Reflections and summer baking!

The past couple of days I have been in one of my "funks", even though things have (up until recently) been going along pretty smoothly with my training and with life.  As I posted several days ago, we have had some minor disappointments within our family, and I think that combined with some really annoying and painful stuff going on with my left hamstring left me feeling blue.  After my "weird" run on Friday, I wasn't too sure about running on Saturday.  My schedule had me doing a 12 miler, but since I did that 12 mile run with Holly on Monday, I was going to substitute a shorter run.  When I woke up on Saturday, I was still having quite a bit of pain in my leg.  So instead of running, I just went to the park and walked about 4 miles, then came back home and did Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred, level 3.

Today I just rested.  We went to church this morning, then this afternoon I spent baking.  I also spent a little time trolling blogs, and came across a great article over at HungryRunnerGirl.  Janae's post titled "The Hard/Easy Rule" really struck a chord with me today.  I too, have a tendency to over-do things when it comes to training hard.  Granted, training hard for me may not mean the same thing that it means to her, or any other runner or athlete, but I know how it can be to not want to ever take it "easy".  Whether it means taking an extra rest day now and again or adjusting my schedule to accommodate the times when I'm feeling especially worn out or sore; I am more likely to just train through those times.  So in a sense, the past few days have actually been good for me.  Last week I did 5 spinning classes, weight training on 5 days for a total of about 4.5 hours for the week, and I ran 28 miles.  I think taking a couple of low-key days,  resting more, eating more, sleeping more, stressing about working out less - has really been good for me.  I just hope that by tomorrow,  my niggling hamstring will allow me to enjoy a good run with Holly.

Anyway, the other day my husband brought in about 10 yellow summer squash from our garden.  I roasted and pureed them, and this afternoon I baked the most delicious muffins using the squash puree!  Here is the recipe:

Squash Muffins

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. ground flax

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 cup squash puree* (any kind of squash, inc. pumpkin!)

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

crumb topping, mix ingredients together to form little crumbly balls:

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup whole grain oats or quick oats

2 Tblspn. butter or margarine

1/4 cup brown sugar

*To make the puree, I cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, place them face down on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and bake in a 425 degree oven for 1 hour.  When cooled, I scoop the pulp of the squash out with a large spoon and use a food processor to make puree, adding water as needed.

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients.  In a large bowl, combine sugar, squash puree, vanilla, milk, oil and egg, mixing well.  Stir in dry ingredients, just until moistened.  (Over-mixing will make the muffins tough.)  Fill greased or paper lined muffin tin cups, about 2/3 full, then sprinkle with crumb topping.  Bake at 350 for 16-18 minutes.  Makes a dozen muffins.

Today I tripled the batch.  What was left after my kids and husband devoured their portions, we shared with friends and neighbors! :)