Weekly Rundown- Honesty is the Best Policy
Hello, and welcome to the Weekly Rundown, hosted as always by that dynamic duo, Kim and Deborah. This week is extra exciting because I’ll be giving a foot update. Actually I was being sarcastic there- I’m just as sick of talking about my foot as you are of hearing about it. When this is all over I never, ever want to talk about my left foot again. For now, we’re stuck with it. Here’s how the week went! Sunday Last week was so rocky, I wasn’t sure if I would do a “long” run or not. Last Sunday I did seven miles, and I decided to split the difference- still cut back a little but run longer than my usual weekday runs. I ran six miles and it felt good- for the most part (we’ll get to that later.) Monday I started the week feeling encouraged. I did the first class from week 3 of the Peloton Cush Your Core 2 program, and also a 30 minute yoga flow. So far, so good! Tuesday First thing in the morning I did a three mile run, followed by the second core class. Later in the day I did a lower body Peloton strength class. Since I’ve temporarily gone off of Jess Sims, I picked a new instructor at random, and did a 20 minute glutes and legs strength class with Adrian Williams. This class TRASHED MY LEGS, and I’m pretty sure it was from the plyometrics. I usually avoid plyos, but for some strange reason on this day I decided to throw caution to the wind- what could possibly go wrong? Ha. I followed this class with a 10 minute stretch class with Chase, which felt good but did nothing to prevent raging DOMS the next day. Wednesday Well, ouch. I started the day with another 30 minute yoga flow, which also did nothing for the DOMS. In my experience, there’s really nothing that helps other than waiting for it to go away. Later in the day I did core class #3, and worked on my pull-ups. Okay… here’s the foot update. It was feeling better, but in the last couple weeks it’s been hurting again, mainly along the outside edge. I had another appointment with the podiatrist for a shockwave treatment and he said it’s the “lateral column” of my foot- basically an issue with the connective tissue, which can go along with plantar fasciitis in people who have my type of foot (high arch and supinate when I run.) He focused the treatment only on that lateral column, and still feels confident he can solve the problem. So here’s the thing… my doctor says it’s fine to run during treatment, but he told me to keep my runs between 3-5 miles. While I was doing that it was feeling better. But I really had my heart set on running ten miles on my birthday, so I’ve been increasing my long runs. And, my foot is worse. This is so hard for me to say, because I really, really wanted to do that run on my birthday. I just miss long runs so much. But I haven’t been honest with myself (or my doctor, for that matter.) My foot just isn’t ready to go long yet, and I have to accept it. Wanting something badly doesn’t make it happen, and just because it’s my birthday, my foot isn’t magically going to be 100% healed on March 21st. I’m going back to my schedule of running every other day and keeping the runs between 3-5 miles. I’ll still do my birthday run… later. I’ll have a birthday make-up run as soon as I can. Sigh. Thursday Oof, this was a crazy day! My daughter had an early morning jazz band performance, and then after school she had MPA (Music Performance Assessment) where both of the middle school bands played. She plays in both bands (tenor sax in one and flute in the other) and I went to hear the performances after work. The bands did great and got Superior ratings- their band director is amazing. We got home very late and very happy. All I was able to do was a three mile run in the morning. I remember a time when all I did was run- now it seems weird to ONLY run. But I’m not complaining! Friday I was dragging this morning. I did the fourth core class of the week, and a 30 minute yoga flow. And it was my husband’s and my 22nd wedding anniversary! Boy… we’ve been married a long time. We tried to go out to dinner at a quiet little place near us, but discovered they had closed down. We ended up going to a place in an area with a very active nightlife. I wasn’t sure I was up for it, but it ended up being really fun. There were a ton of people out, and all sorts of new places have opened up lately, like a bowling alley and pool hall. And, there was some sort of craft fair going on with people selling thing like soap, coffee, crystals… we walked around after dinner and during the whole evening, I didn’t see one mask. It seems that Covid is over in Florida? Saturday Five mile run! My foot hurt when I first woke up- as it has almost every day for the past two years- but by the end of the run it was feeling good. I think it was telling me it was happy, knowing I was taking care of it properly (what? Your foot doesn’t talk to you? How odd.) After the run I did the last core class of the week. Is it just me, or did these classes get harder? There were definitely some times this week where I was peeking at the time and thinking “when is this going to be over???” I had every intention of doing a strength class after work, but ended up cleaning
March Coffee Date- Books and More
Hooray! It’s March. Even in Florida, February seems like a dull month. March is more fun because it’s my birthday month, and my son will be home tomorrow for spring break! But first… I’m linking up with Coco and Deborah for our monthly coffee date. I know there’s some heavy stuff going on in the world, but I’m going to keep it light (mostly) and talk about books, with a quick mention of our favorite subject- Covid- thrown in as well. Grab your drink and join me! I’ve been reading some good books lately, and one not-so-good. Chanel Miller’s book about her experience as a sexual assault survivor is beautifully written. The story unfolds a lot like you would expect- there weren’t a lot of surprises, but her writing made it a compelling read. I had high hopes for The Christie Affair, and I did enjoy it. But I think Nina de Gramont missed a huge opportunity. Since Agatha Christie is a character in this (fictional) story, I wish it had been written in true Christie style. The mystery was good, but I think the detective should have called everyone together and revealed the murderer in a stunning and shocking conclusion, a la Christie herself. That’s what I would have done! Okay. Camille Pagan’s book, Don’t Make Me Turn This Life Around, was mentioned favorably on a blog… I’m not saying which one, but YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. I had a huge problem with this book, which is that I HATED the main character. I get that her life isn’t perfect- welcome to the club- but boy, was she a whiner. Her main complaint is her sex life. It seems that, after thirteen years of marriage and twin twelve-year-old daughters, things aren’t as magical and steamy as they were when she and her husband first met. Oh, really? How odd. I wondered if the author actually has any kids, so I looked at her bio. It does mention a family, but doesn’t specify what that “family” consists of. I’m guessing a tank of tropical fish. I will say it was a quick and easy read, and I did finish it because I was mildly curious to know how it ended. But I read it hating the main character all the way. Last up, Anthony Horowitz. I love his books! He writes fun, intelligent mysteries and I was excited to see this new one. This is the third one in this particular series, but he has many other books as well, including a couple featuring Sherlock Holmes. I can always rely on him, and I’m happily reading this one right now. Life is much more fun when you’re in the middle of a good book! Okay, let’s talk about Covid. Now that the CDC has issued new guidelines, masks are now OPTIONAL where I work. Which means… I can breathe again. I know everyone views Covid through their own lens. I have elderly clients who still prefer to wear a mask, and I don’t mind wearing one for their massage. I also have two co-workers who lost family members to Covid, and they’re still wearing their masks, which I completely understand. I’ll wear a mask around them whenever possible. But otherwise I’m taking it off and it feels so good. It’s nice to see people’s faces again! How about you- still wearing a mask at work, or not? Have you read anything great lately?
Pancakes and the Pioneer Woman
Happy National Pancake Day! I may not have been able to come up with anything clever for “Twos-day,” but I knew just what to do for National Pancake Day! But I wondered… why in the world is National Pancake Day on a TUESDAY? Shouldn’t it be, oh, I don’t know… the first Sunday in March or something like that? Turns out National Pancake Day is always on a Tuesday, and there’s a reason for that- today is Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent begins. The tradition of having pancakes on Shrove Tuesday began because people were trying to use up their sugar, eggs, and milk before possibly giving them up for Lent. Who knew? Well, I’m sure a lot of people knew that, but I didn’t. Now, I did make pancakes today, but the picture at the top of this post is not a picture of my pancakes- it’s from The Pioneer Woman’s blog. Strangely, I’ve become obsessed with Ree Drummond’s show lately- I’ve been binge watching it on Discovery Plus. I say “strangely” because Ree- the Pioneer Woman- lives on a cattle ranch and I’ve never seen her make a meal that doesn’t feature meat. Once she told the story of how she used to be a vegetarian, but when she met her husband he fed her a steak and she realized what she had been missing all those years. As a vegan, I should probably be horrified and repulsed- but I can’t help liking her. She’s always so cheerful, yet genuine. She seems like a truly kind person- and she’s funny. And in spite of all the meat, I love watching her prepare food with reckless abandon. Every salad begins with iceberg lettuce. (No, no! Everyone knows you’re not supposed to eat iceberg lettuce! Where’s the arugula? The frisee? What about some microgreens?) I’ll watch in fascination as she happily chops up a head of iceberg lettuce, then adds cucumbers and cheese. The dressing (naturally) starts with a cup of mayonnaise. I can’t even count how many dishes start with a stick of butter. Every soup contains bacon and heavy cream. Every main dish has meat- usually beef. If she uses chicken she’s slightly apologetic- her husband and kids prefer beef. As she likes to. point out, they live on a cattle ranch! I think what intrigues me so much is the idea of creating meals purely because you like the way they taste. For a moment I’m in a parallel universe where no one is concerned with nutrients or getting enough fiber. It seems like I’m always struggling with how much, and what, to eat. It would be a relief to just enjoy food without worrying about it for a change. No- I’m not going to move to a cattle ranch and start eating meat! But watching Ree’s show is inspiring me to embrace the fun and delicious side of cooking a little more. Since I’m watching old episodes of Pioneer Woman right now, I decided to go to Ree’s blog to see what she’s up to currently. I was interested to see that she had an article about how she lost weight for her daughter’s wedding. She said over the years, weight had crept up on her, and this past year she lost 55 pounds. She showed a before and after picture, and she did look heavy before. So it just goes to show you… no one’s life is perfect. She probably had some struggles of her own over the years. Oh, and here’s my pancakes! Not as pretty as The Pioneer Woman’s. I used oat flour, ground flax seed in place of egg, and stevia instead of sugar. But I put in orange zest and pecans, and they were yummy! Are you a pancake or a waffle person? – Normally waffles for me, but I had to make pancakes today! Do you struggle to find a balance with food?- If you have any words of wisdom, I would love to hear them.
Weekly Rundown- A Slight Pause
Welcome to the weekly rundown! I’ve been joining the weekly rundown, graciously hosted by Kim and Deborah for over a year now, and this week I’m making a little change. I usually start the week on Monday and end on Sunday, with my longest run of the week. But it really wasn’t working to get that run in, finish the blog post and then publish. I felt like I was in a hurry to get it done, and who wants to feel like that on a Sunday? So I’m going Sunday to Saturday instead- it feels weird to start with a Sunday, but here it goes! Sunday I already reported briefly (because I was in a hurry!) that I ran seven miles last Sunday. What I didn’t mention- but elaborated on in this post, was that all of my runs felt hard last week, and my heart rate was unusually elevated during all of them, but especially Sunday’s. I decided to take a rest day, so… Monday I did NO EXERCISE AT ALL on this day! It’s been a long time since I took a complete rest day, and it felt good. I got to sleep an hour later and also took a nap. Tuesday I had every intention of running this day, but when I got up I just didn’t feel like it. I know- that was weird. I did do a 20 minute Peloton yoga flow in the morning and the first class of Peloton Crush Your Core 2, week 2. A quick word about this core program- I know some people (oh, hi there Kim!) think it’s too easy. Yes, it’s not the most difficult core class I’ve ever taken (that honor goes to the Jane Fonda Advanced Workout, abs section- we didn’t use fancy words like “core” back in the 90s.) But I like it- the classes are either five or ten minutes, so you can easily add it onto whatever else you’re doing. And although I’ve done plenty of core work, I wasn’t doing any specific core classes before I started this one. I think the problem may be in the title- “Crush” you core makes it sound a little more badass than it actually is. If it were called “Ease Your Way Into a Core Program” it might be better. I’ll definitely finish the four weeks of this program, and then go on to do other Peloton core classes. Wednesday Today I definitely wanted to run, so I did a slow and easy three miles. It felt okay, and when I checked my heart rate afterwards it was a little high. My norm is around 130 for an easy run, and on Sunday it was 165 (eek!). Today’s run was 144 so I figured I’m slowly getting back to normal. Later in the day I did the second core class, and lower body strength. I just wasn’t in the mood for Jess Sims’s perkiness, so I did my own thing. I will say that I basically copied one of her classes though and did single leg deadlifts, single leg bridges, and a lunge sequence where you lunge forward onto your right leg, then immediately bring the right leg behind you for a backwards lunge without touching the floor in the middle- so you’re balanced on the left leg in the transition. Single leg work and balance, my two favorite things! Thursday I started the day with a 30 minute yoga flow and then worked on my pull-ups. I feel like I’m making progress, but am probably still miles away from doing an actual unassisted pull-up. That’s okay! I’m getting stronger. Friday By this time I had figured out that I’m probably dehydrated (sigh) due to digestive issues (sigh!) which I’ve been having ever since I had Covid (SIGH!) I had been guzzling extra water and doubled up on my LMNT, so I started off for a three mile run cautiously optimistic. You know how you can tell right away if it’s going to be a good run? Well, I could tell. I felt better, and after a mile and a half I stopped my watch to check my heart rate, and sure enough it was 130. Note- I don’t usually obsess over my heart rate like this, only when I feel like something is off. Anyway, I felt so good that I played around with the pace a little for the second half of my run. I was listening to this episode of Rogue Running podcast, and Chris gave the best explanation of a tempo run that I’ve ever heard. He explained what it is, why it’s beneficial, how to find your pace, what it should feel like… I HIGHLY recommend this episode if you have any interest in tempo runs. I can’t say I did a tempo run, but I tried out different paces and paid attention to my effort level- could I keep up this pace for an hour? Does this feel like half marathon pace? One rule of thumb is that a tempo pace should be around your half marathon pace (although it can vary) but since my last half marathon was three years ago when I was in much better shape, that doesn’t help me much. Anyway, it was fun to briefly experiment with different paces while I felt good for a change. Later in the day I did core class #3. Saturday Started the day with fourth and final core class for the week, and then did another lower body workout on my own similar to Wednesday. I’ll go back to Jess’s classes… just not this week. Later in the day I did a twenty minute yoga flow with a focus on twists. All yoga this week (and every week) was with Denis Morton… love his classes. On tap for Sunday… It’s like a cliff-hanger! Will I do a long run? Hopefully, the answer is yes. I’ve had my nightcap of LMNT and I’m going to get out