sidebar | life and training 10.20 – 10.26
First order of business: a quick trip to Pennsylvania for my sister’s wedding!
Happy Monday, ya’ll! I’m fairly fresh returned from our two-night excursion to PA and I still don’t know what’s going on. We flew back Saturday, I ran a long run Sunday, and now that the new week has commenced I’m just confused and out of sorts. I haven’t done a long run on Sunday in fuck knows how long and it feels wrong to disturb my routine as such.
We departed Thursday morning from TPA and landed at Philadelphia International around 11:30 or so. The flight was uneventful and smooth, and I discovered the simple joy of an airplane hot chocolate. Who knew? I think a hot beverage is the way to go while in the sky: it’s comforting and feels more hydrating and a cold juice or the like. Maybe I’m odd, I don’t know. Mr. Flurries also had a good flight playing fantasy hockey and later watching Paddington 2.
We had time to kill before the rehearsal dinner, so we dicked around King of Prussia with lunch at Wegmans and a few random errands nearby. Then, it was off to the venue/hotel. We stayed at Bear Creek Mountain Resort, which was the site of the ceremonies: a charming, quaint little ski lodge with a couple little eateries and beautiful scenic views of the colorful trees around the runs and a big lake at the entry. Apparently there were three weddings scheduled for the weekend.
I attended the rehearsal, then got ready and headed to Folino for the dinner. We were seated in a cellar and it was freezing, I didn’t take my jacket off the whole time, though they had a table with hot tea and the steaming mug helped tremendously. I was graciously offered a vegetarian plate with penne alla vodka and some roasted veggies. Both were quite tasty. Two of my cousins showed up as well, and it was cool to see them after probably 13 years!
One of the unexpected highlights of the trip was running outside in the cold. Sounds convoluted, but it was a testimony of grit and flexibility of which I’m really proud. The hotel had a gym but the one treadmill was busted, so I adapted by suiting up in my big hoodie, an emergency beanie I keep in my jacket (bless), and headed out for several loops around the hotel grounds. The parking lot is vast and well lit so I pretty easily made a one-mile route out of it. The absolute best part, though, was heading inside and pouring a hot cup of coffee in the lobby. Sippable hand warmer! Little better than that.
The ceremony was held on Friday evening, so most of the morning I had to myself. I drove out to get my hair cut and pick up something for lunch, then walked around the lakeside and peered at the pretty trees. J had embarked on a trail run while I was out and about and I glimpsed him on the return while I hung out by the water! If you look closely in the first photo you’ll see a tiny figure on the opposite side of the water.
Honestly, the wedding festivities were kind of a blur. I got ready largely on my own and mingled during the photos. They married at 5pm, in a really simple and gorgeous ceremony, but I was shivering so hard it was difficult to do much more than stare at the concrete in order to try and stop the shakes.
I presented the speech for her and feel like I totally flubbed it (well, maybe not totally, but words did not word the way I wanted them to). I kind of mulled over that during dinner and was starting to get very tired by the time I cleared my plate, though I did get up and dance during “Uptown Funk” and a couple other numbers. That was enjoyable.
But, I headed off to bed around 9:30 because my social battery drains quickly and I felt myself growing twitchy with the noise and crowd. I stopped over beforehand to talk to my sister and BROTHER IN LAW (sheesh, that’s weird to say!) As expected, she looked stunning and the happiest I’ve ever seen her, which gave me a glow that while you probably couldn’t see from the outside, definitely warmed me internally.
We returned Saturday afternoon, and Sunday I used as my long run day and largely a recovery day. I slept hard Saturday night but still felt pretty groggy. I did some housework, drew a new scene (which I’m very proud of), and finished the evening with dinner at Curry Leaves. I got the yellow dal and we shared a basket of garlic naan. REALLY good stuff.
It’s spooky week, all! We got pumpkins Sunday evening and plan to carve them Wednesday, and I’ve a couple festive Thanksgiving-friendly recipes planned for the weekend. I’m also racing on Saturday and officially starting marathon training thereafter. Lots of excitement upcoming! And how is it almost November already? I’m offended.
Take care, peeps. Until next Monday!
The Fuck We Cooking This Week?
…A cozy and SIMPLE vegetarian soup.
…A beautiful harvest cheeseboard for the holidays.
…A sangria to serve on Thanksgiving.
A Few Things I’m Digging
Hoodies…I love hoodies anyway, but after my frigid morning jaunt in Pennsylvania this week, I think I adore running in hoodies too! They aren’t the most ~aesthetic~ option but oh my are they cozy! So long as the rest of my gear is made for running (sweat-wicking, non-chafing, etc.) then a hoodie is an excellent layer to add.
Smoothies…My appetite often gets weird as my mileage increases and protein smoothies have been a good way for me to ensure I’m getting adequate calories. Keeping it simple lately with frozen banana, protein, cocoa powder, and peanut butter or peanut butter powder.
This Week’s Menu
Meatless Monday…French Onion Soup Pizza
Tuesday…“Bacon” Ranch Potato Soup
Wednesday…Autumn Harvest Quinoa Honeycrisp Salad
Thursday…Salmon Diane
Friday Happy Hour…Autumn Orchard Bloody Mary
Saturday Baking…Pumpkin Patch Layer Cake
Sunday Brunch…Chewy Pumpkin Spice Bagels
Get Your Spook On
Scary good treats to enjoy this Halloween week!
Halloween Oreo Stuffed Monster Cookies
Halloween Harvest Oatmeal Cookie Bars
Lil Monster Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies
Creepy Crawly Pumpkin Patch Chocolate Cupcakes
The Balrog of Morgoth Margarita
Shops & Wish List
Fashion
Target…Looking at this Auden fleece jogger + sweatshirt set…Loving this mini sweater dress.
CRZ Yoga…Thinking about another pair of Nakedfeel pocket shorts (6″, Hot Fudge Brown) + the matching Butterluxe Racerback Tank.
Home
Target…I NEED this Woolrich x Target sheep candle. We all know how I feel about sheeps.
Week in Training
Monday, 10.20: 11 miles, 9:14 pace + 20 minute full body
Peak week ENGAGE! Ran my hardest workout in years and while it definitely felt harder than last week’s 5 x 1600 due to the higher temp and crazy humidity, I still nailed it and ended up about where I expected! 5 x 2k at 10K pace, averaged 7:57 with splits of 7:59, 7:57, 7:56, 7:58 (might have been wrong due to dead zone), and 7:54. I think a 7:55-7:58 will be reasonable for race day in two weeks!
Strength:
- 3 x 12 deadlift 80#
- 3 x 10 triceps pressdown 28#
- 3 x 10 ea. side lunge 40#
- 3 x 10 shoulder press 15#
- 3 x 10 pushup
Tuesday, 10.21: 5 miles, 11:05 pace
Seems that the low 11s are becoming the norm now. I’m cool with that. Easy miles at 147 bpm before a loooooong day.
Wednesday, 10.22: 9.25 miles, 9:18 pace + 4.75 miles, 10:30 pace
This felt hard! My allergies were flaring and my legs kinda just wouldn’t coordinate…until the final two reps before which I FUCKING KICKED A BIRD. It flew right in front of me midstride! Managed good splits for the workout anyway: 2 x 1600/1200/1000 with 75 second recovery and 2 minutes between sets. Ran 8:00 and 7:58 for the 1600s, 7:51 for both 1200s, and 7:43 and 7:36 for the 1000s.
After a loooong workday my afternoon run felt really refreshing. It was a beautiful midday, albeit warm, and I stopped by Publix for a loaf of bread en route home.
Thursday, 10.23: 8.25 miles, 10:59 pace
Easy 7 miles at 146 bpm heart rate, then 6 x stride and a cooldown. Lovely morning but quite tired and nervous about my flight later. So much to do!
Friday, 10.24: 6.5 miles, 10:53 pace
Up in PA for my sister’s wedding and what do I find out in the morning? The hotel treadmill was busted. I was dressed and ready to go and determined to do my run, though, so I grabbed my hoodie from the previous day (the one shirt I brought), a beanie I keep in my jacket, and braved the outdoors at 4:45 in the morning. Thankfully the parking lot is sprawling here and I made a 1 mile loop pretty easily. Boring? Yes, but honestly refreshing. The coffee in the lobby was clutch for warming my hands back up later on!
Saturday, 10.25: 4 miles, 11:17 pace
Slow, chilly, sleepy parking lot miles once again.
Sunday, 10.26: 13.1 miles, 10:55 pace
Doing my long run on Sunday feels so unnatural and I thought it was Saturday all day. My legs were sleepy and tight but this overall didn’t feel bad. I took two Untapped gels during the run, and of course my Honey Stinger before.
Total running mileage: 61.9
