sidebar | life and training 1.20 – 1.26

Put your hands together for the bride and the groom!

This weekend, I watched my best friend exchange rings with his longtime girlfriend-turned-fiance-now-wife. The happiest day of their lives, I’d reckon, and I stood on the sideline as part of his groomsquad (we called ourselves “The Groomsfolk” since the posse contained a female, me, and a nonbinary). What an honor.

But the biggest honor for me? Baking their cake!

Several months ago the pair entrusted their lil wedding cake to me, citing the Classic Red Velvet Layer Cake as their preferred flavor. I admittedly bark a hard NO when people approach me about a catering-like baking project: that’s not really the purpose of FMG and between that and my general work/life busyness, I find it hard to fit in those types of commitments without subjecting myself to overwhelm. But this was my best friend we’re talking about, and I had plenty of time to prepare, so saying Yes was an easy thing for me.

And look at her! She’s so cute! The center of culinary attention.

The cake received rave reviews from the pair, which was all I needed to make the weekend truly bright for me. The rose decoration was a sort of last-minute panic decision. I am not a master embellisher, I generally just throw a hydrangea on top and call it a day when I photograph my own layer cakes. A few clicks on Pinterest and a little imagination brought to life this image, though, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the result all around: both the awe it seemed to strike in the bride, groom, and her family, and my own personal satisfaction at having accomplished such a feat.

Needless to say, it was a busy weekend. Friday night I drove down to Bradenton for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. I swung around to the venue to drop off the cake, stopped by the hotel for a quick reset and a cookie snack (that coffee was vile, dear god), and readied to go to the church for the rehearsal. Nothing much to report there. Then the wedding party met up at Brio for dinner. They forgot to bring me my wine, but I enjoyed the salad, seafood linguine, and unpictured cannoli. Holy crap, the cannoli was tasty. I sat by one of the groomsmen I had never met before and we immediately took to each other’s sarcastic personalities.

Aside: I definitely find myself more comfortable around guys and male-presenting folk than I do female. I think as I get older I have no idea how to interact with adult women who don’t have something of a masculine, or at least assholeish, side. When you reach my age, the talk swaps to marriage and childbearing and other such vocations that I have a hard time relating to. Perhaps that’s not really gender-specific, but it seems more prolific of a talk with women than men.

That observation really came into play the following morning. The bride very kindly invited me to get ready with her bridesmaids, with the hair and makeup ladies present to do us up all pretty. I was happy to hang out at the kitchen island nibbling fruit while I kind of just observed what was going on – I seemed to have forgotten how to talk and didn’t say much. No fault of anyone’s – I generally retreat into quiet unless I immediately vibe with a group. I’m content to watch and learn.

And wow, ya’ll. Dressing up is FOREIGN to me.

The ladies did an outstanding job on everyone, and the combination of hair and makeup gave me an old Hollywood glam look that I actually kind of liked on me. But man, I look fucking old with a face full of makeup. I also wore a row of faux lashes and couldn’t stop blinking all the rest of the day. Such a strange sensation.

Participating in the wedding party involves a good deal of sitting, I learned. And walking back and forth. I met up with the guys at the church and we spent a lot of time walking back and forth, then going for pictures, then getting confused about where to meet the bridesmaids as they hopped off the bus and into the hall.

It all fell into place, though. The ceremony was beautiful, the bride looked stunning and the groom sharp, and everything seemed to go without a hitch. Except I walked WAY too fast down the aisle during the procession. This bitch cannot slow down to save her life.

More pictures, more wandering, and honestly, I was freezing in my dress. We still had some seriously cold weather and while the afternoon warmed up delightfully and the sun felt decadent, my dress didn’t offer much insulation. I wandered off aplenty between shoots to find a sunny patch to thaw out. The church and venue themselves were also really cold and I eventually traipsed off to find my coat.

Drove over to the venue, more photos, then blessedly got to mingle during cocktail hour when I realized how hungry I was and ate a bunch of cheese and fruit. We eventually lined up and were announced before the reception dinner, and like an asshole I walked out with my coat and purse in hand because I didn’t know where to put them and knew I’d be freezing the moment I sat down. So, my photos are probably embarrassing. Oh well.

The rest of the night was kind of a blur. We ate, there was dancing, I chowed down a lot of dessert, and spent most of the time chatting with my fellow groomsperson about cooking and baking. I enjoyed that. Dipped out around 8, said a heartfelt goodbye to my best friend (that was the only time I got very close to crying), and returned to the hotel to wind down and read with Mr. Flurries.

What a weekend. I must say that while experiencing weddings is truly something else, especially when you know the two people involved are wonderful for one another and deserve to share in the happiness they created. But all at once, they bring about an intense set of emotions for me. Perhaps I feel left behind. The attention given to the wedding party, even, is rather overwhelming for me. I don’t do well with so many eyes locked to me. I couldn’t imagine being a bride, but I crave the commitment, the surety. While I’m doubtlessly and incredibly joyful to him and his new wife, I also couldn’t help but feel a little sad for me.

So, that was the bulk of the week. Training and prepping took up the rest. This week will be a little quieter, a little more routine, which will be nice. I’m excited about my recipe concepts and am thinking about opening up a few slots for baking Valentine’s treats (even though I just said above that I don’t generally cater). A bit of extra cash wouldn’t hurt, honestly.

The Friday long run was a highlight of my training week. 15 miles and I really enjoyed them overall, except maybe at the end when I got mentally bored of the whole ordeal. Fueled with a Honey Stinger Salted Caramel Latte and a Maurten Gel100. Good combo.

Damn cold this past week too. Peep how bundled I was during Thursday’s speedwork and my current favorite outfit for chilly afternoons.

Take care, folks. Big hugs!

The Fuck We Cooking This Week?

…A simple yet decadent salmon dinner.

…A pretty pink bark for Valentine’s Day.

…A cheerful sweet crostini.

A Few Things I’m Digging

Peanut butter…Forgot how much I liked Peanut Butter & Co’s Dark Chocolatey Dreams. Hard to find nowadays but I think it’s my favorite flavor of theirs at present! I put it on my banana oatmeal or in a yogurt bowl for a snack.

Lounge pants…The Auden fleece joggers are incredibly soft and cozy. I own the mauve color – so pretty.

Banner…Bought this heart banner and hung it on my bookshelf. A cheap and cute decoration if you’re looking to spiff up a little space in February.

Shops & Wish List

Amazon cart…Eyeing this book next after I finish my current read. Need to grab another batch of my favorite Nuun Lemon Lime, and I’m really tempted by this adorable floral cardigan – I usually don’t like to buy clothes from Amazon though, so we’ll see.

Week in Training

Monday, 1.20: 9.35 miles, 9:36 pace + 20 minute legs

Wow this run was terrible. I had no giddyup whatsoever – my legs just couldn’t find a rhythm, and my left hamstring seized up in the last couple miles and my stride was pretty messed up as a result. Averaged 8:56 over an attempted 6 mile pace run – about 25-30 seconds per mile slower than I wanted. Everything felt out of sync and extremely difficult, including my breathing. Not very encouraging for the race in a couple weeks.

Strength:

• 3 x 6 deadlift 120#
• 3 x 15 hip thrust 55#
• 3 x 8 sumo squat 80#
• 3 x 12 ea. single leg press 90#
• Core work

Tuesday, 1.21: 5.25 miles, 10:40 pace + 20 minute back & bis

Cold, miserable, slightly rainy morning – didn’t want to get out there and get shit done but I did! Wore two reasonable layers on top so I was mostly toasty and comfy, but my lungs did not much enjoy the brisk wind and low temps.

Strength:

• 4 x 6 row 40#
• 3 x 8 biceps curl 20#
• 3 x 10 lat pulldown 60#
• 3 x 8 hammer curl 20#
• 3 x 8 press up 40#
• Core work

Wednesday, 1.24: 6.2 miles, 9:53 pace + 3.25 miles, 9:55 pace

The weather conditions rendered any real speedwork pretty unwise, in my estimation: it was about 38 degrees and steadily raining. I read about a method called 30/30 that I decided to try out: 30 seconds faster running with 30 seconds regular pace running, for 20 minutes total in my case. I actually really enjoyed this workout! Got some turnover while not overexerting or risking tripping on the wet sidewalk. My faster segments were around 7:37-8:07 pace. Afternoon run wasn’t much warmer than the morning, about 44 degrees and gloomy, but I felt pretty good.

Thursday, 1.23: 5.5 miles, 10:54 pace + 17 minute chest & tris

BRR! Legs did not work well today in a 38 degree morning (I relented and wore leggings even!) – my first four miles were well above 11 minute pace – but I threw down some sweet strides. Top speed at 4:36! New personal best right now.

Strength:

• 3 x 8 shoulder press 20#
• 3 x 11 chest press 25#
• 4 x 6 skullcrusher 20#
• 2 x 10/1 x 8 lateral raise 20#
• 3 x 10 triceps pushdown 28#

Friday, 1.24: 15 miles, 10:44 pace

Big long run of the training cycle DONE! Very strong overall. Cold conditions, about 42 degrees at start and dropped to 39 by the end (real feels around 33-35), and the wind picked up during the last 5 miles or so. I paced myself well and stayed consistently in the 10:3x-10:4x range for most of the miles. Mentally, I broke this run into three 5-mile segments: at miles 5 and 10 I took gels (Honey Stinger Salted Caramel Latte at 5, Maurten Gel100 at 10). Water every 2 miles give or take. This segmentation kept me from feeling daunted by the remaining distance. Legs were definitely feeling it by the end but I’m really happy with how this played out.

Saturday, 1.25: 3.7 miles, 10:49 pace

Long, tiring day on Friday and I slept really hard (though still woke up a lot, I think I got warm at points). Felt good to get a chill easy treadmill run in and have some me time before the festivities the rest of the day!

Sunday, 1.26: 4 mile walk (1:01:34)

Total running mileage: 48.3