Runfession Coffee Date
Oh, hi there! Recently I’ve been doing regular Friday Coffee dates. For today’s coffee date I’ll be joining Marcia and her faithful Runfessions crew. I’ve got a couple to share… although maybe they’re more like “gym-fessions.” The other day I was headed to the gym for my “long cardio.” Because I’m simultaneously healing up my ankle and training for a 50K- two things that might not normally go together- I’ve been doing long cardio workouts in place of long runs. This day was a planned 90 minute session, alternating between the stairmaster and treadmill. As I shared in my post about morning routines, it was a day where I dropped my daughter off at school and headed straight for the gym. Halfway there I suddenly thought, “Where are my headphones? Where are my headphones??? WHERE. ARE. MY. HEADPHONES?????” I was sure I brought them with me, but I couldn’t find them anywhere. I was in such a panic, I thought I was going to crash the car. Can you IMAGINE showing up to the gym for a 90 minute workout on the cardio machines without headphones? I runfess that instead of heading to the gym, I went back home. My mind was racing. Maybe I dropped them? Maybe I can find some old headphones? Maybe someone else has headphones I can borrow? I was in my driveway when I looked down and saw… MY HEADPHONES, on the floor of the car. The case is dark and they blended right in. Crisis averted. Yesterday was another gym day. My husband was sleeping late (it’s his spring break) and because I didn’t want to disturb him, I took my work clothes out of the closet in the dark and packed them up for the gym. I dropped my daughter off, went to the gym, did my workout… so far, so good. After a quick rinse, I went to get dressed and, EW. What is that musty smell? It was my work pants! Wait- I thought I solved that smelly laundry problem (an added splash of vinegar to each load has left everything smelling fresh as a daisy!) But these work pants had a very old, stale smell. Remember, I was at the gym, so it wasn’t like I could go find other pants to wear. I was stuck with them. Sigh. I was halfway through my work day (a day which was accompanied by a vague, musty odor, which I was fervently hoping no one could specifically identify as coming from me) when I realized…. these are the wrong pants. These are my old work pants, and why they were even hanging in my closet in the first place is a mystery. I guess I was saving them for an emergency? I can’t imagine an emergency so dire that I would wear those pants on purpose. You guys, it’s been a week. I love spring break and having everyone home, but it will be good to get back in a regular routine, where I won’t lose my headphones and wear smelly pants to work. What would you tell me over coffee? Do you have anything to runfess? Wuld you get on the stairmaster without anything to listen to? – Shudder.
Reading and Eating
Yesterday I talked about morning routines; today I’m going to share, once again, my newest favorite nighttime routine- READING IN BED. It’s absolutely crazy that I didn’t do this for such a long time. Previously, I would read on the couch in the living room after everyone else went to bed. Now I read in bed, with a book light if my husband is already sleeping. Let’s count the ways that this is better! For one, I’m so, so cozy when I get in bed with my book. I love the feeling of knowing the house is shut down, I’m ready for bed, and when I get tired I can just switch off my light and go to sleep. When I used read in the living room, I would start to get tired, but didn’t want to actually get up and get ready for bed. It was easier to just keep on reading later and later, until it was way past a reasonable bedtime. Now, as soon as I finish dinner, my entire goal is to get everything cleaned up so I can get in bed and read asap. The earlier, the better! The goal is always to turn the light off and go to sleep at 9:30… but it’s usually closer to 10. A couple nights I kept reading and reading because I wanted to finish my book. Is there anything better than the moment when you’re reading a mystery, and you make the decision to just keep reading to the end? (screw bedtime!) I think not. Anyway, to make my nighttime reading even sweeter, I have a fun stack of books just waiting for me (after I finish The Eighth Detective.) I also have several holds at the library that I’m looking forward to- it’s a wealth of books! Life is good. Eating-wise, it was a slow week last week. I mean, we ate, but it was pretty uninspired. But this week my son is home! To kick off the festivities I made the now-famous Curry Chickpea Salad from Nora Cooks. Last time I made it, Engie mentioned that it sounds good except for the raisins and cilantro. Oh yeah…. I should probably mention that I leave those out. I don’t really care for raisins, and I never have cilantro around. Besides, my son doesn’t like cilantro and I’m making this for his benefit. I actually have the whole week of food planned out: Buffalo Mac n Cheese, again from Nora. I’ve made this a couple of times, and everyone loves it. (It immediately went on my list of foods to make when Paul is home.) We’ll eat that tonight (Wednesday) and Thursday. Friday is takeout as always. Saturday, Gochujang Bowls (with tofu.) The only meal I don’t have planned is Easter Sunday, but I’m kind of thinking Italian. We’ll have a family meeting and come up with something! Are you reading anything great right now? Cilantro- yay, or nay? – Did you know to some people it tastes like soap? It’s a genetic trait. Are you having a special Easter Sunday meal?
Morning Routines
Last week was my daughter’s spring break, and that meant a later wakeup time for me. Instead of getting up at 5 or 5:30, I was able to sleep until 6-6:30. But my general morning routine remained the same: get up, get ready for a run or the gym, work out, THEN relax with breakfast, tea, and blog reading. In this episode of Best of Both Worlds, Sarah and Laura talk about their morning routines (WHY is it so fun to hear what other people do???) Sarah’s routine was especially interesting to me- she gets up at 4:45 (ouch) and then spends an hour drinking coffee, eating a light breakfast, reading, looking at her planner for the day, doing a short meditation, and THEN she goes for a run. Now, I don’t get up and get right out the door. But everything I do is geared towards getting ready to work out. If it’s a running day, I feed the cats, use the bathroom, drink a glass of water with my vitamins, and then start a short mobility routine. It takes me about 40 minutes to get out the door. On gym days, I’ll get up at 5:30 (this is also when I wake my daughter up.) We don’t leave for school until 6:50, but I spend that time getting her breakfast and lunch ready, getting my work clothes, breakfast, and lunch packed up, getting dressed for the gym, and if I have extra time I’ll do a warm up, or start working out with light weights. I go to the gym after school dropoff, do my workout, and then stop at Starbucks on the way to work, where again I have a leisurely block of time to eat my breakfast (which is a homemade breakfast sandwich), drink tea, and read blogs. The point is, I definitely need time to relax before work- but it’s always AFTER I work out. Part of that is because I live in Florida, so earlier is always better for running. I think it’s also just years of habit- if I were sipping tea and reading before my workout, I would feel anxious, like I should be outside doing something. I’m wondering how many people start the morning with something relaxing, like reading, or coffee or tea, and how many people get up and get moving right away. Kids definitely dictate part of that- it’s hard to sit and meditate quietly when you’ve got kids to get off to school (although Sarah does it!). It’s gradually dawning on me that my daughter will be going to college in three years… which means 24 years of having kids as my first priority in the morning will be over. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I’m dreading it… I think. But I’m also feeling a cautious sense of freedom… you mean my life won’t always be like this? I can do whatever I want when I wake up? What? Will I become the type of person who reads and meditates first thing in the morning? I guess we’ll find out… Which type of morning routine do you follow? Or does it vary? Tom photo by NEOM on Unsplash
Weekly Rundown- There’s Hope!
Do you remember how, in every made-for-TV movie in the 90s, at some point the main character exclaims, “I just want my life back!” That’s how I felt last weekend. I couldn’t even write the usual Weekly Rundown because I was so down and frustrated with my injury. But as they say, it’s always darkest before the dawn! Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting- this time I have a proper rundown. Let’s get right into it… Sunday This day was the turning point! I couldn’t face the gym again, so I went for a walk outside. My ankle was still very achy, but at one point I just thought “What the heck- I might as well try running.” AND… running felt better than walking. Don’t ask me why! I continued to walk, inserting 30 second running intervals, and ended feeling energized and encouraged. I followed this run with Caroline Girvan’s deadbug workout.. My new motto is, “when in doubt, do core.” You can’t go wrong strengthening your core. Monday Still feeling encouraged and optimistic, I went to the gym and tried deadlifts for the first time since the injury. Yes, I could do it! I also did squats with the bar- I didn’t want to get too crazy the first time back- and Bulgarian spilt squats. Those were SO HARD on the left side- just balancing on that foot is still hard. I didn’t even use any weights for those and it was exhausting. But, I left the gym feeling more like my old self. Tuesday Okay, let’s try this running thing again! I covered 3 miles, lots of walking, but threw in 30 second, and then one minute running intervals. The ankle is still achy while I’m walking and feels better when running. Again, followed it up with Caroline’s deadbug workout. Wednesday Back to the gym for a “long cardio” day. Well, I am training for a race so if I can’t do a long run (yet) I need to do something. 30 minutes on the stairclimber and then 30 minutes on the treadmill for the 3-12-30 workout- 3 mph, 12% incline for 30 minutes. What’s that, you say? A race? Well, YES!!! I signed up for a 50K at the end of May. It’s in Inverness, Florida, which is north and west of me- Sweat, Swat ‘n Swear. Yes, there will be plenty of sweating! Possibly swearing. But what is this about swatting? I’m not sure I want to know. I’m really excited about it though (in spite of the name.) Thursday More walking/running (same distance, threw in more one minute running intervals) and I tried out a new hydration vest. I’m looking for a vest with bottles in the front and more pockets to store things (such as, AHEM, a rain jacket.) I liked everything about this one, except that I think it will make me too hot. It was only 60 degrees on this run and my back felt hot- no way will it work when it’s 90. I’m returning it! Once again, followed this run with Caroline Girvan Deadbug workout. Friday Back to the gym. Bench press, reverse flys, squats, Bulgarian spilt squats (again bodyweight only- still so hard) and abs. Saturday Wait. Why am I only doing one minute run intervals? This time I did two minutes running/one minute walking. Hooray! Covered 3 miles, followed again by the CG deadbug workout. Sunday Off! Sleeping in… waffles… and then cleaning the house. My son will be home this week for Easter, and I’ll probably do some food prep today as well. My ankle isn’t back to normal, but I’m getting there. I do strength and mobility exercises every day, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And I’m running!!! Hooray. Any hydration vest recommendations for me? – I need one for HOT weather! Speaking of weather… are you getting spring-like weather yet? – Our summer humidity has returned. Top photo by Rosie Kerr on Unsplash