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

Oh-So Strange

I got an email the other day from a new reader, David. He found my blog through a link on Gary Cohen’s website (writer, interviewer, runner, coach). He said,

“Your site was not quite what I expected and at first seemed oh-so strange, especially that pic of you posing in the swim-gear! But, I kept poking around and reading more and finally came to the conclusion you are quite an interesting person and that the stories are quite humorous and even enlightening at times. Seems like you would be a "fun" person to know, and probably a blast to run and train with!   Not sure if this SUAR site is a "chic" or "running mom" thing or what, but I am a a 57-year old marathoning guy, not your average male runner as such, but with long, pony-tailed hair, more like left-overs from the late 60's. In fact, I posted a pic of myself on Facebook hauling-ass down the last stretch of Oak-Brook Half Marathon and someone posted a comment, "Looks like Willie Nelson running away from the IRS!"

This is what occurred to me:

If you are visiting my blog for the first time, I can only imagine what you must think. Pussy posse. Me wearing white undies in a bathing suit. Recipes for shart brownies and erections (no, not recipes for erections, but just talk of them). Peeing standing up.  It’s a wonder new readers don’t start hauling ass in the opposite direction. Maybe they are drawn in much like one gets sucked into watching a car accident or the Real Housewives.

I am thrilled, honored that a 57 year old pony-tailed runner from Chicago would find something he liked here at SUAR. If you’ve been reading for a while you know for sure that SUAR is NOT a chic or running mom site. Yes, I’m very chic (see picture in right hand corner of blog) and I am a mom who runs, but I don’t speak of play dates or changing diapers (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Here’s my bottom line:

• I love to run, but I will do other things if I have to
• I’m determined and stubborn
• I believe that confidence is everything
• I know that laughing at yourself is the best medicine
• I’m sure most people aren’t living up to their potential. I’m just getting started.

So, if you’re new here and feeling uneasy, I don’t blame you. But, try sticking around and see what happens. You too may be craping in trees, overflowing toilets, falling off treadmills and eating shart brownies for breakfast before too long. It’s what all the cool kids do.

Am I really that weird? You’re laughing with me, not at me, right?

Going to buy some Willie Nelson from iTunes,

SUAR

PS: Bought my Boston plane tickets. Happy?

Shart Brownies

Jason over at Life of an Aspiring Triathlete really does it up right. Not only is he training for his first 70.3 (half ironman) in April 2011, but he is a crafty and unique cook. He has started a segment on his blog called “The Athletes Plate” where he creates a menu to fit a particular blogger’s qualities and characteristics. All recipes are healthy and pretty easy to make.

Guess who is highlighted today? Yours truly. Go take a look at recipes for such things as Shart Brownies (I don’t think that’s corn in there) and Oatmeal with brown SUgAR. The Tootin’ Torta Rustica looks pretty tasty too. Yes, Jason could have gone with Kovas’ suggestion of broth with Baby Ruth’s floating around in it, but he took the high road.

Leave me a comment here and just maybe I will nominate you to be featured on the next Athlete’s Plate!

In celebrity news, I got an email from Dean K. today.  I had told him he was on our Christmas card. His response?

Not worthy? Give me a break. Okay, maybe if you could run 400 miles at one time rather than just 350 you would be worthy. Or, if you could run from here to Greece on water, well, then you might be worthy.

Then he gave me a P.O. box cause he for sure knows I would stalk his house. I might even stalk the P.O. box just for the hell of it.

Going to hang out with “the clan,”

SUAR