Vegan spiced hot chocolate

I went for my first run in a whole month and a half yesterday! I haven’t taken this long of a break since I started my oh-so-promising running career way back in 2006.

Thanks to the wonders of high school pools and this thing called “walking” (It’s like running, only frustratingly slower), I have not lost my mind. I do get really mad at people who have the nerve to run past when I’m driving to work. That’s followed up by a fleeting moment of crushing depression. Then comes the urge to leap from my moving vehicle to join them. After that, I get swept up in an all-encompassing wave of running nostalgia. Every single time this happens, but it’s probably some sort of super legit grieving process.

But this cross-training break is working wonders for me! I’ve always been the “Run through the pain” type and typically, it’s worked out real well. But this time it was more like hobbling through the pain and it wasn’t working out as well as I’d like.

So I tapped into my mature, responsible adult self I sometimes remember exists and decided to do something different for a change. And when I ran on Sunday it was harder than I would have liked, but no pain! Can you believe it? Can you believe running through the pain might not be the best answer to injuries? I’m still coming to terms with it.

Those two miles didn’t exactly fit into my rosy nostalgic running images that play over and over in my head. I didn’t feel like I could power through a marathon or run a smooth and fast 15 miler. I kind of felt like I had forgotten how to run. I felt clumsy (more than usual) and flat-footed.

But I’ll get back to that place again. And who knows, maybe all those running experts were onto something when they said cross-training helps. I feel good about this decision. It feels good to flounder in the pool a little less every week and it feels awesome when I realize I’m getting stronger with every weightlifting session.

So here’s to maturity and healthy choices!

Speaking of healthy choices, how about this hot chocolate?! It’s rich and creamy, it has lots of tasty spices for healthy AND flavor (way to go, spices!), and it’s totally vegan. Or use regular milk and regular chocolate chips and make it totally vegetarian!

I mean, it’s fall, it’s rainy, it’s cold… But we’re not too deep into the cold weather and holiday season that we’ve completely given up on the concept of eating healthy (that’s what the new year’s for). So this is a natural choice in this situation, right?

Right. Now drink up to good health and sanity during cross-training.