lake darling trail run & peanut butter mocha

Saturday mid-morning was the perfect time to hit the trails for another trail run.

The destination:: Lake Darling State Park

The distance:: 9 miles

The feeling:: refreshing, amazing, relaxing, and again - rejuvenating.

The sites::



I love the fact that when trail running (at least for me) pace is something not to worry about. For me, it is more about just getting out there, enjoying the sites and change of pace from road running, exploring new paths and trying to remember the way back to the car.

I feel that I could trail run for miles and miles. Which is awesome, considering I would like to run a few trail ultras someday.

This morning, we slept in until 6:00 (seriously!) and woke up to a rain soaked lawn - a dreary Fall morning. Mornings like this just scream curl up with a good book and a piping hot cuppa joe and read until you can't stand it any more.

Instead, we bundled up and took Maia for a long walk and then came home and made peanut butter mochas to warm up our chilled fingers and toes.

Peanut Butter Mocha



In the mix::

• 2 cups dark chocolate almond milk*
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups strongly brewed coffee, or 2-4 espresso shots

*alternatively you could use 2 cups of unsweetened almond milk (or any other dairy/non-dairy milk for that matter), mixed with 2 tablespoons cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons sweetener (maple syrup, agave, etc). 

In a small saucepan, heat the almond milk and peanut butter until hot, but not boiling. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour heated milk into a blender and blend on high until frothy, about 30 seconds to one minute. (Be sure to leave the top open a little to allow steam to escape. I cover the top with a towel, just in case.)

Pour coffee into two large or four small mugs and slowly stir in milk. 

Serves:: 2-4

These peanut butter mocha are super rich so I would recommend serving four. That being said, Nic and I had no problem sipping down the entire batch ourselves.

everything fall

Apple picking.

Pumpkin carving.

Trail running.

These three things are officially the essence of my perfect Fall.

(Even though I have yet to carve a pumpkin)

Apple baking.

Pumpkin baking.

Trail running.

There - that sounds more like me.

Yesterday after work I had grand plans to head out for another epic trail run at Clemons Creek in Washington. Our favorite hiking spot in the area, I knew the gently rolling trail would rejuvenate my soul.

And as I was about to walk out the door, Maia gave me the puppy eyes of the century. I conceded that a long trail run was not in my future and a jog/walk with the pup was on tap instead.

We might have only gotten in 2.4ish miles, but it was awesome. I discovered some trails that I never knew existed, Maia made it a full 1.5 miles before plopping down out of sheer exhaustion, and we only heard one gun shot before calling it a day.

Too bad today is the pheasant opener, otherwise I'd be back there in a heartbeat to run the trails again.

 

This morning I have plans to hit up another area to get in a longer trail run. 

To begin my day today, in true Fall fashion, I decided to whip up a pumpkin latte. What I created was a perfectly spiced, not too sweet, steamy cup of coffee perfect for a weekend morning. 

Pumpkin Spiced Latte

In the mix::

1 cup soy milk

2 T pumpkin puree

drizzle maple syrup (2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon, depending on how sweet you want it)

1/4 t pumpkin pie spice

1/2 t vanilla extract

1 cup strongly brewed coffee, or 1-2 shots of espresso if you happen to be that cool and have an espresso machine

In the small saucepan, heat soy milk, pumpkin and syrup until hot, but not boiling. Remove from heat and stir in spice and vanilla. Pour heated milk into a blender and blend on high until frothy, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. (Be sure to leave the top open a little to allow steam to escape. I cover the top with a towel just in case.)

In a coffee mug, add coffee and then slowly mix in the milk mixture. Sprinkle with some additional pumpkin pie spice, and if you are feeling extra crazy, drizzle with some caramel.

I had grand plans to enjoy this steamy latte with a pumpkin scone Nic so thoughtfully picked up for me from my favorite (the only??) vegan bakery in Iowa City, Fair Grounds Coffeehouse, unfortunately, it wasn't that great. Maybe I should have eaten it yesterday, while it was still warm and smelled of a pumpkin doughnut...

Off for a beautiful Fall run!