sidebar | life and training 6.23 – 6.29
Well, I don’t think anyone can claim we’re in a drought now.
Seriously, it has been pouring the dickens these past couple weeks. I guess one can claim this is the normal Florida summer pattern, but after a couple years of drier Junes, I forgot how quickly and thoroughly evening storms can rush in and dump their load on the land.
In one of our adjacent cities, there was even a suspected F1 tornado. That is nearly unheard of here. We sometimes witness waterspouts that barely graze the surface of the Gulf or the Bay, but I’m not sure that land-based, roof-tearing, F-graded twisters happen much outside of hurricane systems. I watched a couple videos of a mobile home park being practically demolished…except a golf cart, which just kinda chilled like nothing was happening.
I enjoy rainy weather, but I get quite disoriented in the hazy in-between. Miss Ba agrees. Saturday was like that. The filtered sun and unpleasant conditions caused a brain fog that just wouldn’t relent: I felt as though I stumbled through the day dazed and confused. My “freeze” reflex kicks in especially hard during these types of atmospheric indecisiveness. I can never figure out what to do. Stay inside, or go outside? Neither sounds appealing, so I generally just get stuck in a quasi-paralysis and end up doing little but staring at the wall.
Not every day can be a win, I suppose.
However, J and I did venture out in the evening to Crooked Thumb for their pizza food truck and a couple brews. The pizza was phenomenal. I got the veggie pie and he a sausage type dealio, and I sipped a summer ale on the side that was lovely and crisp. The sun peeked out at some point but wasn’t full-blast, and the breeze had picked up a bit so it wasn’t awful out.
We finished our evening with cones at Strachan’s. The flavors were so fun and I decided on a “Mud Pie” scoop, which was coffee ice cream rippled with fudge and speckled with Oreos.
Saturday was also Roly Poly’s 6 Month Gotcha-versary! I almost bought her a party hat this week, but I figure I’ll save that for the Gotcha Day in December.
I don’t really have anything planned for July 4th, aside from hanging with my best friend on Saturday – which is largely unrelated to the holiday. How about you? I’ve never loved fireworks (or big crowds) so I typically don’t go out of my way to find a spot to view the show, even though “the spot” is about two minutes down the road from my house.
However, if you are hosting, I have a menu below if you need some inspiration! It’ simple and funky, and you’re sure to enjoy the offerings I’ve curated.
Finally, a couple goodies I cooked up this week: fish tacos with dill slaw, sheetpan sausage, and another batch of my Old Bay snack mix. You’ll find the recipe for that below!
Be safe, be well, and enjoy the holiday weekend, ya’ll!
The Fuck We Cooking This Week?
..A fresh and crunchy, sweet and savory summer salad.
…A peachy and refreshing drink.
…A chocolatey zucchini bread.
A Few Things I’m Digging
Hazelnut spread…Addicted to this dark chocolate spread from Target. I love how it’s richer in cocoa flavor and a tad less sweet than traditional Nutella. I’ve been putting it on everything lately, or just eating it at a whim.
Cereal…Granola got switched for cereals lately. My usual suspects are Honey Nut Cheerios (well, Trader Joes’ version) and Raisin Bran. I’ve been making protein cereal lately: protein powder mixed with a touch of water poured over cereal with fruit and nut butter. Tasty shit.
July 4th Menu
Hosting a little kickback for the holiday? Here’s an easy curated menu to enjoy as you chill by the pool or on the patio and await the grand evening fireworks shows.
Starters
Smashed Hot Honey Cucumber Watermelon Salad
Mains
Pulled BBQ Jackfruit Sliders with Dill Pickle Slaw
Dessert
Strawberry Vanilla Surprise Cupcakes
No Churn Bourbon Salted Caramel Ice Cream
Drinks
This Week’s Menu
Meatless Monday…Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Salad
Tuesday…Blackened Peach Bruschetta Salmon
Wednesday…25 Minute Ginger Peanut Tempeh
Thursday…Old Bay Summer Snack Mix
Friday Happy Hour…Raspberry Limeade Sangria
Saturday Baking…Loaded Cookie Monster Cookies
July 4th Weekend BBQ…Pulled BBQ Jackfruit Sliders with Dill Pickle Slaw
Week in Training
Monday, 6.23: 8.5 miles, 9:40 pace + 35 minute legs
On the agenda: 6 x (600m @5k goal, 1 minute recovery, 400m @ faster than, 2 minute recovery). I was doing okay for awhile until I turned and hit the headwind. I hate using that as an excuse but it certainly didn’t help, as my legs went totally lactic by the final two reps. 600m splits were 7:27, 7:21, 7:26, 7:20, 7:35, 7:35; 400m splits were 7:11, 7:06, 7:06, 7:12, 7:32. I cut out the final 400 because I knew it’d be a total bomb. I really don’t know what went wrong during this workout, but I guess it’s just onward from here.
Strength:
- 4 x 8 squat 80#
- 4 x 6 deadlift 100#
- 3 x 10 alt. curtsy lunge 60#
- 3 x 10 ea. eccentric step down 10#
- 3 x 20 ea. single leg bridge 25#
- 3 x 20 walking lunge 40#
- 3 x 18 ea. single leg jump
Tuesday 6.24: 4.25 miles, 11:27 pace + 31 minute upper body
Easy chill miles. Didn’t feel so bad out this morning!
Strength:
- 3 x 10 chest press 70#
- 4 x 8 T raise 15#
- 3 x 10 narrow lat pulldown 60#
- 3 x 10 incline press 40#
- 3 x 10 triceps extension 30#
- 3 x 10 waiter curl 35#
- 4 x 10 ea. diagonal leg extension
- 3 x 10 ea. sit squat
Wednesday, 6.25: 7.55 miles, 9:29 pace + 40 minutes legs
Tough but rewarding session today! 3 x 2k at threshold with 75 seconds rest. I did not sleep well Tuesday night and felt pretty clunky during these intervals but I performed well and am really pleased. Ran 9:57 (8:01 avg), 9:54 (7:58 avg) and 9:53.7 (7:58 avg). Goal range is 7:55-8:05 so in this heat I really can’t complain.
Strength:
- 3 x 8 ea. single leg deadlift 60#
- 2 x 8/2 x 8 ea. shoulder press 25/20#
- 3 x 10 ea. single leg press 90#
- 3 x 10 ea. side lunge with palloff press 10#
- 3 x 15 ea. weighted single leg squat 20#
- 3 x 20 ea. under leg dumbbell pass 10#
- 4 x 10 ea. supported single leg squat
Thursday, 6.26: 6 miles, 10:47 pace + 3.19 miles, 10:58 pace
6 x hill for my random speed sesh today. Each interval was about 15 seconds or so, just practicing good uphill form. Hit a 5:19 top speed which isn’t too bad for a climbing segment!
Switched up my afternoon since I have a long shift tomorrow, so ran my usual Friday treadmill run after work today.
Friday, 6.27: 3.1 mile walk (48:57)
Warm, sunny afternoon walk while chatting with my sis on the phone.
Saturday, 6.28: 11.25 miles, 11:04 pace
So still out, no air movement except in a random patch on my path. I felt okay mostly but my legs were a bit sluggish – might be my shoes wearing out finally. It was a peaceful morning though and there were a lot of friendly faces out, so I can’t complain too much!
Sunday, 6.29: 2.5 mile walk (37:48)
Total running mileage: 40.7
