Reading and Eating
Oof. It was a rough week for reading! I got through one book: It was frustrating, because I really liked this book. It’s a mystery with a compelling plat and interesting characters- I could have read through the whole thing in a day. But noooooooo… I kept having to interrupt my reading to take CEU classes (needed to renew my massage therapy license.) I’m happy to say, I’m finished with those and don’t have to think about it again for two whole years! OR, I could slowly chip away at them so I don’t have to have a panic attack in the last week next time. Ha- who am I kidding. I’m looking forward to getting back to a more regular reading schedule. Up next: Meanwhile, there was plenty of food! After all the tofu we ate this summer, I’ve declared this the “season of beans.” Yes, I want to get back to eating lots and lots of beans- chickpeas, lentils, black beans, pinto beans… beans are so nutritious, cheap, and easy. First up, we made “The Best Vegan Lasagna” from Nora Cooks. There are red lentils in the sauce! And we used the Miyoko’s pourable plant milk mozzarella for the top. It was our first time trying it and we loved it. Then, I cooked a huge pot of Cuban black beans. I’ve been trying all different recipes for these- I just google it and pick one that looks good. Here we served them with rice, broccoli, and plantains (the plantains were in the frozen section of our grocery store- we just heated them up in the oven.) This recipe made enough for a second dinner, and a lunch portion as well. My goal is to cook a huge pot of beans every week (this week it’s pinto beans) and eat them for a couple dinners. One more photo that unfortunately has no beans. It’s the magical peanut noodles that Birchwood Pie shared. This time they weren’t quite as amazing, because I made roasted cauliflower instead of roasted broccoli to go with them (broccoli is much better- everyone knows that!). But they were still delicious, and I garnished them with roasted peanuts, which kicked the whole meal up a notch. This Friday is The Ultimate Coffee Date! Join me as I answer the burning questions: “Whatever happened with the kitchen backsplash?” and “When does pumpkin palooza start?” See you Friday! What are you reading right now? Do you have a favorite recipe for beans?
Weekly Rundown- Back to the Trail
Ah, what a week! In addition to the usual shenanigans, I had to complete 24 hours of online CEU classes in order to renew my massage therapy license. To be clear, I had two years to complete these classes- I just “chose” to do it all in the last week (eye roll.) One of the classes I took was “Foundation Concepts of Core Stability,” and it reminded me how important the pelvic floor is. After my daughter was born, I couldn’t run five steps without peeing. I knew a lot of women had this problem so I didn’t take it seriously (I remember going to races wearing a pad, thinking that solved everything.) Eventually I read an article in Runner’s World that made it clear this is not okay. Your pelvic floor is a really important muscle of your deep core, and if it’s not working, then the rest of your body won’t work properly either. I found a pelvic floor rehab online, did the exercises, and the problem got about 80% better. Then I stopped doing the exercises because, to be honest, they’re incredibly boring (basically like kegels, combined with other small movements, coordinated with breathing.) Now I’m thinking maybe my pelvic floor needs a touchup- I’ll find those exercises again and add them to the list. Enough about urine! Let’s get on to the Weekly Rundown, hosted as always by Kim and Deborah (thanks, ladies!) Here’s how the week played out: Sunday Leg day at the gym- focused on squats and deadlifts, with calves and abs thrown in as always. My husband and I went together, and he was my photographer. Monday 4 mile run! This run felt pretty good- it’s always nice to have some clouds. Tuesday Upper body day at the gym. Bench press, lat pulldowns, rows, overhead shoulder press, and abs. I was scrolling through my phone to find my photo from the day, and there isn’t one! Oops- I guess I forgot. Wednesday 9 mile run on my old favorite trail! This is the trail I ran on while training for my 50k, and I hadn’t seen it since April. It was great to be back, but it was a little overgrown. Thursday Off! When fitting together the puzzle pieces of workouts this week, it made the most sense to make this my day off. Friday I started the morning with leg day #2 at home. I have mixed feelings about these at-home leg days. On the one hand I’m doing a lot of things I don’t get to at the gym- things I haven’t done in a while, and it’s been eye- opening. For example, on this day I did side planks with a leg lift, and I could easily do ten on my right side- but on the left side I could barely get through five without resting. Hmm! On the other hand, I feel like I should be at the gym twice a week working on my squats and deadlifts. Sigh. After I dropped my daughter off, I went out for a 3 mile run. Saturday 4 mile run before work! Sunday On tap for today: back to the gym for leg day. And in the afternoon, my daughter and I are finally seeing Barbie with some friends! It was a good week- I fit almost everything in. I didn’t get to do my treadmill hill workout, so that (along with two gym leg days) is on the schedule for next week. We’ll see how that works out! How was your week? Did you get the monster heat wave? – I think the midwest was hotter than Florida. Have you ever done pelvic floor exercises? Do you have any to recommend?
August Runfessions
First of all- seriously? This month REALLY flew. I know it’s not over yet, but if it’s time for Runfessions, then I know the end of the month is near. Thanks as always to Marcia for hosting! Let’s start runfessing right away. The first thing on my list is that I’m really, really tired of running slowly. Over the past five or six years, the speed has just seemed to drain out of my legs. To make the situation even more frustrating, every time I try to do speed work, I end up injured. But I refuse to give up! I’m currently trying some less structured speed workouts. This week I did a “7-11” where you run fast for seven breaths, and then slowly for eleven breaths, repeated indefinitely. It was pretty fun, and nothing hurt. We’ll see how that goes. Meanwhile, I ran on my old favorite trail this week, and I did NOT see my “running spirit animal” as I usually do here: Instead, I saw… a RABBIT. Well! Maybe it’s a sign from the universe that I can get some speed back, after all. Next up in the “runfessional”: soon I’ll be officially training for my February race, and I’m realizing that putting together my weekly workout schedule will be a challenge. My long runs will be Wednesdays… I want to do two leg days at the gym, but I don’t want either of them to be right next to my long run day (or each other, obviously)… I want to run four days a week, and when the race gets closer I want to do some back-to-back long runs… one day should be a day off…. GAAAAHHH! Is this even possible? I’ll just have to piece it together week by week. It worked (more or less) this week, but this was a relatively easy week compared to what’s coming. Well… as always, I’ll work it out. The last runfession is that the heat continues to beat me down. It’s become clear that my longer runs are going to be all about heat management. I was doing okay with the shorter runs, but soon I’ll need my cooler of ice and my ice hat, because I have some long runs coming up- and it’s a long, long summer here. Thanks for listening to my runfessions! What’s your “running spirit animal?” – I wish I could see cheetah. Arm sleeves in the heat- yay or nay? – I’ve been hearing that some people like to put ice in them, but I think it might feel annoying to have an extra layer on my arms?
More On The Pledge, and Patriotism Examined
In case anyone missed it, my daughter has been having an issue with being forced (or, asked) to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance in school. One of her teachers this year specifically requested that everyone stand, but my daughter continues to sit. I was worried about it, so the next time she had that class first period I asked what happened with the Pledge. She looked confused for a second and then said “Oh! I guess we forgot to say it.” Wait- how can you forget? It comes over the school’s PA system! That class is jazz band, and she explained that everyone must have been talking and getting out their instruments and didn’t hear when it was time for the Pledge. They forgot about the Pledge? What kind of school is this, anyway? Just kidding- I’m relieved it wasn’t a problem. And also slightly annoyed that the teacher went from telling everyone to stand, to ignoring it. Hopefully it will be a non-issue from now on. But it got me thinking about my own feelings towards the Pledge of Allegiance, and I realized what it evokes most in me is nostalgia for my childhood. In elementary school we said the Pledge every day. In first grade, we followed it up by singing “My Country Tis of Thee” (Aw! We must have been so cute!) But by middle school, I don’t remember saying the Pledge. Either we didn’t have it, or we didn’t stand and acknowledge it? Both those scenarios seem strange, but I just don’t remember it at all. If anything, I thought of it as something for little kids. Nowadays, I guess I’m neutral on the Pledge. But I love “The Star Spangled Banner.” I think the words are beautiful, and I always tear up during an Olympic medal ceremony when I hear our anthem. (side note: my elementary school music teacher had a strong opinion that our national anthem should be changed to “America the Beautiful” because she thought “The Star Spangled Banner” was too hard to sing.) Back to the Pledge. My brother-in-law is a high school art teacher in Illinois. At his school they do say the Pledge every day but the kids can opt out. He always says it, but remains silent for “Under God” because he’s agnostic. Just for context, he’s a liberal democrat and is unhappy with many things going on in our country (obviously), but when we asked him why he says the Pledge, his answer was “Because I’m a patriotic American.” I had mixed feelings about the concept of “patriotism,” until I realized I was getting it mixed up with “nationalism.” According to The Helpful Professor: Nationalism is a belief that your nation sits at the top of a hierarchy of nations. You believe your nation’s interests are inherently more important than those of any other country in the world. Patriotism, on the other hand, is simply the love of your country and culture. Patriots know that you can love your own nation without thinking it’s objectively better than anyone else’s. Yes! I am a patriotic American! I hope someday my daughter will say the same, but that’s her choice- it’s a free country. Did you say The Pledge of Allegiance in school? Would you describe yourself as “patriotic?” (In case you’re thinking “what does all this have to do with RUNNING?” fear not! This Friday is the last Friday of the month, which means I’ll be joining Marcia for “Runfessions.” It will be all- or mostly- about running.)