I always thought so. But here I am finishing my first half marathon in Nashville in 2008.  Since that day, I’ve managed to complete two more.  A couple years ago I relocated from Cleveland to Chicago and, shortly thereafter, met a nice fellow who inspired me to embrace strenuous physical activity and stop thinking of it as a chore. He exercised regularly and seemed to do so out of genuine enjoyment and desire to take care of his health, not simply for the sake of vanity. He also did a good job of shushing my inner self-doubting voice. When I said “Maybe I’ll try to run a 5k?”, he responded “Why not go big and try a half-marathon?”  Running seemed to be fairly do-able because, well, most of us learned how to do it by the time we’re two years old, right?  So as a long, dreary, Chicago winter approached, I impulsively signed myself up to train for a half marathon with the Chicago Area Runner’s Association.  Training commenced 3 months later, prior to which I had not run an inch beyond 1 mile without stopping for a break. The night before the first 7am, four-mile training run  I was on the verge of tears.  Absolutely CERTAIN I could not run four miles and would end up bailing on my training crew. Fast forward 24 hours and I was hyper with excitement over the ease at which I had run those four miles.  And thanks to my group’s swell pace leader, Chuck Aron, that chilly run was, dare I say, enjoyable. Ever since I started running my confidence and state of mind improved, and so did my health.  My “good cholesterol” levels improved and my “bad cholesterol” levels went down. And the only thing I did differently (because I’ve always eaten a fairly healthy diet) was run.

This photo provides a little self-inspiration when I’m confronted with the all-too-frequent lulls in my exercise routine.  The lulls that result when my life’s responsibilities intensify and I push exercise to the bottom of my priority list.  I’m experiencing one right now. The day just feels too short. I can’t squeeze in a trip to the gym.  And without fail I’m a restless malcontent, once again reminded that exercise is not expendable.  This photo reminds me of how utterly awesome I felt after crossing that finish line and accomplishing something I previously thought impossible. That moment has a firm spot in my top 5 greatest of all time, right next to scrubbing in to the operating room to watch a major surgery (full of intestines, blood and gore), jumping out of a rusty, rickety airplane with my friend Lori amidst the mountains of southern Arizona, and the birth of  the angelic Will Hyatt, the son of my dear friend Jenny. I proved to myself that Ican run, and therefore I can do more than my mind often tells me,  and that awareness has  influenced other aspects of my life in countless ways ever since.

Shortly after I moved to Chicago, my boyfriend Jason introduced me to Tipsycake, a cozy little bakery, tucked away in the modest neighborhood of Humboldt Park.  To my delight, Jason had a talent for scoping out little hidden treasures. Tipsycake reminds me of the blissful early days of our budding relationship, when we frequented  Tipsycake on Saturday mornings for their heavenly scones.  Flaky, moist, lightly sweet.  I addicted to them right away. One morning the shop’s owner, a lovely Australian woman, subtly revealed her secret to a good scone…..lots of butter, just a little sugar.   And I’ve since made multiple attempts to create my own flaky, moist, and lightly sweet scone.  None have paralleled the perfection of  Tipsycake’s scone (I wouldn’t dream of it!), but this recipe turned out nicely. These scones are wholesome, fresh, and free of undesirable preservatives and unhealthy oils that you may encounter in a non-homemade scone. And I love real butter. There, I said it.

CHERRY APPLE OATMEAL SCONES….

Ingredients:

1/2 cup milk (plus a little extra to brush the tops of the scones before baking), 1 egg, 1 1/2 cups flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1 stick butter (chilled and cut into cubes), 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats, 1 apple (cubed), a handful of dried cherries (chopped).

To prepare:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Using your fingers, mix in the butter until well incorporated and the mixture looks crumbly. Add the oats, apple, and cherries. Whisk together the egg and 1/2 cup milk in a small bowl. Pour the liquid mixture in to the flour mixture and stir briefly until it forms a dough.  Turn the dough onto a floured surface (I just spread a little flour on a clean counter top) and use your hands to form a 7″ round (doesn’t have to be precise!). Then slice the round into 8 triangles, just like you would to cut a pizza.  Place them on a baking stone or parchment-lined baking sheet.  Brush the tops with a little milk. Bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown.  Transfer to a cooling rack but eat them while they’re still warm!