Today was “long run day.” Correction: Saturday morning was Long Run Day. But the plan was changed when I ended up completely overindulging at our neighbor’s house, who invited us over for an amazing dinner of burgers with ALL the fixings (Pickles! Tomatoes! Cheese! Mustard! Grilled onions! So exciting!), baked French fries, Chili con Carne, and homemade apple and pineapple tart. LOOK AT THIS FOOD. And in AFRICA! It was a wonderful dinner, great company, and proof that with money, time, and talent, you can create stuff this amazing in Mozambique. I am newly inspired!
After my two three servings of dessert late on Friday, combined with the fact that I hadn’t taken a day off of exercise a week, I made the decision on Saturday morning to stay in bed reading Twilight a much more sophisticated book for a few hours and enjoy a relaxing day, moving Long Run Day to Sunday. I woke up several times during the night in anticipation (and also because a winged beetle the size of my hand kept trying to eat its way into my mosquito net). At 5:30 I jumped out of bed (avoiding the persistent beetle) and pulled on my running clothes… and then ate a chocolate brownie flavored Z-bar (so good!) while waiting for the sun to fully rise.
I ran for 2 hours and 17.5 minutes today. And I even wanted to keep going—but I didn’t want to push it with my knees, increasing mileage too drastically since my last long run. I think this may have been my longest run ever. I have no idea about the mileage—no Garmins here, plus I was jogging SO slow at times due to ankle-deep sand (no pavement on this route, either) but it was awesome. I am digging these longer runs because it feels like a completely different type of challenge. My normal one-hour runs with sprint intervals kind of just feel like pushing the buttons, clocking the time just because I should or whatever. But these, it isn’t about burning calories or feeling guilty if I don’t exercise—but instead, about the actual physical challenge (no stopping!). I know this is no big feat what I did this morning, but I loved how it made me feel—like an athlete, a strong woman, instead of someone just working out to not get fat or all those other reasons we end up thinking. I am really excited to do marathon training next year. I like feeling capable and strong! I am going to chase this feeling… literally : )
What got me through a big part of the run was looking forward to my breakfast: I was going to try to make my first pizzert from Katie’s blog. I saw this referenced on someone else’s blog recently (sadly don’t remember whose) and it sounded right up my alley. It had to wait, though, for two conditions: 1. A day off (too rushed during the work week) and 2. Bananas. Bananas, as well as peanut butter, are the things I cannot live without here. The problem is that I often am forced to live without them because they aren’t grown here (get shipped in occasionally) and just disappear for weeks at a time. Thus making my delicious morning oatmeal impossible (I don’t like it without the banana creaminess), and leading me to complaining day after day to my friends here about said lack of bananas. (I can’t believe in the States that you can just get bananas ALL THE TIME. What is that like?!?!) Well, I have combed every market in town for the last week (zero bananas) and then somehow found a couple at this really random banca. They were all split open already but whatever, they would work. So my rallying cry for myself throughout my run was PIZZERT!!!
After showering and chugging about two liters of water (rehydration!) I assembled the ingredients. ½ cup wheat flour (Wheat flour ingredients: white bread flour with wheat flakes. Cool huh?), 1 tsp baking powder, 4 tsp sugar, generous amounts of cinnamon and nutmeg, shake of salt, half a mashed banana, and about ½ cup of skim milk.
I also threw in some frozen blueberries as inspired by Katie. I found these a month or two at the expat market and have been saving them for special occasions.
Spread the mix in a greased pan (okay, pot, because I don’t have a pan) and put it in my unpreheated (as directed) oven for about fifteen minutes. While it was cooking, I chopped a pineapple. Bought this one yesterday for a buck. Totally overpriced, but a luxury so I bought it.
Pineapples are plentiful in many other areas of Mozambique, but of course, not where I live. They are one of my top 5 favorite foods no contest, and this is the first time I have bought one in months (they too have disappeared for a long time. What is ths?!) I love pineapple, but I hate cutting them. It was a nice distraction though, something to do when I waited for breakfast. HUNGER. I just wanted to sit down (my legs were aching at this point) and EAT!
After 15 minutes, pizzert was done. This was where I ran into problems. It was SO HARD to get this thing out of the pan. I had to fight with it for so long that it got cold during the process! I greased the pan though… not really sure what I did wrong?
Finally I (more or less) succeeded in removing my pizzert in pieces from the pan and got to do the fun part: decorate! My “sauce” was peanut butter (of course) and topping was banana slices, all drizzled with a little syrup for more sweetness. (Nutella next time, for sure).
This was so fun. It tasted a bit like a thicker pancake. I realized it was basically all the ingredients I use in an oatmeal bowl except the baking powder and the ½ cup of flour instead of the ½ cup of oats… wondering if I can recreate an oatmeal version too. Thanks Katie for the great idea and the perfect refueling breakfast. Pizzert + a big bowl of fresh pineapple and a kiwi + Happy Gilmore on my laptop = a perfect Sunday morning.
What do you think about long runs? How do you recover from them? And, what are your favorite weekend breakfasts? I need some more inspiration!
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you amaze me, sis. there is no way i could ever run for that long, you’re my idol! and this sounds quite delicious.
wow, that pizzert looks/sounds incredible!! Very impressed
do you know how many milks you went? You must have been been getting to like, 15 +? Impressive! Love your blog 
I love long weekend runs..they’re so good to clear your head, and it’s nice not to have to rush as well
Love yours too
Dude, 15+, no way!!! I WISH!!! I am pretty sure I was running–okay, barely jogging–like 11-minute miles because the sand was SO deep! But that´s okay… I wish I had a garmin out here in Mozambique but it is kind of nice NOT having one. Save that for next year´s marathon training 
Your day sounds so fantastic. I am beyond impressed. Seriously. I have a hard time going more than an hour and a half which is gonna suck when I do a half marathon this weekend =). Nothing better than getting an excellent workout and having the patience to make a kick-ass reward.
A while ago I was making crepes a lot (before I discovered overnight oats, banana soft serve, etc). They’re so easy and taste super decadent: eggs, pb, nutella, lemon and sugar, sauteed apples, so many options. Have you ever made egg white oatmeal? It’s kind of my go to when I’m not feeling creative….when it’s almost done you just mix in 2 egg whites and it gets super creamy.
thanks for the tip! I have never tried that. Maybe that will stand in for when bananas are MIA, i just love how creamy they make it. Truth be told I am kind of horrible at separating egg whites, but now is as good as a time to learn as any! What happens if I just crack the whole thing in there…?
Oh my gosh, your pizzert looks so good!! Sorry about the pan-sticking. I usually spray mine with coconut oil spray and don’t have a problem, but once I forgot the spray and had to dig the pizzert out and eat it in a bowl… it was still yummy though.
a 2+-hour run?! You’re amazing!
since i don’t do long weekend runs anymore, i’m not sure what the best way to recoup would be…but i’d guess tons of water and stretches would be good for you and feel great too! love the pizzert, by the way, i kind of want to eat the whole thing now
yummmmmmy breakfast!
when i’m in the mood to run, a long run can feel amazing. i love taking my dog on my long runs because her energy level is amazing & she keeps me entertained.
Great job on your run! Sometimes it’s good to go for a long run without knowing the mileage. Because usually if we get too concerned with how far we’re running and the time it takes to do so, we may beat ourselves up if we feel that we’re not running fast enough.
I think running for over 2 hours is indeed a serious feat! Way to go. I love how you just enjoyed the run for what it was instead of the numbers related to it.
And pizza & dessert are two of my favorite things. A perfect combo in my book. What a fun way to have something sweet.
Congrats on your long run- that’s amazing! And I am dying to try a pizzert. Yours looks yummy. I can’t believe that you sometimes can’t find bananas! They are literally everywhere here! I always buy too many and they nearly go bad, maybe I should send them to you?! =P
Umm… PLEASE!!! SEND BANANAS!!! I am sure that being stuck in a box somewhere between the States and Africa, for anywhere between one and three MONTHS; would mean they would get here PERFECTLY ripe and ready
Haha. I guess beggars can´t be choosers, at least I can get bananas once in a while! Unlike strawberries… or blueberries… or real milk that isn´t just chemicals that lasts on the shelf unrefrigerated for 3 years and then goes bad in two days once opened… okay, I´m done now. 
I’ve actually never heard of “pizzert” but that looks fabulous! Also, AMAZING job on your long run!
Hi! I just found your blog and love it! Now I’m going to have to make a pizzert too!
Hi! Your blog about your mom was SO AWESOME! What a strong woman to fight her way through cancer x2!! That apple + pineapple tart looks so YUMMY! IS there a recipe for it somewhere that I overlooked? Thanks!
My boss, a lovely French canadian woman, made the tart. I asked her how she made it and she said to make the crust: use approximately equal amounts of flour, sugar, and butter, cream together, add a little more flour, and spread in the pan. Simplest thing ever and yet the MOST DELICIOUS THING I HAVE EATEN in Africa. For the filling: litterally just put a bunch of pineapple chunks that were about to go bad in there, a little sugar, covered it with apple slices, shook with cinnamon and put the thing in the oven until it seemed done. Easy recipe to copy, huh?
I wish I had an actual recipe but this is how we cook and bake in Africa… throw things together that seem right, stick it in the oven until you think it´s done. 
Lucky for us, it works most of the time!!
Thanks for finding and commenting on my Blog!! I love yours. I’ve seen you post on ELR before and have read you – but am only commenting now
HOLY GOD – AWESOME RUN!!!!
Oh goodness, that IS a long run! Way to go! Coming from a non-runner, I am *seriously* impressed
And that “pizzert” is pretty much the most delicious-looking thing I’ve seen in a while. Pizza is my favorite food, but in DESSERT form? You’re a woman after my own heart, clearly
YUM YUM! That dinner spread and your pizzert both look SO GOOD! I’ve never heard of the pizzert before, but I think I may just have to try that, umm, ASAP!
I’ve just started getting into running over the last 6 months or so and am thrilled when I complete 4 miles! haha, so seeing that you are able to complete a distance like that is completely awe-inspiring!
I love your blog, by the way! Anytime I see “Courtney” posted somewhere on another blog, I always have to take a second look because I think it was me!
Woah woah woah! I had to read and re read that time again and again. Good for you. That is incredible!
Courtney – I just found your blog today and love it so far; I’ve already read your entries from the last few months! I was in Tanzania last fall (which was my first, but hopefully not last, time in Africa) so I’ve really enjoyed reading about your experiences and thinking about them in comparison to mine. I hope your last 6 months treat you well and I look forward to following you and your journey!
Those are some wonderful flavors for breakfast
And a very impressive run…