The soul of a runner in the body of a walker

I keep trying to be a runner, and despite having completed two half-marathons and training for a third, I'm really, well, a walker. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but all the poetry and lyricism centers around running. Walkers have no Steve Prefontaine, no Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, no "Run, Forest, Run!", no Chariots of Fire. There aren't even any walking motivational quotes on Pinterest. But I can walk pretty far and at a pretty good pace, and I guess for a 58-year-old, I may have to be content with that. When I had my first (of four) knee scopes in 2001, my orthopaedic surgeon told me that I'd be looking at a knee replacement within ten years - I sure showed him! So I'll just continue walking with some slow jogging thrown in and try not to eat all the treats at the finish lines so the real runners don't get pissed when there is no food left. (Although after the last one, I only took a bottle of Gatorade and a packet of sliced apples. For some reason, the pulled pork sandwiches - hey, it was Iowa -,  pizza, and even the bagels didn't look good).

I got my seven miles in yesterday - outside. I was pretty happy about that, because I can't begin to tell you how much I hate the treadmill. I will be on it for the three-mile "runs" this week because we're supposed to get 4-6 inches of snow tomorrow. Or, as the Michigan branch of the family calls it, Tuesday.

I found a new recipe that you should make. It's really quick and easy, and delicious! It's Cilantro Lime Shrimp from Skinnytaste, my new favorite blog. It's always a sign of a good recipe when Dwight asks, while we're eating dinner, if we can have it again. I served it with brown rice and black beans.

While that meal was nice and healthy, here is one that isn't. Or at least part of it isn't.

Chili lime chicken burgers from Iowa Girl Eats, pepper strips, and potato chips

We are not a potato chip family. The only reason we had them around when the kids were little was because Alex's best friend loved chips with his sandwiches, and I can't even begin to count the number of sandwiches Pat ate at our house - or Alex at Pat's, for that matter. That being said, when we were visiting Tim's parents this past summer, Beth and Doug introduced us to these:

They are an eastern Iowa treat and are so freaking good that I cannot be trusted around them! (For those of you from Aberdeen, remember Old Dutch? These taste just like that).

Not only did our Iowa in-laws give us those devil potato chips, but we got a lovely gift box full of Iowa goodies:

The box was wrapped with a giant bow but I couldn't retie it to make it pretty

A few other things I can't be trusted around: wine (but we knew that), cashew crunch (the ingredient list read butter, sugar, cashews), and the homemade caramels. I think I need to change the emphasis of this blog from "healthy living" to just "living".

Here's to living!

TTFN