sidebar | life and training 8.24 – 8.30

Currently residing in the world of “IDK WTF I’m doing with my running but I’m trying.”

Happy Monday, fellas. Wowee was this morning’s workout bad – and puts me right back into questioning mode. Should I even try stamina workouts? Can I keep my mileage up without hating my life? Should I just fucken stop? Can I even FATHOM running a marathon next February??

So many q’s. Not many a’s.

All I know is that long intervals are not working for me at the moment. Today was an attempt at 5 x mile at 8:10-8:15 pace. I scraped 8:30s for three reps, then just gave up and ran 3.5ish miles to reach 10 for the day. I’m not mad about pocketing a double digit run, but the fact that those paces felt impossible demoralized me.

Is it remnants from the car accident hindering my running? Is it my new prescription? Both?

I’ve undergone seasons like this before, and have bounced back from all of them. But it seems whenever I’m on a streak of improving fitness and seeing progress, something leaps in and halts the upward trend.

At the very least, I’m trying to tell myself that I CAN run, it’s just not at the ability and speed I want, and in fact I’m slower than I ever have been. On the flipside, all this is allowed to suck. I don’t have to optimism myself out of that reality – it’s bullshit, it’s unfair, and I am allowed to grieve.

Not much to sling your way this week as far as adventures go. J and I walked to Chill Bros on Monday for some ice creams – birthday cake for me and key lime pie for him. We meant to go Sunday but got derailed by evening rain.

On Saturday afternoon, Little Miss Ba and I snuck out for a little pool time. I swam about 20 minutes and soaked up the rays for a bit on the lounge chair. It felt lovely to enjoy some outside time.

We ordered pizzas that night from Motorworks and had to drive a whopping one block to get them due to a massive storm that peltered the neighborhood. Of course, right when we returned home, the deluge stopped.

Good eats…Crab stuffed salmon with mashed potatoes and green beans (coming soon!); chimichurri steak tacos with roasted corn and pickled red onions; and gyro bowls with pita, tzatziki, Greek chickpeas and fries! Love me a good TJs-inspired din.

That’s all I’ve got for now, pals. Until next week!

The Fuck We Cooking This Week?

…A chili recipe for gameday!

…Fall’s favorite pumpkin dessert.

…And fall’s (second?) favorite pumpkin drink!

A Few Things I’m Digging

Reed diffuser…I bought this lovely Warm Cider & Cinnamon scent for my bathroom – such cozy fall vibes! I also have a Baked Cinnamon Apples Febreze plugin in my hallway.

Notable Food Holidays

Tuesday, September 1: National Gyro Day (not a gyro but how about some Crispy Greek Tofu Pita Bowls with Garlic Feta Sauce?)

Saturday, September 5: National Cheese Pizza Day (check below for five more recipes, and keep this White Dill Pickle Pizza in mind!)

Sunday, September 6: National Coffee Ice Cream Day (definitely a day for No Churn Espresso Kahlua Ice Cream.)

This Week’s Menu

Meatless Monday…Skillet Spinach Ricotta Lasagna Roll-Ups

Taco Tuesday…Crispy Teriyaki Cauliflower Tacos

Wednesday…Bacon Ranch Potato Soup

Thursday…Coconut Butter Chickpea Meatballs

Friday Happy Hour…Banana Bread Espresso Martini

Saturday Baking…No Bake Butterfinger Cheesecake

Gameday Snack…Whipped Goat Cheese with Herb Marinated Olives

Target Fall Home Picks

Five Cheesy Indulgences for National Cheese Pizza Day

1. French Onion Soup Pizza

2. Tomato Bacon Caprese Pizza

3. 4 Cheese Peach Garlic Butter Pizza

4. Hot Honey Pomodoro Pizza

5. White Street Corn Dip Pizza

Week in Training

Monday, 8.24: 10 miles, 10:09 pace

After Saturday’s lovely long run I decided to try out a stamina workout again, after over a month away from doing anything longer. This workout was tough because it was SO LONG and the humidity was intense (I think 96-98%), but I nailed my splits! 20 x 400m, which totals 5 miles, with 60 seconds walk/jog in between. Averaged 7:47 and got faster as I went, which was the goal. Interested to see how this progression plays out!

Tuesday, 8.25: 3.55 miles, 12:28 pace + 26 minute back & bis

Very sluggish, slow, dumb little run.

Strength:

1 x 5/2 x 10 biceps curl 25/20#
3 x 10 ass-to-grass goblet squat 40#
4 x 8 mid row 60#
3 x 10 leg press 150#
1 x 10/2 x 8/1 x 6 narrow seated pulldown 62/66/71#
3 x 8 incline hammer curl 15#
2 x 15 ea. standing banded hydrants
50 crunches
5 minute stretch

Wednesday, 8.26: 4.26 miles, 11:18 pace + 3.1 miles, 11:03 pace

Oof, tough session in the morning. Goal was 3 x 300m at 6:15-6:25, followed immediately by a 100m sprint and a 300m walking recovery between the reps. Ran 6:28, 6:24, and 6:30 for the 300s, then who knows for the 100s.

Ran a double run today to help boost my mileage, mostly because I didn’t have time for a full 7 miler in the morning. Despite my higher heart rate I felt weirdly good? It was 91 degrees but my legs were grooving!

Thursday, 8.27: 4.5 miles, 12:48 pace + 25 minute legs & upper body

Double run left my legs a little rough this morning so I ended up cutting my intervals short a bit. Nonetheless, I didn’t mind doing some short, sharp speed! 5 x 50m with 2 minute walk, hit a 5:02 top speed which was a tad disappointing; then, 6 x 20m builds with 60m submaximal and smooth, 2 minute recovery. I was supposed to do 8 of those but stopped at 6 since I just wasn’t feeling it anymore.

Strength: