April Coffee Date!
Did anyone else feel like January was 900 years long, and then February and March flew by? Here we are in April, and it’s time to join Coco and Deborah for the Ultimate Coffee Date! I’ll be drinking my usual Earl Grey. Grab a hot, delicious beverage and join me! First of all…thanks for all the kind comments on my last post. In case you missed it, we will be trading in our green and gold for purple, because starting in September there will be a Wildcat in the family! This is exciting for so many reasons, not the least of which is that I’ll be up in the Chicago area in September. I’ll drive up with Paul and help him get moved into his… abode? We’re not sure where he’ll be living yet- still lots of details to work out. Is early September too early to see fall colors? (Probably. Darn it!) Interestingly, offhand I can think of at least eight bloggers who live in the area. It’s a blogging hub! Honestly, that first trip will probably be a whirlwind, and not a time for blogger meetups- unless we all agree to meet for a Blogger Blowout on the border of Illinois and Wisconsin. No? Well, next time then. It’s a two year program so I’ll be back! April also means RACE MONTH for me. Gulp. Don’t worry- I’m not running 100 miles. There’s also a 50 mile option. And don’t ask me what a “skunk ape” is, or why he’s riding a unicorn. The point is… This will be my second attempt at the 50 mile distance. Last year, I trained for a race that I was so, so excited about. I couldn’t wait to run it, and was confident that I would finish. Then I fell, sprained my ankle, almost froze to death and dropped out at mile 23. And you know what? It didn’t really matter. Once my ankle was healed, I wasn’t any more or less happy than I would have been if I had finished the race. This time I’m much more calm. I believe I can finish this race (if my hamstring holds up- more on that coming up in the Weekly Rundown, sigh) but if I don’t… I can try again next time. The last thing I would share over coffee (or tea) is this car I saw the other day. Seriously? What kind of community are we living in, anyway? I couldn’t decide if I wanted to laugh or cry. What would you tell me over coffee? Do you have anything special coming up this month? Top photo by Jonathan J. Castellon on Unsplash
WE KNOW WHERE HE’S GOING!
We’ve had lots of excitement around here this past week. My son is graduating from Baylor in May, and will be going to grad school to pursue his masters in trumpet performance in the fall. We weren’t sure for a long time, but I can finally say we know where he’s going… Four years ago Paul was a senior in high school and applying to colleges. Northwestern was his dream school, and they rejected him. He took it well, but it was a huge disappointment. He went to Baylor, and ended up loving it. He loves Baylor so much he even went so far as to say he was glad he didn’t get into Northwestern. It turns out Baylor was a better fit for him for undergrad. But he always said he would apply to NU again for grad school. And here we are!!! Not only did he get accepted, but they gave him a full tuition scholarship, which was a necessary component (a music performance degree + student loan debt would be… not a good combination). He’s so, so excited. The trumpet teacher at NU is someone Paul really wants to study with. He’ll be able to hear the Chicago Symphony ALL THE TIME, and after being born and raised in Florida and living in Texas for four years, he’ll finally live somewhere with four seasons. He’s looking forward to that (although I’m wondering how he’ll feel after his first winter in the midwest?! Eek.) So once again, John Lennon was right. Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, then it’s not the end. GO WILDCATS!!!
Weekly Rundown- Lots of Running!
Well, this was a fun week- in preparation for my race (on April 26th) I did back-to-back long runs. This is tricky, because I don’t have two days off from work in a row. But where there’s a will there’s a way, right? I figured it out. Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown. Here we go… Sunday Leg day at the gym! I focused on squats (no deadlifts today). Also did leg extension and leg curl machines, and piriformis exercises. Monday This week was my daughter’s spring break, which meant I could sleep a little later! 4 mile run that began in the dark but ended in daylight, followed by some core work. Tuesday I started the day with a mile walk, then after work went to the gym. I did a back workout (rows, reverse flys) and then walked another mile on the treadmill. My legs were still a little sore from the squats on Sunday, and I was hoping to flush it out. I had a lot of running coming up! Wednesday Long run #1! The plan was to run 34 miles over the course of Wednesday and Thursday, divided up however I wanted. 20+14, 24+10, or any other combination. I started in the dark and was able to see the sunrise… As soon as it got light, I headed to the trail. Everything felt good until it started to get hot. There was not a cloud in the sky- it would be a perfect day for the beach. NOT perfect for doing a long run on a sunny trail. This run got REALLY hard. I got back to my car at mile 20 and considered calling it quits. But I knew Thursday’s run would be on the treadmill, and I decided to do Future Jenny a favor and run two more miles. I left the trail and ran on a sidewalk nearby, which had some shade. That made a HUGE difference! Thursday I was able to sleep in till 7:00 (woohoo!), then went to work, and after work went straight to the gym for long run #2. You guys… this run was NOT THAT BAD! I put on the Beatles White Album and listened to the whole thing- that was fun. And guess what- the gym is AIR CONDITIONED. And, I was able to play around with the pace and the incline to keep things fresh- SO much easier than running for miles and miles on nothing but flat. I finished 12 miles feeling pretty good! Now I know you might be thinking: “Jenny. Your race is not going to be air conditioned.” Yes, I know that and I’m concerned about the heat. It seems like I tolerate the heat less and less these days. I do have some ideas for heat mitigation and acclimation that I’m going to try, but right now I just want to move to Alaska. Friday OFF. Obviously. Once again I was able to sleep till 7:00, which felt AMAZING. After work I had an appointment with my chiropractor. He worked on my cranky hamstring (that hamstring is just going to hate me from now until after the race) and also adjusted my low back. I left there feeling really good! Saturday Once again I prioritized sleep, and didn’t get up until 7:00. After work I went to the gym, where I again ran on the treadmill. 4 SHORT miles, followed by core. Sunday On tap for today- sleeping in! This week has been amazing for sleep, and I’m sad to see it end. After waffles and tea, I’ll be heading to the gym for a good strength session. I’m really happy with how this week played out running-wise, but strength was pretty sketchy. I’m eager to get back to it! How was your week? Was it spring break where you are?
Friday FIGS revisited!
In honor of Elisabeth’s guest post on the Frugal Girl’s blog, I’m bringing back Figgy Fridays! Honestly, this week was full of figs. It was my daughter’s spring break which meant I didn’t have to get up quite as early. Other than Wednesday, when I woke up at 5:30 voluntarily for a long run, I was able to sleep until 6, or even 7 on some days! It was figgy. Other random figs: My son’s trumpet ensemble played in a national competition! It was live streamed so we were able to watch it. They won third place! I was a little mad because I thought they should have been first (although there’s a slight possibility that I’m biased) but third is still great, and involves a cash prize. (Side note- the group that won was an all-female group, so it was kind of hard not to root for them!) This sunrise on my run… Fun and festive dinner! On Wednesday night I felt like something to celebrate completing my long run, so we had homemade subs with vegan cold cuts and cheese. I have a new creamer! I finally finished the last carton of peppermint mocha (sigh) and it was time to move on. Muffin deserves a shout-out. I had a dream that she somehow followed me to a gas station about two miles from my house. I was very stressed out because I was already late, I had to get gas, and now I had to somehow wrangle Muffin back home. A gas station worker tried to reassure me that “cats always find their way home.” Not from HERE! There’s traffic! The dream was so vivid that now every time I see Muffin, I think “Bad girl! You were at the gas station!” What are your figs from this week? Top photo by Tetiana Padurets on Unsplash