January 10, 2018
I feel like I still haven’t slowed down since Christmas; granted our last Christmas get together was finally celebrated this past Saturday and today is my hubby’s birthday, so maybe after today things will slow down a little bit. So anyway, I’m not intentionally slacking on the blog, I’m just busy with other things..including baking and running! I ran Friday in the cold, despite having a ‘snow day’ due to cold temperatures, then had to take Saturday off to get ready for our Christmas get together, and Sunday I had my alarm set, but at 6am the temperature was -16, so that made the decision to roll over and go back to bed a little easier! Although I was tempted to run later that day when my hubby said I ‘couldn’t possibly run in this weather.’ Anyway, Monday, when I finally got to run again, it was 20* and honestly felt like a HEAT WAVE compared to the zero degree days all last week. The air had that eerie abnormally warm feeling, or as if a warm southern breeze was blowing although it was cold out; I’m not kidding, it’s sad when 20* feels like a heat wave! Today it was back down to 15*, but still better than zero! And today was nice because the roads were clear and dry! It felt so much more effortless running!
Tuesday, although it was another warm morning at 30* and I was SO itching to run, I had made up my mind that I had to get back into my routine of strength training at least once a week, which for me is normally Tuesday. I hadn’t lifted since late October when my back issues started; I didn’t want to make anything worse, but in the mean time I have lost a lot of strength in my core and that has made the back/hip issues worse. Although I have ran more in the past year than ever before, I feel like this is the worst shape I’ve ever been in; I’ve got the post-holiday-my-pants-are-too-tight feeling going on and it’s not fun! Time to get back in the swing of things, I hope.
Don’t worry, unfortunately I still like to eat (that’s my biggest problem; for as much as I run I should be way thinner) and will still have yummy recipes to share with you. As I shared on facebook last Friday, I was making one of my husband’s favorites, Dulce De Leche Cheesecake, for our Christmas get together with his family and doubling as a celebration for his birthday as well as his grandma’s whom he shares a birthday with. He first had this cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory many years ago (8 or 9? now); I made one similar a few years ago, but it was lacking that creamy topping that the Cheesecake Factory’s had. I found this ‘copycat’ Cheesecake Factory recipe here.. I was excited because it had some sort of topping; but had I read the recipe closer I would have realized, like I did while I was actually making the topping, that it wasn’t the rich creamy topping Chris had previously liked, but just a browned butter, brown sugar frosting. Everyone seemed to like it but, it was a bit too sweet for my liking and I preferred it without the frosting topping. So I will still be on the lookout for a recipe similar to the one he enjoyed previously! If you have come across one, leave a link in the comments below!
Not the best picture but I guess it’s a good sign that its nearly gone by time you get to snap a picture! The crust made of golden Oreos was a nice touch and, FYI the Dulce De Leche sauce was difficult to find (coming from a rural area); be sure to plan ahead and buy online or I was finally able to find it in the international isle at Tops grocery store. (I found sites through pinterest that instructed on how to make your own Dulce De Leche sauce as well; but to do it right takes hours.)
Enjoy!
Runner With A Hunger 