sidebar | life and training 6.2 – 6.8

Failing workouts really sucks.

Happy Monday, all! It’s race week for me. I’m running the Watermelon 5K on Sunday in Lakeland, and after my speed session today I do not feel ready at all to tackle my goal pace. I was supposed to hit 3K at 5K effort (7:20-7:30), and not only was I above my range (7:33) I stopped the workout about .4 miles early because I lost all mental capacity to fight.

Mile 2 is always a mental hitch. Really, no matter the race distance I always lose inspiration during the middle miles – I’ve done so much yet have so much to go, is the line of thought – and I always feel like my legs are turning to mush during the 5K at that point. No different today, and the lack of race stimulation certainly did not help.

Nor did the Sahara dust, which I think is re-upping my asthma, and the 81 degree morning. Absolute brutality out there. On race day I’m not going to find the conditions any better, so I might as well admit that I’ll have to adjust and, in that, adjust my mindset to expect that hitting my goal pace may not happen in these conditions.

But, we’ll see. Maybe I’ll surprise myself.

My workout plan this week is to reduce mileage a bit and keep some intensity but not as much: low volume, no long run. Today’s session totaled 7 miles which will do for an extended effort. Not that most of ya’ll give two shits, but the rest of my schedule will probably play out like so:

Tuesday: AM 4 miles easy + PM elliptical + upper body strength

Wednesday: AM 5-6 miles with 4 x 600 @ pace/slightly faster (75-90 sec recovery) + PM elliptical + core

Thursday: 25-30 minute elliptical EASY

Friday: 3-4 miles with 4 x 200 @ pace/slightly faster

Saturday: RACE (5 miles total with warmup and cooldown)

I went to my first Rays game of the year on Saturday. And, the first game at their temporary home of Steinbrenner Field, where for the first time ever, fans of the franchise are exposed to just how miserable a fully outdoor stadium would be if the team sanctioned a project sans a retractable roof or dome. It was a 4:10 pm game and, since we sat in the shade, was ultimately livable, but definitely not pleasant. Forget the 12 and 1 pm games. You couldn’t pay me to patron those.

The team honored Evan Longoria a bit before the game – he signed a one day contract to retire as a Ray – and the man himself threw out the first pitch. It was a nice tribute. The game itself was fucking ridiculous, a slugfest so insane that the fireworks crew ran out of pyro and couldn’t shoot anything off to celebrate what ultimately was the Rays final homer of the game. They lost 11-10 in 10 innings thanks to that dweeb of a phantom runner they require during extras.

Little Miss Ba had a blast during the game! She spent some time in J’s pants pocket but came out to celebrate the homers and to dance during particularly fun songs. J has a friend who works for the Rays and who supplied us with a fair amount of grub. Ba particularly liked the pretzel (even though, to be real, it was a pretty shit pretzel).

We shared some fries and I got an Beyond sausage with peppers and onions. Quite tasty, really. Nice to know the field has some meatless options for me to enjoy while also not sacrificing the ballpark experience.

As always, I enjoyed some lovely meals at home. Typical sheetpan sausage dealio, fries and Caesar salad (big ole Friday afternoon craving!), and scallop tacos with grilled corn and a chipotle kale salad. Ba and I also shared a cookie. This week I will certainly be cooking up some spaghetti and meatballs pre-race. It’s an imperative tradition of mine.

Sunday, I visited mom and she laid out a lovely platter of treats along with some fresh brewed coffee.

I’m really nervous about Saturday’s ordeal, though it’ll be good to see my friend and ultimately know that he won’t have a great time either, ha. I think, too, my strategy of not watching my splits on my Garmin helps too, since I merely dial into effort and don’t stress about being off pace. Whatever I do is whatever I’ll do!

Hope ya’ll had a good week. Until next time!

The Fuck We Cooking This Week?

…A fun, irresistible summer snack mix.

…Rich, salty-sweet brownies.

…Either a peach or a strawberry rum cocktail. We’ll see what’s available.

A Few Things I’m Digging

Fries & Caesar salad…I don’t know who popularized this combination recently – it seems to be popping up everywhere on lifestyle memes and random plots of IG that I occupy – but I’m not mad about it. Love swapping out croutons for crispy spiced chickpeas and, always, I use my homemade Caesar dressing.

Hot chocolate…Of course when the weather deteriorates I start to crave cozy beverages. I often buy this premade mix because I’m a lazy ass (and it’s good) and lately I’ve been dunking a cookie in it for a night snack. Healthy? No. Delicious? Of course.

This Week’s Menu

Meatless Monday…Herb Roasted Cherry Tomato Pesto Pizza

Tuesday...Buffalo Ranch Chickpea Meatball Bowls

Wednesday…One Skillet White Wine Spinach Artichoke Salmon

Thursday…Old Bay Avocado Shrimp Rolls

Friday Happy Hour…Frozen Coffee Hot Chocolate

Saturday Baking...Strawberry Vanilla Surprise Cupcakes

Sunday BBQ…Chipotle Street Corn Dip Pasta Salad

Shops & Wish List

Fashion

Target…I’d really like to find a dress before my anniversary next week. We’ll see, though, budget-wise. Some I’m eyeing: this floral bubble dress, flutter sleeve jumper, and bow-detail mini A-line dress.

Skincare & Wellness

Bubble…I’ve liked their Slam Dunk hydrating moisturizer and want to try a few other things. Namely, the tinted mineral moisturizer, First Class oil cleanser, and Day Dream vitamin C serum.

Week in Training

Monday, 6.2: 8.5 miles, 9:41 pace + 33 minute legs

This workout absolutely shocked me! I expected my legs to totally flash out and die at the end but I felt super strong and smooth throughout (minus the final 600m when the wind annoyed me and I was ready to just be done with it all). 5 x split 1k as 600m @ 5k effort, 1 minute recovery, 400m faster than, 2 minute recovery. Goal was 7:20-7:30 for the 600s and 7:10-7:15 for the 400s. I overshot my goal on the 400s in all reps except one and nailed my goal for the 600s, and I honestly didn’t feel wrecked when it was over. Ran 7:25, 7:22, 7:23, 7:23, and 7:22 for the 600s and 7:06, 7:08, 7:09, 7:13, and 7:04 for the 400s. The 7:13 may also have been impacted by GPS and stronger wind. This whole workout averaged 7:17 pace for the 5k of work (22:36). Wouldn’t that be something if I raced that!

Strength:

• 3 x 12 deadlift 100#
• 3 x 10 ea. split squat 60#
• 4 x 12 with 2 sets diamond squat/2 sets front squat 50#
• 3 x 15 ea. single leg bridge 25#
• 3 x 20 walking lunge 40#
• 3 x 15 ea. single leg hops
• 3 x 8 ea. split squat hops

Tuesday, 6.3: 4 miles, 11:23 pace + 37 minute upper body

Easy recovery miles. I was really feeling Monday’s intervals and took it extra extra slow.

Strength:

• 3 x 8 machine bench press 70#
• 2 x 10/2 x 16 T raise 15/10#
• 16/10/8 narrow lat pulldown 40/50/60#
• 3 x 20 alt. curl 15#
• 3 x 8 skullcrusher 20#
• 2 x 10 diagonal deadlift thing (?)
• 3 x 5 eccentric pullups
• 3 x 10 ea. airplane
• 3 x 20 Russian twist 30#

Wednesday, 6.4: 7 miles, 9:41 pace + 33 minute legs

So pleased with this workout! 4 x 1200m at threshold, a hard pace for me to lock down, but I gauged my effort really well and completed this workout feeling like I could knock out another couple reps if I wanted. Definitely got challenging enough by the end so I know I reached the right pace. 7:58, 7:56, 7:56, and 7:51 for the reps, with 75 second recovery in between each.

Strength:

• 3 x 10 split jumps 30#
• 3 x 6 ea. single leg deadlift 60#
• 3 x 10 ea. eccentric step down 10#
• 2 x 15 ea. single leg press 80#
• 3 x 10 step out squat jump 30#
• 3 x 12 ea. single leg squat 20#
• 2 x 18 ea. underhand dumbbell pass 10#
• 3 x 6 ea. sit squat jump

Thursday, 6.5: 5.25 miles, 11:08 pace + 32 minute core

8 x 50m sprints, didn’t feel super loose but hit a 4:31 max which is okay.

Strength:

• 3 x 15 pushup
• 3 x 10 ea. calf press 100#
• 3 x 12 ea. single arm swing 20#
• 3 x 10 ea. extended abductor
• 3 x 30 cross mountain climber
• 3 x 10 sit up 20#
• 3 x 20 deadbug 20#
• 3 x 20 plank shoulder taps SS dumbbell lift-overs
• :30 ea. Copenhagen plank
• Stretching

Friday, 6.6: 3.19 miles, 10:58 pace

Easy, chill treadmill recovery miles, as usual!

Saturday, 6.7: 11.25 miles, 11:05 pace

My neurosis kicked in when I saw that I would hit 38.9 miles this week should I run a flat 11, so I added that extra quarter to exceed it. Not my best run, it was very hot and uncomfortable out, but got it done.

Sunday, 6.8: 2.25 mile walk (32:43)

Total running mileage: 39.2