Sack of Potatoes and Hot Carob

It's in the cards.

If the love/hate relationship most runners have isn't enough, preparing for the first run in cold weather always comes with a bag of mixed emotions for me.

Nada moo here.

On the one hand, my gut is telling me to make a cup of hot carob and coconut milk with just a touch of honey and cinnamon, curl up on my recliner with a comfy blanket, and read the Harry Potter series for the 4th or 5th time while I wait for Kevin to get home. What a perfect way to wind down after 8 hours under florescent lights and a marathon in front of a computer screen!

I hear you.

Instead, I'm rummaging through stored winter running clothes, squishing my atypical running legs into a pair of dry fit tights and shorts, tugging on my high neck and long sleeve top, fighting off goosebumps because we've had the heat off in the house all day, and wondering what pocket my favorite blue and black striped headband/ear warming machine got stuffed into...6 months ago.

Fun.

Instead, I'm peaking out our back door, checking to see if, yes indeed, Kent the mild mannered boarder collie is muddy because he lives in a semi-grassless wasteland where he's found out how fun it is to dig a hole in the mud as a result of our lack of grass, and now he must be carried through the house so as not to make a mess on our living room carpet.

Good to eat. Difficult to hold.

Instead, I'm picking up said 45 pound Kent who turns into a limp and awkward blob not much different than a sack of potatoes, and I'm rushing to the front door only to realize that I haven't opened or even unlocked the front door and must do so now while attempting to hold Kent one handed...unsuccessfully.

Some of this was on me.

But then I have to laugh because, as Kent slips through my left arm (partially because he's heavy, partially because we're now both muddy, and partially because I'm giggling) and slowly melts to the floor as I attack our deadbolt, I have a feeling that this first winter run will be fun and fast. This run, like most cold weather runs, be over before it even begins.

Why not.

Once upon a time Kevin ran something like a 12-13 minute 2 mile with Kent. That's close to his best high school time. When I asked him "how many cars did you pass" (Kent's a car chaser), he replied,

"I don't remember much of what happened."

Well, I don't remember much of what happened. I know we made it back in 23:25. You can see my running log to the right. We did have a few short stops so that I could keep Kent from lunging into oncoming traffic (remember: Kent = car chaser). However, I do distinctly remember being pulled through the middle of a puddle with Kent at some point and I also remember saying out loud to no one in particular, "...run through a puddle? We don't care!" Other than that, not much else to report.

What a great way to start the fall/winter season of running! I got my hot drink later that evening and I wore my mud splattered outfit with pride for Kevin to see when he got home. Oh, and I watch the Pentatonix for like the hundredth time in the last couple of weeks.

Hot Carob Drink

Ingredients

• 1-1/12 cups of coconut milk (from the refrigerated section; soy, almond, or goat milk also just as tasty)
• 1-2 heaping teaspoons of ground carob powder (coco powder just as good, but not for me after about 5 pm)
• 1-2 teaspoons of honey
• sprinkle of cinnamon

Directions
Heat milk first in microwave for 1 1/2 minutes on high. Stir in rest of the ingredients. (Hint: You might try some other spices in the drink like pumpkin spices, nutmeg, ginger, etc, but don't try adding pure mint extract unless your want to taste mint for about 2 years after drinking. I've tried it and I had to pour the rest of the drink down the drain. I hardly ever waste food. You know it was bad.)