Great Ocean Road Marathon

Last weekend I headed down to Apollo Bay for the Great Ocean Road Marathon.  It was the first time I had made the trip for the event and it won't be my last.  What a weekend!  The crew had a big contingent present in the 14km and 23km event and a few in the 45km event.

I headed down on Saturday morning which seemed a little rushed but got there for the 14km event with plenty of time to spare.  I hadn't run 14km in about 6 months so it was going to be an interesting run.  Everything started pretty well and by 4 or 5km was just delighted to be feeling great running again.  I don't think my time really mattered at that point.  Got to the half way mark still feeling great and caught a glimpse of Stormin' and Victoria ahead of me and so set my sights on catching them.  After creeping up behind Stormin' with about 3km to go I was starting to feel it.  I then managed to catch Victoria only for her to catch me again with about 100m to go.  With some frantic yelling from the crew supporting I managed to pip her on the line.  A big thanks to the both of them for getting me home in such a cracking time.  You guys ran really well and we all got under the hour so job well done.

After a nice hot shower and a bit of a power nap it was off to Big Kev's apartment for a crew dinner.  The place was a buzz with so many of the crew, probably over 40 of us.  Everyone had brought a plate for dinner and there were some wonderful creations.  We had everything from pancakes, cannelloni, pasta, fried rice, meet balls and soup.  There was even dessert.  Some of us had already run so we headed off to the pub for a few drinks before calling it a night.  Those of us that were running the half had an early 5am start.

In the morning we had breaky and then headed down to cheer on our friends running the half.  It was so great to see so many of us down there on the finish line cheering everyone on.  We had a decent group come through the half at around 85 mins which was just awesome.  Everyone was breaking PB's by minutes rather than seconds.  I've posted a few shots of people so check them out.  I think the highlight for me was Joanne's finish.  Well done Jo, great run.

After a relaxing afternoon reading my book and then hanging out with the chicks a much smaller group headed off for dinner.  What would one of my blog posts be without a report on food.  As an entree I had mussels in a tomato and basil sauce which was followed by ocean trout with pesto and a tomato, basil side.  The food was great and the company excellant.  It was then off to the top deck apartment for a few more drinks and a few more from a happy Grechy.

Overall it was a fantastic weekend.  It's great to be able to go away with a great bunch of people who share a passion for one of my biggest passions, running.  A big thanks to Terese for organising the accommodation.  See you all there next year.

Smoked Roast Chicken

After last week's resounding success in smoking an Australian Salmon it was time to try out a whole roast chook.  I've had this a few times with my old man but this was the first time I was going to do it.  I spontaneously decided to throw in a few side dishes that might be on the menu for my Moroccan feast in a few weeks time.

Smoking is a relatively simple process with the webber.  Soak some hickory wood chips in white wine, preferably a dry wine, for a minimum of 1 hour.  Once the coals are no longer black put the wood chips in and make sure that they don't catch a light.  If they do then put the lid on the webber and close the vents for a couple of minutes.  I cut the chicken down the spine and placed it on indirect heat with the rib cage facing down (spread eagle).  For a 1.2kg chook it took about 45 mins which was just perfect.

For the side dishes I prepared Moroccan baked peppers, Stuffed zucchine and dutch carrots.  The filling for the baked peppers was cos cos, tomatoes, carrots, onion and a mixture of spices.  I cooked the peppers for about 30 mins but could probably should have cooked it for another 5 - 10 minutes.  To prepare the stuffed zucchine I removed the white flesh of the zucchini so that the skin was just visible.  I then added onion, chilli and cheddar cheese together with the zucchini insides.  I baked the zucchine shell for about 10 mins and then added the filling until the cheese was just about to brown.  The only problem with the zucchine was the amount of chilli that I added.  It was just a tad too much and took away the flavours of the other ingredients.

For a somewhat impromptu Sunday dinner I was rather pleased.