sidebar | life and training 4.7 – 4.13
Happy Easter week, folks!
And, I suppose, happy Masters’ aftermath. The hullaballoo around this golf tournament quite surprised me – I didn’t realize how invested even non-observers get in the competition. I guess that’s how I feel about the Kentucky Derby, too. I don’t care for horse racing, but the pageantry and the buildup to the event are kinda fun to follow throughout the day.
Anywho, back to Easter. I too am not huge on celebrating – I’m not a religious person – but keeping on my theme of enjoying holidays that aren’t part of my usual repertoire, I plan to take advantage of the coming weekend as best I can. Saturday I’m hosting a garden party of sorts with a few friends, complete with snacks, treats, and lemonade (potluck style, as I’m wont to do with gatherings). Sunday I’ll wander to my mom’s for an afternoon of light bites and coffee. It’ll be quite pleasant, I’d imagine.
This week was fairly busy overall. I worked a bit more than usual since our staffing isn’t fabulous right now, but over the next month or so I’ll be moseying about training new folks. I do enjoy training days though it’s A LOT of talking and I’m a very thirsty person, so I’d imagine there’ll be a lot of “excuse me for a sec I need water because my babbling is making my mouth dry.”
As usual, I’m maintaining my batch cooking, high-yield recipe, and pantry-cleaning mentality when it comes to my everyday eating. A couple of my favorites from this week: sausage, peppers, and potatoes sheetpan, and a soup with bacon grilled cheese. Simple and fabulous.
I took Little Miss Ba out to Shortwave Coffee on Friday for our obligatory weekly treat. The cookie was a little too crispy (maybe legit burnt?) for my liking, but the cappuccino was great and for once the shop was pretty quiet. They actually added more seating, too, which is welcome since that place is often popping no matter what time of day I go.
Saturday we went blueberry picking! Excepting one year post-Covid (I think it was a bad growing year so the farm didn’t hold any U-picks) we’ve visited Wish Farms to stock up on a whole shit ton of berries. The yield this time around wasn’t as incredible as last time: we often don’t have much issue filling two six-pound buckets but this time we managed six and a half pounds total. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, however, sunny and dry, and I really enjoyed the outside time.
We freeze most of the berries for an infinitesimal span but set aside a good chunk for daily eating. I also brought a bag to my mom.
Speaking of, visited mom on Sunday for our usual afternoon coffee. I brought a couple strawberry sweet rolls (recipe coming soon, they are SO GOOD) to accompany our brew. Always a nice time catching up with momsie. She had the windows flung open to bring in the lovely breeze. One of those quintessentially perfect spring afternoons.
I have the itch to sign up for a 5- or 10k race, but I haven’t found one that sounds appealing yet. Summer is obviously a racing deadzone aside from the 5k distance, and for whatever reason the months of April and May kinda run dry too. Hoping something pops up so maybe I can rope my Orlando pal into joining me since I haven’t seen him for awhile.
Have a good week, friends!
The Fuck We Cooking This Week?
…Those cupcakes I mentioned last week that I’m doing this week instead! Cute little strawberry fellows.
…A cozy soup for these last few trailing chilly days.
A Few Things I’m Digging
Homemade granola…I neglected to buy granola this week so I tried out this recipe. Very tasty and easy, though I gotta figure out how to make it clump more. Are you interested in a homemade granola recipe from me? Cos I could definitely try.
Frozen plantains…I plopped the Trader Joe’s frozen plantains into this week’s burritos and oh man are they good! Sweet and soft and perfect with my classic filling of refried beans, rice, and cheese.
Easter Menu
Celebrating the holiday this coming weekend? Below are my favorite Easter-themed recipes for everybunny on your guest list. Enjoy!
Appetizer
Main Courses
Sheet Pan BBQ Caesar Salmon and Potatoes
Broccoli “Bacon” Caesar Pasta Salad
Drinks
Desserts
Extra Fluffy Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls
This Week’s Menu
Meatless Monday…One Pot Cheesy Broccoli Cheddar Rice Casserole
Tuesday…Blackened Shrimp Skewers with Tequila Avocado Salsa
Wednesday…Loaded Taco Pizza
Friday Happy Hour…Blueberry Basil Bourbon Smash
Saturday Baking…Strawberry Rosé Layer Cake
Sunday Snack…Guacamole Salad
Week in Training
Monday, 4.7: 7.5 miles, 9:41 pace + 30 minute legs
For some reason I was really looking forward to this workout, perhaps because tempo runs are really difficult for me to pace and I had a plan downloaded into my watch. I’m extremely pleased with the outcome although I definitely overheated by the final mile. 2 mile warmup, 5K tempo: 8:09, 8:07, 7:58, final .1 at 7:33, 2 mile cooldown. The wind on the cooldown was DELICIOUS. I didn’t stop sweating for a solid 30 minutes afterwards though and I think sustained efforts will once again be mellowed by the time summer officially trickles in.
Strength:
- 3 x 8 ea. single leg deadlift 70#
- 4 x 12 diamond squat 60#
- 4 x 12 alt. front lunge 60#
- 3 x 8 ea. single leg press 120#
- 3 x 10 ea. standing hydrant 25#
- Leg burnout
Tuesday, 4.8: 4.5 miles, 11:05 pace + 23 minute back and bis
A lil rainy this morning! I was dressed comfy and enjoyed my little trot in the drizzle. Switched up my strength training too a bit so the afternoon weight session didn’t feel as daunting.
Strength:
- 4 x 10 face pull 32#
- 3 x 10 reverse fly 20#
- 3 x 12 ea. crossbody curl 15#
- 3 x 12 T row 50#
- 4 x 10 reverse curl 10#
- Arm burnout
Wednesday, 4.9: 6 miles, 10:33 pace + 2.46 miles, 10:09 pace
A fun little 10 x 100 workout today, 2 minute recovery in between each. Goal was speed (obviously) and pace control, having a little left in the tank as I went to build speed during the interval. Felt great outside and had a good time with these switchups. Ranged from 5:23-6:27 paces with a top speed of 4:59.
Afternoon miles were easy underneath a glorious sun.
Thursday, 4.10: 5.5 miles, 11:05 pace + 25 minute legs
5 x 50 sprints this morning. Woke me up nicely! Ran a 4:35 max pace, which is my fastest calculated yet. A good start to a day that ended up being a TOTAL FUCKING SHIT SHOW.
Strength:
- 3 x 10 elevated goblet squat 55#
- 3 x 10 squat pulses 50#
- 4 x 10 alt. reverse lunge 70#
- 3 x 12 leg press 200#
- 3 x 18 machine calf raise 150#
- Leg burnout finisher + forearm stands
Friday, 4.11: 4 miles, 11:09 pace + 25 minute chest & tris
Easy, chill miles. Started at an 11:33 pace and ended at a 10:44 – takes me FOREVER to warm up nowadays.
Strength:
- 4 x 8 overhead press 20#
- 3 x 10 chest press 30#
- 4 x 10 triceps pushdown 37#
- 3 x 12 lateral raise 15#
- 4 x 6 narrow press 25#
- 3 x 10 chest fly 20#
Saturday, 4.12: 11 miles, 10:57 pace
BIG cookie the day before + pasta dinner = glorious miles! Felt lovely out and I was just moving and grooving through the morning. Took a Honey Stinger gel before and made sure to drink plenty of water during.
Sunday, 4.13: 6 mile walk (1:39:47)
Total running mileage: 41
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