4 miles

Things have been unusually quiet around here on the running front because I haven't been running. Part of the reason was because I probably was a bit burned out, and coupled with the heat and humidity the summer was pretty much dead after the couple of races I ran. So basically a month of no running went by and now I'm restarting in time for the winter. My goal basically is to slowly work up to 25-30 miles by late December/early January and stick with it to February, when I'll incorporate training for half marathons.

Right now, I'm working running consistently and focusing on overall fitness. I'm going about 3-4 times a week and doing ab work before runs, then do some yoga at least 2 days a week on days I don't run.

Today's 4 miles went by alright, though the loss of fitness and speed is obviously present. However, I didn't regress as much as I thought in the month of doing absolutely nothing so it shouldn't take me longer than three weeks before I feel comfortable running. I was able to maintain about a 9:30 pace the first three miles, speeding up to an 8:30 the last mile. The weather was great and cool, skies on the overcast side. I focused on a forefoot strike and taking smaller, quicker steps, something I've found is most beneficial to my running. I do need to work on actually making sure to run slower, though, as it's always been my tendency to run faster than necessary.

So far so good for my second week.

easy chocolate cake

Chocolate cake.

I could just stop talking now because, really, by now does a chocolate cake need an explanation? But I did use a different recipe, so I'll talk about that. I've been hearing about the Hershey's chocolate cake, which isn't so dissimilar to the wacky chocolate cake I sometimes make. You mix the dry ingredients with the wet, pour into prepared pans, bake, and you get a very moist, chocolaty cake. Can it get any simpler?

The recipe I used, though, from a search on Photograzing (I forgot to bookmark the post) was Ina Garten's chocolate cake recipe. It was a bit different from the Hershey's cake with buttermilk and hot coffee instead of just boiling water, but otherwise mostly the same. What I don't understand about Ina Garten is her tendency to bake with extra large eggs. I'm not sure if this emits a feeling of cooking on the farm or if she has stock in the egg industry, it makes no sense. I used large eggs.

My thoughts on the cake was that it was indeed quick. However, I feel like these cakes lack a sturdiness when removing from the pan, transferring to the platter to ice, slicing to make more layers, etc. I might decrease the amount of hot coffee I use next time, and I don't think it'll affect the cake much.

For the frosting I chose a slightly different flour frosting. This time, the pudding was thickened with cornstarch instead of flour. I melted chocolate chips with the milk to make chocolate buttercream, along with a teaspoon of instant coffee. Unfortunately, the buttercream remained at a heightened state of curdle even after beating the butter in. Even after beating on high for a few minutes. The stuff just didn't want to combine, and I'm not sure if this was because of the chocolate or the instant coffee. I should have cross-referenced between a different chocolate buttercream recipe. Anyway, it finally became workable after beating in a bit more than a cup of confectioners' sugar and some cocoa powder. Oh well. Everyone liked the texture of the buttercream, as it was very smooth and airy. It paired extremely well with the moistness of the cake and a glass of milk.

non-edibles.

I'll have a normal post about cake for you tomorrow, promise. Right now, though, I have some knit wire bracelets that are up on my Etsy shop.

The bracelets, which fit cuff-like, are knit with copper wire and strung with beads. It'd definitely enhance your outfit while being a statement piece.

If you have any custom requests, feel free to email.