The Usual

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On Saturday I did something I haven’t done in months. I went for a 10-mile run.

Saturdays are the day I always run ten miles. Or rather, Saturdays are the day I always used to run ten miles, until I got sidelined with an injury that took me away from running and forced me to slowly rebuild my mileage. But on Saturday I finally reached that magical number of ten miles. That magical mileage that I run every single weekend unless I’m training for a specific race – then I’ll ramp up the mileage and start adding more to my Saturday run.

I went out with the intention of running nine miles, but as I was feeling good I decided to tack on that last mile, that golden mile that makes such a huge difference. The weather was gorgeous – sunny and warming up, and I was feeling good as I kept my pace at a comfortable 8:03 pace.

I finished with a smile on my face. I finally feel like I’m back from my injury, like I’ve successfully kicked kicked this injury’s ass.

Addictive

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I’ve made popcorn recipes before and they’re very good – both the Birthday Cake Popcorn and the Caramel Marshmallow Popcorn are delicious. So I was pretty confident a recipe that combined peanut butter, which I’ve already professed my love of, and popcorn was going to be great. It did not disappoint.

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Peanut Butter Popcorn

  • 1 bag plain popcorn, popped (unpopped kernels discarded)
  • 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Pop popcorn and set aside. Combine syrup and sugar in a saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until combined. Add peanut butter and mix until smooth, being careful not to burn the peanut butter. Once smooth remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Dump mixture over popcorn and mix until all pieces are coated. Spread popcorn onto a cookie sheet to cool/harden. Try not to eat it all in one sitting. =)

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Human Spirit

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As everyone knows, on Monday the Boston Marathon was attacked with several bombings. Hundreds were injured, three have been confirmed dead.

I don’t think I need to explain how terrifying this was for me. The minute I heard the news I flew to my phone and began texting the people I knew who were in the city. Once I learned they were safe I logged onto Facebook and was relieved to learn everyone I knew who was in Boston to either run or cheer for the race was accounted for and safe. After the initial shock wore off and the pounding of my heart slowed a little I began to cry. I sat in my cubicle at work and sobbed.

I am incredibly relieved my friends were not injured during the attack, but my heart goes out to those who were. This attack hits every runner and reminds us how senseless the world can be. But here’s the thing – I refuse to stop running.

On Tuesday morning, I laced up my shoes and went for a run, my mind clear of everything except for the colors the sky was changing as the sun began to rise. I didn’t think about the things that are going on in my life, I didn’t think about work, I didn’t think about Boston. I just ran.

We runners are a resilient bunch. We don’t back down or give up easily. We overcome doubt and frustrations and injuries and illness. We will overcome this. You cannot break us. We will not stop. We will keep running.

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Getting Back

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Friday morning I woke to rain pouring down. I drug Daisy through it for her morning walk (she’s not a fan of the rain) and thought about the day’s run. I planned on running five miles that day but I wouldn’t be able to get out till later as I had a couple appointments in the morning.

By the time I headed out to run it was 2:30pm and the sun had come out. The temperature peaked at 71 and because of the morning rain, humidity hung thick in the air. I dropped off my car for its annual emissions test and told the guy at the service desk I’d be back in about 40 minutes.

I waited for my watch to find the satellites and as soon as it confirmed a connection I surged forward. I felt like I was moving fast, but it felt good. I focused on my breathing as I propelled my legs forward. When my watch beeped at the first mile I looked down and pleased to see I was pacing a low 7-minute mile.

I kept pushing, hitting my turnaround point and heading back to where I started. I kept pushing forward, when I finished, I looked at my watch: 36:36. I’d just run 5 miles at a 7:17 pace. I haven’t run this fast in months. It felt great, getting back to where I used to be.

I still have a way to go to be fully back to my pre-injury levels. After all, maintaining a low 7-minute pace is something I used to do on my regular 10-mile Saturday run. So I’m not there yet, but I’m getting closer. And I’m feeling great.

Running!

Bacon Makes Everything Better

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Bacon has become very trendy lately but that’s okay because bacon is delicious. Deciding to test the theory that bacon makes everything better I set out to make cookies on Saturday. Yes, I said cookies. With bacon. Trust me on this one, you’re gonna want to try this recipe.

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Butterscotch Bacon Cookies

  •  2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 4 cups (2 packages) butterscotch chips
  • 1 package bacon, cooked and crumbled

Cream together butter and sugar until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Add dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda) and mix until fully combined. Fold in butterscotch chips and bacon.

Drop teaspoon size mounds of dough onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake for 12 minutes at 375. Let cookies sit for a few minutes on the sheet before removing to cool completely.

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