Weekly Rundown- A Recovery Week
Oh hi there! Welcome to the Weekly Rundown, hosted as always by Kim and Deborah (thanks, ladies!) This week looked a little different for me- my legs were asking for a rest, and I obliged. Let’s get into it… Sunday I ran a race! (Race recap here.) I ran a couple miles before the race to make it 15 miles for the day. Monday Even though I didn’t “race” this race, I was sore today! I must have run harder than I normally do in a long run. I got out for a 2 mile walk, but otherwise this was a rest day. Tuesday Another 2 mile walk in the morning, and in the afternoon I went to the gym with my daughter. We did squats and Bulgarian split squats (she wanted help with her form) but my quads were still sore, so I did everything with lighter weights. Wednesday I wasn’t sure how my hip/hamstring were doing, so I decided to run on the treadmill at the gym. I figured if anything hurt I could get right off and onto something else… but it was fine! I ran 4 miles. And look at this treadmill- you can set it to go DOWNHILL. This could come in handy if I’m ever training for a hilly race (since there are no actual hills in South Florida.) I finished with some work on the abs machines. Thursday In the morning I did the Caroline Girvan deadbug workout.. At night… I went to the gym to run. I know, that’s weird! Our gym has a room with cardio equipment where they play movies, and tonight it was a Star Wars movie. My daughter and her friend wanted to go and check it out. I didn’t actually watch the movie- the treadmills in the “theater” were limited and I wanted to leave them for someone who did want to watch. I ran 4 miles on a regular treadmill- I had my podcasts to listen to. I also did RDLs with my daughter. We really focused on form, watching ourselves in the mirror and concentrating on activating the right muscles. It was good for me to review! (Side note- my chiropractor, who also has a “sensitive” low back, told me he never does squats and deadlifts on the same day. Duly noted!) Friday My upper body needed a little attention, so I did Caroline Givan’s arm and shoulder workout followed by her 4×4 Lower Abs Workout.. Saturday 5 mile run! I’m still a little wary of my hip/hamstring situation, but this run felt pretty good. Sunday On tap for today… sleeping late! I didn’t have a great week of sleep, so I really need a later wakeup today. I’m moving my long runs back to Wednesdays, and I have to be ready to hit it hard next week. Top photo is from the postcard Elisabeth sent me! Would you run on a treadmill while watching a movie? – I might try it another time. They show a different movie every day!
Another FIG-y Friday!
Hooray! We made it through another week of FIGS! Just in case anyone doesn’t know about FIGs at this point, check out Elisabeth’s post. She is the founder of our Finding Joy in Gratitude Collective- thank you, Elisabeth! Friday, February 14 I know I’m starting with an anti-fig, but hear me out. Valentine’s Day is always a downer. I think it could be from my years growing up in the midwest- I had really bad SAD, so I was already very depressed on Valentine’s Day, and maybe that found a permanent place in my psyche? Anyway… this Valentine’s Day was suitably… depressing. My daughter had a “friend breakup” the day before. It wasn’t her best friend, but her second-best. Without going into a lot of boring details, it just wasn’t a healthy relationship, and the breakup was something that had to happen. But it made me very sad, especially for the other girl (who has now been cast out of the trio) and that weighed on me the whole day. My husband worked all day, including late into the night, so after we left for work in the morning, I didn’t see him at all. My daughter was supposed to have a sleepover with her best friend, but that girl ended up having to go to a funeral (seriously… could this get any more depressing???) The whole day was a bummer… UNTIL (yes! There’s a FIG coming!) my last client of the day brought me a PRESENT! Who brings their massage therapist a Valentine’s Day present??? Only this woman. Here’s what she gave me: They were in a cute gift bag, and I was suddenly inspired. On my way home I stopped at the store to get my daughter a few things (some candy, a strawberry-scented sugar scrub, and cozy socks.) I put them in the gift bag and gave it to her when I got home. Valentine’s Day got a lot happier. Saturday Another trip to the gym with my daughter! I tried to ignore her not-so-subtle insinuations (“Mom, maybe you want to use the tricep machine…”) and enjoy the fact that we now have an activity to do together. Sunday This was a day full of FIGS- I ran a race! I had a couch nap, talked to my son on the phone, and- here’s a big one- MY HUSBAND MADE DINNER. I think it was a combination belated Valentine’s Day celebration, and an “I’m sorry you’ve had to cook the last 500 dinners in a row” gesture. Monday That lasagna was the FIG that kept on giving- we had leftovers for dinner so I didn’t have to cook. Tuesday Today’s FIG is a shoutout to our blogging community. Last week I made sheet pan veggie shawarma, a recipe I got from Suzanne. This week, Suzanne mentioned that she made it with a cilantro yogurt sauce which she got from Birchie. So I made it again, with the cilantro sauce (I used Kite Hill vegan greek yogurt.) My daughter liked the cilantro sauce better, but I like both sauces equally. Thanks to everyone who made this dinner possible! Wednesday This was another day full of FIGs. It was my day off from work, and I had nothing planned. I went for a run, got a massage (!!!) and then went to Barnes and Noble. In the afternoon I had a couch nap AND- could this day get any better?- we had more leftovers for dinner. Lasagna and sheet pan veggies for the others, and I made myself a baked sweet potato with veggies and chickpeas, slathered generously with the cilantro sauce. Thursday Muffin gets another shoutout. Look at her helping me write this post! Are you participating in Elisabeth’s project? Do you like figs? – I mean the food kind. I think they’re sweet and delicious. Top photo by Svitlana on Unsplash
The Shape of My Week
You know how I’ve been grumbling incessantly about feeling down, and the year getting off to a slow start? Well, I’m beginning to snap out of it. And it’s not because of any pep talks I gave myself, or any lists or plans I made- circumstances just changed a bit, shook things up, and voila! I feel better. Most people think their lives are too busy, and would like more free time. But as Gretchen Rubin says, the opposite of a great truth can also be true. In our case, we added more to our days. My daughter is deep into rehearsals for the high school musical (she’s playing in the pit orchestra) which require nighttime rehearsals. And, as I’ve mentioned, she now goes to the gym! Several days after school she and her friend will hit the gym- the friend’s mom drives them there, and I pick them up. But usually, if I’m going to the gym to pick them up, I might as well do a workout. On some days this means double workouts for me- or sometimes I’ll go for a walk in the morning (when I would normally be doing my workout) and then work out at the gym later on. I used to HATE going to the gym after work, but I’m enjoying this new routine. Then, if my daughter has a rehearsal, we’ll leave the gym and she’ll eat a quick dinner of leftovers or something I picked up for her (totally justified in not cooking a dinner from scratch since time is limited) and then I’ll take her back to school. Yes, I did grumble a TINY BIT Monday night when I had to pick her up at 9:30 pm (shouldn’t I be in bed now???) but overall it’s working out just fine. My days off have also been busier than usual. This weekend was a perfect example- on Saturday I worked, went to the gym with my daughter, then drove down to Ft. Lauderdale to pick up race packets. Sunday I ran a race! I did have time to relax in the afternoon, but we all know Sunday afternoon relaxation quickly morphs into “tomorrow is Monday” activity. So, apparently busier is better for me! But once again, the opposite of the opposite of a great truth (still following?) can also be true. Tuesday was another busy day, and in the midst of running around (work, gym, driving, making dinner) I realized, tomorrow is my day off! And I don’t have ANYTHING SCHEDULED. Wow, that felt good. After dropping my daughter at school, I ran, got a massage, and then made my way to Barnes and Noble. I was able to snag my favorite table in the cafe… and sat there for a long, long time. I really needed this downtime. I just couldn’t shake myself out of the rut I was in, but luckily circumstances stepped in to do it for me. (Coming up tomorrow… a week full of FIGS!) If your year got off to a slow start, do you feel like you’re back on track now? Top photo by Robert Keane on Unsplash
Publix Ft. Lauderdale A1A Half Marathon Recap!
I ran a half marathon on Sunday! For me, it was more of a “fun run” than a race. I’ve (crazily?) registered for a 50 mile race at the end of April, and because of my recent hamstring issues, I’m behind on my long runs. My plan was to run a few miles before the start and then treat this race as continuation of a long run. The day started when my alarm went off at 3 am (AUUUUGH!!!) I got my gear together and then picked up Darlene! Honestly, I wouldn’t have signed up for this race if it weren’t for Darlene. I’ve been focusing on longer trail races lately, and felt like I had no business running a road race. But, Darlene was doing it and I knew it would be fun to do together. We got to the parking area at 4:30- PLENTY of time to spare, since the start time was 5:50. But we had to wait in a long line to take a shuttle to the start. I did think about just running to the start, but it was dark (obviously), I didn’t really know where I was going, and I decided spending some extra time with Darlene was more important. We finally got to the start at 5:30. I had forgotten how exciting the start of a race is! At this point, I was actually wishing I were doing the full marathon (we’ll come back to that thought later.) I only had time to run about 1.75 miles before the race- I was still doing my “bonus” miles when the race started, and I crossed the starting line at the very back of all the runners. I actually highly recommend this, if you’re not racing for a specific time! I didn’t have to stand around waiting. And, it was fun to work my way up from the back and pass a lot of people- it made me feel like I was running fast (WHICH I WASN’T!) Luckily we were running on wide streets at this point, so it wasn’t too congested. We ran over a bridge (the only “hill” of the race) and onto A1A- in time to see the sunrise (photo at the top of this post!) I definitely treated this as a long run. I didn’t do any planned walking intervals, but I did walk if there was a good reason. Good reasons included taking a drink, getting out a gel, or taking a photo. I had NO time goal whatsoever. We ran up A1A and into Birch State Park. When my husband and I first moved to Florida, we lived in Ft. Lauderdale for a couple years, and I did many runs in this park. And here’s a fun fact- we got married in this park! I actually took a little detour to get a photo of our wedding spot. You may be thinking- why did you get married THERE? It doesn’t look that special! Well, here’s what it looked like 25 years ago: Let’s talk about the weather. It was hot. The forecast for the day showed a high of 86, and it was around 72 when we started. While we were in the park I started to feel the heat, and at every water station I drank a cup and poured a cup over my head. I was worried about Darlene- not because I question her abilities as a runner, but because she had no time to get acclimated to the heat. She told me where she lives (upstate New York) 20 degrees is a warm day. Yikes. Anyway, we ran out of the park and continued on A1A. There were a lot of turnarounds in this race, with opportunities to see runners ahead and behind you. I kept looking for Darlene, but I figured I missed her- which wouldn’t be surprising, because this was a big race. Finally we turned and headed back to the finish line. Those last several miles would have been the most brutal heat-wise, but there was a stiff headwind. It was so strong, I felt like I was running in slow motion, but I welcomed it because it saved us all from having a heatstroke. And then guess who I saw just ahead of me… Darlene!!! She’ll be doing her own race recap, but I’m here to tell you she did GREAT. She really toughed it out in difficult conditions- this was not an easy race! We chatted briefly, and then I ran on ahead. Right before the finish, the half marathoners were herded forward while the marathoners made a u-turn… and I thought “I’m SO GLAD I’m not doing the marathon!!!” (Think Veruca Salt when she says “Daddy, I do NOT want a boat like this!” That’s how I felt.) Anyway… I finished! I thought I would run some more, since I didn’t get to run much before the race. But the situation really wasn’t conducive. Even after I got out of the finish area, it was very crowded. I also now had this huge medal: Obviously I took it off, but even carrying it was annoying- those little charms made clinking noises and it was heavy! Also, my hip flexors were killing me (the pain in my hamstring moved to my glutes and then, weirdly, to my hip flexors.) I ran a little to end at an even 15 miles, and called it a day. I went back to meet Darlene at the finish! They had lots of food- none of which sounded appealing to us. We marveled at all the people eating hot dogs and tacos and drinking beer at 8:30 am. We each had a popsicle and those REALLY hit the spot. This race was fun- I’m very happy Darlene convinced me to do it! My only complaint would be, the shirts are hideous. This went right into my Goodwill donation bag: