sidebar | life and training 10.25 – 10.31
Howdy doody…Twas spooky week! Did you enjoy the treats I divvied out for the occasion? How about the day itself?
My observation of Halloween is quite limited, and I would argue not even Halloween specific as is. We always buy pumpkins to carve and my stairwell is suddenly embellished with the finest mini gourds in town, and football and the World Series and Charlie Brown flit about my television screen. Aside from that, I haven’t worn a costume in probably a decade and don’t eat disturbing amounts of candy (just pumpkin bread or whatever I have baked and ready to nibble). We live in a condominium complex, so trick-or-treaters don’t crawl up to our doors demanding edible wares. Alas, as an adultish thing, my exposure to Halloween rituals amongst the aged and wizened isn’t extensive.
Really, what comes after Halloween is why I become eager for the 31st. Once that day passes, Thanksgiving mode truly enshrouds my spirit. And FMG. So many holiday treats and eats in the making over here. I’ve never used so much white flour in my life, people. Especially because when I tried to incorporate wheat in a recipe on Saturday, somehow bugs had infiltrated my cannister… Fucking delightful.
Pumpkin Roundup
I’ve been pretty raucous about posting pumpkin recipes. They’ve honestly swallowed FMG whole the past month or so – for good reason, because playing with punkins is delightful and I’ve offered up several unique and enjoyable options for both savory and sweet cravings. Check it out!
Savory
Three Cheese Pumpkin Beer Queso
Pumpkin Gnocchi with Herby Brown Butter Mushrooms
Saucy Coconut Pumpkin Kale and Chickpea Curry
The Great Pumpkin Hummus Board
Sweet
Spookydoodle Pumpkin Chocolate Cake
Soft and Crinkly Pumpkin Molasses Cookies
Slow Cooker Spiced Apple Pumpkin Butter
…And there’s more to come!
The Fall 2021 Guide is Here!
Last week, I added a download link to the FMG Fall 2021 Guide for ease of attainment. Have you received yours yet? No? DO IT, FOOL! Recipes, tips, pretty pictures, all sorts of fun included in this short and sweet read catered towards the new, not hot as balls season. Grab your PDF copy here!
A Few Things I’m Digging
Dune…Referring to the book. J and I will see the movie eventually but I opted to read the novel first, and I really appreciate Herbert’s clever, descriptive, yet not flowery or overdrawn style of writing. Many sci-fi and fantasy writers tend to get too lost in giving details about their created worlds, but I think so far he does a good job of balancing mental imagery with plot-driven writing.
Three Cheese Pumpkin Beer Queso…With only two of us in the house, we could but shouldn’t destroy a whole batch of this cheese dip. I used the remains on two different recipes and it was just as luscious and satisfying as on day one. Every gathering deserves a great batch of queso, and this is your ticket to cheese-laden heaven. I’ve got the perfect mate for this queso coming soon to FMG!
Pumpkin carving…Every year J and I buy the best pair of pumpkins we can find at our local patch and draw on whatever face we can think of. It’s a tradition, though not unique, that I always anticipate and feel ushers in the season. The day of carving or the following, we watch It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and eat pie.
Small pool swims…The days of hopping into our apartment pool are few now – and possibly over, honestly – but since I haven’t the wherewithal to make it to my local community pool, I dove into ours twice this week for a couple sessions. They felt good, albeit chilly, and I only get to estimate the yardage due to not being 100% certain of our pool’s length, but we think its 15 yards which isn’t really bad for an apartment pool.
Week in Training
Monday, 10.25: 6.25 miles, 10:24 pace + 45 minute back and biceps
Very very unseasonably hot and muggy, but I think it’s a result of an incoming cold front and a lot of residual rain hanging out in the high clouds. Not the best feeling run breath-wise but my legs were happy mostly. My nasal strips, however, have NOT wanted to stay on my nose of late!
Strength:
- 3 x 10 barbell biceps curl
- 3 x 8 ea. single arm row
- 3 x 8 hammer curl
- 4 x 5 hang clean
- 3 x 10 underhand row
- 3 x 8 reverse fly
- 4 x (50 flutter kicks/40 bicycles/30 jackknives/20 knee to elbow/10 side plank crunch)
- :30 ea. side planks
Tuesday, 10.26: 15.62 miles, 20.8 mph cycling (45:00) + 45 minute shoulders & triceps
Weather still sucked, so I took my workout to the bike to save my running for the nicer days ahead and rounded out the early morning with a solid shoulder session. I averaged 118W for the ride.
Strength:
- 3 x 10 alt. overhead press
- 3 x 10 triceps dip
- 3 x 10 bench press
- 4 x 12 barbell triceps extension
- 3 x 10/2 x 5 alternating front raise
- 3 x 10 triceps pushbacks
- 4 x (20 toe taps/15 swings/10 ea. side plank rainbows/5 weighted pushups)
Wednesday, 10.27: 7 miles, 10:22 pace + 48 minute legs
I know it’s wise to take everything with a grain of salt, but I found comfort in reading other runners’ anecdotes about their working heartrates remaining unusually high several weeks after completing a marathon. I’m only 2.5 weeks removed from Chicago, so I’m trying to practice patience. This felt good, my legs were really happy at the end and the 66 degree morning felt like a dream!
Strength:
- 3 x 6 squat
- 3 x 8 ea. split squat
- 3 x 15 calf raise
- 2 x 8/3 x 5 deadlift
- 12/10/8 sumo squat
- 3 x 10 front squat
- 4 x (10 ea. leg extension hop/10 ea. airplane/10 bear hop)
- 3 x 20 v-ups
- 50 jackknives
Thursday, 10.28: 4.3 miles, 10:33 pace + 50 minute back & biceps + 825 yard swim (20:03)
Shorter run, humid as a front is blowing through so the air is ultra saturated before the rains reach us. Heartrate was a bit better today, perhaps from the slightly slower pace.
I tried sitting down to write the Grima’s Draught post in the afternoon but could not get my brain gears spinning, so I threw on my swimsuit and hopped into our apartment pool for a 20 minute swim. I haven’t gone to the public pool in almost a month out of sheer laziness, but this felt wonderful and I don’t think I much lost what limited edge I had over the course of my swim layoff.
Strength:
- 2 x 10/2 x 8 pull-aparts
- 3 x 12 inclined bicep curl
- 3 x 8 decline cable row
- 3 x 8 biceps curl
- 3 x 10 bent over front raise
- 3 x 10 lower half curl/10 upper half curl
- 3 x 8 around the world
- 2 x 10/1 x 8 lat pulldown (I effectively failed at this exercise so idk if it should even count)
- 4 x (30 plank lateral leg tap/20 plank reach/20 plank knee tap/10 leg drops)
Friday, 10.29: 15 miles, 19.2 mph cycling (49:22) + 3.11 miles, 9:24 pace + 1,050 yard swim (24:55)
Haven’t tried a brick workout in forever, so I decided to see how bad my transition from saddle to street would go. From a muscle memory standpoint, I felt okay, but the run was far more taxing than the paces warranted. Not sure how much of that is from having ridden a bit harder than usual or from my current state of flawed running ability.
I was released from work early but didn’t have my swim gear on hand, so I again ventured to our little apartment pool for a rainy splash. The water was COLD but I really love swimming in showers, so I shot for however long I could go before being mentally over it. Turns out, 1,050 yards was the number, more or less a normal length swim!
Saturday, 10.30: 9.5 miles, 10:25 pace + 50 minute legs
Drizzly and raw this morning, 90-some humidity, but far more pleasant than any summer conditions you could offer. I can’t say I loved this run, I was breathing too heavy and my heart rate again averaged way high, but at least my legs didn’t object to the distance and I was happy for the light tinkling droplets that fell from stray clouds. My hot cocoa after leg day tasted particularly delicious.
Strength:
- 3 x 8 single leg deadlift
- 3 x 10 ea static lunge
- 3 x 10 curtsy lunge
- 12/10/8 leg extension
- 4 x 12 plie squat
- 4 x 5 barbell front squat to back squat
- 3 x 10 sit squats
- 4 x (30 plank swivels/30 deadbug/30 bicycles)
Sunday, 10.31: 3.1 mile walk (58:00)
Rest day walk in a cool, clammy morning. I saw a few costumed drunk folk wandering around, which was interesting at least!
Total running mileage: 30.2
Total cycling mileage: 30.6
Total swimming yardage: 1,875ish
