sidebar | life and training 12.8 – 12.14

The dog days are over? More like the dog days of marathon training have just begun.

Dudes, it’s been a long week already and it’s only 7:23 am on Monday. This morning I suited up in some warm attire and plodded out for a BRUTALLY windy 17 miler with intervals at goal marathon pace. This coming after a 20 miler Saturday.

I usually do a workout on Monday but not to this extent; the only reason I squished the two so close together was due to my upcoming half marathon on Sunday, which is preventing me from having a real long run (which qualifies as 16+ miles at this point, anything below is a “medium long run”) and forces me to do my hardest workout earlier in the week. I’m not properly tapering for Sunday’s race but do plan some shorter and easier runs leading up to let my legs recover from the duofecta of shit I put it through these past couple days.

This week passed in a blur, as they all have recently, between 30+ hours of work, 15+ hours of running, and whatever remains dedicated to keeping up with FMG and other important life aspects like eating and sleeping and being merry.

Speaking of, Monday I managed a quick outing to Willa’s for their candy cane latte and some chill time with Little Miss Ba. They decorated the space so beautifully for Christmas and I’m happy I got to experience a seasonal sip!

Thursday was a lovely day. After work and a quick recipe test (posting Friday!) I meandered out to run some errands and dropped by the Ben and Jerry’s scoop shop for a cone. I got the salted caramel blondie. So good, but extraordinarily overpriced, holy shit. I knew that going in but WOW it never amazes to cease me that a waffle cone with one scoop is $12.

Later in the evening J and I walked over to a holiday promenade, basically a night market with lots of vendors and food specials. I didn’t end up buying anything but it was really festive strolling under the twinkling lights with a very well curated setup of local artisans and food trucks. I didn’t really take any photos but you can take a peek at the scenery on one of my recent Instagram reels!

Saturday night we grabbed dinner at Chipotle (dawgs, shit hit the spot) before driving through the Festival of Lights at the Hillsborough Fairgrounds. The organizers did a lovely job putting together the display, albeit I’m not sure it’s really worth $30 and you could probably find a neighborhood somewhere with a brilliant setup. Nonetheless, with Christmas music playing on the radio and the glittery surrounds, I did feel a little more holiday spirit trickle into my heart. Even though I was half asleep.

Santa’s Village after the drive was pretty underwhelming. The shops felt like a flea market (complete with rebel flags, of course) and most of the rides were geared towards kids. They did have a petting zoo of goats that seemed really enthusiastic about human company, and a big pen of camels that you could pay to ride. We did have a little fun with a gingerbread man photo op, though!

One week until Christmas. Ridiculous. As a whole I’ve been making simple meals at home, outside of the recipes I’m developing, including a big batch of burritos which will probably be repeated a few times to tide us through the holiday madness. I also found myself with lots of tortillas after last week’s tortilla soup, so some fish or “chicken” tacos will likely wiggle their way into my menu too.

I’m a little braindead after my run today, so I’ll leave you here. Take care, peeps, and I hope your holiday preparations are going smoothly! Look for a quick Christmas menu post in the next few days as well.

The Fuck We Cooking This Week?

…An easy, flavorful sheetpan salmon dinner.

…A rich and boozy hot chocolate.

…A batch of toasty, cozy cupcakes.

A Few Things I’m Digging

Chocolate…Loving the Hershey’s Special Dark bars lately (I always buy the XL because that shit don’t last past a day otherwise). When I was in college or thereabouts I’d often buy these at least once a week for my evening sweet treat, and I’m starting up that habit again with my cozy nighttime tea.

CBD…I started using Pure Spectrum CBD salve again to help with my post-interval soreness, and it definitely makes a difference for me. It’s soothing topically and I really think it does speed up recovery, especially when my hamstring was extra tight this past Monday.

This Week’s Menu

Meatless Monday...Three Bean Chipotle Tortilla Soup

Tuesday…Chili Lime Black Bean Tostadas with Avocado Crema

Wednesday…Red Wine Braised Salmon

Thursday…Homemade Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Friday Happy Hour…Santa’s Spiced Pomegranate Spritz

Saturday Baking…Holiday Red Velvet Cookies

Holiday Party Snack…Honey Whipped Feta Cranberry Crostini

Week in Training

Monday, 12.8: 13 miles, 9:19 pace + 15 minute lift

High humidity and probably being not quite recovered from Saturday’s 18 miler made this a hard-ass pace run. The protocol was 4 x 3200 (2 miles) at half marathon effort, shooting for 8:15-8:22. I did manage the splits but struggled most of the time with a side cramp and a higher perceived effort than I would’ve liked. Did 8:16, 8:16, 8:21, and 8:20 for the intervals, which is good, I just wish I felt better. Onward and upward I suppose!

Strength:

• 3 x 10 ea. sit squat 10#
• 2 x :30 ea. Copenhagen
• 3 x 10 ea. single leg press 100#
• 3 x 12 pushup

Tuesday, 12.9: 6.4 miles, 11:04 pace + core work

Really lovely miles, much cooler than yesterday but VERY windy. Took a different route to avoid the brunt of the breeze and clocked a 148 heart rate average.

Wednesday, 12.10: 10.2 miles, 9:26 pace + 5 miles, 10:32 pace

Two wonderful runs today, perfect weather and happy vibes overall. Morning: 5 x 1600 at 10K pace, averaged 7:53 over the workout with splits of 7:57, 7:54, 7:50, 7:55, and 7:49. Heart rate largely stayed below 170 which is a huge deal for me!

Afternoon miles were after work and just felt fantastic. 150 bpm heart rate, a beautiful breeze, sunshine abundant, and about 65 degrees. Perfect perfect.

Thursday, 12.11: 8.75 miles, 11:27 pace + 13 minute lift

Lovely miles, maybe a little overdressed but so peaceful and quiet. Heart rate was higher than I would’ve liked but I’m sure yesterday’s late afternoon run had something to do with things.

Strength:

• 3 x 10 ea. single leg deadlift 50#
• 3 x 10 narrow press 20#
• 3 x 10 shoulder press 15#

Friday, 12.12: 5.15 miles, 11:09 pace + core work

A good, chill – and chilly! – morning run at 146 bpm.

Saturday, 12.13: 20 miles, 10:39 pace

WOW what a perfect, incredible, seamless 20 miler, my first since 2021 and by far the best I’ve ever done. Heart rate of 156, felt controlled, rhythmic, and steady the whole time. Took gels at miles 4, 7, 11, 14, and 18 (half a gel there) cycling between Maurten Gel100 and Untapped. I really could not have asked for a better session and am so surprised and delighted with how my fitness seems to be shaping up.

Sunday, 12.14: 25 minute elliptical

Total running mileage: 68.5