sidebar | life and training 12.22 – 12.28

Aaaaand my marathon got cancelled.

I’d think my panic and anger would be worse, but I thankfully had a solid backup plan and was able to acct on it. But still. How I initially found out irked me more than anything.

J was in the process of signing up for the half marathon and noticed a little banner on the last page that said something like “important updates to the 2026 race.” It was there he learned that the marathon was cancelled. Originally it did not seem that there was any correspondence from the race directors about this change – turns out, almost everyone’s email was buried in their spam folder. Including mine.

Long story short, a construction project demolished a major part of the course and there was no way to redirect the runners into a safe and effective route. I really fault the city for this lack of communication – absolutely preposterous. The race is offering deferrals to the 2027 or 2028 weekends, which I think I’ll take advantage of because what do I have to lose other than the money I already hashed out?

So. Instead of the Florida Marathon, I will be running the St. Petersburg Distance Classic Marathon! I did the half last year and actually loved the race, it was so well put on and tons of fun and the weather should be similar as might be in Melbourne. The shift diverts some of our travel plans since we won’t be hopping to the east coast, but St. Pete is a nice city and I’m sure we can amuse ourselves for a couple days. And we’re still going to Universal Studios midweek, so it’ll be ok.

I handled this unexpected shift way better than expected, but it’s probably because I knew St. Pete was the same day and if all else failed I’d be able to hop into that race instead. Like I said, not much really changed except our vacation plans. I’m still taking a week off work and still training hard to achieve a goal.

All that aside…MERRY CHRISTMAS AFTERMATH, ALL! I sincerely hope you had a nice holiday or, if you don’t celebrate, a peaceful week overall.

Monday was a nice festive day. J and I shared an ice cream date at Chill Bros: I got the Candy Cane Forest because holidays. In the evening we tooled around the city looking at Christmas lights, even though I was tired and half asleep most of the ride. I still saw a couple of the main houses, including the candy cane house! They were handing out candy canes in the yard, too, which was cute.

Christmas Eve was just full of love. We headed over to my mom’s in the early evening and shared our typical appetizer feast. I provided a cheeseboard with some candied walnuts, crisps, and some charcuterie for the meat eaters (lox for me) and brought my GameCube to host a Double Dash tournament. We ended up playing a loser’s bracket since I whooped everyone solidly and the boys ended up fighting for 7th place in Grand Prix. My brother in law beat J by a hair.

The photos from the evening were just priceless. Taking them inspired me to buy a photo album to document 2026 happenings outside of the digital sphere. I haven’t kept a photo album since childhood and I think this’ll be a fun and creative project for the new year. I love our little family and I cherish these silly, ridiculous memories.

For Christmas dinner I made an absolutely FABULOUS seafood boil. Second year running that I’ve chosen this dish and it did not disappoint. I use snow crab and shrimp, corn, and baby potatoes and lots of Old Bay butter. So good.

Saturday I met up with my sister and we visited Paradeco for a midday treat. They did mess up my s’mores latte order initially (I’m surprisingly an oat milk hater and they made my drink with oat, not to mention putting it in a to-go cup instead which Little Miss Ba did NOT like) but I got a remake and it was absolutely tasty. I usually don’t send drinks or food back but being in the industry I do understand that you should be happy when you’re paying nearly $10 for a product.

Anyway, our meet up was good for the soul and I’m happy we got together, also cementing a goal of ensuring we get a phone call in once a month next year. We try but are often shit about it because life catches up so fast.

Finally, Sunday was Roly Poly’s 1st birthday! I cannot believe I’ve owned that girl for a year. I gave her a good scrubbing and waxing and J put on some new windshield wipers, and today I’m going to clean off her windows and hopefully give her a little vacuuming. I love that Corolla as much as dudes obsess over sports cars.

My mom and I are keeping the holiday spirit alive by doing a 12 Days of Hot Cocoa challenge, where we enjoy a cocoa or a chocolate-based coffee drink and share a photo with each other. It’s funny, she made my sis and I hot cocoa kits and that was also my gift to my mom! So far I’ve tried a peppermint cocoa and an Oreo cocoa bomb.

Tomorrow is my birthday, but I’ll save the musings for my cake post and next week’s sidebar. I’m turning 32, so I guess I’m solidly In My 30s now? I’m hoping birthday week is kind to me. I have the next three days off work so plenty of time to find some treats and do things I enjoy doing without the stress of going in and dealing with humanity.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! Ring in 2026 however you feel appropriate, but please do it safely. Much love. See you on the other side!

The Fuck We Cooking This Week?

…A cute celebratory martini!

…Cozy and EASY soup.

..A brunch recipe you may not see until next year because I’m a troll.

A Few Things I’m Digging

Pumpkin spice honey…My mom got me a tiny honey bear of pumpkin spice honey from Huckle Bee Farms (I got SO much honey this Christmas I am happy) and it’s fantastic in the Trader Joe’s Harvest Tea. She also got me a bourbon honey and a lemon honey and I’m excited to try both.

This Week’s Menu

Meatless Monday…Christmas Wild Rice Salad

Taco Tuesday…Weeknight Spicy BBQ Shrimp Tacos

New Year’s Eve Appetizer…Brown Butter Stuffing Snack Mix

New Year’s Day Brunch…Easy Fluffy Eggnog Chai Cinnamon Rolls

Friday Cozy Hour…Espresso Martini Hot Chocolate

Saturday Baking…Hot Chocolate Stuffed Cookies

Gameday Snack…Creamy Avocado Hummus

Shops & Wish List

Home

Amazon…We have VERY limited pantry space (in fact, it’s just our laundry room) and I’d like to make it more efficient. Looking at getting a bunch of these food storage containers and also think this cute coffee bar set would look nice on my counter.

Target…I’m doing a little craft for my birthday which involves these $1 tablecovers so I plan to snag a few. The Valentine’s decor is out and some stuff is really tempting. This felt crayon family is precious as is this cupcake pillow…Love this bow garland but kind of think I could make something like it myself?…I ADORE these macaron tea lights! Must get…

Week in Training

Monday, 12.22: 9 miles, 11:15 pace + 13 minute lift

Easy miles at 149 bpm that felt pretty normal considering yesterday’s race effort. I’ll be taking it slow the next few days and reevaluating later in the week to see if I’m ready for a short speed session or not. I’m encouraged by this trot, though, as it seems my recovery is starting out well.

Strength:

• 3 x 10 ea. balanced row 25#
• 3 x 10 skullcrusher 15#
• 3 x 10 side raise 15#
• :35 ea. Copenhagen plank

Tuesday, 12.23: 5.15 miles, 11:25 pace

Very easy run, 145 bpm. I got really spooked on one of my normal areas after one guy was seemingly yelling at me accusing me of chasing someone, then went on to say he’d “fuck me up” “kill me” and “slit my throat.” I’m actually not fully sure he was talking to me since there was at least one other person with him, but still an alarming narrative to hear. Thankfully they weren’t around on my return trip.

Wednesday, 12.24: MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE! 9 miles, 11:26 pace + 4.3 miles, 10:53 pace

Nice, slow, uneventful zone 2 morning run at 143 bpm, and a warm afternoon trot at 152 bpm to get 13.3 for the day before FESTIVITIES.

Thursday, 12.25: MERRY CHRISTMAS! 10 miles, 9:41 pace + 12 minute lift

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I decked myself out in a Santa suit (basically, all read with reindeer socks and a Santa hat) to run my first speed workout since the half marathon Sunday. I felt SO strong, though it was shorter than my sessions have been lately. 2 x 1600 at 10K (7:59, 7:55), 2 x 800 at critical velocity (7:37, 7:35), 4 x 400 at 5K (7:22, 7:19, 7:21, 7:14), all on :75 recovery. My heart rate was insanely low and I don’t know, shit just clicked. Maybe it was all the snacks the night prior.

Strength:

• 3 x 10 ea. hip flexor raise 5#
• 3 x 10 front squat 50#
• 3 x 10 ea. single leg squat 20#

Friday, 12.26: 4.5 miles, 11:09 pace

Chill Friday easy miles, 145 bpm, just trying to stay present and enjoy the Christmas lights around me a bit longer.

Saturday, 12.27: 16.05 miles, 11:01 pace

Not the best long run, not the worst. It was humid as all hell and I just kind of glogged through it, but my heart rate was fine so I definitely wasn’t exerting. I took my HoneyStinger, then 3.5 gels during the run, which worked well for me. Not a bad way to end my down week!

Sunday, 12.28: 25 minute elliptical

Total running mileage: 57.8