Random Friday Post: I Scream for Ice Cream!

Normally I'm not a huge ice cream person. I never buy it at the grocery store (seriously, it's been at least two years since my freezer saw a pint of Ben & Jerry's) and I rarely go out for ice cream. That doesn't mean I dislike it--I'm not a communist after all--I just don't usually crave it. Well, I found a place that may change all of that. Let's just consider this post a PSA for all of you who haven't found this the paradisaical epicenter of ice cream joy that is Ample Hills Creamery.

This A+MAZING ice cream parlor is in Prospect Heights, just blocks from Grand Army Plaza where I often begin and end my weekend long runs. There are a lot of things to love about this place: they use local ingredients; they make everything in house (right down to the peppermint patties and cookies in their ice cream); and they serve all their treats in compostable containers.  

Alright, I hear you saying, those are all things that help restore karmic balance to the universe, but we're talking ice cream here. What makes this place so special?Do they lace their ice cream with opiates?

Salted Crack Caramel

Here's my three-word answer: salted. crack. caramel. Seriously, that's one of their flavors. It's a salted butter caramel ice cream laced with "crack cookies," buttery chocolate-covered Saltines. Eating it is like finding religion: Thou shalt not worship other ice creams!

In addition to the SCC (my abbrev, not theirs), there are plenty of other awesome flavors. Ones I've tried and enjoyed? Stout and Pretzels--a Guinness-chocolate ice cream with chunks of chocolate covered pretzels stirred in. Ooey Gooey Butter Cake--a super-rich vanilla creme dripping with pieces of St. Louis Ooey Gooey Butter Cake.Oh, and their Father's Day special that I tried last week, Daddy's Sundae. It's Maker's Mark bourbon vanilla bean ice cream with homemade fudge brownie pieces and swirls of their homemade salted fudge caramel.

If you're not drooling you're either a vegan, you hate puppies, or you just finished a Vermonster and simply can't stomach the thought of more ice cream right now. I can't recommend this place highly enough! And here's how this post ties into running: with all that full fat goodness you're gonna need to log some serious miles after a visit because I guarantee you'll be ordering more than one scoop.

Running Rewards

There are a lot of ways running is rewarding: it's great for your health (running can boost your immune system, increase lung capacity, strengthen your heart, and lower your risk of stroke or blood clots); it's an excellent stress reliever; and studies show that running can improve your mood. Now, these are all great things, but sometimes, after a run you want a tangible reward.

My weekend reward.

Two times a week, on my long run day and my midweek medium long day, I reward myself post-run with food. It's nothing big--during the week it's a homemade muffin from the cafeteria at work (and even then, I go for the healthiest option, low-fat bran with flax seeds) and on weekends it's either an everything bagel and low-fat scallion cream cheese or some other kind of baked good depending on where my run has taken me. Do I need these rewards to run? No, but they definitely help make the miles a little easier.

At this point, to some extent, I can say that running is usually it's own reward, but for new runners that may not be the case. If allowing yourself some kind of treat motivates you to get out the door, then I say go for it. The trick is to make sure that whatever your reward is doesn't outweigh the benefits of the run. If your reward is food, keep it sensible. If you're more motivated by things like new clothes or a night of debauchery (I've been known to enjoy the occasional 4:30am bender myself), try tying them to a mileage goal or something similarly long term instead of individual workouts.

Alright, it's time for me to go eat my reward.

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 (Since this is a running blog, I'm going to try posting my actual runs on here from now on)
Today's Run:15.2 miles at 7:40 pace.