Another relaxing weekend at home with baking, cooking, exercise, and friends!

On Saturday I went to the gym to tackle the treadmill and was surprised and very happy that I ran 7 miles! That is my longest distance ever, and I ran without stopping for 1 hr, 19 minutes. I always approach my runs with a goal but allow myself to back off if something doesn’t feel right. Today I really wanted to run 7 miles to show myself that I can increase my distance, but my right hip and shin have been bothering me, so I would have stopped if I felt I needed to. I taped my shin with KT Tape and it felt OK most of the time. My hip was a minor pain around a 2 on a scale of 10.

The thing I noticed most about this run into new distance is that after 6 miles, my legs felt tired like I thought they would, but my body felt different too. Like I needed nourishment and more water fast, and I actually sped up my cooldown, because going too slow made me woozy.

I stretched for a long time when I was done, quickly ate a Clif Bar and finished over 50 oz of water between breakfast, the run, and post run.

I’m glad I could push myself, but picking up the miles was a little scary! Hopefully with rest and repeating distance, my body will get used to it…maybe. Have a ways to go to 13.1!

Onto my kitchen adventures this weekend!

I baked Cherry Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies from Tina’s blog. Tina has a second stomach for dessert like me, and even has a day of the week to showcase cookies!

Cherry-Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Makes approximately 10 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks or chips
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup buttermilk

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375*F.
• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well until batter is blended evenly.
• Use a tablespoon to portion cookies on a greased baking sheet, approximately 1-2 inches apart.
• Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes until cooked through.
• Remove cookies from baking sheet and allow to cool on wire rack.
• Eat and enjoy

I added 1/4 C pecans to mine. The cookies were very oat-y and gooey. Chocolate, cherries, and nuts are great together.

This is what happens when I try to be artistic with hardwood floors as a backdrop.