Chicken Club Sandwiches (Page 188)

RECIPE #1025

• Date: Sunday, September 13, 2009 -- 6pm
• Location: Bloomington, IN
• Kitchen: My Apartment
• Fellow Chef: Matty
• Recipe Rating: B+
  

Finding the perfect meal to make after a long run is tricky business. It's good to eat something substantial, with a nice balance of carbohydrates, fat, and protein. But I also usually want to make something that is quick, since after running 15 or more miles I rarely feel like standing on my feet for much longer. I have settled on the following routine. I do my long run on Sunday morning/early afternoon. When I get home I eat take-out (e.g. Taco Bell) or something that is easy to make (e.g. Kraft Mac and Cheese). I follow lunch up with a nice nap. And when I wake from my nap I am usually hungry, and feeling recovered sufficiently to stand up long enough to make something to eat! This recipe was the post-run selection from last week.

I started by poaching some chicken breasts, then slicing them into 1/4 inch slices. My special gentleman browned some bacon, then stirred together mayonnaise, sour cream, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. He toasted some white sandwich bread, then assembled the sandwiches with three pieces of bread, herbed mayo, bacon, tomato, Boston lettuce, avocado, and chicken breast slices. The resulting sandwich was pretty tasty. I have to admit, chicken clubs are not my favorite of all sandwiches, but for a chicken club, this was quite good. My special gentleman likes chicken clubs and he was very taken with this rendition. He thought the herbed mayo was too heavy on the lemon and parsley though. I thought the parsley was unobjectionable and I liked the burst of lemony flavor, so it seems that was a matter of taste. The bacon-avocado-tomato-lettuce combination is a tried and true recipe for deliciousness, and it worked well here. I didn't think the chicken added too much to the sandwich, but it wasn't bad either. There was nothing particularly special or grabbing about this sandwich, but it was tasty and I would certainly eat it again.

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This morning when we started our long run it was cold and thunderstorming. There were four cars in the parking lot at the trailhead: mine, my husband's [we brought both cars in case someone needed to bail early], our friend Paul's [who my husband runs with], and another car with a bumper sticker that just said, "26.2." Paul, Matty, and I looked around the parking lot and all had the same thought: only the crazies are out today! Indeed the trail was empty except for people who were clearly in training. I was not super excited about the weather for the first 10 miles or so. By mile 2 my clothes were soaked, and by mile 6 my shoes were saturated with water too. Around mile 10 I began to appreciate the weather more. Since the trail was empty and I was running alone, I sang along to the music on my iPod as loud as I could. In the 16th mile it started to really pour, and the pouring down rain was exactly what I needed to get me through those last two miles. When I hit the 18 mile mark I was tired (and very, very wet!) but I felt pretty ok. My first 18 mile training run was about a month ago now, and it was brutal. I collapsed in the grass and my special gentleman had to pick me up. During the car ride home I had tears in my eyes from the pain (blisters, and chafing, and angry joints) and I remember doing a lot of whimpering. But I have learned a few things since then. Generous and intelligent use of Body Glide and bandages goes a long way towards preventing post-run pain from chafing and blisters. And I suppose my joints are getting used to the realities of marathon training. Today there was no collapsing. I drove myself home after the run and there were no tears. Also no whimpering. It was a hard run (of course!), but it's getting easier. And I am starting to believe in the possibility of 26.2.