Food Friday...not forgotten...

Sooo, I've been a little MIA lately, so sorry for that! Life became unexpectedly SUPER busy for a few weeks. I think that everything has calmed down, though, and I'll now be able to update again more regularly. Not the best start to a blog, I know, but it WILL be better, promise! There are definitely a few things that I have to share, thanks for sticking with me!

First, though, I thought I'd complete my second "Food Friday" post. Today's recipe of choice is one for Sweet Potato Muffins! I made this right before Thanksgiving and it was a HUGE hit (and when I say huge I mean that my boyfriend and I almost went through the whole batch in one day...maybe not super healthy, but they were too good! They were so good that I forgot to take pics of the finished product :) ) I first received this recipe in the "Runner's World" emails that I receive every day or so. I'm a huge fan of sweet potatoes. They're so versatile and are extremely healthy for you--a good way for me to get some beta carotene (did I mention that I hate carrots? I've tried to eat them many times, but still to no avail...) So, needless to say this recipe was a success for me even before I made it. Read a little about what sweet potatoes do for you HERE . And here's the link where I found the recipe, if you're interested in checking it out: Runner's World Sweet Potato Muffins

So without further ado:

Sweet Potato Muffins
2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour (preferably pastry flour)
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup pureed or mashed cooked sweet potato
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk

Heat oven to 375° F. Grease 12 muffin cups or add paper liners.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, and salt.

In a bowl, whisk butter, oil, sweet potato, egg, and buttermilk. Fold wet mixture into the dry; stir until just combined.

Fill muffin cups three-quarters full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Banana Nut Variation Reduce sugar to 1/2 cup. Replace sweet potato with 1 cup mashed, very ripe banana; add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to the batter.

Pumpkin Coconut Variation Replace sweet potato with 1 cup canned pumpkin; add 1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut to the batter.


CALORIES PER MUFFIN: 248
CARBS: 37 G
FIBER: 3 G
PROTEIN: 4 G
FAT: 9 G

My Added Twist(s): Want to get rid of some of the unnecessary fat? Substitute the veggie oil with apple sauce...works just the same and tastes just as good! Also, I didn't have whole wheat flour and substituted it with normal ol' white flour. I did a little research on the internet and these two are interchangeable (as far as the effects on baking, anyway... I don't know that nutritional facts break down), so don't worry about running out to the store to get a new bag of flour if you already have one sitting at home! And if you check out the comments on the RW website you'll notice a bunch of people that came up with substitutes of their own...RW website is such a great resource as well as a great community for runners!

Note(s): When mixing the batter you'll notice that it can get really thick. There were comments stating this on the RW website from those who had made the muffins before me. You can use baked or boiled and mashed sweet potatoes (I used the latter), but the overall consensus I think was that the boiled and mashed worked a little better because they were more moist.

Speaking of boiled sweet potatoes, if you've never made them before it's really simple. Here's what you do: Peel and then chop the sweet potatoes into small pieces and throw in some boiling water for 20 minutes; drain and mash. Done. :) (These are great by themselves with some brown sugar, or some butter and salt. See? Very versatile!)


Another great thing about this recipe is that you can easily switch it up...want some banana nut bread? or some pumpkin coconut? With the instructions provided by RW's contributing food writer Mark Bittman it's an easy transition from sweet potatoes to bananas or pumpkin. If you make one of those recipes let me know! I haven't quite had a chance to do that yet :)

So here they are, sweet potato muffins! The flavor isn't rich or strong, but is just a little sweet and satisfying and I think you'll really enjoy them. Also, I thought this recipe to be very appropriate for this time of year...we'll all have some of those leftover mashed sweet potatoes that won't quite get eaten. What a great excuse to make this recipe!

Thanks again for checking back her and sticking with me! I promise to become better on track!

Happy Running!

I Made It Out Alive...

...and I'm almost serious!

The "Hogsback" Wilderness Trail Run: I've been looking forward to this race for a couple of weeks now. Because it was close to where I grew up this race was not only a convenient excuse to head home and take advantage of Mom's home cooking, but also a chance to visit a part of my childhood. The Hogbacks (or "Hogsback" as the race directors have called it after it was misspelled a few years back, read HERE) is a giant Genesee County Park that includes about 1,100 acres of mostly wilderness. My siblings and I have fond memories of this area...we'd go sledding down Dead Man's Hill (a toboggan hill which contains a great deal less ruts, stones, and stumps than I remember trying to avoid as a kid), walk the trails with our dad and I remember going back there with my friends to collect newts, tadpoles, frogs and other wildlife that we'd stick in a fishbowl for a while and watch grow (the tadpoles were especially fascinating).

I haven't been back there in years and was quite excited, but, oh boy, was I not prepared.

I. hurt.

I've run races that claim to be trail runs...there's was the recent Mackinac Island Half that was a "trail run", but I estimate that only about 4 miles of the course wasn't paved....then there was the Stony Creek Back to the Beach Half that didn't claim to be a trail run, but I do believe that it mentioned some trail elements (which it definitely had)...

But nothing has compared to what I participated in today. The "Hogsback" Wilderness Trail Run is the most difficult race I have ever participated in.

It's "trail run" in every sense of the word. One-track trails making it difficult to pass others, ruts, rocks, stumps, tall grass, itchy branches that leave you bleeding, almost-straight-up inclines (one of which I climbed up using all fours, as well as used small trees that were sticking out of the ground to help pull myself up), almost-straight-down declines, trails running adjacent to 100 foot drop offs, mud--THICK mud complete with horse hoof rivets (we started and ended at the Elba Equestrian Complex), of course this was ALL covered in leaves (which makes it slick and, well, let's just say "difficult to see obstacles") and we definitely can't forget the, not one, but TWO river crossings (a trail run wouldn't be complete without at least one of these, right?). Add a little horse poop, throw in Dead Man's Hill (a toboggan hill which isn't half as rutty and rocky as it was when I was little) and you're good to go! I can't imagine what this race would be like if it snowed...oh man, I hope I didn't jinx it for next year!

In one word: wow. I had SO much fun running this race, and it was made even better by the fact that I was able to participate along with my two "little" brothers. The youngest of the two, Zack, ran the "Hogsback" 5 Miler with me, while the older of my brothers, Nick, ran the 2 Mile "Piglet" run (in his defense, his a bodybuilder, not a runner...definitely different training regiments!)

Here area few pics from the race:

Right down the road from where I grew up is the Elba Equestrian Complex, the "race headquarters". I'd been back into the Hogbacks many times, but never been back in this particular area. It's a nice place to hold equestrian events or simply go out on a daily ride.

We pulled up, I picked up my packet at the back of the trailer and my brothers signed up at the side.  Here we are: Nick, me and Zack with one member of our cheering squad, our dad's dog Gracie.

Here's the entrance to the trail/course for the 5 mile "Hogsback."

This was both the start for the "Piglet" runners and the finishers' chute for all events. The "Piglets"  ran under the pig and entered the woods through the trail head located behind me in this photo.

"Piglet" Nick ready to go with his headphones on, waiting with our cheering squad, Gracie and Bryan (Bryan was also our personal photographer while I was running :) )

The grub that we partook in when we finished. It was fantastic! Chili, rice and chicken soup, rolls, water, and Gatorade...I was full when I left!

The Hogsback awards!

And we're off! The Hogsback runners entered the course to the right (your left in this photo) while the Piglets ran to the right.

My brother, one of many finished Piglets, haha.

Here's Zack crossing the finish line (he's a little hard to see--he's located to the left of the very-left leg of the inflatable pig, in bright blue shorts, gray t-shirt, and a black hat.)

And here I am finally crossing the finish line (with absolutely horrible form, so sorry you had to see that, but I was  so exhausted at this point that all I cared about was finishing!)

Nick and I resting with Gracie after the race. Others were looking at some of the times that were posted on the picnic table we were sitting on.

Zack wasted no time getting food, then headed straight for the campfire the race directors set up for us. How does he look so calm after this race, considering he hasn't run in about 2-3 weeks? and I haven't stopped training and feel like poo...go figure :P

Gathering around the picnic tables for the awards.

Nick won a Piglet Award for his age group! A very nice handmade clay medallion...pretty cool (btw, I won't mention that he was the only one in his age group *chuckles*)

Race Review:

Type: Trail run with a pig theme :)

Race Directors: rotpac.com


Location: Elba Equestrian Complex, Hogbacks, Genesee County Park. Take I-69 and get off at Exit 149, go north for about 5 miles and it will be on your left (there is a sign marking the equestrian complex and the race directors put out a sign for the race, as well.) Here's a map link: Elba Equestrian Comlex .

Distances offered: A 2 mile "Piglet" and 5 mile "Hogsback" (actually, we found out after the race that the course wasn't quite 5 miles, more like 4.5...but I have to say that it felt like 10 :) )

Size: Small, only 163 finishers if I counted correctly; large enough to be competitive, but small enough to really enjoy it and share painful memor.... uh, I mean, interact with other racers :)

Course difficulty (in my opinion): DIFFICULT (but soooo worth it!)

Course Description: Rocky, rut-ish, hilly, stumps everywhere, but absolutely gorgeous scenery (which you'll notice if you work up the courage to look up for the ever-changing terrain :) ) A really fun challenge! Think Tough Mudder on a smaller scale...but with the same physical results, hehe


Shirt: A nice long sleeved tech shirt in various colors, depending on what size you are and if you preregistered

Here's the shirt! I chose green, with my other two choices being yellow and white (I already have a lot of white and yellow :).)

After-Race Perks: GREAT food (as mention one of my photo captions), bonfire to warm up, a well spigot (used to give water to horses, but also works for the participants' purposes :) ) to wash off yourself and your shoes, fun awards (as seen in above photos), little giveaways and, last, little "throw into the crowd" toys (that were directed at the kids, which was cool).

Notes and Tips: Bring your old crappy shoes...you'll be running through the dirt, mud, a river (maybe twice) and possibly horse poop, so definitely wear running clothes and shoes that you care the least about!

Overall: This was an awesome experience, and  give it a 10/10. I really hope that you'll bookmark rotpac.com and keep an eye out for this race in 2012 because I can guarantee that you'll enjoy it!

Hope you enjoyed my race report... I'll be posting my Mackinac Island Trip Report soon, so stay tuned! Before that I need to go and finish washing my shoes...

Hogsback Prep--Random Relaxation and, well Randomness

I woke up today to beautiful weather...the sun was shining and barely a cloud in the sky. What better way to relax then go on a short run? As I got ready I became a bit skeptical...at this time of the year you never know what the temperature is like out there. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a comfortable 54.9 degrees with winds no greater than 5 mph as I put on my shoes to head out.

When I got back it was a little over 57 degrees, what better way to relax than going on a short walk?

I'm not sure what kind of tree this is, but I believe it's some sort of crabapple tree.  It looked unusual with the yellow colored berries. Sorry if its a bit hard to see against the pine tree.

We've had quite the abundance of wildlife around here lately, which is unusual considering out location (we're closer to urban rather than rural areas). These are the hoof prints from a small herd of deer that's been roaming around (I'm not sure what the deal was--maybe last nights full moon!--but I saw them out at around 4pm yesterday). A mixture of adults and fawns, as you can see. There's also been a flock of about 10 turkeys and we actually saw a coyote on our way home from the store earlier this week! 

It's interesting what you see when the leaves fall off the trees. I saw numerous bird nests, as well as this  yellow jacket hive.

I am an avid blog follower. It's a great way to connect with others who enjoy the same things that I do (honestly I'm more of a lurker, but I'm trying to change that!). Bloggers are also filled with great tips, ideas, and info, such as the website challenge.meyouhealth.com that Dietitian on the Run posted. When you sign up (for free, don't worry!) you get daily emails that give you one "Daily Challenge" to complete each day. Yesterday's was "eat something red", which I will accomplish today because I signed up at midnight and wasn't exactly hungry :). Today's is, "Share or write down the biggest benefit you get from being active." Check :). So here I am sharing it with you!

I don't consider there to be one "biggest benefit" to being active. There are several reasons why I love running. One of the larger benefits, though, is that I love the sense of accomplishment I feel when I've completed my daily run. I could do nothing all day (which is hard for me because I always feel like I should be doing something), and then when I go running I feel fulfilled. I love that I'm doing something that's healthy for me, and I love that I love it!

So there it is.

Today was also the Woldumar Nature Center Run A Munk Half Marathon-10K-5K. I've been wanting to run this for a while, but couldn't bring myself to do it with the Hogsback Wilderness Trail Run that I'll be participating in tomorrow. "Why not just run the 5K?" you might be asking. Well, I can't. Just can't. For some reason I have to run the largest distance a race offers...it's a personal challenge, I guess. So here's to next year, Run A Munk!

It's getting a little windier as the temps slowly increase. Hopefully they won't become to brisk so that I can go out for another walk.

I'm quite excited to be visiting family tonight and tomorrow!  Come back for a visit either tomorrow or Monday for a race recap and, most likely, stories of family shenanigans :).

Thanks for coming along on my random-relaxation-race-prep :).

Race Report: Great Turtle Trail Run Half-Marathon

Here it is, finally...I'm sorry it took so long to post....I don't understand how weeks of work can get backed up when you're only out a couple of days...ah well. Anyway, Happy Veterans Day to you all! This is a special day to many people, being able to remember those past and present who have given us the freedoms that we have today, including my own dad! Thank you to all of the veterans and current military personnel who have laid and do lay their lives on the line for us everyday!

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy your run through and around Mackinac Island (on 11.11.11 :) ) !

***NOTE: Since this is a "Destination Race" (i.e. getting to my race destination took multiple days and an over-night stay) I've decided to divide this report into two blog posts: a Race Post and a Trip Post. By doing this I'll be able to write what I'd like to write and not have to worry about a post getting to long. So, first, my Race Report!***

I was out the door bright and early on Saturday, October 22 to make the two hour trek up to Mackinaw City to catch the ferry to Mackinac Island for the Great Turtle Trail Run Half Marathon. To make the trip less strenuous my boyfriend and I decided to stay at his parents' house the night before, their location being about half way between our house and the Straits Area. So, I was out the door before 7am and as well rested as can be expected.

A little after 9am I pulled off of I-75 and made my way to Central Avenue. I decided to pass up my first ferry choice, Shepler's Ferry, and head down to a less packed Arnold Transit Co.. The lady helping me at the booth got me a ticket, directions to the main ferry dock and a call over to said main dock to let them know I was coming--all in time to make the 9:30am ferry. (A BIG thank you to this wonderful person!...if I didn't make the 9:30 I would have had to wait an hour which would have meant much less time to prepare for the 11:30 start). I got to the dock, checked luggage, scanned my ticket and took my seat on the lower deck of the boat. (Sorry, I didn't have time to take pics on the way in, and I wasn't seated a good spot to get some good photos during the ferry ride to the Island.)

We pulled into the Mackinac Island ferry dock at around 10am and my luggage and I were soon rolling along Main Street. A second reason I decided to go with Arnold's was because their ferry dock is on the east end of downtown...a great advantage when you need to head east and your mode of transportation will be your own two feet. Hence, I was a little closer to Mission Point and had plenty of time to make the 10 minute walk.

Mission Point Resort was the headquarters for the Great Turtle Races. It's also the headquarters for the Mackinac Island 8 Mile Races that takes place in September. You can see that in this photo employees had already started to ready the gardens for winter (i.e. taking out the foliage :) )

I reached Mission Point Resort and went strait to pick up my number and race swag. I must say, while I'm not one of those people that runs a race because of the neat goodies you might receive, I do enjoy getting a race t-shirt...to me it kind of represents another accomplishment. When I wear that shirt it's saying "I did that" and I think that's kind of cool. I was very impressed with this particular apparel!

Race Swag!

I've never received a jacket before and what a great alternative to the many t-shirts that we "race junkies" receive (not that I'm complaining :) )

I checked my bags, survived the unavoidable "women's restroom marathon", and had some time to walk around before the start of the race.

Here's the starting line (the blue and red timing strip is laying across the road.) The finish line was on the grass to the left of the "FINISH" sign, unfortunately not very visible here (but you can kind of see the cones.) I thought we'd be finishing here until we veered off of the road at the end of the race :). The half marathoners began running in the opposite direction that this photo is facing.

Here I am in front of a great view of Lake Huron from a deck at Mission Point Resort. I wish it were sunnier because this photo would be even better. Thanks so much to the person who stopped to take this for me!

Energy was high before hand and it was easy to see that everyone was excited to be there. There were pictures being taken, many people talking of previous years' races, well wishes being given out to others and jokes about "hoping to finish" (but at the same time always expecting to). We were corralled behind the starting line and I looked around and checked out the variety of race shirts that others were wearing. I saw many local Michigan racers, and even a Kiawah Island Golf Resort Marathon participant. Soon the race director finished his speech and the countdown began, trickling through the crowd til we all joined in. 3..2..1..and we were off at exactly 11:30am, 5.7-milers heading west and half marathoners heading east.

I will preface my race description with a disclaimer: no matter the difficulty level of this race or the pain you experience, you will want to come back to run here. Welcome to miles 1 through 2.5:

and it only gets better. Of course you'll have to earn it (there's always a catch!) :).

Just before Mile 2: As we approached this mile marker a bicyclist came roaring past, yelling at us to get to the right. The reason? the front of the 5.7-Mile Race pack was heading past us in the opposite direction. It was great to see these front runners (no pun intended) push themselves to the limit and know that they will be rewarded for it!

Miles 2.5 to 5: Two words: up hill. I knew that it would be hilly, but this was 2-1/2 miles of just plain UP and my body wasn't quite prepared for it. I did survive though, no worse off (my calves definitely were feeling it at the end!). I really enjoyed the little bit of trail running we did through here. My only wish was that the trail wasn't quite so narrow; this made it difficult to pass others.

Mile 5: Got to check out the airport and all of the construction their doing on it right now. There's a giant "X" that lights up to let other pilots know not to land here. Interesting to see the extensive and unusual construction project.

Mile 6ish: A trek through the Village on Lake View Blvd. and Grand Ave. with fleeting glimpses through the West Bluff "cottages" of the SPECTACULAR view (to bad we didn't get to run on West Bluff Rd, check out the photos below)...I love this little neighborhood with such beautiful houses, and the spectators here were GREAT! So enthusiastic and some even put out a stereo system and played some music that was great to run to. I loved it! If any West Bluff spectators ever read this, thanks so much for keeping us motivated!

2009 photo: A view from the West Bluff looking east with the Grand hotel to the left.

2009 photo: Another view looking east: Round Island is more prominent in this photo, as is Round Island Lighthouse. Round Island Passage Light is barely visible to the left. Bois Blanc Island is behind Round Island.

2009 photo: A friendly face greeting you at the front porch of one of the West Bluff Cottages. 

6-2/3ish to 7-1/3ish: We ran past the Grand Hotel's backyard, crossed Cadotte Ave and were in the midst of Fort Mackinac and it's historic splendor...no time to stop and read the Michigan Historical Marker, though (I stopped later :) ). We had a group of spectators here, too...thank you to them!

The race route ran right through the Fort Mackinac grounds (the road is barely visible on the right).

2010 photo: Boy Scouts near their barracks. Every week anew group of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts come to stay on the grounds of Fort Mackinac. Click here for some information from the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau, and here for some information provided by Mackinac-Island-Insider-Tips.com. The Scouts' role on the island is pretty neat. 

Mile 7.5 to 8: A run along the East Bluff and the many cozy cottages the line it. There are some spectacular views from here as well, and being a fairly sunny day we were able to see a little ways over the water. This is one of my favorite places on the Island. You can't help but feel its serenity...even when you're 2/3 through a half marathon!

2009 photo: Looking west from the East Bluff is the Mackinac Bridge. On the right is Huron Road, the street that runs along the East Bluff and grants us spectacular views. 

2009 photo: Another view from the East Bluff, this time looking southwest. Round Island Passage Light and Round Island Lighthouse are to the right, while Round Island is to the left.

2009 photo: Looking west on a beautiful clear day from the East Bluff. 

Miles 8 to 9: A glimpse of Arch Rock (well, we got a glimpse of the platform from which you view Arch Rock), one of the more popular tourist attractions on the Island.

2009 photo: Looking through Arch Rock into the waters of Lake Huron.

Miles 9 to 11: The beginning of our descent, finally! We headed back through the woods, hit some more gravel (if I remember correctly) and ended up on back on Lake Shore Drive where we began, only 2.1 miles to go!

Mile 11 to 12: Beautiful lakeside views, again! No matter how many times I run/walk/bike this stretch I can't seem to get enough of the view!

Mile 12 to 12.5: As we approached the final turn to the finish I spotted an oil tanker making its way through the Straits of Mackinac. These ships are quite a sight; they look so small from far away, but become more massive the closer you get. Truly amazing to look at! I was hoping that I'd make to the finish in time to go grab my camera, but it was moving to quickly for me to be able to do that.

Mile 12.5 to 13.1: The final stretch! The end of the race is always exciting...there are always so many people cheering you on, from spectators to runners who already completed their race.

13.1: FINISHED! I went and stocked up on bananas, granola bars, a cookie or two :), and rehydrated.

The red tape and orange cones outline the finishers' chute. (Taken before the race.)

My Finisher's Medal

Right after I finished there was a nice man who congratulated me...he had given me encouragement on the final stretch (I think I passed him a ways back). "You caught up!" he said, to which I smiled and agreed. It was so nice of him to say a few words to me as we ran. Sometimes you don't know you need a boost until you get one. I also need to send out a big thank you to the woman from Ida, Michigan who so graciously\ gave me her sunglasses that she wasn't going to use (not an expensive pair, if they were I would have refused them!) to replace my broken ones. I was prepared to load up on motrin after the race, but she came and saved the day! To the woman from Ida if you ever read this blog, thank you!!! and I'm so sorry that I didn't get your name while we were participating in the "bathroom marathon" :)

Even though my final time was WAY off of a PR, this race was exactly what I'd hoped. I felt great that I had finished--because of my knee it'd been to long since I'd completed a long distance race. The weather was fantastic! The Mackinac Island Road Races Facebook page posted the day before the race that it was going to be sunny and 52 degrees...but I suspect it was at least in the mid-50's upon race completion. The course was great, from route to scenery (had I researched the elevation chart a little more I might not have picked this course as my "recovery race", but I'm so glad that I ended up running it). And of course the company was fantastic. I think the best thing about running races is the fantastic community of people that are always a part of it. Everyone is there to enjoy themselves... it's awesome that I can share these types of experiences with others.

So here's my LONG race report...thanks so much for sticking with me! A trip report is coming soon!

Until next time!

7 Marathons in 24 Days

Yes, I still need to post the race report! Normally this wouldn't happen, but when you're sick twice within a short period of time you tend to get behind in other things. I'm slowly compiling it and will have it up this week, I promise (and just in time for my next race report next weekend)!

In the meantime, I stumbled across an awesome website and thought that I should definitely blog about it today. Think about running seven marathons in 24 days. Pretty strenuous, right? Now take a look at Don Kern's website, Don's Really Cool Adventures. Kern, race director of the Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon, is trying to run one marathon on each CONTINENT in 24 days (and yes, this includes Antarctica!) in attempt to set a Guinness World Record for running an organized marathon on all seven continents in the fastest amount of time. Time begins when he starts his first marathon and ends with his completion of the seventh marathon, and his adventure begins today in South Africa!

His website, which includes his blog (scroll down the page and you will see it), outlines the rules that Guinness requires for him to be eligible for the World Record, as well as many of his other marathon exploits.

As a fellow Michigander I'm rooting for him all the way! Best of luck Don, and I'll be looking forward to your celebratory post on November 30!

Happy Birthday Lady Liberty! and other news....

I know I need to write a race report post, but I've been feeling a bit under the weather the past couple of days. I'll get it up soon, promise!

In the meantime, It's Lady Liberty's 125th birthday today! Check out this article from the Detroit News:

Lady Liberty Turns 125

and also check out the webcams from the statue of Liberty brought to you by Earthcam.com . There are Statue of Liberty cams on the main page, or you can also go here to find a few more:

Statue of Liberty webcams

The webcam that they placed in the Torch is particularly interesting to me...did you know that no one has been allowed up in the Torch since 1916? And now anyone from any part of the world is able "visit". I think that's pretty neat!

I'd love to run along New York's waterfront with the Statue of Liberty as the backdrop...I'm a sucker for a good, scenic run!

In other news, it's both National Chocolate Day and National American Beer Day! I know what you're thinking...if it were any better it'd be Christmas! :) Looking for a great way to celebrate? Check out this article  from asweetlife.org that goes into detail about how dark chocolate can be a healthy addition to your diet:

Dark Chocolate Health Benefts

And also check out this site on the healthy benefits of beer (I haven't been through the whole website, but what I did read looked very informative):

http://www.benefitsofbeer.com/

I don't know about you, but I'm going to find me a square of dark chocolate and a bottle of one of my favorite Michigan brews, brought to us by Bell's Brewery: Oberon (the last of the season, I'm sure). All I need is a slice of orange and I'm good to go...Cheers!

Food Friday

I absolutely love cooking and baking (especially baking!) and lately one thing I'm trying to do is cook one new item for dinner every week. My goal  is to find some recipes that I will use regularly and that have some healthier ingredients. "Food Friday" is a blog topic I'd like to continue every week so that I can share my weekly recipe choice with you. Now, I love exercising and being healthy (as I'm sure you assumed after reading the title of my blog), but I'm no nutritionist and definitely love to eat! These will just be some recipes that I made for dinner, that I enjoyed and that I think will help incorporate more of a variety of foods into my own diet. I hope that if you decide to make them that you enjoy them, too!

This week I made a couple of recipes, but the one that really stood out to me was the Maple Ginger Sweet Potatoes with Apples, created by Mary Gardner of Cedar Springs, Illinois. I found this recipe card in a basket of free recipes at one of my local apple orchards. It stood out to me right away and, after many weeks of holding onto it, I've finally made it. It's delicious!

Maple Ginger Sweet Potatoes with Apples

1-1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into bite-sized pieces (about 5 cups)

2 medium tart Michigan Apples*, chopped (2 cups)

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1-1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup maple syrup or maple-flavor syrup

*suggested varieties: McIntosh, Paula Red or Rome

In a slow cooker, combine all but water and syrup. Mix the syrup with the water and pour over everything in the cooker. Cover and cook on low setting for 3-4 hours or on high for 1-1/2 hours. 

Conventional oven: Cover and bake at 325 degrees

This would be the place to admit that I sometimes change up the recipe a little bit to fit it to what ingredients I have at that particular moment :). The only changes I've made, with this one, however, are I used around 4 cups of sweet potatoes instead of 5 cups and I omitted the salt (I often choose not to put it in... in general, I feel like there's a lot of salt in many foods these days, so I leave it out if I feel it won't mess up the recipe at all). I used McIntosh apples and maple flavored syrup (there usually isn't maple syrup in the house and ironically enough I had bought the maple flavored, which I normally don't do, so it worked out well!). I don't have a slow cooker so I chose to use the oven. Since there wasn't a bake time listed for when using a conventional oven I chose to go with 1-1/2 hours, and actually ended up taking it out around 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. A good ol' fashioned glass casserole dish worked very well for me and I used aluminium foil as a cover.

For anyone who is a apple and/or sweet potato fan like me I HIGHLY recommend this recipe! It's an absolutely fantastic warm side dish to come inside to after being out in this cold and drafty autumn days. 

Alrighty, off I go to pack for my mini vacation this weekend. I'm hoping Mother Nature will cooperate and the weekend weather forecast will be worthy of running in! (Maybe we'll even get a little sunshine :) *fingers crossed*....)

Bon Apétit!

O Canada!

Mother Nature is wreaking havoc on Michigan right now and has been for most of the day. Feeling under the weather myself, I decided it would be wise to skip my run and let my body rest (I want to be healthy for this weekend!) The alternative? Curling up on the couch with a good read, of course! My good read happened to be on the internet. As I was reading through this past weekend's marathon reports I found one that was particularly interesting. I decided to forgo my original blog plan to share this great story with you. Hope you find it as amazing as I did!

There was a lot of activity at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon this weekend. Kenneth Mungara won this event for the fourth consecutive year; two Canadian runners, Reid Coolsaet and Eric Gillis, qualified for the 2012 Olympics in London; and a world record was set...Don't bother heading to their race results webpage because that's not the type of record I'm referring too. Confused? Just bear with me :)


He's been all over the media, from the BBC to the Kansas City Star...and even Business Insider. "Who?" you might be asking. Well, the gentleman I'm speaking of is Fauja Singh.

(photo via the edmontonjournal.com)

At 100 years young (yes, that's right, 100) his is the first centenarian and oldest man in the world to complete a full-distance marathon. His time? A mere 8 hours, 11 minutes and 5.9 seconds (and might I add that he beat his personal goal time of about 9 hours; by the way, don't let the time on the race clock fool you in the photo--that's the gun time, not his chip time :) ). To top that off, he set some other world records a few days before the marathon. At an invitational named in his honor, Singh set (and in some cases established) world records in his age group for 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters, 1500 meters, the mile, 3000 meters, and 5000 meters. That's EIGHT MORE world records. Pretty great!


Here are some links leading to some articles that tell his awesome story:
1.) Singh's Wikipedia Page is very interesting
2.) This Toronto Star article  was written about him before the race but is still a good read
3.) CBC posted a very nice article on Singh via the Associated Press: 100-year-old marathoner sets record in Toronto
4.) NPR has posted a cool 40 second video of Singh crossing the finish line (it's at the end of the article)
5.) And last but not least, Singh's Official Time as posted on the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon website (he placed 3,845th).


I am quite inspired by Fauja Singh and it's definitely given me more motivation as I recover from this injury. If I work hard and be patient then good things will happen! Just stay positive!

Inaugural Post!

Hello everyone and welcome to my new blog! Where do I begin? Maybe I should introduce myself.

Hello, my name is Megan, and I'm a running addict.

This passion began in college with my desire to find some activity that could pick up where my high school sports left off. That soon lead my first road race since my high school cross country days (I should insert here that CC was merely something to keep me in shape during softball's off season) and has developed into an almost full time hobby. Running is a huge part of my life. It's followed me through half of high school, all through college and is still with me as I turn the page in a new chapter of my life. In fact, it is more than a hobby: running has been with me through good and bad, thick and thin. It has "grown-up" with me and has helped define who I am as a person.

With this in mind I've started this new blog...well, to be completely honest, it's both my passion for running AND my passion for recovering that have inspired me to stake out this little corner of the world wide web.

Back in June I sustained my first "real" running injury. Yes, we all have those "aches and pains" that come with hitting the pavement everyday, but this was entirely different. Back towards the end of June I was doing some back road running (sand, gravel, big rocks, etc. come included with this route) and found that I had tweaked something in my knee. To make along story short (maybe I"ll tell the long story some day) I'm finally getting back to a regular running routine. I'm definitely sad that I'm missing out on this year's marathon season (it was a year ago today that I was running the Detroit Free Press Marathon--my very first marathon and one of the best experiences of my life), but so, so glad that I'm on track to being able to run regularly again.

So this blog is a way for me to share my love for running and a way for me to stay focused and positive (and patient!) as I continue my road to recovery.

And with that I'll jump right in:

My first long distance race since getting injured will be the Great Turtle Half Marathon on Mackinac Island that is taking place October 22. I'm very excited to be back on the half marathon "scene" and to be able to take part in another passion of mine: traveling and exploring this great state that I live in, Michigan (hence my blog name "Wondering Runner"...corny? maybe; accurate? absolutely). More details to come!

Thanks again for checking out my blog and I hope you'll stop in again!


Today's Run:
Distance: 8 miles
Conditions: Sunny, 54 degrees, wind from the west at 22mph