Weekly Rundown- Not a Normal Week
It’s been two weeks since my race- the dust has settled, and I’m left with… a sore, achy left hamstring. Running that race didn’t make it any better or any worse, and I feel like if I start running again now, it’s going to ache for the rest of my life. OR, I could take some time off running to solve the problem once and for all. It’s not exactly that I miss running; but my body seems confused that I’m not running, and I feel kind of… scattered. But, there were workouts this week, and I’m linking up as usual with Kim and Deborah for this Weekly Rundown (thanks, ladies!) Let’s get into it… Sunday It was a gym day, and the first hard workout since my race. I did a very basic upper body workout- horizontal push (benchpress), horizontal pull (rows), vertical push (overhead press), and vertical pull (lat pulldowns). Good workout! Monday I tried to cue up a Caroline Girvan abs workout, but oh yeah… we were in the middle of our internet fiasco. You can’t do Youtube videos with no internet! Instead I did my hip stability exercises. Tuesday 45 minute walk! This felt pretty good. After work I went to my sports chiropractor. He did a Graston treatment to break up scar tissue in my hamstring (he said he had wanted to do it for a while, but didn’t want to mess anything up before my race). I asked him about strengthening that hamstring, but he said to hold off for now, until it’s healed up more. Wednesday So… when my chiropractor said hold off on strengthening, he didn’t mean squats, right? I mean- squats don’t really target your hamstrings? Anyway… I went to the gym and did squats. It was the first time since my race, so I did a little less weight. It felt good! Then… I got on the treadmill, figuring I would do the “Cool Bloggers” 3/12/30 workout. 3 mph for 30 minutes, at a 12% incline. I used to do this all the time with no problems… but now it was REALLY HARD. I really couldn’t keep up that pace and incline. What is going on? Did I get out of shape? Am I still tired from the race (it was ten days ago??!) OR, maybe the treadmill is broken. Yes, that must be it, ha ha. Thursday Our internet is back!!! I celebrated by doing a Caroline Girvan abs workout. After work I went to the gym for another upper body workout. Is it just me, or is pushing way more fun than pulling? There’s something so satisfying about bench press. Or maybe my back is just weak- I added reverse flys just in case. Friday Okay, here’s where I started to feel a little confused. Shouldn’t I be running? What AM I doing anyway? I ended up with a 2 mile walk. I originally had another chiropractor visit in the afternoon, but had to reschedule it because it was the night of the band banquet! My daughter wore a pink dress and pink shoes (the polar opposite of last year, where she looked like Morticia Addams).One of her friends wore a suit, top hat, fake handlebar mustache, and a monocle. I couldn’t stop laughing while we took pictures. The kids had a great time and my daughter won “Outstanding Sophomore” award! Saturday Okay, let’s figure out what is going on with my cardio. I got on the Stairmaster, and was able to do the same level as always… So what was up with that treadmill workout the other day? I have no idea. Sunday Happy Mother’s Day! On tap for the day: Sleeping in (OBVIOUSLY). Waffles. In the afternoon- trip to the gym. It will pretty much be a normal Sunday, except guess who’s NOT cooking dinner? ME. Did you have a “normal” week? Who’s cooking dinner at your house tonight?
Time
Our internet is back! And just in time for my son’s last concert at Baylor. We’ve live streamed every one of his concerts for the past four years, and I would have been crushed if I had to miss this one. You’ve probably heard people say there’s a last time you’ll ever pick up your child, and while it’s happening you’re not even aware it’s the last time. I’ve come to see many things like that- you never know when it’s going to be the last football game, concert, or race. You might be thinking, “Don’t be ridiculous! I know exactly when my kid’s last high school band concert will be- spring of his senior year!” Well, my son’s last high school band concert was December of his junior year. That March- 2020- he went home from school for spring break and never went back to high school. Definitely didn’t see that one coming. Now I’m hyper aware of potential and concrete “lasts”. You don’t know if your kid might break their arm, decide they suddenly hate soccer, or God forbid, something worse could happen. So, go to EVERY SINGLE EVENT and appreciate it as if it’s the last one. You never know. Back to the Baylor concert- along with 30 other students, my son was honored as a graduating senior. It meant a lot to me to see this, because once again, we never got any kind of recognition or closure from his high school years (as I always have to point out- my son couldn’t care less about high school at this point. I’m the only one who will probably be sad about this forever). In other (but slightly related) news, my daughter and her friends are driving me crazy with their constant demands for rides. Yesterday, due to a complicated testing schedule, my daughter and her friend had no school. It was my day off work, so obviously I wanted to spend it running an Uber service. In the morning we went to the gym (picking up and dropping off her friend as well) and in the afternoon they wanted to go to the arcade. The arcade is 30 minutes away. And can we also drive Abby and Luc? (Luc is a graduating senior, and this could be none of my business, but maybe it’s time to get your license, Luc???) As I chauffeured kids to and fro (thinking about all the ways I would rather be spending my day off) I reminded myself that in two years my daughter will be off to college, and I’ll miss these days! I have to tell myself to slow down, soak it all in, and appreciate every single day. It goes so fast! I frequently stop and tell myself “THIS IS IT.” This is my time with her. Slow down, time! Do you ever think “this is the last time I’ll do xxx?” Does it make you sad? Top photo by Aron Visuals on Unsplash
Life Stuff
SIGH. We are going through an INTERNET TRAGEDY. We realized we had no internet on Thursday night, called AT&T and they came out promptly (?) on Saturday morning. There was an altercation with the neighbor who wouldn’t let them into her yard, then something about a tree, and finally they said they would come back on MONDAY. On Monday, we got this message: Wait. What? Did they say 5-10 hours? NO. It’s DAYS, 5-10 days. Seriously??? Keep in mind that without internet, we can’t watch TV. Also, for whatever reason, we’re not able to use our phones as a hotspot. As a result, I’ve been spending waaaay too much time at Starbucks, drinking tea and using their wifi. “That poor woman!” (the baristas are probably thinking). “Her house must have burned down.” Nope – house is still there, it’s just useless without wifi. I’m kidding- actually the house is kind of peaceful, and I’m getting a lot of reading done. But I DO need wifi for at least some hours of the day. Let’s move on from this aggravating situation and talk about the race I’ve been vaguely alluding to. To set the stage: Next year, on March 21st to be exact, I will be turning 60. I’ve had it in my mind for a while that it would be “fun” to run 60 miles on or around my 60th birthday. When I searched for ultra races in Florida next year, I found this. LOOK AT THE DATE. It’s on my actual birthday! There’s a 100 mile option, or a 33 hour option, where you run as many loops as you can/want to in 33 hours. And it’s right here IN MY COUNTY. I could do the timed option, with the goal of completing 60 miles. It was meant to be. Since it’s almost a year away, this wouldn’t be my “next” race. I’m sure I’ll find some other fun things between now and then. But this will be the big thing I’m aiming for. I’m excited! Turning our attention back to the present… May is looking like a nice month for us. We have a couple big things, but for the most part all the school concerts are over. School goes until the end of the month, but testing has already started. This week the kids have AICE tests (AICE is kind of like AP, but different. We also have AP classes). They only had to go if they had a test, so today (Tuesday) my daughter only had to go in the afternoon, and tomorrow she doesn’t have to go at all. This is also my day off from work, and I think it goes without saying that I will be enjoying a good hurkle durkle (ha ha… thanks, Elisabeth!) How is your month shaping up? Do you have any wifi horror stories?
Reading and Eating!
Yes! I have finally moved on from my race, and have-gasp- other things to talk about. First up- I FINALLY finished The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I had a love/hate relationship with this book. The story is interesting, the writing is great, it was compelling; but it takes place in the Middle Ages, and boy, were things terrible back then. I could hardly get through ten pages without some new horrific incident occurring. And by “horrific” I mean- detailed descriptions of rape, murder, towns being burnt to the ground… it was a little too much for me. I kept reading because I really did want to find out what happened, but about 2/3 of the way through, as if things weren’t bad enough already, one of the good characters made a decision that was so poor, something just snapped in me. “Fine!” I thought. “I wash my hands of you and your terrible choice! Enjoy your life, which will be horrible from now on!” I just had to detach myself from the story a little, and read on as if I were a neutral observer, rather than someone deeply invested in the outcome. I will say the ending was great. I finished it with relief- but now I find out it’s the first book of a TRILOGY. No! No, no, no. You can’t make me read any more of this- my mental health can’t take it. For something completely different, my next book was: This was the polar opposite of Pillars, which was just what I needed. I’ve read a lot of Anne Tyler, and figured this would be a quick and light read- I didn’t expect to love it. But I did! As usual with her books, I could really relate to the main character. I’m too young for this, I thought. Not too old, as you might expect, but too young, too inept, to uninformed. How come there weren’t any grownups around? Why did everyone just assume I knew what I was doing? Yep, I know that feeling. This is a woman around my age who’e dealing with her daughter’s wedding, a job upheaval, and her ex-husband (AND A CAT!!!) It was an easy read, and the ending was so touching, it brought tears to my eyes. Now I’m reading this: This book came to my attention because it takes place in Waco, Texas, where I have been many, many times over the last four years, because my son is in college there. I picked it up now because I’ll be in Waco very soon for graduation. The story takes place in 1993, and revolves around two teenagers- one the son of the sheriff, and the other a girl living in the Branch Davidian compound. It’s told from their alternating points of view and well, I’m pretty sure it’s not going to end well! But I’m enjoying it- the author is from Texas, and the book has an authentic Waco-ish feel. It’s also interesting to read about Waco in the 1990s, long before Chip and Joanna Gaines took it upon themselves to gentrify the town. Lastly, I cooked! I made the Ultimate Vegan Chili from Nora Cooks, which we enjoyed. My family tends to be lukewarm about leftover chili, so I turned it into chili cheese fries for the second meal, which received an enthusiastic thumbs up. Now, I feel like all my meals have an “I can explain” aspect, and this is no exception. I used Miyoko’s vegan liquid mozzarella, and guess what- if you heat it up in a saucepan, it’s no longer liquid. It gets very thick and gloppy. The texture was off, but the whole meal was really delicious! Even my daughter liked it, so you know it was good. What are you reading now? When was the last time you had chili cheese fries?- I highly recommend it! Top photo by Blaz Photo on Unsplash