Sleep
Saturday night I went to bed way too late, got less than six hours of sleep and then felt horrible on Sunday. Sunday night, I went to bed early, set my alarm later and got EIGHT HOURS OF SLEEP! It was amazing! But wait… shouldn’t that be the norm, and not something that happens once in a blue moon? Recently I’ve been listening to a podcast Nicole recommended, “Hit Play, Not Pause.” The host is Selene Yeager, who is the co-author of Next Level- Your Guide to Kicking Ass, Feeling Great, and Crushing Goals Through Menopause and Beyond. One of the guests was describing how she was running less and less but constantly felt overtrained- and then she had an epiphany. it wasn’t that she was OVERTRAINED, but UNDER-RECOVERED, because she consistently did not get enough sleep. I went back to Next Level to remind myself why sleep is so important for recovery. During deep sleep, our bodies produce human growth hormone, which stimulates tissue growth to build muscle and allow you to recover faster. Getting enough sleep also helps reduce cortisol levels, helps restock your glycogen stores, and helps your body burn fat. Progesterone and estrogen both have important roles in helping you fall asleep and stay asleep, so when those hormones drop during menopause, sleep is affected. Sheesh… is there ANYTHING that doesn’t get messed up from menopause? The truth is, I often stay up too late, look at my computer too close to bedtime, and drink caffeine too late in the day. My philosophy about age is to take it into consideration, but not use it as an excuse. The same goes for menopause- I’m starting to take it more seriously- but I can’t just use it as an excuse for letting my life fall apart. If I’m going to train for a 50K, I have to get my sleep in order. I love staying up late reading and drinking an iced tea after work, but I also need to get up early to run. I guess you can’t have everything… at least, not all at the same time. How is your sleep? Do you feel like you get enough? If you’re in your 50s or beyond, has your sleep changed?
Winning at Thanksgiving
All right- I’m in full Thanksgiving mode! Now that my son is home, the holidays can begin. We started the week off right by collaborating on a dinner: My son made the sauce and pasta; I made garlic bread and roasted cauliflower. AND… I tried making a pumpkin roll. I used this recipe from Nora Cooks. Here’s how it looked from the outside: And here’s the inside: There were issues. The ratio of cake to frosting is off (although if you really love frosting, you might disagree with that.) Also, the cake broke a little while I was rolling it up- you can see that the cake swirls aren’t perfect. But I was still pretty happy with the way it came out. For a first attempt at a roll cake, it wasn’t bad. I mean, I see people messing this up on baking competitions, so I think it’s hard to get it perfect. Anyway! During dinner we discussed Thanksgiving plans and agreed on our menu. Our whole meal is vegan, as always. This year we’re trying a new recipe for Vegan Turkey Roast. Then we have the dishes we make every year: cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, cranberry sauce… AND PIE. Obviously. We made a schedule for the week- make cornbread on Tuesday, stuffing on Wednesday, etc. My son said that pies have to get made on Wednesday, because “if you’re making pies on Thursday, you’ve lost at Thanksgiving.” Ack! I don’t want to lose at Thanksgiving! The dough for pie crusts will be made on Tuesday, and the pies will be done by Wednesday night. For the apple pie, we’re going to attempt this crust design from Sally’s Baking Addiction. I’m not sure if we can pull it off, but I also don’t think it will look any worse than our usual crusts- so we might as well go for it. How about you- are you ready to win at Thanksgiving this year? Do you agree with the “pie on Wednesday” rule? #nablopomo2022. Thank you, San!
Weekly Rundown- I Have Goals and Plans!
This week seemed long and complicated. I think it’s because I’m participating in NaBloPoMo (posting every day for the month of November.) It seems to make time go by very slowly… but in a good way, if that makes any sense. Anyway! Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown. Here’s how the week went: Sunday 11.5 mile trail run! This was a fun adventure, and I discovered a part of the trail I had never seen before. If you asked me, “What is this trail you’re running on?” I wouldn’t be able to tell you. It’s not part of a park, and there’s no sign with a name on it. It seems like an area that everyone forgot about, in between the neighborhoods and where the Everglades begin. Except that someone is maintaining these trails, and I can’t figure out why. I rarely see other runners, just an occasional cyclist. It’s a mystery! I’m a little afraid someone will say “Wait a minute! We should build houses here, or put a road in.” But so far, so good. Remember how this trail has NO SHADE? Well, I found a completely shaded path… it was like stepping into a magical world. Unfortunately it only lasted about half a mile before the ground basically turned into a swamp, so I turned around. But we just had a lot of rain from Nicole, so I’m hoping if I go back in a couple weeks- when and if our dry season starts- I’ll be able to run through that area. Monday All right, back to reality. I’m still working my way through the Caroline Girvan Iron Series… I will get to the end eventually! This was Day #20: arms, abs and core. Based on how sore I was the next day, I think this was the best core workout I’ve ever done. The abs part was just ten minutes or so, sandwiched between biceps and triceps, and… ouch. The next day I think every single muscle in my core hurt. I would go back and just do this part again, to get in a great abs workout. Tuesday 4 mile run, followed by plyometrics. I decided that yesterday’s abs workout counted as Planksgiving for the rest of the week!, ha ha. Wednesday 3 mile run- it was a hectic morning, because I had a dentist appointment (grr.) I was in such a hurry I forgot to take a picture. Hey, what about those “goals and plans?” you might be thinking. Weeeeeell… in this post, I talked about how I signed up for a 50K trail race in April!!! I was going back and forth about attempting it… but now that I’m registered I’m excited about it. And, here I talked about how I went back to the gym! I didn’t actually go to work out (yet) but actually to upgrade my membership so that I can bring my son as a guest. Yes, I’m heading back to the gym so I can start lifting heavier weights. I’m not quite as excited about this as I am about the race- but I’m determined to do it. Thursday Back to Caroline Girvan. This was Day #21, leg day. As always- ouch. These workouts are HARD! When I get into the second half, I start fantasizing about that music she plays when “DONE” flashes on the screen (fellow Girvinators, you know what I mean?) Oh, I love that moment. Friday Another 4 mile run, followed by plyometrics. I don’t know… I think the plyometrics might be aggravating my foot. Why are these things always so complicated? I feel like every piece of advice should be followed by an asterisk- *yes, but… Two things about this photo- one, it got down to 62 degrees and I’m wearing my favorite “winter” tank top- it’s the Essential Tank from Lululemon. And… it’s a little hard to see, but the house behind me actually has decorations for Thanksgiving! I’m impressed! Saturday I did my usual Saturday morning sleep in… but then did a Caroline Girvan workout in the afternoon. Day #22: chest and back. Next week is going to be complicated- I’m not sure when we’re going to the gym- and I didn’t want to take today off. Also in the afternoon I watched Baylor lose, heartbreakingly, in the last seconds of the game, 29-28 to TCU. Yes, our old arch nemesis, the Horned Frogs. Remember how I thought that was a weird name for a football team? Well, we looked it up! The original name of TCU’s team was the “Fightin’ Preacher Boys.” TEE HEE. I would say Horned Frogs is an improvement, but they’re really bad at naming football teams. Or maybe I’m just mad they beat us. And…. my son arrived home late at night!!!!!!!!!!!! Happiness. Sunday This is a tough one. I didn’t get to bed till after midnight. There’s a lot going on today, AND it’s supposed to rain. But a long run of some sort must occur! We’ll see how it all works out. So… we kind of had a cool down this week- Friday morning was the “coldest” at 62 and we were able to turn the AC off for a little… but now it’s back on. However! It looks like all that cold air up north will make its way down to us late next week. I see 50s in our forecast. Hooray! Are you ready for Thanksgiving? – I can’t say I’m “ready” but now that my son is home, it feels very festive! Who’s running a Turkey Trot? – I am!
The Prickly Sage
I think I may have mentioned (a few times) that we’ve been having a rocky time with my daughter. Angie is thirteen- which is hard enough- and in addition, she has a “prickly” personality. Let’s just say she’s honest to a fault, so that means she’ll tell you things like “Your eyebrows look horrible.” Or she’ll tell her friends their acne is ugly, and she recently told someone that his mother is stupid. We have tried! Really, we’ve tried. Angie also has her good points, of course (smart, good sense of humor, reliable) but socially… we struggle. Not surprisingly, she’s had some disagreements this year with her group of friends, and was excluded from some events- which hurt. In spite of her prickliness, it’s hard to see her unhappy. The other day I asked how she was getting along with a girl who had turned into a “rival” and my daughter paused, then said, “It’s fine. I’ve realized most of my problems are created by myself.” My heart almost stopped beating- it was such a profound statement, and so unexpected, coming from her. This girl- let’s call her Katelin- and Angie have been fighting over who will be flute section leader this year. My daughter said when the band director announced there would be a big playing test coming up, Katelin turned and gave Angie a high-five, and as Angie high-fived her, she said “I realized Katelin is not my enemy.” I’ve learned not to get too philosophical with my daughter, but I did take the opportunity to tell her that we ALL create our own problems, and a lot of adults still don’t recognize that fact. Strangely, I felt like I could learn a lesson or two from a tween who’s struggling with social skills. Other people are not our enemies. We create our own problems. If my daughter can recognize these things, there’s hope for all of us. #nablopomo2022. Thanks to our fearless leader, San, for organizing this fun challenge!