sidebar | life and training 10.7 – 10.13

Can we please just have a normal week?!

The end of September through now has been a bad dream, I think. First Helene, now Milton, the first of which startled all of us in the Bay Area out of our hurricane-immunity coma (what with the unexpected, destructive storm surge NO ONE saw coming), and the latter which dealt the KO suckerpunch to our noggens. Nearly a week later, many folks still don’t have power. Mass delirium exists among that population.

The only saving grace? Our weather has been beautiful. A lovely contrast to the typical post-hurricane heat and humidity that blows through once the storm releases the tail end of the moisture back onto the state.

I’m storm weary, so I’ll try to keep my narrative brief. My story is much less eventful than with Helene, and much more according to the expected sequence of events when a hurricane threatens my area. But man, am I tired. Two major storms in a row zaps out the energy, it does.

Saturday night, when the reality of Milton was undeniable, I scrambled to find hotels out of the immediate firing zone. Took me a long while but I managed to book a Best Western in Gainesville, probably one of the last rooms available. I was extremely fortunate. I also snagged a room in Palm Beach Gardens that I’m REALLY glad I didn’t take – they wound up having some serious weather and an F3 tornado, if I’m not mistaken. Cool cool cool cool.

I spent all of Monday prepping the house, buying groceries, meal prepping, chatting with friends, formulating a plan. Draining work. I was okay while I moved about but once evening came and my responsibilities ebbed, and I should have been winding into sleep mode, my brain went hogwild and I couldn’t help but glance around my house and imagine a cataclysmic state of ruin. The emotions welled up, my chest tightened, the fear fantasies of dripping water and smashed windows disrupted my attempt at calm. I knew I did the best I could as far as preservation goes, but hearing 10-15 feet of storm surge as a potential cannot be ignored and is difficult to accept.

I gave up on sleep around 2 am on Tuesday morning. Got up, headed to the treadmill for a quick 5k run (yes, I ran at 2:30 in the morning), went through an abbreviated morning routine, set up sandbags and packed my rental car, then drove over to retrieve mom and the cat. The drive to Gainesville really wasn’t terrible, just pockets of traffic here and there, and we only stopped once in Ocala to stretch and use the Publix bathroom.

We arrived around 9am at the hotel and had to sit for 4 hours while waiting to check in. I spent that time intermittently walking around the grounds, standing by the car, sitting in the lobby (including passing right out in one of the chairs while a constant chorus of yelping dogs surrounded me), and, I dunno, probably staring off into space. We checked into our room finally around 1 or 2. The cat completely made herself at a home – she’s an impressive traveler, that old girl is!

Our stay wasn’t interesting. We watched the weather constantly while also trying to keep some type of routine. I ran in the mornings, walked around a lot, glared off into the abyss even more, snacked, napped, watched some rain blow through and wind sway the trees to and fro. We didn’t get much from Milton up north but did witness some unmistakable signs of the storm’s arms stretching up towards us.

Milton made landfall Wednesday evening around Siesta Key, much further south than anticipated. The winds in Tampa and St. Petersburg, apparently, were frightening, and the entire roof of Tropicana Field blew off during the peak of the storm. Say what you will about The Trop, but the videos broke my heart. Despite its grunginess and polarizing nature, it still is a landmark of the city, and the residence of our hometown team.

We drove home Thursday morning – funnily enough, my friend and his mom passed us on the interstate, though I couldn’t acknowledge them since we were riding at the speed during that period. They stayed about 30 minutes north of us. The commute was shockingly smooth, except when I missed an exit and had to take a weird roundabout through some very damaged neighborhoods. I saw a manufactured home completely ruined, so many trees down, branches strewn along the roads.

My mom did not have power, and a giant tree was felled by one of the buildings across the entryway, but otherwise her place was okay. She regained electricity Sunday morning. I dropped her off and went to survey my own place. It was in good shape. I think the floodwaters might have reached our doorway, or the wind blew raindrops so violently that they saturated the silica sandbags, but nothing got inside. The biggest evidence of damage, though, was a huge palm sawed in half and perched atop the gym building. I tell you what, the gym is fucking cursed. First it flooded out a couple years ago, now it wears a palm frond hat.

BUT…The Most Interesting Tree on the Island still stands! I think I’ve mentioned this dude before – he’s a scrawny guy who becomes more of a hunchback yet refuses to fall over after each successive storm. His balance is stretched thin, but he prevails. A beacon of resilience for sure.

I was very fortunate. We never lost power through the storm. Apparently our grid is buried underground so is largely resistant to severe weather – I think its main vulnerability is burrowing animals. Aside from the absolute wreckage of belongings strewn about the house, I returned to relative normalcy.

Is it normalcy, though? I don’t think regulation will occur until we have a solid month of no hurricanes. The rest of the weekend I think I passed in a stupor. I tried to do things that regulate my schedule, like cooking and baking, but otherwise I just felt lost. And, of course, survivor’s guilt kicks in: I had power the whole time, most people did not. I know that’s not a factor I can control but it still makes me wonder why the hell I was so lucky in this circumstance while most others were not.

Onward.

I’m grateful everyone I love is safe, and no one I’m close to bore significant damage to their homes. Just the wild inconvenience of no electricity. Repairs will take a whole lot of time, and the psychological damage will too. Like I’ve said, I felt drained, down, and dreary, and still do. It’s okay and valid to feel overwhelmed in the aftermath, even though the immediate danger has passed.

Right now, my focus is just to get back to my day-to-day doings with as much presence as I can. Today, it’s grocery shopping, cooking, writing, and maybe a plunk in the pool just to get some fresh air. Hopefully I can regulate my eating a little better, too – I snacked my way into oblivion this past week. Having a plan for my meals will help me, I think.

Big hugs, everyone. Here’s hoping the rest of October is a little gentler.

Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SISTER.

PS – if you want to help, here’s a great article outlining resources for donating! Give if you can – otherwise, a supportive word goes a long way. Trust me.

The Fuck We Cooking This Week?

…A luscious baked mac and cheese.

…A cozy, creamy salmon dish.

…Another amazing layer cake

A Few Things I’m Digging

Breakfast bowl…Actually, I’ve been eating this combination for dinner because it’s amazing. Roasted sweet potatoes, sauteed fire roasted peppers and onions (from Trader Joe’s), scrambled eggs, avocado, and cheddar cheese – healthy and filling.

Affogatos…My afternoon snacks are pretty indulgent nowadays, in part because I seem to always have treats on hand. Go-to combination right now is pumpkin ice cream, two shots of espresso, and some pumpkin cookie bars I’ll be sharing soon. Mmmm.

Thanksgiving Table Inspiration

Yes, I am already eyeing the holiday season – in part because that will conclude hurricane season, and in part because I’m so excited to actually curate a tablescape this year! Here’s some ideas I’ve scrounged up that are inspiring my own layout.

Shops & Wish List

Amazon cart…Might pick up another three pack of these stackable storage bins – the ones I have already have proven incredibly useful. Also eyeing these cute wool socks.

Week in Training

Monday, 10.7: 6.2 miles, 10:19 pace

Woke up at 4 after a horribly restless night of sleep, then nope’d back out another hour. Took a lot to get me on my feet but I figured eventually that I might not be able to run outside for the rest of the week, so I should try to get something in. I originally planned a 5k at 10k pace workout but did not mentally have it in me, so I trotted mostly easy miles and threw in 4 x 200 to keep my legs spinning. Intervals were very unsteady – :51.6, :53.6, :53.4, :50 – but I was fighting the headwind and the shoes I was wearing are older and have less traction. I’m proud of what I managed despite it being less than ideal.

Tuesday, 10.8: 3.1 miles, 10:44 pace

Slept maybe one hour after a very long day of prepping the house and readying to evacuate on this morning. Gave up trying to sleep so got up at 2ish and headed to the treadmill for a quick run. It actually felt kind of nice and woke me up decently, even though it’s sort of insane to do a run that early.

Wednesday, 10.9: 4.18 miles, 10:46 pace + 10 minute lift

A little movement since I figure I’ll be sitting on my butt most of the day (unless I just start antsily walking up and down the stairs in the hotel, which could happen). Run was comfy enough albeit the gym was fairly warm and I got a little strength workout in too!

Strength:

• 3 x 10 deadlift 100#
• 3 x 10 underhand row 30#
• 3 x 10 goblet squat 50#

Thursday, 10.10: 6.03 miles, 10:47 pace

Milton hit overnight, and I kept waking up to check the radar, Facebook statuses, Denis Phillips. So, a very fitful night of sleep, and I’m not sure as I type how my house looks. Easy treadmill run before prepping to leave Gainesville.

Friday, 10.11: 5.42 miles, 11:04 pace

Gorgeous morning but my legs were so tired and stiff. I let myself sleep a little longer, I just did NOT want to wake up. I think the stress of Helene + Milton is really draining my subconscious and I’m as a result craving extra sleep.

Saturday, 10.12: 5 miles, 9:46 pace

So much fatigue from this week, yet I got myself up (later, again) and even managed to convince myself that a short speed session wouldn’t be so bad. And it wasn’t. Granted, I was heaving by the end of my intervals and I’m not sure that perceived effort was really warranted, but it did kinda feel good to push myself. 2 mile warmup, 1 mile hard (7:29), 2 x 150m stride (:36.4, :36.5), 1.4ish mile cooldown. I’d normally do a gym workout after but, you know, there’s a tree occupying the space right now…

Sunday, 10.13: Full rest day

I needed sleep, so I slept in. Exercise consisted of yoga and lots of walking, so I still got steps in, but nothing organized!

Total running mileage: 29.9