sidebar | life and training 6.8 – 6.14

I love you, Roly Poly.

Saturday, I was supposed to run a 5K. Instead, I wrangled myself between deflated nylon sheets out of my vehicle on the side of I4. I stumbled into the grass, hearing the sharp hiss of a leaking radiator from underneath Roly’s hood, which was in pieces from impact at 50+ mph against the guardrail. Three guys dashed towards me, asking if I was okay, me saying yes yes but not really knowing what okay meant in that moment.

My next thought? My little sheep, Miss and Little Miss Ba, in my purse on the passenger seat. I crawled back in, fished the bag and the spilled effects and my water bottle, and crawled back out. You see in the photo below that they, Polly the car sheep, and J’s friend Timbit are safe and secure at home now.

I’m not ready to rehash the entirety of Saturday morning. I’ve certainly not processed it a mere 48 hours later. The most poignant reality I face is, undoubtedly, losing my beloved Corolla. I bought her a year and a half ago and view her as a member of my family, my best friend, my consolation, my haven. And now, my hero. Did you know that Corollas boast ten airbags? All of them deployed. My baby saved my life.

Long story short, I’m dealing now with the harsh aftermath of settlements and claims. Somehow I walked away with only major bruising and whiplash, pain for which I will hopefully be reimbursed. I swam in my pool Saturday, so I’m mobile to a point. I have a rental car. We’re going on our beach vacation Thursday, which will probably entail a lot of me lying in the sand and not doing much else. That’s ok. Life, it seems, will slowly crawl back to normal.

Perhaps not in my mind, though. Not for a bit.

Friday was a normal day, as normal as could be sought. I worked, I ventured up to Lakeland to pick up my race bib and stop by Concord with Little Miss Ba for an afternoon coffee treat. Rain sprawled from the sky on the way home, but not enough to cause alarm. I was nearly sideswiped but Roly’s horn deterred the offender.

Perhaps that was an omen. I don’t know. I’ll never know.

All I can do now is move forward. I’m off work for a bit to heal, and giving my body rest, which means pool dates with Little Miss Ba, cooking and baking to my capacity, working on FMG to give myself an outlet that’s been stripped away via my inability to run. I don’t why the universe is so damn adamant against me running a sub-23 5K, but it seems to have it in for me.

Running will be there when I’m ready. Perhaps this summer won’t be the summer of the sub-23, but it will be a joyous summer of sweltering, sweating, steady running. I’ve rebuilt before and I can rebuild again. My sport being stripped away by another person’s negligence is a hard pill to swallow.

It’s not all bad, I suppose. The love I’ve received from my coworkers, the kindness of my neighbor, the closeness I feel with J and my family; all are irreplaceable, and I’m utterly grateful. No one chastises me for missing Roly Poly so much, for that being the most painful part of this process. I do have a rental now, Mazy, a very spunky Mazda 3 that’ll get me where I need to go.

And food, of course. Chicken sausage and street corn, these bitchin’ mahi burgers, pre-race spaghetti and meatballs, and the most incredible burnt ends stuffed into tortillas for lunch on Sunday. Food will certainly be part of my medicinal repertoire.

Healing will be multifaceted, long-winded, but will happen. I have outlets, I have people, I have myself. My God, it could’ve turned out otherwise.

Moral of the story? Don’t fucking speed. Don’t fucking drive distracted. Don’t fucking speed. Turn on “emergency bypass” for your in-case contacts so your phone rings even when on silent/focus/DND. Wear your goddamn seatbelt. Buy a car for function and not just for style (bonus points if its both. Roly Poly was very stylish in my eyes). Treat your vehicle well, and it will sacrifice anything for you.

Onward.

The Fuck We Cooking This Week?

…A hearty Caesar salad!

…A delightful, peachy martini.

…A summer salmon sheet pan!

Notable Food Holidays

Monday, June 15: National Lobster Day (No lobster recipes on this here site but why not a Hot and Spicy Dill Shrimp Roll?)

Tuesday, June 16: Fresh Veggies Day (I think a Spring Beet Hummus Crudite Platter is in order!)

Thursday, June 18: International Picnic Day (Shake it up with a Pesto Aioli “BLAT” or an Arugula Pesto Caprese Sandwich.)

Friday, June 19: National Martini Day (Thinking savory? Tomato Basil Martini, for sure. Sweet tooth? Strawberries and Cream Martini.)

Saturday, June 20: National Vanilla Shake Day (Nothing vanilla, literally, about my Peanut Butter Fudge Protein Shake.)

This Week’s Menu

Meatless Monday…Chopped Peach and Blue Cheese Salad with Hot Honey Vinaigrette

Taco Tuesday…Loaded Taco Pizza

Wednesday…One Pot Baked Crab Mac & Cheese

Thursday…BBQ Onion Pizza

Friday Patio Hour…Triple Berry Iced Sweet Tea

Saturday Baking…Chocolate Drizzled Honey Nut Ice Cream Bars

Sunday Brunch…Marinated Tomato Basil Avocado Toast

Five Veggie-Packed Summer Salads

1. Mango Crunch Salad with Spicy Cilantro Ranch

2. Pizza Night Italian Chopped Salad

3. Italian Chopped Olive and White Bean Salad

4. Tomato, Peach, and Cucumber Feta Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

5. Charred Corn Salad with Tomatoes and Chickpeas

My Pre-Vacation Checklist

1. Create a rough itinerary. I’m a planner, it helps ease a lot of my distress over travelling. I wrote a pretty page in my bullet journal roughly outlining the days of our getaway (I’m sure there’ll be discrepancies due to having to deal with the accident). Having some structure is helpful.

2. Grocery shop. I shop on Mondays always, but shift my priorities to staple foods and items I can bring with me on my travels since I don’t love eating out for every meal. I plan to pack yogurt pots, fruit, granola bars, cereal, peaunt butter, and single-serve proteins.

3. Spa day. Since we’re doing a beach weekend, I want to pamper myself a little bit! I booked a wax session for Thursday and plan to trim and paint my toenails so they look less awful in sandals. A good shave and perhaps a face mask are in order too! These watermelon eye pads look super cute, and this pink clay mask is one of my go-tos.

4. Laundry. I hate a dirty hamper before travelling, and hate even more a lack of underwear to pack (I overestimate how much I’ll need, to be honest). Laundry on Monday, and maybe a mini wash on Wednesday depending on how much sweaty shit I wear beforehand.

5. Pack! I pick away at my packing list throughout the week, leaving daily essentials like toiletries, running shoes, and my laptop and charger for the day of.

I also have to be sure to get my beach/pool bag ready. Sunscreen, beach towels, after-sun, electrolytes, Airpods, prescription sunglasses, and Little Miss Ba’s beach set (yes, she’s coming with me, and she’s stylish) must be in their right place.

Swimwear Faves For Summer

Week in Training

Monday. 6.8: 11 miles, 11:32 pace

Long run on a Monday since Saturday is race day, and I’ll be doing a mini taper leading into the weekend. Felt okay, it was sticky, back to normal summer conditions. I don’t think I ate enough Sunday since my appetite was just kinda weird and I was busy, so I don’t think that was helpful.

Tuesday, 6.9: 4.55 miles, 11:42 pace + 21 minute back & bis

Short and easy run, short and simple lift.

Strength:

3 x 10 biceps curl 20#
1 x 6/1 x 10/1 x 8 mid row 70/60/60#
3 x 12 hammer curl 15#
3 x 10 face pull 32#
2 x 15 ea. banded hydrants
2 x 15 ea. lunge matrix

Wednesday, 6.10: 8.5 miles, 10:04 pace + 28 minute legs

Race activation workout; my GOD were my legs like bricks. Somehow my paces for the reps, at about 20 seconds per mile slower than last week’s 3 x 2k effort, felt harder! Got it done nonetheless. 3 x 1600m at 8:06, 8:06, and 8:04, then 4 x 200m at 7:04, 6:58, 6:49, and 6:47. Thinking I need an Epsom bath tomorrow!

Strength: