward the start is a miserable experience of being herded like cattle into very close proximity with hundreds of your favorite stinky and sweaty friends.

We woke up to heavy rain, and that was the forecast for the entire morning.  Garbage bags helped to keep us dry while we waited for the start of the race.

This year's race was much different for me.  Two weeks ago I had a rather sudden onset of hip pain, and since then I've been unable to run without significant pain.  Thus, running and I are on a temporary break.  A few weeks ago I was cursing my evening runs in the 95+ degree heat, and now there's nothing I want more than to lace up my Mizunos and pound the pavement.  With Ironman Louisville just 3 months away, I'm crossing my fingers that this is just a temporary set back.

Although I really wanted to run, I had fun walking with Mom and taking in more of the sights and sounds of the race than when I'm racing.  Unfortunately, the pouring rain meant that none of the live bands that usually provide entertainment were on the course.  The light drizzle lasted through the first 3 miles, but around mile four started to become heavier.  Lightening struck around mile 4 but fortunately was an isolated strike and then seemed to pass.  Later we learned that race officials had halted the race for approximately 30 minutes due to bad weather.  6.2 miles later, soaked from head to toe, we crossed the finish line and entered Piedmont Park to gather our coveted Peachtree t-shirt and snacks.

Later that afternoon the sun actually came out and we all gathered for a 4th of July barbecue.  Kona joined us again, and after playing fetch, eating plants, digging holes, and playing in the pool, made herself comfortable on Dad's lap.

Mom and Grandma prepared yet another fantastic meal for us all to enjoy.  The spread included veggie burgers, slaw, potato salad, watermelon, and homemade vanilla and lemon blueberry coconut ice creams.

Sunday morning brought the lazy morning I had been craving, featuring sleeping in, reading the newspaper, sipping a tea latte, and a casual breakfast.  Papaya topped with yogurt, a squeeze of lime, and coconut chips was Mom's creation and brought me back to our trip to Hawaii.  To accompany it, I made french toast topped with almond butter, raisins, chia seeds, and bourbon honey.  Terrific breakfast!

In typical fashion, the "long" weekend flew by in the blink of an eye and before I knew it I was packing my bags and driving back to Charlotte.  What happened to the weekend?  I guess we were too busy having fun and enjoying time together.  T-minus 1 year until Atlanta is home yet again!