Pizza By This Chef

It has happened.  Today is the day.  I have finally perfected my pizza/pizza dough recipe.

The kids made their own and ate it all up!

The dough recipe is very simple.  And after about 20 times of tweaking and combining different recipes I have finally achieved the thin, crispy (but not soggy) honey olive oil crust.

For the dough you will need:

1 pkt of active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

1 tbsp. honey

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 1/2 to 3 cups of flour

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

 

Mix water and honey and add yeast.  Wait 5 mins until yeast is foamy and bubbly.  Pour into a stand mixer with dough hook and start at low speed.  Slowly add flour 1/2 cup at a time.  After about 2 cups add salt.  Keep adding flour until dough pulls away from the bowl and keeps together in a ball without being too sticky. (if you don't have a stand mixer you can kneed but you will need to knee for about 10 mins)  Take the ball of dough and put in a med-large bowl greased with olive oil.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2-3 hrs until well over double in size.  Divide in half and stretch dough on two pizza pans.  Top with desired toppings and bake at 500 degrees for 12-15 mins.

 

*note-

-It is very important that you use fresh mozzarella from the deli section of the store.  NOT shredded kraft mozz in a bag.

-It is also preferred that you use a pizza pan.  The ones I use have holes in them and use and air bake system.  It helps cook the dough throughout and keeps the middle from being soggy.

-Be careful how much toppings you add.  This crust is supper thin and can only support so much.

 



The finished product.

So good.

Cheese

Hawaiian

Redman 140.6 (written by David Ayer himself)

I got out of bed at 3:45.  I slept pretty well considering what I thought would be in store for me in the hours ahead.  The plan was to meet in the lobby 5:10am to make sure we were at the race site by 5:30. At 4:45, I was sitting downstairs watching Sportscenter.  It’s not often that I am early, however for triathlons, I don’t play.  I am always on time.  No need to add any extra stress.   One of my dearest friend’s Scott joined us in OKC for this trip.  Scott was going to attempt to finish his first 70.3 race.  Lindsay and Jenn (Scott’s wife) were kind enough to drive us to the race site which was approximately 10 minutes from the hotel.  Strangely, I wasn’t nervous at this point. 
Upon arrival, I would say I wasn’t nervous, but I bet Lindsay would disagree.   My transition area was taking way too long to set up.  Nothing seemed to be going smoothly.  Transition was supposed to close at 6:30 and I still hadn’t used the restroom which meant I couldn’t even put on my wetsuit.  This is where my first and only freak out moment occurred.  This transition issue, the lack of a restroom visit mixed with the fact that Lindsay had left and gone to Starbucks sent me into borderline panic.  I wanted to give her my tri bag, my hoodie and pants that I would no longer need after putting on my wetsuit.  To top all of this off, when I finally finished in transition and headed to the port a John’s, the lines were crazy and didn’t seem to move.  As people would come out you would hear, “no toilet paper, no toilet paper” I thought how excellent that would be to not have the luxury of…then it hit me.  I brought my own!  I was able to skip everyone in line because no one was going into the units that were out of toilet paper.  I caught a break and the day started looking up.  I had a feeling the rest of the day was going to go my way.
Lindsay and I embraced one last time and I gave her a hug that lasted about 10 seconds.  I kissed her and told her that I would see her soon with a tear or two in my eye.  As I turned away from Lindsay, I saw Scott.  Scott and I put our arms over each other’s shoulder as we made our way through transition and bumped fists as we worked our way to the water.  I started to head down the ramp towards the water and the start while Scott headed for his start corral which would be approximately 20 minutes later.

 

 

The Swim -2.4 miles
As I made my way out into the water in anticipation for the start I looked around and was surrounded by men in white swim caps.  All full distance male participants wore the same white swim cap.  I waded out to shoulder deep level and listened for the race director to make final announcements and for the starting gun to sound.  This was such an eerie moment- so different from shorter races.  I turned and looked at all of the other participants.  No one was laughing; no one was smiling or talking.  Everyone knew what lay ahead of them that day. 
I took off and I felt great.  I didn’t touch another swimmer for at least 200 meters.  As swimmers started bunching together, the conditions were still very tame and besides the one stray hand I took to the face that knocked my goggles from covering my eyes to around my mouth, other swimmers seemed very aware of their surroundings and almost courteous.   I sighted every 6-8 strokes and would change it up to break the monotony.  The second loop was a little tougher since every time I would breathe to the east, I would have to look into the sun.  I did more breathing to the west to compensate and I remember thinking that I felt for other swimmers who may not have the luxury of breathing bi-laterally.  The rest of the swim was uneventful and as I finished the last turn and headed toward the shore, I swam until I could touch and then stopped to get my bearings, and relieve myself.  I finished the swim leg in 1 hour 28 minutes and 12 seconds. 

T1
As I was leaving the water, Levi Graves, the swim director was waiting and gave me a big high five and a pat on the back.  It was awesome to see him as I came out the water.  I met Levi two days before the race when I visited the race site.  He was so kind and took 15 minutes out of his busy day to discuss logistics of the course and why he laid the course out the way he did.  I have talked to Levi since the race and all I can say is it was an honor to get to meet him. 
When I made it to transition one, I couldn’t find my bike.  I looked at Lindsay who was outside of the fence and said “Where the hell is it?”  Lindsay pointed me in the correct direction and luckily I was very close to it.  The transition was a very important part of my nutrition plan.  Coach Jeff and I drew out a plan for the race and the transition area is where a big portion of it would need to be executed.  Just before I left the transition area to start the race, I drank a serving of Gen U Can (A drink that stabilizes blood sugar levels while being gentle to the stomach) and when I finished the swim and entered T1, I drank another serving of Gen U Can.  By drinking the servings in this manner, I was able to take one less bottle on the bike (a savings of over 2lbs) and would be able to go further longer with the nutrition already pre- loaded on my bike. 
I placed my helmet on my head, threw my shoes on and ran with the bike to the mount line.  T1 took 4 minute and 42 seconds
 

The Bike- 112 miles
The bike was the leg I was most worried about entering the race.  There are so many variables.  The temperature and the wind can change greatly in six, seven or even eight hours.  Mechanical issues on the bike are very common in long course races and while I am very good at changing a tube in a tire, so many things can go wrong that can ruin an already tough day.  I had two bottles of Gen U Can on my bike.  Every 30 minutes, I would drink approximately 1/3 of a bottle.  I started this process 1.5 hours into the ride since I had a serving in T1.  I also had a bottle of HEED to assist in hydration. I would sip on this bottle as I became thirsty.  The temperature at the start of the ride was just about perfect and the first lap was glorious.  I had driven the bike course the day before and what I had heard was in fact true, there were some stretches of road on this course that looked like a war zone.  Despite the 12-15 miles of cracks, holes, dips and undulations in the first 56 miles, I was averaging 20mph when I got to the special needs area.  The special needs area is a place where athletes can leave one bag of supplies.  I stopped, handed my bike to a volunteer, ran in the port a John for some relief.  After the pit stop, I hammered the remaining Gen U Can left in the first bottle and swapped it for a new one and filled up my speedfill bottle (the one between my arms) with Hammer HEED.  In two more miles, I would see Lindsay, Tom and Jennifer and would head out to what would be the hardest part of the race.  At mile 70, I started feeling a bit fatigued.  The temperature had risen and the wind had picked up.  I lost some of the power I had in the first loop.  The course was also much lonelier.  I could look ahead and sometimes not see anyone coming or going.   All of the 70.3 athletes were off the course and onto the run.  After the turnaround at mile 82, all I could think about was a cheeseburger.  I yearned for a Red Robin 1/3lb burger with a fried egg.   Miles 85-100 were the darkest for me and it seemed they would never end.  My arms and shoulders were sore from the bumps on the course as well as the fatigue caused by the swim.  I remember thinking back to a conversation with Coach Jeff and him saying, when you get to a tough place and start doubting, “stand up, hammer and say I am good athlete and I will be an ironman in a few hours.”  As strange as it sounds that worked.  I would have thought that exerting extra energy would have had negative effects, but Coach was right as per usual and I got through the tough times. 

There were a few things that made me feel a little better about my situation.  First, I only remember one or two guys passing me on the bike.  Second, and this didn’t really make me feel better, one of the guys who passed me wrecked about 50 yards in front of me.  Third, I started closing on a guy at mile 108 and just before I was able to pass him, he went straight and the course turned right.  I yelled for him, but he didn’t hear me.  Lord only knows when that guy finished.  Back to the guy that crashed… I did find out he was doing the Aquathon (Swim & Bike only) but still, what a beast!  The guy passed me at mile 104, wrecked at probably 20 mph, and caught me within six miles.  After his wreck, I didn’t stop because there were two police officers at the intersection and they both ran to him.  By the time I got to him, he was sitting up and appeared to be okay.  I did say a prayer for him.  I prayed that the Lord allow him to not be hurt first and knowing how crushed I would have been emotionally to not be able to finish that race, I prayed that his bike would be in good enough shape to get him back to transition.  God is great, all the time!   I returned to the spillway and could see the transition area.  I was so excited to get off of that bike.  The bike course took me 6 hours and 8 seconds to complete. 

 

T2
The bumps, heat and wind had taken its toll on me during the second lap, but I was relieved to be off the bike.  I racked my bike and removed my headband and helmet.  I unstrapped my bike shoes and socks, put another pair of socks on and my running shoes.  I drank another serving of Gen U Can and took off for the exit of the transition.  On my way out I nodded and waived to Lindsay and Tom and then thought to myself, just finish by dark…That is the goal. 
T2 took 4 minutes and one second   

Run- 26.2 miles
I started running at 2:51 pm or 7 hours and 36 minutes after the race began.  I kept repeating in my mind, before dark, before dark.  It was pleasant, but warm and the hottest part of the day was coming up fast.  I felt pretty warn down from the bike, but as I began running I actually felt surprisingly good.  My plan was to stay in heart rate zone 2 for as long as possible.  Zone 2 for me is between 147 bpm and 158 bpm.  The first couple of miles I ran in the 8:40 range which is a very comfortable speed for me.  Towards the end of mile number 2, my HR started creeping up and I knew I needed to back down a bit.  Miles 3-13 were between a 9:02 and a 9:29 pace and that included a water stop just about every mile.  At mile 13, I stopped at my special needs bag and changed running shoes and downed another serving of Gen U Can.  I was two laps through the four lap course. 

The third lap was tough.  Around 5pm, it was pretty hot and I felt myself running out of steam.  The walks through water stops took longer and longer.  From miles 14-19, I averaged a 10:25 pace during this very rough stretch.  During the run, Lindsay and the kids were hanging out with Tom and Deb and Scott and Jenn at the Mexican Restaurant located approximately one mile into the start of each loop. 

The best part of the run was it four loops of 6.55 miles so I was able to see my cheering section 6-7 times during the run.  The last time I passed them was on my way out on the final loop.  Scott ran with me for a minute and told me that he would see me in less than an hour at the finish line.  Since that was still 5.5 miles away, I told him I would do my best.  I kept that in my mind and started to pick things up.  In the next mile I noticed I was starting to pass people, a lot of people.  Most of these folks weren’t on the same lap as me, but it was hard to tell since there were so many out and backs.  As I made it back to the restaurant where Lindsay and the group were stationed, I didn’t see them…Then it hit me, they are at the finish line dummy and you are one mile away from being an Ironman.   Somehow I was actually able to run the last mile at an 8:41 pace.  Looking back, I averaged a 9:05 pace from miles 20-26.2 which was as fast as my first 6 miles.  I was quite surprised I was able to do that.  As the finish line approached, I didn’t feel elated, relief or excitement.  It was hard to explain.  I thought it would be so emotional.  I thought I would break down and cry.  Leading up to the race, anytime I would watch a video of someone completing an Ironman or talk to my friends who had just completed these races, I became choked up.  When it was my turn, I was surprisingly stoic.   I gave high fives to Tom, Scott, Jenn and a few other people at the finish line and then I crossed it.  Then I gave Lindsay the best high five ever!  I smiled at Asher and Emery and heard Em yelling my name.  What a great moment.  I was tired and my body wasn’t able to go any further, but that moment at the finish line was one of the greatest moments of my life and I will never forget it. 

Run- 4:04:41

Thanks…
Tom & Deb-  For the support and the help with the kiddos.  Ya’ll are always so much fun to travel with and we always have a blast. 

Scott & Jennifer- Races just aren’t the same without you guys, so here’s to Orlando, Boulder and Chattanooga in 2014.  Congratulations Scott on one hell of a race and for completing your first of many 70.3’s

Coach Jeff-  I couldn’t have done it without you, plain and simple.  At first I questioned the workouts and asked myself why?...Then it all started coming together.  I can’t imagine being more prepared for every facet of a first 140.6.  Thanks for helping make my Ironman dream a reality!

Lindsay – When I decided in January to train to complete an Iron distance race, you were so supportive and I promised you I would do my best to make it seem like nothing was different.  I asked in return for you to not complain about the time I was away since it couldn’t be helped and that I had made you a promise that I would only be away when absolutely necessary.  You absolutely 100% held up your end of the deal and I thank you so much.  An Ironman is an incredibly difficult undertaking and it is stressful enough on its own without the pressure of an unhappy spouse.  I never felt any resentment or anger from you toward what I was doing.  Thank you again for being my partner and my best friend.