Tuesday Rambling

I have a lot of little things on my mind, none that deserve a full post, so here goes:

1500
I crossed the 1500 mile mark for the year sometime last week.  I also crossed the 1500 mile mark on my Specialized Vita that I got in March of last year.  Cycling miles add up quickly.  Unfortunately, my running miles have been on the low side the past couple months.  I've had IT band issues that make anything over 3 miles really painful.  I miss being able to go out for a medium/long run but I really want this to go away, so I'm trying to be patient and smart.

McBRAAM
Les and Lance have now ridden over 1,000 on their cross-country cycling trip.  They are making their way to Texas today - state #4!  I am continually amazed at how well they are doing.  They are loosely following America By Bicycle's Fast America South route.  They have already made one change - Friday's ride was 144 miles, Saturday was to be a rest day, followed by about 135 miles on Sunday.  They chose to split Sunday's ride in half, making Saturday and Sunday "short" rides of just under 70 miles each.  Les said as long as their bodies and the weather holds they really don't want to spend a full day hanging out at a hotel.

I'm really enjoying their trip from afar!  It's been amazing to see their progress and I'm glad everyday when I hear from Les that another ride is complete.  He is super upbeat.  They will have stories to tell for the rest of their lives.  Les has been the primary writer of the blog so far and he really is that entertaining in real life. 

Coming up on October 21st is the annual University of Tennessee vs. Alabama college football game.  This year it takes place in Tuscaloosa.  Les and Lance are both Tennessee boys, their parents and sister still live there.  If they stay on schedule, they will be riding in to Tuscaloosa that weekend.  They won't be wearing their UT cycling jerseys!

Pumpkin Muffins
About a month ago I had to go to Fresno for the funeral of a former boss.  I was asked to speak and decided to go up the night before to see my sister and her family.  I baked a batch of pumpkin muffins, took half with me and left the other half at home.  When I came home, a mere 24 hours later, they were all gone!  While I was at the grocery store today, I decided to pick up the ingredients for another batch.  I spotted a Devil's Food cake mix and decided to make chocolate pumpkin muffins instead.  They definitely don't have as strong of a pumpkin flavor, but they are still good.

Pumpkin or Spice Muffins

Makes 18 muffins
1 Spice Cake Mix
1 15 oz. can Pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) OR
1 15 oz. can Sweet potatoes in light syrup
1/2 cup Almond milk

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325.
Grease cupcake pans.  Puree sweet potatoes in the blender for about 30 seconds.  Mix ingredients (no egg or oil, just the cake mix, milk, and pumpkin or sweet potatoes) and pour in prepared pans.  Bake according to mix instructions for cupcakes, using the full amount of time (approximately 25 minutes).

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

Makes 18 muffins
1 Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 15 oz. can Pumpkin
1/2 cup Almond milk

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325.
Grease cupcake pans.  Mix ingredients (no egg or oil, just the cake mix, pumpkin and milk) and pour in prepared pans.  Bake according to mix instructions for cupcakes, using the full amount of time (approximately 25 minutes).

All of these are very dense muffins.  The spice cake mix is slightly higher in calories, each muffin is about 150 calories, while the chocolate are slightly under 100.  Not bad for a quick snack or addition to breakfast. If I was going for Wife of the Year, I'd Fed Ex some of these to Texas or Oklahoma...

Fall Running
This is the one time of year that I start getting a little run envy.  People across the country start talking about cooler temps, morning runs that are glorious, and needing an extra layer.  I know that I am spoiled because I can run outside all winter, but my least favorite is our current weather pattern.  Our temperatures are moderate, but Santa Ana winds are blowing and our current humidity is 10%.  We have a tree down in our front yard from yesterday's winds.  With my cranky IT band, I'd rather be on my bike, but when the wind is over 20 mph I'm a little afraid of being blown right off the bike!  If we didn't have weather, what would we complain about?