Sunday is my favorite day of the week. It’s the only day that nobody in the family has to work, and aside from Paul’s rehearsals for an upcoming production of Annie, none of us has anyplace we need to be. There’s no rush to get up in the morning and nobody has to be out the door while it’s still dark outside. Have I ever told you how much I despise Winter in this part of the country? With more time and relax in the morning I often like to make a special breakfast. Every now and then it’s pancakes with maple syrup (only the real stuff) and bacon, while others it’s homemade muffins. Today I went with Pumpkin Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins. Yes, they do taste as good as they sound and you should make a batch as soon as possible, you know, if you love your family as much I love mine. Oh, who am I kidding? It has less to do with love and more to do with the fact those are my favorite muffins to make this time of year.
Who Won The New York City Marathon?
After throwing together a batch of muffins, serving them to everyone else, and putting a couple on a plate for myself, I poured myself a big cup of coffee and sat down to watch the TCS New York City Marathon. A lot of people might find it a little boring, but I love to run myself and could basically watch anything track and field or road racing all day long. Today’s marathon was a little more special than usual. Not only was it Meb Keflezighi’s final marathon before he retires from running, but fellow American Shalane Flanagan ran in the women’s race. Wait, that’s an understatement. She didn’t just run that race, she destroyed it, especially the last couple miles when she went into full on beast mode. Watching her cross the finish line as the first American woman to win since 1977 (40 YEARS) made me well up with emotion. Partially because I know how great it feels to cross a finish line of a road race, but mostly because Shalane’s display of emotion was raw and real and nobody deserved to win more than her today. It was her first time winning a major marathon and she did it fiercely.
I Love Running
I mentioned earlier that I love to run, so of course watching the marathon on television motivated and inspired me to hit the pavement this afternoon even though the weather was cloudy, gloomy, and downright chilly. I put on my running tights, a couple layers on top, and cued up my favorite playlist for a four mile run. Once I was out there I felt great and completely forgot about the rude weather. That’s because running is the one thing I do for myself. I do it for my physical health, but mostly I do it for my mental health. And right now I’m savoring every run I’m able to do outside because it won’t be long before we have snow on the ground and temperatures below freezing. When that happens I’ll be forced into the basement where my treadmill lives. Don’t get me wrong, it was one of the best investments we ever made, but it isn’t referred to as a dreadmill for nothing. Here’s hoping we have a very mild (hahahahaha) winter and I’ll be able to keep running outside as much as possible.
How did you get to the point where you loved running, or have you always? I’m such a couch potato, but I am trying to get myself together.
I feel you on winter – I live in the south, and luckily we have very, very mild winters. I still dislike them, though. I’m fine with gloomy weather and getting dark earlier/staying dark longer, but cold temps cause me to have SAD symptoms. I don’t know if I’d survive a northeastern winter!
Kim @ The ReInVintaged Life recently posted..It’s the little things, y’all….
Yes, Kim, I’ve always loved and been a runner. I was a sprinter as a youth, but the distance running is something I’ve come to love more intensely in the past 5 years. It’s the one thing I do for myself and it does more for my mental health, especially, than I can express. I’m so with you on the SAD – it’s rough for me, too. I’ve been saying for years that I need to move to the south, but it might be a while before we make it a reality.
Your love of running inspires me.
I hope to one day lace up my kicks and get back out there – and maybe add some jogging to my walks.
And yum. Muffins. I’m missing them already. 😉
Andrea Bates recently posted..It’s So Dark.
Oh Andrea, thank you for that comment. I think we all need to have that one thing we love and do only for ourselves and running is that for me. Make yourself a huge batch of muffins on December 1st and eat as many as you want with zero guilt.