Reading and Eating
This week I finished the Sophie Hannah Hercule Poirot mystery, and it was everything I wanted it to be! I love her books written in the style of Agatha Christie. Of course, I would know they weren’t really Christies- no one can write a whodunit like the queen herself. But I enjoyed this one. Then I moved on to something different: I saw it in this article, “Mysteries about Translators.” I would have read it based on the title alone, but here’s the description: “This book is so strange! In the distant scifi future, the bumbling interpreter to an erudite alien attaché must solve a locked-room mystery or find her employment jeopardized. The act of translating the alien tongue makes her feel a bit tipsy, but that’s just the start of her problems in this wildly creative scifi/mystery mashup.” I’m really enjoying it. The distant scifi future is a little disturbing, as the weather is alarmingly hot, there’s reference to the “tropical dead zones” and sea walls have been built to keep Manhattan from being flooded. But it’s also funny and interesting. I’ll finish it soon, and next up is this: I know what you’re thinking! “Jenny, how will you make it through this book? It’s not a mystery!” I’ve been reading nothing but mysteries for a while now, and I figured it was time for a break. Eating… oof. I did make a dinner on Sunday! It was the Vegetable Korma from Nora Cooks (where else?) This was good- my daughter even liked it, and it made plenty for two dinners. One note- the recipe calls for a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. This is either a misprint or Nora is out of her mind. I put in 1/4 teaspoon and it was just at the edge of my spice tolerance. Here’s a picture of my post-run oatmeal on Sunday. Steel cut oats with a scoop of protein powder, cacao nibs and toasted coconut and pecans. SO good! Now that we’ve finished the leftover Korma, dinners this week look pretty bleak. It turns out that three of the remaining nights, we have something that directly interferes with dinnertime. You might be wondering why I don’t plan better in advance. WELL… We have an online calendar of all the band events, and things are noted well ahead of time. The problem is, we rarely get times in advance. For example, it will say “Jazz Band, Mizner Park Concert” on Tuesday the 30th. Then there is a “band blast” email sent out weekly with all the details, but we usually get that on SUNDAY NIGHT. So that’s when I discover that the students have to be there at 5:30, concert starts at 6 and oh by the way, there’s also an after school rehearsal for another group that goes until 4:30. Wait- when are we going to eat? When is my daughter going to eat? The good news is, she’s not concerned with these things and would just eat a bag of pretzels for dinner. The bad news is, I don’t want her to eat a bag or pretzels for dinner. So… a little more planning on my part would be helpful, but I also wish we got more information in advance. Well… we won’t starve. Is this a busy week for you? – I think this week is our busiest of the season. Are you reading anything good? Top photo by Joyce Hankins on Unsplash
DITL: Lessons Learned
This week Sarah and Coco have been doing a full seven days of Day in the Life posts! In addition to being so much fun to read, I’ve noticed some common themes in their lives that make things run smoothly. They both have young kids, busy jobs, and run long distances. How do they make it all work? Let’s examine this closely. The first thing that stood out to me is the lack of histrionics around dinner. There’s no “WHAT am I making for dinner! I don’t want to cook! Why do I have to do this every night???” No- the transition from work/after school activities to dinner is painless. Why? BECAUSE DINNER WAS MADE AHEAD OF TIME. Sarah’s nanny prepares several dinners at the beginning of the week, and she just heats them up. Coco also has a helper to prep the dinners. Now, we don’t have a nanny, but that’s not the point- the point is, a person prepares the dinners in advance. I could be that person! There’s no reason why I can’t prepare food on Sunday- even if I just made two dinners, it would help tremendously. This week is already a fiasco- on two of the nights I’m not sure where or how we’re going to eat, much less what (takeout in the car? Probably.) But I’m inspired to do some food prep on Sunday, so I can join the “painless dinner” club. The other thing these ladies have in common is their early wakeups (it starts with a “4”!) They both get up and have time to themselves to journal, meditate, plan the day, and then run before the kids get up. I wish I had embraced this concept when my kids were young. I did it the opposite way- had my “me time” after they went to bed. The problem is, it’s hard to have quality time at the end of the day when you’re exhausted. Instead of journaling and meditating, it’s tempting to watch TV and eat potato chips. My mother-in-law used to say, “Nothing good happens late at night.” Nowadays I get up at 5:30, the same time as my daughter (high school starts EARLY.) I do get a lot done before work, but I’m wondering if I could be even more productive by getting up earlier. I’ve heard that being an early bird or a night owl is a hardwired trait- you can try, but never really overcome your natural tendency. That might explain why I can’t quite seem to pull off the early bird routine- I WANT to get up early, but can never get myself to sleep early enough to make it truly work. But I’m willing to try to prove that wrong! I may play around with my schedule and see what I can do. If you haven’t checked them out, visit The Shu Box and Our New Journey to read all about their lives- they may inspire you as well. Do you think you’re an early bird or a night owl? Do you think it’s possible to change? Do you prep dinners ahead of time? Top photo by David Mao on Unsplash
Weekly Rundown- More Ups and Downs
Oh hi! Thanks for stopping by for the Weekly Rundown. This week had some ups and downs- but I’m grateful for all the ups! I’m linking up as always with Kim and Deborah- thanks for hosting, ladies! Here’s how the week played out. Sunday 10 mile long run on the trail! This run actually went really, really well. My foot ached a little; I ignored it. I never got too tired or overheated, and I used my new hydration vest. This was the vest I was questioning, but Catrina has the same one and she said she loves it. It did not make me too hot (as I had feared.) I finished this run feeling super encouraged. Monday I woke up feeling good, other than a little soreness in my quads. I fired up the Glutes and Core Power Workout from Sally McRae’s app, and then did Caroline Givan’s deadbug workout.. Tuesday In the morning I did The Ankle Mobility and Foot Strength workout from Sally’s app, followed by the Girvan deadbugs again. Later in the day, after work, I ran 4 miles. I’m trying to build up my heat tolerance before my race by running in the afternoon at least once a week. Wednesday Gym day. 20 minutes on the stairmaster, then squats. I was pleased to find that I can squat the same weight as before my ankle injury, AND I’m getting down lower! After the squats I did 30 minutes on the treadmill, 13% incline, 3 mph. I wore my new trail shoes just to get a feel for them. Thursday An upper body day was in order. First I did the CG deadbug workout at home, then got myself to the gym for bench press, reverse fly, overhead press, and lat pulldowns. So far, this week is going GREAT! No issues, a nice mix of strength, running, and cross training. I’m in the zone! (Cue the ominous music…) Friday Early morning 4 mile run! My foot felt good, but about a mile into it, my low back started to ache. SIGH. This low back issue is something that comes and goes, usually flaring up if I’m not super careful about my body mechanics at work. Sometimes I’ll feel it during a long run, but today it was suddenly very prominent. I ran 3 miles, then changed shoes and wore the Altra Timps for the last mile. The zero drop definitely felt different- but I mostly just noticed the back pain (which had nothing to do with the shoes, as it started earlier in the run.) Is there a rule that something always has to hurt??? It’s like one thing feels better and then something else falls apart. SHEESH. I had planed a Sally McRae lower body workout for after work, but the back was really achy and I didn’t want to do anything to aggravate it. Instead I did the Ankle Mobility and Foot Strength workout, and when that went well I added a couple sets of walking lunges with overhead dumbbells- I’m still marveling at how hard that is. Saturday Off! I had one of the best sleep-ins in recent memory- woke up just before 5:30, mentally groaned about having to get up, and then remembered- NO, I CAN SLEEP TILL SEVEN. and promptly fell back asleep. And, my husband got up to feed the cats! Woohoo. Then I went to work, where I was very, very careful of my low back, which still aches. I used my Bob and Brad massage gun on it, which feels AMAZING while I’m doing it. As soon as I stop it aches again. Sunday On tap- 13 mile run! And yes, I will be completing this run regardless of how my back feels. The concern is not that I’ll injure myself or not be able to finish the run- it’s just that I might not enjoy it as much as I would otherwise. Well, tough luck. This run is happening! I have a good podcast lined up to keep me on track: How was your week? Do you have a favorite podcast to listen to while running or working out?
Coffee Date Runfessions
Did you know that if you get a tea or coffee at Starbucks, you can get a refill for free (or, 50 cents if you don’t have the app?) And they don’t just refill your same cup- they give you a new one. How did I not know this??? Actually, this is probably one of those things I was better off not knowing. Well, usually I don’t sit in Starbucks long enough to finish my tea- but every once in a while you have to love those double caffeine days! For this Friday coffee date, I’m linking up with Marcia and her crew for Runfessions! Oh yes, I have a couple. Remember how, after I DNF’d my race, I REALLY wanted to sign up for another 50 miler right away? And then the race I wanted got sold out and I was really upset? Well, that race is tomorrow, April 27th. I want to laugh and say how ridiculous it would have been to attempt it… but I’ll runfess that I’m actually having some FOMO. Yes, my ankle is still achy. My longest run so far since the injury is 10 miles. You could say that running a 50 mile race tomorrow would be insane. And yet… I kind of wish I were trying. I can imagine the excitement of showing up and just saying “What if…?” What if I could do it? What if it all works out? Ah well. I’m not running that race, so I’ll just have to shift my focus to the 50K at the end of May. Honestly, that will be challenging enough. I figure I have three more long runs, and they will have to be 13, 17 and then 20 miles. That’s a quick buildup, and 20 miles isn’t a lot for a 50K distance. But it is what it is, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be excited to show up and give that race my best shot. In addition to all the other crazy things I’m doing right now, I’ll runfess that I bought new shoes. I figured since I’m doing these trail races, I really should be wearing trail shoes! I went to REI and tried on so many pairs… The ones that were the most comfortable were the Altra Timps. So I got them! The problem is, they’re zero drop. I really tried NOT to get a zero drop shoe, but I didn’t like any of the others I tried, so here we are. In this whirlwind 50K training program that I’m in, am I really going to transition to a zero drop shoe??? I’ll runfess that the only time I’ve worn them is for a treadmill workout at the gym. This was only walking (at a 13% incline) but the shoes felt great. Next up… a short run in them, outside. Gulp! Other than the fact that I’m running a 50K in four weeks on minimal training, possibly in zero drop shoes I’m still getting used to, everything is going great! Really, it is. It will all work out. Have you ever worn zero drop shoes? – I have a pair of Altra Escalantes that I wear to the gym and to work sometimes- so I’m not entirely unfamiliar with them. Are you racing over Memorial Day weekend?