Weekly Rundown- Forward Motion!
Welcome once again to the Weekly Rundown! It was a good week of workouts, and I got much more sleep than last week (phew.) Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting! Here’s how it all went down. Sunday Easter Sunday! It was a little complicated, but I was able to pop out for a 3 mile run mid-morning. All my runs this week incorporated intervals of 4 minutes running/1 minute walking. I actually don’t think my ankle needs this anymore, but I’m just being cautious- I don’t want anything ELSE to get injured, especially since I was limping around for a month. But everything feels good! Monday Oof, this morning had a lot of moving parts. My daughter had school, which meant a 5:30 wakeup. And my son was flying back to Texas. One of my husband’s best qualities is his willingness to drive to the airport, no matter what time of the day or night (seriously- this is what you want in a partner.) So he was driving my son, but I wanted to see them off, so it was an at-home workout day. I did the Caroline Girvan Deadbug Workout, Bulgarian split squats, and the Knees Over Toes exercises, which coincidentally involve ankle-strengthening as well. Tuesday Caroline’s Deadbug Workout again in the morning, and in the afternoon (gasp! I never run in the afternoon!) I ran 4 miles. Wednesday Gym day! I warmed up on the stairmaster, then did squats, deadlifts, and Knees Over Toes exercises. The one thing that’s still so hard for me on the injured side, is single leg heel lifts. Oof- it still hurts. I finished with the Cool Blogger’s Workout- 3o minutes on the treadmill, 12% incline, 3 mph. Thursday Up early for a 3 mile run, followed once again by Caroline’s Deadbug Workout. Friday I started at home with the deadbig workout, then went to the gym for benchpress, reverse fly, and overhead press with dumbbells. Saturday It’s come to my attention that I’m running a 50K at the end of May, so I better start increasing my distance. This run was 5 miles, and felt pretty good. Of course, 5 is a lot less than 30… but I’ll get there. The other thing is, my race is on a TRAIL, and right now I’m avoiding the trail for fear of hurting that ankle again. But I’ll get there as well! Sunday On tap for today…. OFF! Sleeping in, waffles… you know. The usual Sunday activities. How was your week? Did you have spring-like weather? – We actually had a little cooldown- so unusual for April- which is why Saturday’s photo shows me running in long sleeves! Top photo by Frederik Löwer on Unsplash
April Ultimate Coffee Date!
Hello there! Since it’s the first Friday of the month, I’m linking up with Coco and Deborah for the Ultimate Coffee Date! If we were having coffee together, the first thing I would share is…. I tried a new drink! Yes, I did! Normally I drink Earl Grey tea, no milk, just the tea- and I love it. One day the Starbucks barista asked me if I wanted to try a “London Fog.” Usually that’s Earl Grey with milk and a pump of vanilla syrup- but he said he would make it with steamed oatmilk and a scoop of lavender powder instead of the vanilla. Apparently I was feeling very adventurous that day, because I said “Okay!” It was good! And really fun to drink something else for a change. The lavender powder has a little bit of sugar in it, so it’s not something I would drink all the time, but I’ll have it every once in a while as a treat. If we were sipping our delicious London Fogs together, I might ask if you’ll be able to view the eclipse on Monday. South Florida will have a partial eclipse, but Waco, Texas- where my son is- is in the path of totality. The City of Waco is holding a three-day “Eclipse Over Texas” festival, culminating in a watch party at McLane Stadium on Monday. Classes are canceled for the day, and all students have been given special eclipse-viewing glasses. I’m so envious- I wish I could be in Waco this weekend! But I’m excited that my son gets to experience this. Speaking of my son, last week he was home for Easter. He flew home on Spirit, and back to Texas on JetBlue (side note- do you remember when flying on an airplane used to feel luxurious? Hahahahahahahahaha…) Anyway, when he checked in for his return flight, he learned that there would be no carry ons allowed- any carry ons would be checked at the gate. WHAT. For him, this isn’t just an inconvenience. His carry on luggage is his trumpet case, with three trumpets inside. It absolutely HAS TO travel on the plane with him- the case is not meant to be handled roughly, and if he checked it, all the instruments would be damaged. We knew there had to be a solution, and there was! For “only” $70 extra, we were able to upgrade him to a seat with extra space, so he could bring a carry on. Crisis averted! But seriously- could airplane travel possibly get any worse??? What would you tell me over coffee? Will you be attending an eclipse “watch party?” Have you experienced the “no carry on” rule on a flight before?
Reading and Eating
I read a great book last week, and had a cooking extravaganza while my son was home! Let’s start with the book. Alex Pavesi’s The Eighth Detective is “a love letter to classic detective stories with a modern twist, where nothing is as it seems, and proof that the best mysteries break all the rules.” An editor meets with an author to discuss his book, a collection of seven short mysteries. As they read through and discuss each one, the editor notices strange inconsistencies, and begins to suspect that there’s a real-life mystery behind it all. I really enjoyed this, even though I was pretty sure I knew what the big “twist” was… and then guess what- I was WRONG. The story took an unexpected turn at the end, which made it extra fun. On to the eats. I revisited some old favorites that my son hadn’t tried yet- the Buffalo Mac and Cheese from Nora Cooks (that was a huge hit), Gochujang Bowls with tofu- also a hit- and The Best Vegan Cheesecake, again from Nora. For Easter brunch, I made a Just Egg quiche based on a recipe from… you guessed it… Nora! I’m starting to wonder what we would do without her- would we starve? I left out the mushrooms (ew) and used broccoli instead. We decided a green dinner would be very spring-like, so my son made pasta with pesto, and I made roasted asparagus, a salad and garlic bread. Now the holiday is over, my son is back in school, the leftovers have been eaten, and it seems that I still have to cook. Can’t someone else take over for a while? I seriously can’t think of any more dinners for this week. SIGH! Did you make a special dinner for Easter? What are you reading now?
Summer Reading Project
Spring Break is over, which means it’s just a quick downhill ride to the end of the school year (I know how fast this fourth quarter goes!) I’m starting to think about summer plans- a new strength training routine, possible travel, running goals… and this year I want to do some sort of a summer reading project. Last week I listened to this episode of Best of Both Worlds podcast, where Laura and Sarah talked about their reading lives. Laura mentioned that one year, her reading challenge was to read War and Peace. The book is divided into 360 short chapters, so she read one chapter a day, to complete the book within the year. Well, I like that idea! Fun fact, though: I already read War and Peace, as a teenager. And I enjoyed it! This gives you some idea of the type of person I was- I didn’t go to my high school prom, but I did read War and Peace. Yep, I was a total weirdo. In my teens and 20s I read mostly classics- all of Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Thomas Hardy, Edith Wharton… just to name a few (a total, TOTAL weirdo.) Funny to look back on that time, because now it seems like I mostly read mysteries. So I’m not looking to read, or re-read any classics. I’m thinking more non-fiction. Something big and kind of daunting, that I could break into ten sections (for the ten weeks of summer vacation.) It could be self improvement, or philosophy, or maybe something spiritual (I’m thinking along the lines of Buddhism?) I want something that could be relevant to my everyday life. A biography of Abraham Lincoln, which I’m sure would be an educational and challenging read, wouldn’t really be applicable to my life right now (no offense to Honest Abe.) Also, it doesn’t have to be one large book. It could be a series of books, or different books on a similar subject, that would all fit a central theme. So you can see I have a general idea of what I want- but nothing specific in mind. That, of course, is where YOU come in! Please give me suggestions! Any ideas are welcome. I’m also going to Barnes and Noble this week to browse around to see what I can find. I’ll plan to start this project after Memorial Day. Do you do any reading challenges or projects? Do you change up your reading over the summer? Top photo by Blaz Photo on Unsplash