sidebar | life and training 7.14 – 7.20

It’s the time for the seaAAsooon for heat waves.

Heat advisories since Friday (today is Monday, if you weren’t sure). For us, that means dew points over 75 and heat indices of 110+. Needless to say I have zero plans to head outside excepting my run to the grocery this morning and maybe taking out recycling if I feel like it later.

Yet this morning I smashed a 5k pace workout and it was 84 degrees, and I didn’t feel too plussed about it. Bodies are so fucking bizarre: some days the heat pummels me and I can’t finish a workout, while others my systems are like “eh, whatever” and I can lock into interval paces as if it were 20 degrees cooler. I mean, I’ll take it, despite the logical fallacy it seems to present.

Last week was busy and lovely. On Friday J and I took the day off our respective jobs and headed to Clearwater Beach for the day. Our first stop was the Clearwater Marine Aquarium most specifically to see the capybara special exhibit. Those little dudes have been enjoying a moment on social media, and for good reason. THEY’RE SO CUTE. We happened to arrive on time to watch the encounter, where guests could pay 60 fucken big boys to go into the pen and interact with the little guys (these were babies, so not the full sized fellas you see on various image sites). The keeper let the guests feed the cappies and some of them rolled over onto their backs to except belly rubs. Precious.

We walked around for an hour or so. Got to watch some frolicking dolphins playing with a tube and what seemed to be a little surfboard. If you didn’t know, Winter, the dolphin behind Dolphin Tale movies, resided at CMA until she passed away in 2021.

The aquarium has grown quite a bit since I last visited fuck knows when. We stopped by the ray tank and petted the cow nose and Southern rays. They are the smoothest dudes ever! I don’t remember precisely all the details of the space but we did see a big nurse shark, lots of turtles, and even wandered into the clinic and peeped a medical procedure happening to what I think was a very sick ray. Hope he made it out okay.

We enjoyed lunch on the deck at Frenchy’s Rockaway . J ordered a fried grouper sandwich and I got the shrimp burger, which was incredible. We also shared a watermelon caprese salad and crab fries. So good and so fresh. A nice breeze floated through the patio and honestly, the views were postcard perfect. Summer encapsulated.

We floated around the beach for awhile, maybe a couple hours. I escaped with barely a burn. The combination of sun, saltwater, and sand rendered me exhausted and I passed out probably around 7:30, and slept hard.

Saturday we wandered over to Anchor and Brine for midday cocktails. Afternoons on my days off are tricky, especially Saturdays, since I typically get all of my shit done by noon and then have no idea how to occupy the rest of the day until evening. Especially considering how awful the weather was. I enjoyed our brief aside here, though, and ordered a strawberry spritz which was highly refreshing. The walk back pooped us both, though, even more so than our long runs that morning.

Finished the evening with Bonfire S’mores cones at Chill Bros. We might need to pick a new venue soon since I think we’ve tried the flavors we want to experience for now.

Sunday I visited mom, and along the way ran into quite the deluge over the causeway. Rainstorms are frequent in the summer and not a total surprise at any given point, but something happened on top of the bridge that still now gives me pause. I swear to you I rode through the beginning or end of a waterspout. The air was suddenly extremely chaotic and really seemed to be rotating: the rain wasn’t hitting my windows in a regular pattern and I saw a bird caught in the airflow, kind of like he was suspended and being tossed side to side. I have driven through my fair share of tempests but have never gone through something quite like that.

I doubt it was a true waterspout else Roly Poly probably would’ve been tossed around a bit more, but perhaps it was a very weak rotational field that didn’t muster the strength to become a full-fledged cyclone. My heart hammered and I white-knuckled my steering wheel; ironically, as peaceful summery jazz floated from my speakers. Scary shit, and not much you can do when you’re on a fucking bridge. Still, no harm done, thankfully.

Caesar pasta salad, rice and black bean burritos, a homemade oat cappuccino, and crispy shrimp tacos with dill slaw highlight my meals this week.

Next week J and I are headed to Savannah for a long weekend! Really can’t wait for a break in my routine (although I like my routine and usually get stressed when I leave it, ha) and to explore for a few days. My sis and I travelled there almost 10 years ago but I think my experience now will be way different as someone in her 30s with a bit more financial flexibility at my disposal. Any suggestions for places to go and things to see? I’d love to hear any tips!

That’s all for now, kids. Until next week!

The Fuck We Cooking This Week?

…A crunchy dill pickle pasta salad!

…A cozy salmon dish I probably won’t share until autumn.

…A unique and savory summer martini.

…Old school ice cream sandwiches!

A Few Things I’m Digging

Yogurts…I’ve been buying Trader Joe’s little pots of Greek yogurts for breakfasts and snacks lately. They’re not as sweet as some store brands but still feel fun with the fruity flavors they offer. I love the vanilla bean and strawberry best!

Beach towel…I adore my tomato beach towel. Perfect size for waterside lounging and the design is so cute.

This Week’s Menu

Meatless Monday…White Dill Pickle Pizza

Taco Tuesday…Chipotle Shrimp Tacos with Jalapeño Peach Salsa

Wednesday…BBQ Salmon Bowls with Tequila Peach Salsa

Thursday…Tomato, Peach, and Cucumber Feta Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Friday Happy Hour…Peach Mojito

Saturday Baking…Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Sunday BBQ…Whipped Honey Ricotta Caprese Toasts

Shops & Wish List

Fashion

Target…Love this pointelle sweater tank (cream). Hunting down some cheap flipflops for our Savannah trip in a couple weeks; these or these should do the trick.

Kitchen & Dining

Pottery Barn…I’m a lil embarrassed to be looking at fall styles but I can’t help myself. I adore the pumpkin icon pitcher (would be a fabulous vessel for spiced cider sangria or caramel pumpkin sangria!) These goblet glasses for margaritas, botanical napkin rings – I could totally make something like this, though.

Week in Training

Monday, 7.14: 8 miles, 10:43 pace + 31 minute legs

Easy miles instead of a workout today to float back into regular training post-race. It was HOT AS BALLS, 85 degrees with a 76 dew point and light sprinkles at the start, but I overall felt okay even though my heart rate was pretty high.

Strength:

• 3 x 10 squat to reverse lunge 40#
• 3 x 12 high leg press 170#
• 3 x 12 curtsy lunge 60#
• 4 x 12 hip thrust 55#
• 4 x 8 ea. sit squat 8#
• 4 x 6 ea. eccentric step down 15#
• :30 ea. Copenhagen

Tuesday, 7.15: 4.25 miles, 11:19 pace + 15 minute core

Easy little run, felt stiff after weights the day before.

Wednesday, 7.16: 7.5 miles, 9:38 pace + 30 minute legs

This workout was not enjoyable. Very hot (78/73 dew point) and windy to boot, and I’m sure I’m not fully recovered from my 5K Saturday. I was gassed but it went as well as it could’ve. 2 mile warmup, 2k threshold (8:02), 4 x 300m mile (6:41, 6:41, 6:40, 6:38), 2k threshold (8:02). I stopped for maybe 5 seconds or so during the second threshold interval because breathing, but the splits evened out regardless. I’m proud of myself for completing this and despite everything it was nice to see some kick in my 300s!

Strength:

• 3 x 8 ea. single leg deadlift 60#
• 3 x 10 plie squat 60#
• 3 x 10 ea. single leg press 100#
• 3 x 8 ea. diagonal leg extension 10#
• 2 x 15 ea. supported skater squat
• 5 x 5 clean and press 20# on bar

Thursday, 7.17: 6.2 miles, 10:34 pace + 35 minute upper body

The protocol: 2 x (4 x 150). One of my favorite fast workouts right now. Ran these really well despite a relentless headwind! 6:21, 6:11, 6:06, and 6:04 for the first set, 2 minute break, then 5:53, 5:55, 5:52, and 5:54 for the second.

Strength:

• 4 x 8 machine bench press 70#
• 3 x 10 narrow lat pulldown 60#
• 3 x 8 shoulder press 20#
• 3 x 10 skullcrusher 30#
• 3 x 10 curl 15#
• 3 x 12 deadbug 25#
• 3 x 15 ea. kneeling wood chop 10#
• 90 second plank
• Stretching

Friday, 7.18: 4 miles, 11:09 pace

Slept in and ran around 6:30a. It was over 80 with a 76 dew point and while I felt okay, my heart rate was high and my watch started screeching at me that I was “OVERREACHING.” Fuck you, Garmin. Running in the heat is no joke but honestly I felt pretty good!

Saturday, 7.19: 11 miles, 11:11 pace

Wow that’s a fuckton of 11s. REALLY miserable morning, 83 at the start with a 76 dew point. We spent the day at the beach yesterday and I tell you what, I fucken passed out asleep the prior evening, and perhaps I was still a little heat weary this morning. Just had to get through it today despite the temps.

Sunday, 7.20: 2.25 mile walk (34:30)

Total running mileage: 41