sidebar | life and training 8.18 – 8.24
Rain rain go away, come on back later in the day.
Our weather pattern this past weekend was rather uncouth. We expect evening storms during the late summer, 5pm or beyond, when suddenly the sky swells and punches the land in the throat with sideways deluges. But lately? Dreary, gray, humid skies intermittently spitting or downpouring, from just past sunrise to just before sunset.
I don’t pretend to understand meteorology but I can relay that I find this weather irritating. One day is fine, especially on a work day when I’m trapped inside for hours anyway. But on Saturday, my day off, it kinda threw me for a loopdy loop. Saturday was dumb.
First, the shower upstairs, the one I use, decided to bust itself and hasn’t stopped streaming water from the faucet since Saturday. I called the plumber and scheduled an appointment for today, Monday, so hopefully he’ll pop in sooner than later and the fix is quicker than installing the faucet a few months back. We wanted to get someone over the weekend but apparently our issue wasn’t considered an emergency since nothing was dripping into the ceiling or walls or anything.
That coupled with the weather completely fucked the rest of the day. We wound up hustling out to Oxford Exchange for a quick midday cappuccino with Ba, but it was incredibly cramped and crowded in there, more than usual, and got annoying pretty fast. It was still a nice aside and a good break from being cooped up in the house all day.
J made bar pizzas in the evening, which were phenomenal. If you’re not familiar with bar pizza, it’s a Massachusetts specialty featuring a ridiculously thin, crispy crust in a 10-inch pan with edge-to-edge cheese and a slew of greasy wonderful toppings. I toned down the grease a bit on mine with all-veggie array, but the style is certainly unique and, the way he makes it, very delicious.
I didn’t take a photo, weirdly, but there will be a reel on Instagram soon featuring these masterpieces!
Scooting back to last Monday. It was a BUSY day all in all. I wandered out to Buddy Brew with Ba en route to the library since I just needed a break from my constant moving about. We shared a cappuccino and had to sit al fresco since the inside of this particular location is always cramped and crowded (all those girls in LuLu getting their matchas post-workout). I had a nice little time until some kid started moving all the chairs and banging into mine more than once, so at that point I fled the scene.
Aside from those outings it was a rather quiet week, and this week looks much the same. I’d really like to get out to St. Pete next weekend since I miss a couple of the cute spots nestled out there. I’m also slowly starting to replace summer decor with autumn and can’t wait to share more pieces I’m eyeing and buying! So far my normal shopping spots haven’t released all their fall inventory, but once they do, you know I’m on it.
Also, rumor is Trader Joe’s is starting pumpkin palooza September 8. You betcha I’m running out there that day to swipe as many autumnal goodies as I can!
Cheers to the new week, friends. Hope it’s a good one!
The Fuck We Cooking This Week?
…A dupe on a coffeehouse favorite muffin!
…A hearty fall salad.
…A spicy and fun pumpkin cocktail.
A Few Things I’m Digging
SaltStick…I don’t know why they’re named “sticks” because they’re more like antacid chewables, but either way, the SaltStick electrolytes are extremely handy during summer intervals. They’re fairly low in minerals but good enough for a pickup in the midst of hot workouts.
Serum…I bought Trader Joe’s Antioxidant Facial Serum, which contains nourishing vitamin C beads, and absolutely love it. The texture is satiny and it absorbs easily into my skin, no breakouts experienced whatsoever.
This Week’s Menu
Meatless Monday…Creamy Bacon Potato White Bean Soup
Taco Tuesday...Weeknight Spicy BBQ Shrimp Tacos
Wednesday…Artichoke Gouda Pizza
Thursday…One Skillet Greek Olive Shrimp and Rice with Marinated Tomatoes
Friday Happy Hour…Hot Honey Paloma
Saturday Baking…Caramel Butter Stroopwafel Cupcakes
Sunday BBQ…Avocado Peach Ceviche
Shops & Wish List
Fashion
Target…Grabbed this fun and autumnal matching set of shorts + tee that look mega comfy. Loving this mini skater dress and maroon ruffled maxi dress. Need this mini sweater skirt (brown shade).
Home
Target…Found this perfect table runner that I can’t link because I bought the last one, heh, but these are the matching napkins I’m eyeing. Also snagged this plush plaid throw blanket. Very into that design style right now!
Week in Training
Monday, 8.18: 9 miles, 9:40 pace + 30 minute legs
8 x 800m at 10K effort, descending pace, 75 second recovery. I took an extra ten seconds of recovery during the last two reps to catch my breath since I was starting to overheat, but otherwise I’m very happy with this workout! The splits: 7:48 (overshot that one), 7:52, 7:46, 7:48, 7:46, 7:47, 7:40, and 7:40.
Strength:
- 3 x 10 ea. reverse lunge 40#
- 3 x 15 calf press 180#
- 3 x 8 ea. single leg press 100#
- 3 x 12 sumo squat 60#
- 3 x 10 ea. single leg squat with toe tap 15#
- 3 x 12 ea. bridge drop
- :30 Copenhagen/side
- 2 x 20 skaters
Tuesday, 8.19: 4.5 miles, 11:38 pace + 15 minute core
Nice and easy miles at only 147 bpm!
Wednesday, 8.20: 8.5 miles, 9:29 pace + 4.25 miles, 10:36 pace
Chill threshold workout this morning. 2 x 2 miles averaging 8:04 and 8:03 and I felt fantastic. Last year I averaged 8:08 for a 10K race so I’m pretty confident I can break an 8 minute average and 50 minute overall in September’s race! Finished with 300-200-100 strong with 75 seconds rest, averaging 6:46, 6:26, and 6:13. A dude passed me on his bike during my 100m rep and yelled “NICE PACE TODAY!” which was a good boost!
Afternoon run was easy and relaxed despite it being 93 degrees out. 12.75 total for the day!
Thursday, 8.21: 7 miles, 11:08 pace + 25 minute upper body
Nice and relaxed morning miles at only 147 bpm! So cool to see my heart rate dropping.
Strength:
- 3 x 12 pushup
- 3 x 6/1 x 10 narrow lat pulldown 70/60#
- 3 x 6/1 x 10 biceps curl 20/15#
- 3 x 10 OH triceps extension 30#
- 4 x 8 narrow shoulder press 15#
- 3 x 10 ea. side bends 20#
- 1 minute plank with rocks
Friday, 8.22: 4 miles, 11:16 pace + 15 minute core
Slept like hooey the prior night so felt a little less grand than prior days, heart rate of 151 bpm, but still not too bad considering it was 85 degrees at 4am. Gross.
Saturday, 8.23: 12.5 miles, 10:58 pace
Pretty decent little run! Nice to see a sub-11 average. 155bpm heart rate so pretty good, helped along by three SaltStick tabs throughout to keep my hydration up. The sunrise was beautiful and thankfully the storms from earlier in the morning passed on before I started, so very uneventful weather-wise.
Sunday, 8.24: 2.25 mile walk (34.:13)
Total running mileage: 50
