For months now, basically since I began this blog, I've been complaining about the junky Michigan winter that has kept me inside on the treadmill. Well, spring has finally sprung.
Yesterday was gorgeous, so I took the opportunity to get outside for a nice run. I currently don't have a race scheduled and the yard and garden have needed a lot of work so my running has been sketchy as of late. As a result, I've lost a little bit of my fitness. Nevertheless, when I got out there at twilight and got going it felt so good that I found myself wanting to push it; to go as fast as I could. Granted it was still a little slow, even for me.
I think we all sometimes need to push ourselves to hurting point to really feel alive. Reaching that point often surprises us because we didn't realize that we were capable of so much, and we find that our future capacity increases. That's the basis of training. You push it until you begin to break down and then you heal stronger than you were before. Of course, during the healing you feel like crap.
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Nothing spells recovery better than good ol' fashioned chocolate chip cookies.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
½ cup shortening
½ cup margarine or butter
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp baking soda
12 oz package chocolate chips (2 cups)
1 cup chopped walnut, pecans or hazelnuts (optional)
In a mixing bowl beat the shortening and margarine or butter with an electric mixer on medium to high for 30 seconds. Add about half of the flour, the brown sugar, sugar, eggs, vanilla and baking soda. Beat until thoroughly combined. Beat in the remaining flour. Stir in chocolate pieces, if desired, nuts.
Courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens
Drop walnut sized balls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until edges are lightly browned.
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