The fact is, running in the rain can be a miserable experience if you’re not prepared. Wear a brimmed hat to keep the rain out of your eyes, and layer up with a jacket that is water resistant (just do what your mom told you). Check the forecast before you go, and if there is thunder or lightning predicted, think about staying home and doing your workout on a rowing machine, or go to the gym. Body Glide helps too, since wet clothes create extra friction. And put your phone in a zip-lock bag.
If your shoes do get wet, crumple old newspaper and put it inside each shoe. The newspaper soaks up the moisture so they’re dry and ready for your next run.
The other half of a wet day, in my book, is a pot of something on the stove. Soups and stews are about as low-maintenance as dinner gets: one pot, a ladle, and leftovers for later. This list runs from tonkotsu ramen and cioppino to potato leek soup and an honest pot of vegetable soup.
Pork and Potato Soup
Cubed pork browned in the pot, then potatoes, carrots, onion and broth simmered until the pork is tender. Garlic bread for dunking.
Beef Bourguignon
Beef chuck, bacon, red wine, carrots and pearl onions, browned and braised in one Dutch oven for about 3 hours. It’s a weekend pot, and the leftovers keep 3 to 4 days.
Vegetable Soup
This is the clean-out-the-crisper soup. Onion, carrot, celery and garlic first, then whatever else is around (zucchini, green beans, a can of white beans, diced tomatoes), covered with broth and simmered until the carrots are tender, about 30 minutes. A handful of fresh herbs on top at the end.
Egg Drop Soup
Probably the fastest soup here. Bring seasoned chicken broth to a simmer, thicken it slightly with a cornstarch slurry, then pour in beaten eggs in a thin stream while you stir slowly in one direction. The eggs set into ribbons in seconds. Finish with sesame oil, white pepper and sliced green onion.
Moroccan Chickpea Stew
Onion, garlic and ginger cooked down with cumin, cinnamon, paprika and a little turmeric until the kitchen smells like it. Add canned chickpeas, diced tomatoes, cubed sweet potato and vegetable broth and simmer around 25 minutes.
I like a handful of chopped dried apricots stirred in, and lemon juice right before serving. Spoon it over couscous.
Tonkotsu Ramen
Real tonkotsu broth means pork bones boiled hard for 10 to 12 hours until the liquid goes milky and opaque, which is a weekend project. If that’s not happening, a good store-bought pork or chicken broth with a little sesame paste and soy gets you in the neighborhood.
The toppings are where you have fun. This bowl has soft-boiled eggs, charred corn, a pile of greens, crispy nori and slices of seared meat (pork belly is the classic).
Short Rib Ramen
Braise bone-in short ribs in broth, soy, ginger and garlic until they pull apart, about 3 hours, then skim the fat and use that braising liquid as your ramen broth. Cook the noodles separately, set a whole short rib on top with an egg, chopped onion and cilantro, and ladle the broth around it.
When Cold Morning Air Makes Your Ears Ache
A lot of people like to run outdoors early in the morning, when temperatures are usually at their lowest. As our bodies get cold, blood vessels in the ears get constricted, which can lead to a build up of pressure and some ear pain. A few things that help:
- Wear an earmuff or a hat that covers your ears. It also keeps the cold wind off them.
- Use your fingers to massage your external ears. This stimulates blood flow and warms them up during runs.
- Loosen your jaw. The eardrum is connected to the jaw muscles through a facial nerve, so clenching or grinding your teeth while running can show up as ear pain. Choosing tender food over gum and chewy, overcooked meat helps too.
Ear pain that comes with a fever, ringing or trouble with your balance can be an infection, and that’s a job for an ear, nose and throat doctor.
On a cold, wet morning like that, a bowl of ramen or any hot soup afterward is what I’d want waiting at home.
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Butter and flour cooked together for a couple of minutes, then onion, carrot, broth and milk, then a whole head of chopped broccoli simmered until it’s soft. Off the heat, stir in a lot of sharp cheddar a handful at a time so it melts smooth instead of clumping.
Keep it below a boil once the cheese goes in. A hunk of bread for dunking, like the one in the photo, is required.
Potato Leek Soup
Leeks softened slowly in butter, then diced potatoes and broth until tender. Blend half of it and leave the rest chunky so it has some texture.
Hungarian Goulash
Goulash leans on paprika, and a lot of it, so use a fresh tin of sweet Hungarian paprika. Brown cubed beef chuck, cook a mountain of sliced onions until soft, then take the pot off the heat before stirring in the paprika (it scorches fast and turns bitter). Add caraway, tomato, broth and diced peppers and simmer about 2 hours.
It freezes well too. Cooked soups and stews are good for 2 to 3 months in the freezer, according to the cold storage chart at FoodSafety.gov, or 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
Vegetable Pho
Char a halved onion and a knob of ginger in the dry soup pot until they blacken in spots, then pour in vegetable broth with star anise, cinnamon, cloves and a little soy and simmer for 30 minutes before you fish the solids out.
Pour it over rice noodles with broccoli, bean sprouts, sliced jalapeño and a big handful of cilantro and mint, like this bowl. Lime wedges and hoisin at the table.
Avgolemono
The Greek lemon chicken soup. Simmer orzo or rice in chicken broth with shredded chicken. Whisk eggs with a lot of lemon juice, then temper them by whisking in a few ladles of hot broth before pouring the mix back into the pot. Stir over low heat until it turns silky and slightly thick, and don’t let it boil or the eggs will scramble.
Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese
Canned whole tomatoes, onion, garlic and broth simmered for 20 minutes, then blended smooth with a splash of cream. Grilled cheese on the side is not optional in my book.
Chest Pain on a Run After a Big Meal
Heartburn is a burning pain in your chest area, usually behind the breastbone, and it happens when stomach acid goes back up the esophagus. Foods that are high in fat or acidic, like tomatoes, citrus, cheese and chocolate, can trigger it, and so can spicy foods. Running puts a ton of pressure on your digestive system, so a big bowl of tomato stew right before a run is asking for it.
To prevent it, don’t go running after a heavy meal. Wait at least 2 to 3 hours for the food to settle. If you can’t wait, go with something light, like a yogurt or a banana.
Not every twinge is heartburn, though, and chest pain can also be something serious like angina or a heart attack. You should always get yourself checked if you feel pain in your chest after your runs, and chest pain with shortness of breath, sweating, nausea or pain in the jaw, arm or back needs medical attention right away.
Lentil Soup
Brown or green lentils, carrots, celery, onion, cumin and a can of diced tomatoes, simmered about 40 minutes. A squeeze of lemon at the end wakes it up.
Cioppino
San Francisco’s fisherman’s stew. Build a base of onion, fennel, garlic, tomatoes, white wine and fish stock and let it simmer for 20 minutes or so. Then add the seafood in order of how long it takes: chunks of firm white fish and clams first, then mussels, then shrimp and scallops for the last few minutes.
Fish is done at 145°F per the FSIS safe temperature chart, and toss any clams or mussels that stay shut. Crusty bread for the broth.
Scallop and Vegetable Soup
A light, clear one. Simmer sliced carrot, daikon and mushrooms in a gingery broth until tender, add snap peas for the last couple of minutes, then slide in whole sea scallops and turn off the heat. They poach in the residual heat in about 3 minutes and stay sweet and tender.
Butternut Squash Soup
Peel and cube the squash so it can go straight into the pot. Cook onion and garlic in butter, add the squash, broth and a little nutmeg, and simmer for about 25 minutes, until a fork slides through the cubes. Then blend it smooth right in the pot with a stick blender.
A swirl of cream on top like this is mostly for looks. A diced apple cooked with the onion is a good addition if you like it a bit sweeter.
White Bean Chicken Chili
A chili without tomatoes. Onion, garlic, a can of diced green chiles, cumin and oregano, then chicken broth, 2 cans of white beans and chicken breasts. Simmer until the chicken hits 165°F, shred it right in the pot, and mash some of the beans against the side to thicken it.
Sour cream and cilantro on top, like this bowl. It freezes well, too.
Turkey Chili
Ground turkey, onion, peppers, beans and crushed tomatoes with plenty of chili powder and cumin. It’s on the table in about 45 minutes and freezes well for 2 to 3 months.
Pasta e Fagioli
Pasta and beans, the Italian way. Start with pancetta, onion and garlic, add tomato paste and broth, then mash about half a can of cannellini against the side of the pot to thicken the broth before adding the rest. Ditalini goes in for the last 10 minutes or so. It should be thick, almost a stew.
Bone Broth
Brown beef or chicken bones in a little oil right in the stockpot, then cover them with cold water, add a splash of vinegar, onion, carrot, celery and a couple of bay leaves, and keep it at a bare simmer for 12 hours or longer. Skim it now and then. Strain it, chill it, and lift off the fat once it hardens on top.
The other way to go is a lighter chicken broth with a handful of greens and a bay leaf dropped in near the end. Sip it on its own, or use it as the base for half the soups on this list.
Blood in the Urine After a Long Run
Long runs are when I lean on a pot of broth like this one, and they’re also when this next problem tends to show up. Blood in your urine after a run can be a frightening discovery, but it doesn’t always mean that something’s amiss. Possible causes range from infections and kidney stones to medications and even vigorous exercise like running. There’s also the possibility that what you thought was blood isn’t blood at all, since food dye or a lot of beets can change the color of your urine.
The first thing you should do is call your doctor, explain your situation and make an appointment. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Tell your doctor about any other symptoms (a fever or lower back pain could mean an infection), and be sure to mention that you’re a runner.
Then try not to lose too much sleep over it. Blood in the urine is known to occur in people who do long-distance running, and chances are it’s nothing serious. Getting checked out is a step in the right direction.
French Onion Soup
It’s mostly patience. Slice 4 or 5 big onions thin and cook them in butter over medium-low for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring now and then, until they’re deep brown and jammy. A splash of wine or sherry to scrape up the bottom, then beef broth and thyme for 20 more minutes.
The classic version gets a slice of toasted bread and melted Gruyère under the broiler. A thick slice of toast floating on top, like this, does the job without the oven-safe crocks.
Mexican Rice Soup
Toast long-grain rice in a little oil until it smells nutty, then add blended tomato, onion and garlic and cook it down for a few minutes before pouring in chicken broth. Simmer until the rice is soft, about 20 minutes.
Served in a mug like this one, with cilantro, green onion and a shake of chili flakes, it’s halfway between a soup and a side.
Pozole With Radishes and Lime
Pork shoulder simmered with hominy and a red chile broth until it falls apart. The toppings do a lot of the work here: sliced radishes, shredded cabbage, lime and a pinch of oregano.
Ribollita
The name means reboiled, and it’s a Tuscan bread soup that was built for leftovers. Cook onion, carrot and celery slowly in olive oil, add cannellini beans, tomatoes, a whole bunch of torn lacinato kale and broth, then simmer about 30 minutes.
Traditionally you tear day-old crusty bread right into the pot and let it soak until a spoon stands up in it. I’d just as soon keep the bread on the side like this and dunk it, which also keeps the leftovers from turning to paste.
Chicken Noodle Soup
The one everybody already knows how to make, more or less. Bone-in chicken thighs simmered in broth with onion, carrot, celery, garlic and a bay leaf until they reach 165°F, then pulled, shredded and dropped back in.
Egg noodles go in for the last 8 minutes or so. If you plan on leftovers, cook the noodles separately and add them to each bowl, or they soak up the broth overnight and you wake up to chicken casserole.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Onion, garlic and a couple of chipotles in adobo, then crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, cumin and chicken breasts, simmered until the chicken shreds with a fork. Blend part of the broth first if you want it thicker.
The toppings make it, so don’t skip them: crisp tortilla strips, a spoonful of sour cream, avocado and lime, about like the bowl here. A handful of crushed tortilla chips does the job, so there’s nothing extra to fry.