sidebar | life and training 12.29 – 1.4

Happy birthday, me!

I’ve decided, among other themes, that 2026 will be a year of withholding expectations. I’m finding that the high standards I hold for people has gotten me into more trouble than it has provided me benefit, so I think I need to get better at meeting folks where they’re at.

For one, at work I’m growing rather frustrated by my younger coworkers. And yes, I’m aware this makes me sound like an old fucken boomer sitting on the porch watching those ungrateful Gen-Z whippersnappers whiz by on their bikes like errant squirrels. As I get older, though, I notice a tendency (or at least how I perceive it) towards victim mentality, a lack of ability to stand up for oneself, a lack of self-awareness, sense of responsibility, lack of backbone…just a lot of lack.

I’m sure those traits cross generations, and maybe my observation is biased due to my continued attendance of therapy and my own attempts at mitigating those things and knowing people who don’t feel empowered or confident or motivated enough to seek outlets for self-improvement. But I get frustrated. I have issues when communication lacks.

The other scenario involved my birthday. I struggled for a bit prior since I didn’t feel like I could involve my friends in my big day. I have a big interest in happy gatherings, dinner parties or game nights or picnics, or just fun outings with food and drink and good vibes, but I often feel people are disinterested or would rather be elsewhere than in the company of me or others. It brought up a lot of emotions and I had a lot of conversations trying to flesh out what I could do and what I should do.

Ultimately, despite the disappointment in that realm, I had a wonderful 32nd birthday on Tuesday. I started out with a quiet morning, a run (that kinda felt like ass), an everything shower, and a red velvet latte. I crafted these cute little bow adornments and J hung them up overnight in a few little spots. It brought me great joy to see them hanging out on the walls in the morning.

After breakfast I visited my mom briefly to open a few gifts and hang out, and was greeted by this precious little arrangement. Sheep everywhere! I didn’t spend too long there but did snack on one of these cute sheep Krispie treats and enjoyed some nice little talks.

J took me to a surprise lunch at the Hollander, and he nailed the location perfectly. It was COLD out, around 50 but with a biting wind by the water and fairly overcast skies. The vibes in here were just splendid, dark and cozy with warm Christmas decorations still adorning the lobby. We shared a hummus platter and I ordered the mussels, which were comforting and delicious. He got a brisket grilled cheese that was out of this world.

Unless we change our minds, I’m pretty sure we’ll be staying at this hotel for marathon weekend in 5 weeks!

We tooled over to St. Pete Pier next for their Putt the Pier event, a holiday-themed minigolf course! I’d forgotten this was still set up and, despite the chill, enjoyed a wonderful hour putting around cute little festive obstacles. I haven’t minigolfed since I was, gosh, 17 or 18, and this was a delightful childlike choice.

We tried to get hot cocoas from a coffee shop but somehow they were out of mocha? Wtf. So we headed home and enjoyed slices of Hot Chocolate Layer Cake (Y’ALL) and got Publix subs for dinner. I wound up conking out, with the Netflix fireplace roaring on the tv, around 7:30. I think I went into a sugar coma, to be honest.

Yes, letting go of expectations from others really paid off on my birthday, and like I said, it was a comfy day that carried me positively into the new year.

What else happened this week? On Monday I visited Willa’s Provisions for a peppermint mocha, that was outstanding, and to enjoy their holiday decor one last time before it came off the following week.

New Year’s Eve I fell asleep at 7:30, woke up by chance around midnight to the fireworks show, and then worked in the morning. I did take Little Miss Ba out to Shortwave for her first treat of 2026, a magnificent hot chocolate, which we both really enjoyed.

I also cooked up some tater tot casserole for dinner. Zero regrets as far as a first dinner of the year!

Saturday we drove out to St. Pete Running Company to retrieve my award from the half marathon earlier in December, with a pit stop to their new sister concept, St. Pete Running and Coffee. There REALLY needs to be more of these coffee-running stores! The flat white was delicious and the staff was really friendly (though I always take this with a grain of salt because they are trying to network and ensure return customers). But, I had good vibes, and they do a lot for the running community in the Bay Area so I’m definitely happy to support their cause.

We got pizzas from Motorworks Brewing on Saturday evening and watched Friday. It was raining pretty heavily out, and with the lights dimmed and comfort food on our plates it just felt like the perfect wrapup to the day.

72 miles last week, a slight downturn this week with a shorter long run, and then peak week is next week? Where is time going? I started out with a very strong effort this morning (Monday) and feel really empowered and happy with what progress I’m exhibiting despite some rough trots last week. Our weather has been hit and miss, cool but VERY humid and often foggy.

I also took a very nice Epsom salt bath Sunday since my legs felt shot after my Saturday 20 miler. So good. I need to do this more often.

I think I covered everything. If not, I’ll come back and edit. Hope you had a peaceful start to 2026 and the days only get better from here forward.

The Fuck We Cooking This Week?

…Some kind of salmon dish I haven’t decided on yet.

…A fun, easy, cheesy gameday appetizer!

…Cute and simple cookies.

…A cozy, fun hot cocoa to keep in mind for Valentine’s Day!

A Few Things I’m Digging

Tea…I bought Trader Joes’ Well Rested tea in lieu of my beloved Candy Cane green tea since they seem to be out for the season, and I really like this one. I think it does give me the sleepies since I seem to knock out pretty good after a cup, plus it has a pleasant, slightly minty flavor.

Stickers…I am OBSESSED with stickers in my bullet journal and regular journal. They’re so fun! I bought this food set and just the other day this floral set that should come this week. J also got me a bunch of cute random ones that I’m using here and there but I’m not sure what brand they are.

2026 Goals

I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions per se – I find that too extreme and a bit prosaic – but I do often have little goals I’d like to obtain by the close of December. Here’s a little shortlist of what I’d like to accomplish! What’s on your list this year?

1. Run a 10k PR…My PR for the distance is 48:36, or something like that, and I think I can achieve that again since my November 10K was a 49:17 and I definitely didn’t go balls to the wall.

2. Run a sub-4 hour marathon…This will either happen in February or won’t happen this year, since I’m not running a second marathon in 2026. I feel pretty confident so far with my training but we shall see!

3. Do a craft each season…Last year I made wreaths for each season (except summer! I need a summer one this year) and I’d like to keep up the creativity for 2026. I have some Valentine’s projects in mind, something like a bow garland for my banister or bookshelf, but nothing yet beyond that.

4. Fill a photo album…I bought an album the other week and am intending to get FreePrints photos done every so often in order to keep a physical memory book of my comings and goings this year. I haven’t kept an album in fuck knows how long and I think this’ll be a nice way to look back on memories rather than sifting through social media constantly.

5. Save $____…Not putting a number since it’s personal; but, I’m trying to boost my savings over where I was before I bought Roly Poly in 2024. I’m pretty close but would like to jump well beyond that, and would also love to exceed my minimum goal if I can!

6. Visit St. Augustine…I’ve lived in Florida my whole life yet haven’t made it yet to this historic town. We’re planning to add this to our travel itinerary this year and I look forward to it a lot.

This Week’s Menu

Meatless Monday…Roasted Tomato Bisque

Taco Tuesday…Crispy Chipotle BBQ Pinto Bean Tacos

Wednesday…Pizza Night Italian Chopped Salad

Thursday…Sage Butter Cider Glazed Salmon

Friday Happy Hour…Cranberry Mint Julep

Saturday Baking…Hot Chocolate Layer Cake

Gameday Snack…Cheesy Pizza Stuffed Poblanos

Shops & Wish List

Fashion

CRZ Yoga…Thinking I might want an all-pink array for my marathon, since it’s so close to Valentine’s Day. Eyeing their Hibiscus Purple collection, specifically the Nakedfeel Pocket Shorts (own two pairs and love them!) and the y-back longline bra.

Week in Training

Monday, 12.29: 14 miles, 9:19 pace + 12 minute upper body

The fog this morning was absolutely wild. Visibility-wise I didn’t have much trouble (even though it was probably 600-800m before the haze completely corrupted any sight) but my glasses kept condensing and wiping them off on the move was nigh on impossible. Aside from feeling stressed during the workout I am SO pleased with what I achieved! Ran 1/2/3/2/1 miles at 10k/half marathon/marathon/half marathon/10k, all with 75 second recovery. Splits were as follows: 7:57, 8:16, 8:41, 8:15, 7:55. I took an Untapped and a Maurten gel during the workout.

Strength:

• 3 x 10 shoulder press 15#
• 3 x 10 triceps pressdown 28#
• 3 x 10 narrow lat pulldown 50#
• :35 ea. Copenhagen plank

Tuesday, 12.30: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ME! 7.5 miles, 11:09 pace + core work

Yay birthday! This run was a little mediocre and my watch was a bit goofy at points, starting with a very premature mile split at mile 2 and ending with what seemed to be some cadence lock. Oh well. Very chilly and windy so not my perfect weather, but most of the session I was in the 140s for my heart rate so I’d imagine my average should’ve been in there rather than 156.

Wednesday, 12.31: 11.25 miles, 9:18 pace + 5.05 miles, 10:22 pace

Actually more like 11.15 miles at 9:23 pace – my GPS flubbed again at the same point it did yesterday. Weird it’s acting up like that suddenly. Regardless, it was fucking COLD out (40 degrees, wind chill of around 34/35) but I was dressed well and aside from my typical lung anger at the chill this went quite well. Ran 10 x 1k at 10k effort, though I fucked up programming the segments and four of them I accidentally plugged in 4K INTERVALS, so I had to manual lap once I reached .62 miles. One rep got messed up by the Gps but I pretty much nailed the others! 7:58, 7:57, 7:55, 7:44, 7:53, 7:55, 8:01 (nope), 7:48, 7:48, 7:48, all on :75 recovery. Took an Untapped after rep 5.

Second run was still COLD, a real feel still in the upper 40s that went to 51 by the end. Definitely gave my lungs some trouble but was overall a beautiful day.

Thursday, 1.1: HAPPY NEW YEAR! 9 miles, 11:11 pace + 12 minute lower body

This run felt like doodoo. Bad heart rate, I think the cold had a lot to do with it since it was 42 degrees and just cut-through-the-bone chilly.

Strength:

• 3 x 10 leg press 170#
• 3 x 12 ea. single leg calf press 100#
• 3 x 20 walking lunge

Friday, 1.2: 5.15 miles, 11:01 pace

Pretty sure it was actually 5.5 miles since my GPS flubbed AGAIN, but still. This run felt WORLDS better than yesterday, and my heart rate was a nice comfy 146 bpm. It was substantially warmer today with more humidity and I think my lungs preferred this.

Saturday, 1.3: 20.25 miles, 10:58 pace

Pretty mediocre long run but I did it! The headwind hit at the start of the run so at least I had some tailwind on the return trip, but it was crazy humid (95%) and I didn’t sync up quite as well as my last 20 miler despite 500+ grams of carbs the day before and my typical fueling. I took in gels at miles 4, 7, 11, 14, and 18 as I did last time. I did run into my coworker/friend while she was out walking her dogs during mile 17 so that gave me a little boost!

Sunday, 1.4: 25 minute elliptical

Total running mileage: 72.1 (WOW!)