New Shoes, New Recipe

I don’t want to admit how scared I was this morning. Nervous. Anticipatory.

You see, I was taking my first run in eight days. In an effort to avoid Dumb As Shit Athlete (DASA) status, I decided to give myself a rest because I was having some pain in my left glute. This is the type of pain that proceeded my stress fracture, so it is not to be messed with. Well, IMHO, no pain is to be messed with when it comes to running.

That sad reality is, the only way to get rid of pain and get over/avoid injury is to NOT RUN. You can ice, roll, stretch, massage and compress the hell out of yourself, but until you take time off, it just ain’t going to get better.

So – I headed out. Me and my new shoes were ready to roll:

This is my best effort to imitate a flamingo

Mornings like this morning were made for running. 50 degrees. Crisp. Bright. First mile I concentrated on keeping my turnover light, smooth and quick. Fast turnover means less impact overall. Think about it: would you rather hit your thumb with a hammer once VERY hard or tap your thumb lightly with a hammer repeatedly?

I was very body-focused. Does my hip hurt? Nope. Any glute pain? Slightest ache, hardly anything. How do my new shoes feel? Light, comfy. All good signs.

On this run I was thinking, “Oh, the things I could do if injury were not a possibility.” I know we all think this. I still haven’t figure out how to run further and faster without getting hurt. Once I do, look the f&ck out.

I did five glorious miles. When you can run again, all is right with the world. Topped it off with a few shots of chocolate milk.

Now it’s time to eat. Fall is the time for BAKING! Well, anytime is the time for baking in my world, but I love all things molasses, pumpkin and cinnamon, so fall is especially good.

I whipped up a new recipe late last night – Pumpkin Wheat Honey Muffins. I was hoping using all whole wheat flour would not give the muffins a grainy texture or heaviness. Not at all. They turned out wonderfully. The recipe calls for walnuts and raisins, but we are more about CHOCOLATE around here, so I added some chips.

{From HERE}:

Pumpkin Wheat Honey Muffins

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raisins (I used choc. chips instead)
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree (I used the whole can 15 oz can)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (you could do half applesauce)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan, or line with paper liners. Place the raisins in a cup, and add enough hot water to cover. Let stand for a few minutes to plump.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center, and put in eggs, pumpkin, oil and honey. Mix just until the dry ingredients are absorbed. Drain excess water from raisins, and stir in along with the walnuts. Spoon into muffin cups so they are about 2/3 full.
3. Bake for 18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool in the pan before removing from cups.

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 263 | Total Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 35mg

Did I mention I like my muffin to be moist? (a la Betty White Saturday Night Live).

Now go stuff your face. Happy weekend!!

SUAR