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?
Day in the Life #2- The Golden Day
This week, Wednesday was a very unusual day for me, so I thought I would do ANOTHER DITL post. Wednesdays are my day off from work, but they’re frequently filled with errands and appointments. Last Wednesday I had a doctor’s appointment; next Wednesday I have the dentist. If anything is being fixed or worked on in the house, the service appointment is always on a Wednesday. Usually I pick my daughter up from school at 2:45. I always appreciate a day off from work, but the day isn’t entirely my own. HOWEVER. This Wednesday I had no appointments, no errands, and my daughter’s band went on a trip. They left from school in the morning, and returned at 9 pm. My husband was home for dinner (in between teaching and going to a rehearsal) but there were leftovers in the fridge for him. It took me a while to wrap my head around the fact that I had ABSOLUTELY NO OBLIGATIONS on this day. I’m not sure when this will ever happen again. Maybe when my daughter goes to college? In three years? Anyway, how did I spend this amazing day? Read on to find out! 5:30 am- wake up. My daughter still has to be at school at the usual time. That’s okay! No point wasting a precious moment of this day by sleeping late. I do something I rarely do, which is eat breakfast right away. I have a small bowl of oatmeal- about half of what I normally eat- and tea. I even drink out of a real mug this time! At 6:55 we leave for school, and I continue on to the gym. Because I have time for a longer workout, I do weights AND cardio (including the Cool Bloggers treadmill workout.) After my workout I shower and change at the gym. I eat a peanut butter sandwich in the car. 9:30- Time for my massage!!! I can get a free massage where I work once a month, but sometimes it’s really hard to schedule it. If I don’t get one in the month, I lose it (it’s not like I can save up unused massages.) Because I have such a leisurely day, I pay a little to upgrade my massage to 90 minutes. In addition to the fact that it feels amazing (I ask for extra time on my low back and ankles) getting a massage is a good mental re-set for me. If I give too many massages without getting one, I can get so caught up in what I’m doing, I forget that, oh yes- massage feels GOOD. This is what the client is experiencing! 11:00- Now I’m in a groggy daze. But I head to one of my favorite spots- Barnes and Noble. I spend a long time browsing, reading magazines, and sipping tea in the cafe. Sarah had a post today about being time hyper-aware or time blind- this is a rare instance where I literally have no idea what time it is. There’s no reason to look at my watch at all, and I love it. After Barnes and Noble I go to Whole Foods- the only store where you can spend $129 and walk out with absolutely nothing to make for dinner. Whole Foods is in the same plaza as Barnes and Noble, so they usually go together for me. I buy myself a drink for the ride home, and eat a protein bar (the same kind I had yesterday, which I said I wasn’t going to eat anymore… oops.) What time IS it, anyway? Oh, 3:00. Time for reading on the couch, which morphs into a nap (obviously.) By the time I wake up it’s 5:00. Funny thing- even in the most amazing day, there comes a point where you’re aware that there is a Tomorrow. Well, darn. I throw in a load of laundry and make my dinner. This dinner is a culinary masterpiece! At least, in my mind. It’s a combination of all the dinners I’ve made in the past couple weeks- a baked sweet potato, topped with tofu scramble, spinach, chickpeas, and tahini sauce. After dinner it’s time to move the laundry to the dryer, wash dishes, and feed the animals (we have a small menagerie.) I pick up my daughter, and get in bed to read at 9:30. Was this my “ideal” day? Well… no. My ideal day would probably include a long trail run in 50 degree weather, my son would be home, there might be waffles and maybe even a beer. But this was a truly RELAXING day, the kind of day moms- or, people in general- don’t usually get. Do you ever get a day to yourself like this? What would you do it you had one? Top photo by Sophie Dale on Unsplash
Reading and Eating
Oh boy- I read an intense book this week! Birchwood Pie recommended this, and I don’t know whether to thank her or demand an apology. Let’s just say, if you’ve ever wondered what a person is thinking when she’s about to have her throat slit by a psychopath, or wondered how the parents will react when they’re informed their daughter has been murdered, this book is for you. In addition to supplying all the horrible (yet fascinating) details, this book is a compelling, engrossing story with characters you’ll really care about. It’s a police procedural, which I don’t usually like- but I liked this. There’s also a romance in there, which I enjoyed. See, I’m not anti-romance; I’m just anti-BAD romance. This is a great read, but it will haunt you. When I finished it, part of me wanted to dive right into the next book in the series- but I knew I needed something a little more gentle. Sophie Hannah to the rescue! This is the fifth book in her “Hercule Poirot” series, mysteries written in the style of Agatha Christie. I love them! It’s a fun book to read, and although there are dead bodies, it’s not giving me nightmares. In case you’re wondering how Quantum Physics Made Easy is going… I finished it, and am re-reading it (for reasons which are probably obvious.) It’s a short book, but man… quantum physics is WEIRD. My cooking rut continues. I went on a sweet potato kick this week, and had three different dinners which involved a baked sweet potato, beans, a vegetable, and tahini sauce. I could honestly eat that way all the time, but the rest of the family is not on board with it. Sunday, my daughter wanted to cook again, and she picked out this recipe for lemon pasta from Nora Cooks, I’m trying to eat less bread and pasta these days (ha, does anyone else remember the episode of Portlandia where they decide to stop eating pasta?) but I wanted to encourage her, so we made it together. The recipe calls for spinach, but at her request we left that out and had a salad instead. In case you’re following along VERY closely and wonder why all my salads look the same, my daughter only likes romaine lettuce and avocado in her salads. Sometimes I’ll add something else to mine, but usually I just make the same salad for all of us. This dish was good! There are white beans in it, so I tried to get a lot of those, but I still ended up with a plate full of pasta. It was fun cooking together though. What are you reading now? Have you ever read anything by Linda Castillo? What’s your favorite EASY dinner? Top photo by David Lezcano on Unsplash
Day in the Life- Just Another Monday
I never do DITL posts, because I feel like my life is unexciting. But today at breakfast I was pondering Mondays, and thought I would document this one. You know… just for the fun of it. The day starts at 5:30 am. Sigh. This is what happens when you have a daughter in high school. I stumble out of bed, wake up my daughter and start the morning routine: feed the cats, make my daughter’s breakfast and pack her lunch. You might be thinking- your daughter is 15! Can’t she make her own breakfast and lunch? Well… if I didn’t make her breakfast, she wouldn’t eat anything and I’m not okay with that. Same with lunch. If I didn’t pack a lunch, I’m pretty sure she would just buy something from the vending machine at school. Again- not okay. Yesterday- Sunday- I did a long trail run, which means I don’t have a big workout this morning. Other days I’ll run or go to the gym, but lately Mondays have been a much easier day. The only thing that’s sore from yesterday’s run are my quads, so I cue up a Glutes and Core workout from my app. I do half of the workout, drive my daughter to school, and then come back and finish it. Because it’s an easier workout day, I have time for a nice, leisurely breakfast! I eat my oatmeal while reading blogs, and then linger with my tea while I update my planner for the week, and write in my journal. The journal is a relatively new thing, an attempt to “Write 24 in 24.” Some days I do it, some days I don’t. I’m taking Gretchen Rubin’s advice here- “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.” No, that’s not a Starbucks drink. It’s my own tea which I drank from a used Starbucks cup. Sometimes I do that if I know I’ll be taking the rest of my tea along when I go to work. Yes, I know there’s such a thing as a travel mug. 9:30- leave for work. Oh look! There’s a new podcast: At this point you’re probably thinking, “Jenny! What are you DOING with your life? Drinking out of old Starbucks cups and listening to Christmas podcasts in April?” Well- this is a podcast I normally listen to in December, but they release new episodes now and then throughout the year. Arrive at work- this is where the gentle part of the day ends. In order to be at work fewer hours, I work 10-3, doing five massages in a row with no break. It’s pretty intense, and some days I’m still questioning this schedule. Somewhere in the middle between clients I gulp down a protein shake (just a scoop of protein powder mixed with water.) Oof. On some days I finish work and race to the school to pick up my daughter- but today she doesn’t need to bring her guitar home, so she can take the bus! And it’s Earth Day! Over the weekend I got an email from Sprouts saying I could get a free shopping bag if I go today. A free bag? I’m there! I get a weird assortment of groceries from Sprouts: Ezekial bread, cereal, nuts, broccoli and beer (I did our main shopping on Sunday.) Then I get in line behind a woman with a HUGE cartful of groceries. Because I’m nosy, I watch her check out. It looks like she’s buying a week’s worth of groceries for a large family- bread, cereal, cheese, apples, potatoes… nothing big and expensive, just a LOT of food. Her bill comes to $410. Ouch. I get a protein bar to eat on the way home- I’ve been trying not to eat these anymore because they contain erythritol, which is one of the things I’m avoiding. But that’s what happens when you go to the store hungry. After all that, I’m given the cheapest, cheesiest bag ever. Had I bought it, it would have cost me 79 cents. Hmmm. 4:00- Home! It’s my daughter’s flute lesson day. The good news is, the teacher comes to our house. The bad news is… this means I have to clean the house. This woman has been coming weekly for almost four years, and has never once used our bathroom. Unbeknownst to her, this makes her a gold-star guest. But there’s a first time for everything so I clean the bathroom just in case. 5:00- nap. Ahhhhhh…. 5:30- start throwing dinner together. My husband and daughter are having leftover pasta, and my dinner involves a baked sweet potato. We’re all having roasted cauliflower and I add white beans and a tahini sauce to my meal. After dinner the countdown is on- I’m just looking forward to getting in bed so I can read. Dishes, cleaning the kitchen, laundry (some nights, but not tonight) and taking care of all the critters. This night has an added twist though- my son’s college orchestra has a concert, which is live streamed! It cuts into my reading time, but it’s worth it. So incredible that he plays a concert in Texas, and we can watch it in Florida. Reading in bed- the goal is to turn the lights off and go to sleep at 9:30- that hasn’t happened lately though. It’s been more like 10:00 or 10:30 AT THE LATEST. Just as I thought… my life is officially dull! Top photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash